"Some of the houses in the village were well built, and raised a yard or so from the ground upon pillars of brick. The interior consists of three or four rooms, and the general appearance of the house is like a Chinese one. There is an ornamental framework carved in wood to support the roof, which is covered with thick tiles, and there is generally a veranda on each side of the door, where the master sleeps in the afternoon and lounges away a great deal of his time. We should call the people lazy if they were in America; but it is the custom of the country to be indolent, and perhaps they are not to blame. Very little will support a man, as he can gather fruit from the trees, and an acre of ground is all that he needs for maintaining a large family. The heat that prevails all the year round does not encourage activity, and a good many foreigners, who are very enterprising when they first come here, become as idle as the natives by the end of their second year in the country." CHAPTER IV. A WONDERFUL TEMPLE.--RUINS OF NAGKON WAT AND ANGKOR. What with sight-seeing, writing letters to friends at home, and filling their note-books with information for future use, the boys had enough to occupy their time during their stay in Saigon. In the course of their studies of the country and its characteristics, they became interested in its ancient history, and were desirous of seeing some of the ruins that remain from the early days of Anam and Cambodia. But as the time at their disposal was too short, and the expense and difficulties of a journey to the interior would be very great, they were obliged to forego the pleasure they would derive from an actual visit to some of the most stupendous ruins in the world. [Illustration: CAMBODIAN FEMALE HEAD-DRESS. ANCIENT SCULPTURE.] But the Doctor came to their relief in a great measure by giving them a full account of the wonders they were unable to contemplate. "It is not generally known," said he, "that Cambodia contains the ruins of a temple that was greater in its time than the very famous one of Thebes in Egypt." Frank and Fred opened their eyes in astonishment, as they had always believed there was nothing in the world that could surpass the Egyptian temples of old. "I will describe them to you," he continued, "and make comparison between the work of the Egyptian builders and those of Cambodia. When I have finished, you will be able to judge which is the more magnificent.