90 



EAST KU N" (\ FX3 GRAPHY. 



city, with it* picturesque building* and large flouting population, has 

 earned fur it L Ije title of tin.- fl Venice "f Ihc Eas*t," The palace nf 

 the " Firxt Kiiifj/ 1 tnelo-i-d liy lofty white wails over a mile in circum- 

 ference, Rami o group of detached structures, such us temples, public 

 officios seraglios, the stalls far the sacred elephant, an arsenal, a 

 theatre, and accommodation fur tunic thousands of soldiers, cavalry 

 ami infantry* The hall of audience lien in tlio middle of the chief 

 court, and in one of the temples* h the famous jasper statue of Buddha. 

 The. population,, estimated tit over 400,000, includes natives of Burma! i 

 and Camboja, Annaiuese, Malays Laos, Iado-Portuguesc, and Euro- 

 jH'im.s Inside* tin- prriliiTiiinjiiit flrm^ of Siamese ami Chinese. 

 Iiiui : jk.ik i- [In commercial centre of the whole kingdom, the chief 

 articles of export being rice, sugar, pepper, forwarded in exchange 

 for European manufacture*. Of late years machinery has been 

 extensively mlrudui-ed, mt> L >U iiiu-uiill- set up Tor yarn mm j ■ lit [ ■■ . -■ - 

 (3:1-; j-; us. ,] in tin- n iv.-tl paLi'-r-, and hnii-e*. of many ■ if tin- imbilil\\ 

 A considerable number of European lirais carry on business in the 

 city, which is the seat uf a Roman Catholic bishop, and the head- 

 quarters of several Christian mission*. 



Atjnthin, tin- firmer (.uphill, tie* about 45 miles farther up the 

 river. It was founded in l&T'O, a date marking the dawn of authentic 

 Siamese tv, and was th Proved by the Imrmese in J7(5S. It is 

 now partly laid out aa an elephant park, round which are strewn the 

 remain* of temples and other TinanituenU embowered hi the foliage 

 of a Tank tropical vegetation, but still attesting its former splendour. 



On lh<: coast | lii— chii'f si-upnrl is Shantnhun, souk- mil*** snurti- 

 caM of the capital, with a mixed Siamese Chinese, and Annamese 

 population, and a considerable export trade in pepper (2ii picttls = 

 33.'0 lbs. v-i-:lHv \ prn-ioiix horn's l'r<nti the neighbouring Xong dis- 

 trict, wine cardamoms, and ivory. The French are endeavouring to 

 e^tahli-h a line of tinier* between Saigon and Uangkuk, touching 

 at Shnnlnbtin. 



Ia the interior are wvoral important place*, many of which, froai the 

 report* nf the latent explorers, apt**ar tn 1*» mnro f.v tensive und populous 



llirin ]ir«t 1 1 i C 1 1 ■ ' rt 1 1 I n sup-iosi-d. SucU ru. /*"••/•*/, Lin- l.irjfc*t town in 



SinTLU'.-i-! i "iiadnhja, i\\h[ Until M mi] it I'ritiivi, near tlio wmhY of a we* torn 

 affluent of tin 1 Jb'khonp; X!nitj-h'n,i<t, ffiwrtttf-Pnti^rutf, JdVntrti'i>H{f, aud 

 Kirtuj-twu, tm the Mekhmij^. th<- last-annted U.'iujj the northernmost town 

 in Siantesi- t.Tiih.i v : fUiiwtuj in 1 hi* Mi-nnm valley, imitli froiu Ituiigkok, 



a jm)liali|i' I'm i tnt re of railway communication between Siain, Ihinuah, 



and Yunnan ; lastly fiimviA, or Xiriiff-uttii (Cheny-Mai), the ^reat capital 

 t«f I tie Siamese Shuns, on the Meping, or Upper Mcnnni, 180 in ilea north 



of Raln-m:, und JiOO miles float tl jipituf. Zinmie. whirh lies on the 



right brink of the Moping, aln>ut S00 feet above Hen -level, in by far the 



