The French may well be proud of the European quarter of the capital of Tonquin, for its fine, well-laid-out boulevards and streets, handsome public buildings, big shops, comfortable hotels and well-appointed _cafés_ would do honour to the _prèfecture_ towns of Southern France, such as Arles, Avignon, or Montpelier. Though the principal thoroughfares of the town do not present the busy appearance of our Eastern commercial centres, such as Singapore or Hong-Kong, and one does not meet the hurrying throngs that give to these two cities the characteristics of Anglo-Saxon activity, yet the prospect of the Rue Paul Bert, the principal street at Hanoï, at the hour of the _aperitif_, is extremely pleasing, and reminds one of the Parisian boulevards. In front of the more important _cafés_ the pavement is occupied by the numerous round marble-topped tables so dear to the boulevardier. After five o'clock every evening these terraces are crowded with _habitués_ who, while sipping their iced _absinthe_, _vermouth_ or _bitter_, sit enjoying the cool breeze, exchanging the tittle-tattle of the town, discussing the latest departmental or social scandal, or watching the passing carriages--smart little victorias or dog-carts drawn by diminutive, well-groomed ponies, and provided with yellow-skinned coachmen and "tigers," glorious in their neat liveries and top-boots. At this hour the ladies of the colony, whose means permit of this luxury, drive through the town, out to the fine botanical and zoological gardens, and alight at the _Kiosque_, to enjoy a stroll in the fresh of the evening, and to listen to the band or partake of a cup of tea or an iced _sorbet_. The male sex is also _en evidence_ at these gatherings and promenades; consequently the _toilettes_ are brilliant and of the latest fashion, and, with a slight flight of fancy, one might imagine oneself back at the _Cascade_ or the _Pré Catalan_ in the Bois de Boulogne. In 1893, as it is to-day, the palace of the Governor-General, the residence of the Commander-in-Chief, and the offices of the Headquarter Staff are situated in a portion of the town known as the Concession--a strip of ground fronting the river, about 1 mile long by 700 yards broad. This small territory was conceded to the French in 1882 by the Emperor of Annam, and, together with the Concession at Haïphong, which was occupied a few years previously, it may be said to represent the first foothold of France in Tonquin. The public buildings in the Concession are well built, and are surrounded by fine gardens. The town is provided with a splendid system of surface drainage; it is lighted throughout with electricity, and possesses an adequate water supply, which, however, is the cause of some complaint, owing to the fact that the water is pumped from wells situated in the native quarter of the town and close to the river, from which, it is more than probable, there exists a considerable infiltration.