The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-02-12


/ horse racing has Its 1eyot ecs. ia
f But you cannot remain long In any Of
these places without realizing that the
/ effort to create a fomelike atmosphere
has exi1aused itself tSin. tho aintrod lon
OF 4 few sports and amusernentsi and
4 that in reality the life of tho European
Sini these countries represents not SO much
& the European home transferred to lands
#of perpetual SUNNI or as the & nat tive life
3softened somewhat Y by wiser. II views OF.
sanitation and turned 4 Into Il q \ colorado
limitation OF western socie ty; by the lavish
use Of a few outward trap plngs Of west
ern. utilization. ~ u 81 S$s
White humanity. even on the equator.
$clings fondly TO its silk hats :. and black
evening clothes; and ali N I he excellent
bodily r exercises which the doln S$o OF
our ances tors invented for the PURPOSE OF
Keeping our bodies warm In the lnhospi-
table climates Of Europe are pursued with
grim devotion in those torrid land where,
for the 4 greater part OF the year. the
tying Of a shoelace preclpitates you into
a profound perspiration.
" But TO what l II have said above the
$Frenchn,an presents a striking exception.
Although he. more than any other man..
5embarks upon colonial enterprises With
Ills whole heart and one II eye III on his
own charming country; al though he. less es'
than any other man. desires to spend any
great portion OF his life In q colony, he he
insists that for such time as no / is q
colonist he shall be provided with8all the
! elements OF his home life which mechan--
Heal Ingenuity and extrayagnn Il expendi-
ture chi transport from the mo Their coun-5
try to his local llabitation under#the.
palms. n; HI ls23 i33 li III s1i
Saigon as Little Paris in Asia,
# So tho little Paris in Asia, OF which
Il am going to write, is In q French,
colony, and is. to be precise, Saigon. the
capital OF Cochin, China. one of tho.
political divisions Of French Indo.C China
gI had heard SO much about French
colonial Incompetence and had read so
many books full OF discouraging pictures.
Of French Indo- China that the delightful;
towns OF Saigon ndd cd to al 4 the pleasures
OF Il slife the charms Of the unexpected
Al From the river front. with It's handsome
quuys aud Offices there runs a fine ave-
nue. into the heart of the town. There
one finds several excellent hotels, an
opera house, open air cafes, and the
principal European shops.
4 am taken up to my hotel In q rickshnl
with rubber tires, a luxury one accepts
with gratitude, remembering the horrible
rattle and jolt OF theBrickshas in Slnga-5
pore. Once at the hotel q great surprise
awaits me. had grown SO accustomed
to tho ordinary hotel managers OF the
Orient, who treat their guests as SO many
wild animals and lose no opportunity Of
mu1dng you as uncomfortable as they
can, thatait was positively EN- barrassns
to be received By a. polite ard ooltging
gentleman who Inquired carefully as to!
my exact requirements In the matter OF
a ROOM If preferred large room
there was one on the second floor but
unfortunately 1t faced outward on the
rue Catinat, and might be noisy; perhaps
a somewhat smaller room on the fourth
floor would be better, though there was
the Inconvenience OF climbing the stairs.
Then. as TO meals. by breakfast could
be served In my room if !, wished, but
I would find 1t pleasant to take It III the
shady 9yernnda, Where would enjoy the,
GOODNESS Of the morning, ii y tg .5 eas ID
Whom It came to discussing prices Il
seemed as thought I had discovered q
terrestrial paradise. In Singapore, Ram
COON and Hongkong you pay anywhere
from IS al day to $50, and you are liable
to he turned out Of your room at p Tlo-3l
ment's notice II anyone comes along who,
lis Willing ia pay q dollar a day more
than you are paying. n add tlon. every
thing which can by any possibility be
charged against you is put in the bill,
and ifsyou 90 away for three days or q
week you must pay for your meals. ais,
though you do not set them, gi53
(. NY host OF the Grand Hotel Continental
explained that his price was IS q day.
that this included al bottle of wine q
lunch, another at dinner, and q reason
able amount Of liqueur with my after
dinner coffee n but that q deduction would
he made if / happened to be absent from
meals ard that if Il Wished to pay by
the month a charge OF only "a ~ day
would be made. NJ 81 lFF 4 t@assf
sent off my various let tors Of introd uG-8
ton, ate an excellent breakfas at, Ne and
then sailed forth to see something Of the
n Saigon 1s built on the rec tang liar plan
and most 90 the stree rs are planted wit ~
Nrl