Argenina and the Argentines. Notes and impressions of a five years' sojourn in the Argentine Republic, 1885-90

Front matter

A PAMPERO AT THE MOUTH OF THE RIO DE LA PLATA. ARGENTINA AND THE ARGENTINES NOTES AND IMPRESSIONS OF A FIVE YEARS' SOJOURN IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, 1885-90 BY THOMAS A. TURNER Honbon SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO. PATERNOSTER SQUARE Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. This volume pretends to be nothing more than its subsidiary title indicates ; namely, a series of " Notes " or sketches of Argentina and the Argen tines, made during a sojourn of nearly six years in Buenos Ayres. Of the imperfections and short comings of the " Notes," no one could be more sensible than the writer of them. Begun hardly in earnest ; without connection, continuity, or defi nite plan ; they may be compared rather to instan taneous photographs taken at haphazard, and which depict alike the natural and the ludicrous, than to elaborate and carefully studied pictures.

In addition to other inconveniences, the writer had the misfortune to lose, during the troublous times following the Revolution of July, 1890, a large collection of shorthand notes relating chiefly to the events of the years 1 886-8 7 — a loss which it was impossible to repair, and which has compelled him to trust to his memory for some of the particulars related in the book ; and although pains have been taken to verify, as far as was possible at this distance of time and place, the particulars referred to, it is not improb able that some inaccuracies of detail may have crept into the descriptions, and equally possible that the "Notes" which have been perforce omitted might have been found more interesting and instructive than those which are now given. Except where it was absolutely necessary to give INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. figures to prove statements, dry statistics of dimen sions and quantities have been avoided.

Argen tine statistics are seldom trustworthy and usually over-coloured. The only figures upon which reli ance can be placed are those relating to areas and boundaries given in Senor Latzina's " Geografia de la Republica Argentina." In that work, and in Mulhall's "Handbook to the River Plate" the reader may find all that he can wish to know re garding the physical features and political organization of the Argentine Republic. What has been aimed at in the " Notes " is to supply the shading to those outlines ; to clothe the dry bones with flesh and colour ; to describe the people rather than the land. It would be an insignificant country indeed a complete description of which — historical, economical, geographical — could be compressed within the compass of a single volume. Some English journals appear to consider Argentina so insignificant that a complete description of her may be given in a few flippant paragraphs, or at least squeezed into an ordinary magazine article.

Chapter I

The Start from Southampton. — Old Tubs. — Direct Route to the River Plate the Best. — Wanted an M.C. — English Frigidity Outlasts the Tropics. — From the New World to the New World via the Old World. — Madeira. — Divers, Beggars, and other Parasites. — The Island by Moonlight. — Eighteen Days' Ocean-ploughing. — The Passengers. — Daily Life on Board. — First Sight of South America. — Arrival at Montevideo

Chapter II

Dreary Approach to Buenos Ayres. — Landing in Instalments. — "The Wise Man Stays at Home." — Laundries ad nauseam. — The Argentine Capital. — Recent Improvements. — The Avenida de Mayo. — A Mad Project. — Private Dwellings. — Altos and Bajos ; their Inconveniences and Peculiarities. — Flat-roofed Houses. — The Boca. — Conventillos. — Black Holes ... 13

Chapter III

Mistaken Views of Buenos Ayres. — Its Superficial Civilization no Criterion of the Condition of the People and Country at Large. — Life in a Native Family. — Domestic Habits and Manners of the Argentines. — An Octogenarian General. — Staple Topic of Discourse. — Politics the Curse of the Country. — The Press. — The Prensa. — The Nacion. — General Mitre. — Foreign Newspapers. — The Standard Weather-vane ... 29

Chapter IV

Educational Facilities. — Linguistic Advantages of Buenos Ayres. — Lack of Moral Training in the Educational System. — Compadres. — Behaviour towards Women in Public. — Flattery Cause of Shallowness of Native Character. — Precocity of Argentine Boys. — Temperance amongst Natives. — British " Dead-beats " . X

Chapter V. Page

Argentine Police. — Semi-military Gendarmerie. — The Force Hated and Despised. — Retaliation of the Populace for Past Cruelties. — The Vijilante an Animated Ninepin. — A Free Fight. — Muscle and Pluck versus Cold Steel and Numbers. — An Inhuman Custom. — Pilfering from the Quick and the Dead. — Recent Changes in the Force. — Results thereof ..... 47

Chapter VI

Anglo- Argentine Society. — Anglo-Portefios. — British Institutions in the Plate. — The English Literary Society. — Argentine Legal System. — More Law than Justice. — Stamped Paper ad absurdum. — Counsel's Opinion Gratis. — The Species Abogado. — Matriculation of Merchants. — Vexations and Impediments . . .58

Chapter VII

Concessions and Concession-hunters. — Revival of the Times of John Law. — The Great Vaca Lechera. — Modus operandi of Securing a Concession. — Palm-grease and Palms. — An Espediente. — The Government Assessor. — A Model Argentine Official. — To Obtain an Object, Pander. — A Juicio Verbal. — A Journey into the Interior. — A Provincial Municipality. — His Worship the Intendente. — The Waiting Time the Hardest Time of All. — Depositing the Guarantee. — The Government Scrivener. — The Executive. — Hieroglyphs Galore. — Golden Dreams -67

Chapter VIII

Terrible Infantile Mortality in Buenos Ayres. — Facts and Figures. — Argentine Babies won't Thrive on the Bottle. — Amas de Leche. — The Baby's Host of Enemies. — The Athens of South America Built on a Cesspool. — Comparative Statistics of Infectio-contagious Diseases. — Illegitimacy. — Its Causes. — Morti-natality. — Faiseuses d'anges. — Parteras and their PAGE 106 Signboards. — An Idyll in Paint. — Domestic Servants Hard to Capture. — Chinos. — Extravagance of the Argentines in the Matter of Domestics. — All Sorts and Conditions of Hirelings. — The Demon Butcher's Boy. — The Sort of Thing British Housekeepers have to Put up with. — Hawkers and Hawking. — Temper-destroying Customs ....... 89

Chapter IX

Argentine Women. — Portrait of an Argentine Girl — Silver-tongued Sirens. — A Good Voice Rare. — Virtue of the Argentinas Irreproachable. — Venus' Gifts to the Argentinas. — M. Marcoy's Description of Spanish- American Women. — Married Ladies and their Manners. — Argentine Men. — Born Dandies. — Imitators of all that is Showy. — Patriotism and Amor Propio Ruin the Country. — The Argentine's Disdain of Labour. — Dominant Characteristic of the Race. — Old Children. — Buenos Ayres in Advance of London. — Luxury and Extravagance. — Everything Borrowed or Stolen from the Foreigner. — A Happy-go-lucky People. — The Gambling Instinct. — Mar del Plata. — A Model Mayor

Chapter X

Marriage Amongst the Argentines. — The Native Race Dwindling. — Table of Marriages. — The Argentine not a Marrying Man. — The Country Swamped by Italians. — The Native's Patent of Existence. — The Coming Race of Argentines. — Mental Capacity of the Italian Settlers very Low. — Petty Trade of the Country in the Hands of the Italians. — British Influence in the Argentine. — One Law for the Native and Another for the Foreigner . . . . . . . .119

Chapter XI

The Professions. — Politics by Far the Best-paying. — The Law. — Journalism. — Argentine Doctors. — " Camp " Leeches and Butchers. — Professional Etiquette ad absurdum. — The Despachante de Aduana. — A Lucrative Profession. — The Argentine Auctioneer. — His Hyperbole and Superlatives. — Two Advertisements. — A TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Modern Scadder. — A Suburban Remote. — The Granja Nacional. — The Tricks of the Rematador. — The Tasador, or Valuer. — An " Oriental " Tasador and his Career. — The "Camp" Schoolmaster. — Poor Devil. — Argentines great Smokers. — Annual Consumption of Tobacco and Cigars. — Smoking in Public Offices. — "Cigars for the Directors." — "No Business without Smoke." — Cigarettes and Pumpkin are Loadstones to the Settler 127

Chapter XII

The Argentine Champs Elysees. — Vanity Fair. — Palermo by Night. — The Recoleta. — The Suburbs of Buenos Ayres. — Adrogue. — The Tigre. — A Dismal Swamp. — First Visit to the Tigre ; we Walk from the Station and Wade back. — The Fruit Islands of the Tigre. — " Old Scott." — A Modern Crusoe. — Life in the Suburbs. — General Features of a Pueblo. — Pleasures of a Moonlight Ride. — " Camp-folk " ; their extraordinary Power of Vision. — The Campesino. — An Adventure with the gauchos of the Chaco . . . . . .141

Chapter XIII

La Plata, Capital of the Province of Buenos Ayres. — An Enchanted City. — The Provincial Tribunals. — The Ministry of Public Works, etc. — The Lights of La Plata. — Cost and Raison d'etre of the Capital of the Province. — Jealousy between Federals and Provincials. — La Plata a huge Joke. — Attempts to Coerce Population. — Exotic Conditions of Existence. — Majority of the Population Foreigners. — The Moths and the Candles. — The La Plata Port. — Compulsory Patronage . . . . . . . . .164

Chapter XIV

Argentine Railways. — The Great Southern. — One Common Terminus for the Rosario, Pacific, Ensenada, Central Argentine, Northern, and Western Railways. — Gold Tariffs. — No Third Class. — Rate of Travelling. — Goods Traffic. — An Artful Dodge. — Native Management. — Actual Condition of Some of the Permanent PAGE 171 18S Ways — Humours of Railway Travelling. — The Frag rant Camp. — " Bad for the Coo." — Beguilements on the Ensenada. — The Lottery Ticket Seller. — The Vendor of "Blue-books." — The Demon Fiddle- Scraper. — The Novelty Man. — While a Train Fetches Wind we Take a Stroll on the Line and Pluck Wayside Flowers. — Buenos Ayres the City of Tramways. — Comparison of British and Argentine Tramway Traffic. — "Camp" Trams. — Low Cost of Motive Power — Bone-shakers. — Human Flies. — If in a Hurry, Eschew the Trams. — How the Law Treats Conductors and Drivers. — Pleasant Suburban Rides .

Chapter XV

The Argentine Army. — Aliens Liable to be Pressed. — The Argentine Soldier. — An Army of Pigmies. — Dingy Uniforms. — Effects of Drill. — The Soldier's Life a Dog's Life. — Cruelty of the Officers. — Fighting Qualities of the Soldier. — His only Guerdon. — Martial Music ; Noise, not Melody. — Camp Followers ; their Abodes and Ways. — The Lowest of God's Creatures. — The Theatres of Buenos Ayres. — Two Payments before One can See a Play. — Amusements of Buenos Ayres. — Pelota. — Club de Gymnasia y Esgrima. — Holidays a Nuisance. — Enervating Climatic Influences. — National Fetes. — Popular Enthusiasm. — Fireworks while the Sun Shines. — The Races. — Diversions in the Camp. — The Pulperia. — Gaucho Races. — Carnival in Buenos Ayres. — Stupid Tomfoolery. — A Scrimmage with the Mummers. — A Fatal Incident. — Pomitos .

Chapter XVI

The Hotels of Buenos Ayres. — Better Hotels in the Provinces than in the Capital. — The Provence. — The Grand.— The Paix.— The Frascati and the Roma.— - Casas Amuebladas, or Lodging-Houses. — The Deux Mondes. — Necessary Sanitary Precautions. — Disinfectants Galore. — Restaurants of Buenos Ayres. — The Georges Mercier.— The Bodega.— Waiters and their Humours. — Pensionistas. — Two Hours in a Pension. — The Humours of the Feeding Man.— How we Gorge TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE in Buenos Ayres. — Queer Names. — The Bolsa. — The Standard will Make you Famous. — Babel not in it with the Bolsa. — Pandemonium .... 205

Chapter XVII

Physical Features of Argentina. — The North Wind and Suicide. — The Province of Buenos Ayres. — Climate. — Storms and Droughts. — The Pampero. — Its Terrible Power. — Effects of a Pampero on Land ; in the Camp. — The Markets of Buenos Ayres. — Humours of the Crowd. — To learn Spanish, go to the Market-place. — Hyper-independence of Stall-keepers. — Bags of Mystery. — Qiieserias. — Only one Kind of Fish in the Country. — A Neglected Industry . . .220

Chapter XVIII

Argentine Politics. — A Cancer in the National Organism. — The Constitution Shaped from Many Models. — Government of the Provinces. — The Chambers. — The Executive. — Political Freedom a Myth. — Provincial and Federal Antagonism. — How the System Works. — Political Sects. — Literary Legislators. — Manufacture of Official Documents. — 3,700 of my Signatures Embalmed. — Present Political Aspect of the Country. — Rise and Progress of the Union Civica. — The National Autonomist Party. — The Great Unicato. — Mission of the Press. — Apathy and Cowardice of the Masses. — The Dawn of Political Emancipation. — The Champion of the Cause. — How he is Treated. — Effects of the First Public Indignation Meeting. — Overthrow of the Ministry. — A Sop to Cerberus. — The Loan. — Resignation of Dr. Uriburu and Appointment of a Successor. — Government apparently Stronger than Ever. — Defection in the Military Ranks. — Inception of the July Revolution ...... 233

Chapter XIX

The Civic Union after the Fall of Celman. — The Rosario Convention. — The Presidential Elections. — The Vice- Presidency a Stumbling-block. — Adoption of the Formula, Mitre-Irigoyen. — Seeds of Dissension. — The PAGE 2S3 275 Native's Hunger for Notoriety. — Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth. — La Politica a Bauble. — Sample of a Political Meeting. — Disorderly Schoolboys. — Thin End of the Wedge. — Dignity before all Things. — Com motion in the Provinces. — A Rupture Inevitable. — The Fat in the Fire. — The Split. — Actual Political Outlook in Argentina. — Assured Triumph of the Roquistas. — Retrospect of the Pellegrini Interregnum. — Confusion Worse Confounded. — Starvation amongst the Masses. — The Salvation Army to the Rescue. — A Cowardly Government. — Jails Filled with Petty Thieves while Public Robbers Lord it o'er All.— The State Banks Swept Away. — Worse than the Worst Days of Celman. — Apostasy of the Government. — Future Prospects .......

Chapter XX

Notes on the Financial Crisis. — Political Complications.— Argentina's Enormous Borrowings. — The Ever-watchful Times. — Blowing of the Bubble. — The State Paperhanger. — Dr. Pacheco. — Rufino Varela. — Mushroom Banks of Issue. — The Free Banking Law, the Rock upon which Argentina made Shipwreck. — Devices for Evading the Law. — The Banco Buenos Ayres. — Effects of the Creation of Paper-mills. — Guaranteed Paper by the Square League. — First Impressions of Paper Money. — The Men with the Muck-rake.— Fortune within the Reach of All. — The Paris Exhibition as a Factor in the Development of the Crisis. — Results of a Costly Propaganda. — Inflation of the Balloon. — The First Prick in the Bubble. — National Bank Shares. — Dispersion of the Gold Reserves. — Effects of the Heresy. — Celman only a Tool. — Protean Roca. — Character of Juarez Cctman. — A Crisis of Progress

Chapter XXI

The Meek Races of South America. — The Argentines Individually and Collectively. — Disquieting Intelligence. — Key to the Mystery. — The Revolution Bungled. — Want of Unity amongst the Insurgents, Cause of Failure. — Who was to Blame ? — The Populace Revolts against TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE 340 353 359 366 the Revolters. — Surrender without a Struggle. — Behaviour of the Squadron. — Argentines Excellent Shots.— The Native's Method of Fighting.— The Union Civica Bows its Head. — A Secret Understanding with the Enemy.— End of the Farce ; the Curtain Rises on the Drama. — Victory of the People. — Popular Frenzy. — Ya se sue el Burro. — A Well-behaved Crowd. — Gain and Loss of the Revolution. — Dr. Lopez. — The Twelve Labours of Hercules .....•• 296

Chapter XXII

The Ruined Spendthrift. — An Iniquitous Scheme of Taxation. — Presidential Confessions. — One Thousand Millions of Dollars Gone in Luxuries and Pleasure. — How Great Thieves are Punished in Argentina. — Two " Object Lessons." — Sale of the Buenos Ayres Western Railway. — Unlawful Disposal of the Proceeds. — Descuentos. — Good Business. — The National Bank. — Its History without a Parallel. — Report of the Directors. — Scandalous Disclosures. — A Fair Specimen of Argentine Administration. — National Bank Shares. — Se Clavaron, /os Ingleses. — Balance-Sheet of the Bank. — Shareholders like Frightened Sheep. — What is the Argentine ? — A Turn-coat Minister . . .318

Chapter XXIII

Conclusions. — The Argentine Crisis Unique. — The Industrial Classes the Scapegoats. — The Argentine's Hallucination. — Patriotism a mere Term. — The Tide of Immigration will never Turn till there is a European Administration. — Let the Argentine Go Back to the Plains. — Proposed Panaceas. — International Intervention. — An Impossible Solution. — Real Remedies APPENDICES. A. Proclamation of the Revolutionary Junta B. Biographical Notices — General Mitre. Dr. Irigoyen. President Pellegrini C. Glossary of Spanish Words and Phrases . NOTES AND IMPRESSIONS OF A FIVE YEARS' SOJOURN IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, 1885-90.

Chapter I

The Start from Southampton. — Old Tubs. — Direct Route to the River Plate the best. — Wanted an M.C. — English Frigidity outlasts the Tropics. — From the New World to the New World via the Old World. — Madeira. — Divers, Beggars, and other Parasites. — The Island by Moonlight. — Eighteen Days' Ocean-ploughing. — The Passengers. — Daily Life on Board. — First Sight of South America. — Arrival at Montevideo. " The better the day, the better the deed," saith the homely saw ; and of a surety no better day could have been desired than Sunday, August 16th, 1885. The early autumn sun, veiled by that golden haze which usually betokens fine weather, was just gildng hill and treetop, and scattering the mists of night as, filled with the excitement of an approaching departure, I sprang from my bed, and lifting the blind anxiously scanned the sky for the promise of the day.

Through the beautiful valley of the Thames from Richmond westward the river wound its sinuous course, looking in the rising sunlight B like a band of gold winding snakelike amongst the sombre foliage and the verdant meadows. On such a day my brother and I were to begin our voyage over a third part of the globe ; from such a scene, soft and homely, we were to tear our selves away for years. Yet with our natural regret was mingled much of that quiet peaceful joy with which an English landscape seen on a fine morning often inspires the susceptible heart. "Well," I exclaimed, as my brother joined me at the window, " if one were disposed to believe in such things, he might regard such a morning as this as a most auspicious omen." " Yes," assented my brother ; "but thanks to our superior enlightenment, an omen is not regarded in these days of scientific research as an article of faith, unless indeed it happen to be preceded by a ' w,' and then it becomes a gallant thing to swear by."

We had looked forward to this day with mixed feelings through more than a month of busy preparation. The approaching voyage was to do great things for me — a confirmed dyspeptic. It was to compensate for much anxiety which my friends had suffered on account of the state of my health ; to restore the colour to my cheeks and renew my energies. So that, after our last adieus were said and each familiar object lingeringly and lovingly parted from, and we were fairly on our way, the pleasurable excitement of expectant novelty already began to act like a charm on our spirits. At Southampton our specially chartered carriao-es were, with much asthmatic puffing from the little DIRECT ROUTE THE BEST. 3 pilot engine which took them in tow, run alongside the ship which was to be our home for the best part of the next month ; and our luggage being at length safely hauled aboard and stowed away in hold or cabin, time offered for the usual curious inspection of new quarters.

The English steamers that ply between Europe and South America are much below the average North American " liner," both for speed and comfort. Some of them, indeed, are veritable " old tubs." But their commanders are, without exception, so far as our observation extends, men of long experience and renowed courtesy — very dif ferent men from the surly and sometimes incom petent skippers one meets on the German vessels. We had chosen the direct route to the River Plate on account of its immunity from the discom forts and restrictions of quarantine. Where there is no special purpose to be served, it is best to avoid the Brazilian ports on the outward journey ; for the Latin races of South America have such amazingly queer notions about quarantine ; imposing it, for example, on a whole ship upon grounds so frivolous and unreasonable as the breaking of a sailor's collar bone.

(A fact.) Some delay in the final shipment of provender and stores detained us nearly five hours beyond the advertised time of departure ; but at length the Hevelius cast off her moorings and followed the lead of a snorting tug which, after conducting us into the deep waters of the Channel, presently shipped her tow-line and abandoned us to our fate. It was now 6.30 p.m., and though the dinner-bell had long since rung, we remained on deck watching the twilight shadows deepen over the west, and straining our eyes with affectionate eagerness to catch the last glimpses of the dim white cliffs and receding coast line of England : and the last sound borne across the peaceful waters was the tintinabulation of the Sabbath bells. In the gloaming we passed the Needles, looming grim and spectral against the sky ; and then the stars brightened and the yellow moon rose over the widening sea.

The next two or three days were occupied chiefly in the usual ice-breaking approaches between the passengers whom chance had thrown together. It is, we think, to be regretted that to the easy duties of the chief steward cannot be added the office of Master of the Ceremonies ; so that he might be privileged to introduce passengers to each other — at least by name. It would be the saving of much awkwardness and many ludicrous mistakes, and not only add considerably to the sociability of the com pany, but perhaps lead to the formation of more friendships than is now possible. It is a strikingly peculiar circumstance that English travellers to and from South America, more than anywhere else that we have travelled, maintain their characteristic reserve to the verge even of incivility. Indeed, we have known in not a few cases the ice of their taciturnity not only outlast the heat of the tropics, but endure beyond the Land of Fire.

Amongst our company was a Canadian gentleman who had journeyed without a break from Manitoba to New York ; thence to Liverpool, whence, arriving only the night prior to our departure from Southampton, he had joined us at the last moment MADEIRA, ITS BEAUTIES AND BEGGARS. 5 and was now bound for Argentina. It seems anomalous and reflects small credit on the boasted enterprise of our American cousins, that at the present time the quickest route from one distant part of the New World to another should be via the Old World ; yet such is the case. On Friday, the fifth day of our voyage, we sighted Madeira, which was the only port of call between England and the Plate. Madeira is a veritable poet's dreamland ; a beautiful, sleepy isle of the sea, with a clime of the sunny south that year in year out varies little, and where rain falls but seldom.

Its luxuriant vegetation is nourished by the dew-laden clouds, which by day hover over the heights, and by night descend to cover the earth with their fertilising moisture. From the anchorage in the Bay of Funchal the island presents a most enchanting view, its appearance resembling that of a vast vineyard spread out before the rising sun and sloping steeply from the pebbly beach to the cloud-capt hills. The sombre aspect of the foliage is relieved by the vivid freshness of the buildings which, with their white, yellow, or light-blue walls, red roofs and green shutters, peep out with fantastic irregularity from amidst the banana, the palm and the vine. Our heaving-to was the signal for a whole fleet of boats to put off from the shore, manned by that motley crowd of human parasites which never fails to make its appearance on the arrival of a ship at any foreign port, and which seems to subsist by badgering and black-mailing in one way or another the ship, the baggage, and the passengers.

Itinerant vendors of island fruits, basket and straw-work ; swart boatmen in every variety of costume and of every shade of ugliness, with eyes, mustaches and daggers of equal ferocity ; swaggering customs officers in uniforms of white, black and gold ; fierce looking sailors ; boat-loads of boy divers, whose orangecoloured bodies — nude save for the merest flimsy of a covering — eyes like sloes and hair like matted hemp, offered a striking contrast in the dazzling sunlight to the blue waters of the bay ; snorting tugs, lumbering coal-barges and light skiffs ; — surrounded, hailed and grappled us as soon as we had dropped anchor. The antics of the divers were most amusing. Their agility and dexterity in diving for silver coins, artfully thrown edgewise so as to baffle the eye in following their zig-zag course through the water, are astonishing.

Occasionally the chase grows ex citing as two or three of the lads are seen struggling at a depth which makes their yellow bodies look green to obtain possession of a shilling. And then a perfect babel of acclamation greets the winner as, cleavingthe water like a fish, he rises to the surface and triumphantly exhibits the captive coin. We counted between thirty and forty of these boys ; and amongst them they must have accumulated a very respectable pile of silver. After the customary preliminaries we were per mitted to go ashore, and presently landed amidst a motley throng of beggars and idlers who tailed after us up the narrow", irregular and precipitous streets, whither we roved in search of further novelties. The steepy ways, paved with smooth THE STAI'LE INDUSTRY OF MADEIRA. 7 grey pebbles laid edgewise and wrought into all manner of mosaic devices, are by no means easy to walk on.

The constant traffic of the log-sledges (the only kind of vehicle we saw) has worn them as smooth as glass ; so that it is difficult to secure a foothold. It is pleasant to observe the skill with which these logs are shot down the hills and guided round corners by drivers armed with long poles. The staple industry of the island would seem to be begging. The visitor is quite bewildered by the numbers of mendicants of all ages and of all degrees of wretchedness. Let the artist who is in want of a lean, ill-favoured model of human dilapidation, go to Madeira. He will find no lack of choice. The whining impudence of the beggars is appalling. They have a trick of springing out upon you from unsuspected corners and in lonely byways, and a power of conjuring into existence in places to all seeming void of life some awful human wreck, which, like the hired babies of the London street singers, they use as a lever to stir your charitable emotions.

Begging must be a flourishing profes sion in Madeira, judging by the number of its votaries. We inspected the Government buildings, such as they are — great barns of places, full of long, dark passages and dreary corridors, along which our footsteps echoed dismally. There is an air of sad depression about them, as though they mourned over the memories of long-past greatness and glory. We were glad to be quit of their gloomy precincts and hastened into the genial sunshine. We visited several vineyards and the convent, as well as a few of the beautiful quintas ; but we shall not dwell upon what has been so well described elsewhere. We had also time to visit the quaint market and admire the shrivelled hags, with skins like turtles squatting on their hams under the shade of enormous hats, vending fruits and flowers, birds, animals and basketware ; and then we returned to the ship laden with the spoils of the vineyard and the market, and charmed with our day's diversion.

If by day, Madeira, with its beautiful bay, its cloud-crowned hills, picturesque houses, and gor geous vegetation, affords a splendid view ; by night, in the witching glamour of the moonlight, its appearance is surpassingly lovely. On the night of which we write the smooth waters of the bay lay like a vast mirror, darkened by the huge, deep sinking shadows of the vessels riding at anchor. As daylight faded into night, lamps were hung out in stem and stern, or danced from point to point of the floating craft ; and the stars shone with a brilliancy quite new to us. Our own ship was sur rounded by coal barges ; and the hoarse shouts of the haulers and sailors, their grimed and torch-lit features ; the tiny booths on deck, illumined by flickering lanterns and tended by lean and gaunt islanders ; the hum of voices, and the ring of merry laughter on ship and shore ; the distant wash of the surf, the rolling of the winches, the strains of music now and then heard amidst the din ; the lofty Currol in the background, dotted with twinkling yellow lights and full of weird shadows and silvered crags : all combined to form a scene as animated THE LIFE ON BOARD. 9 and bewitching as we could ever wish to behold.