a disquietude which I could not account for. Suddenly we felt a violent shock, immediately followed by a second, and then the vessel remained stationary. Every one cried out in alarm; the sailors rushed forward; in a moment the sail was furled and torches lighted, but, sad to say, one of our number did not answer to his name. One of the young boys, who had been asleep on deck, had been thrown into the sea by the shock. Uselessly we looked for the poor lad, whose body doubtless became the prey of the sharks. Fortunately for us, only one side of the boat had touched the rock, and it had then run aground on the sand; so that after getting it off we were able to anchor not far from the shore. [Illustration: Drawn by M. Sabatier, from a Sketch by M. Mouhot PORT OF CHANTABOUN.] THE LION ROCK. On the 3rd January, 1859, after having crossed the little gulf of Chantaboun, the sea being at the time very rough, we came in sight of the famous Lion rock, which stands out like the extremity of a cape at the entrance of this port. From a distance it resembles a lion couchant, and it is difficult to believe that Nature unassisted has formed this singular Colossus. The Siamese--a superstitious race--hold this stone in great veneration, as they do everything that appears to them extraordinary or marvellous. It is said that the captain of an English ship, once anchored in the port, seeing the lion, proposed to buy it, and that, on the governor of the place refusing the offer, he pitilessly fired all his guns at _the poor animal_. This has been recorded in Siamese verse, with a touching complaint against the cruelty of the Western barbarians. [Illustration: Drawn by M. Sabatier, from a Sketch by M Mouhot. THE LION ROCK AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PORT OF CHANTABOUN.] CHAPTER IV. CHANTABOUN--ITS PRODUCTS AND COMMERCE--APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY--THE ISLES OF KO-MAN--ISLES OF PATATES--THE ISLAND OF KO KRAM--PAKNAM VEN--MANNER IN WHICH THE APES PLAY WITH THE CROCODILES. On the 4th January, at eight o’clock in the morning, we arrived at the town of Chantaboun, which stands on the bank of the river, six or seven miles from the mountain range. The Christian Annamites form nearly a third of the population, the remainder being composed of Chinese merchants, and some heathen Annamites and Siamese. The Annamites are all fishers, who originally came from Cochin China to fish in the northern part of the Gulf of Siam, and settled at Chantaboun. Every day, while the cold weather lasts and the sea is not too rough, they cast their nets in the little bays on the coast, or in the sheltered water among the islands. EAGLE-WOOD.