arms and semi-European uniform, to the armory, where I was to wait, until the king was ready.

6. At the armory, the messenger put me in the care of the king's eldest son, who was to take me to his father. As I shook hands with the tall, handsome youth who was waiting for me, I thought him worthy of his princely station. He was almost the only man in Siam whose teeth were not blackened by the chewing of the betelnut. The betel-nut is, in Siam, what the tobacco-cud is, in America. It is not, I believe, quite as injurious to the chewer as the tobacco; while, on the other hand, its use is a little more universal.

7. When we had gone through a pleasant, shady court, and had come to the top of a flight of marble steps which took us to the door of the king's house, I suddenly missed the young man from my side, and turned to look for him. What change had come over him! The man had been transformed into a reptile. The tall and graceful youth, princely in look and bearing, was down on his knees, bending his head, until it almost touched the pavement of the portico. Crawling slowly toward the door, he conducted me, with reverent signs and whispers, toward the king, his father, whom I saw coming to meet us.

8. I draw out this incident in detail, because it is char-* acteristic of the strange conflict between the old barbarism and the new enlightenment which meets one, at every turn, in the Land of the White Elephant. There are two tides; one is going out, the ebb-tide of ignorance, of darkness, and despotic power; and one is coming in, the flood-tide of knowledge, of liberty, and all Christian grace.

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9. As, in the whirl of waters where two currents meet, one never knows which way his boat may head, so, sometimes, the drift of things is backwards toward the Orient, and sometimes forward, westward, as the "star of em

pire" moves. One of the most striking evidences that the old is not yet" rung out," is found in the servile degradation which superior rank or caste requires from all who are of lower station. Each rank has some who crawl like crocodiles beneath it, and is, in its turn, compelled to crawl before the higher.

10. I have been told that, when the Siamese embassy to Great Britain was presented to the Queen, before anybody knew what they were about, the ambassadors were down on all fours, at the entrance of the audience chamber, and insisted on crawling like mud-turtles into her majesty's presence. The court of Siam requires of foreigners only what etiquette requires in the presence of the king or president of their own country; but, when its representatives are sent to foreign courts, they carry their own usage with them. I felt a pardonable pride, and a little kindling of the national spirit, as I walked straight forward, while Prince George Washington crawled beside me.

11. Halleck has told us how a true son of Connecticut Would shake hands with a king upon his throne

And think it kindness to his majesty."

Of course, then, as the king came toward the portico and met us at the door, that was the thing to do, it being also the etiquette at the court of James Buchanan, who then presided at Washington. But not even President Buchanan could have welcomed a guest with more gentlemanly politeness than that with which this king of a barbarous people welcomed me.

12. He spoke good English, and spoke it fluently; and knew how, with gentlemanly tact, to put his visitor straightway at his ease. It was hard to believe that I was in a remote and almost unknown corner of the Old World. The conversation was such as might take place between two gentlemen in a New York parlor. On every

side were evidences of an intelligent and cultivated taste. The room in which we sat was decorated with engravings, maps, busts, statuettes; and the book-cases were filled with well-selected volumes, handsomely bound.

13. Some reference was made to my native city, and I rose to show on the map, which hung before me, where it was situated; but I found that the king knew very well; and, especially, that "they made plenty of guns there." For guns and military affairs, he had a great liking, and, indeed, for all sorts of science. He was expert in his use of quadrant and sextant, and could take a lunar observation and work it out with accuracy. He had his army, distinct from the first king's soldiers, disciplined and drilled according to European tactics. Their orders were given in English and were obeyed with great alacrity.

14. He had a band of Siamese musicians who performed on European instruments, though I am bound to say that their performance was characterized by force. rather than by harmony. He made them play "Yankee Doodle," and "Hail Columbia," but if I enjoyed it, it was with a patriotic rather than a musical enthusiasm. When they played their own music, I was better pleased. The imperfections of the band were of very small importance compared with the good will which had prompted the king to make them learn American national airs.

15. The king had observed the course of our history, the growth of our nation, the principles of our government, and, though we knew very little about him and his people, he was thoroughly informed concerning us. As I talked with him, and saw the refinement which displayed itself in his manners and in his dwelling, and the minute knowledge of affairs which was shown in his conversation, I began to wonder on what subject I should find him ignorant. —George B. Bacon.

LXXXIX. —THE CONDOR OF THE ANDES.

IN

N the sterile heights of the Andes, Nature withholds her fostering influence alike from vegetable and animal life. The scantiest vegetation can scarcely draw nutriment from the ungenial soil, and animals shun the dreary and shelterless wilds. Only the condor, or South American vulture, finds itself in its native element amidst these mountain deserts. On the inaccessible summits of the Cordillera, and at an elevation of from ten thousand to fifteen thousand feet, this bird builds its nest, and hatches its young in the months of April and May.

2. Few animals have attained so wide a celebrity as the condor. This bird was known in Europe at a period when its native land was numbered among those fabulous regions which are regarded as the scenes of imaginary wonders. The most extravagant accounts of the condor were written and read; and general credence was granted to every story which travelers brought from the fairy-land of gold and silver. It was only at the commencement of the present century that Humboldt overthrew the extravagant notions which had previously prevailed respecting the size, strength, and habits of this extraordinary bird.

3. The full-grown condor measures, from the point of the beak to the end of the tail, from four feet ten inches, to five feet; and, from the tip of one wing to that of the other, from twelve to fourteen feet! This bird feeds chiefly upon carrion; it is only when impelled by hunger that it seizes living animals, and even then, only the small and defenseless; such as the young of sheep and llamas.

4. It cannot raise great weights with its feet; which, however, it uses to aid the power of its beak. The prin

cipal strength of the condor lies in its neck and in its feet; yet it cannot, when flying, carry a weight exceeding eight or ten pounds. All accounts of its carrying off sheep and calves are untrue.

5. The bird passes a great part of the day in sleep; and hovers in quest of prey, chiefly, in the morning and

evening. Whilst soaring at a height beyond the reach of human eyes, the sharp-sighted condor discerns its prey on the level heights beneath it, and darts down upon it with the swiftness of lightning. When a bait is laid, it is curious to observe the number of condors that assemble,