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on his behalf. The envoy was treacherously murdered by the Siamese, together with his whole retinue, consisting of 100 men, of whom one only was suffered to return to give an account of the tragedy. Enraged at a breach of the law of nations, but feeling themselves too weak to revenge cruelty by cruelty, the Cochinchinese then sent an ambassador to Bankok, demanding that the author of the murder should be delivered up; and, at the same time, declaring Cochinchina the mother of the Laos people, while to Siam was given the title of father. Nothing could be more conciliatory than the letter addressed, on the occasion, to the King of Siam; but the latter, refusing to give any decisive answer to this and other messages repeatedly sent to him, himself despatched a wily politician to Hue, who however, was plainly refused admittance, and given to understand that the kings of Siam and Cochinchina ceased henceforth, to be friends. The king of Siam, who was rather intimidated by such a blunt reply, ordered his principal nobles and Chinese subjects to build some hundred war boats, after the model made by the governor of Ligore.

But, whilst these war boats, or as they might be more appropiately called pleasure boats, were building, Chow-vin-chan, with his whole family, was betrayed into the hands of the Siamese. Being confined in cages, within sight of the instruments of torture, the old man, worn out by fatigue and hard treatment, died; while his son and heir to the crown effected his escape Great rewards were offered for the latter, and he was found out, and would have been instantly murdered, but climbing up to the roof of a pagoda, he remained there till all means of escape failed, when he threw himself down upon a rock, and perished. The royal race of this Laos tribe, Chan-Pung-dam, is now extinct, the country is laid waste, the peasants, to the number of 100,000 have been dispersed over different parts of