274 To the River Plate and Back 



hotel located in the central part of the city, on the Plaza 

 Independencia, and as the sun was scorching and this 

 hotel was located fully half a mile from my bath-tub, 

 I formed an acquaintance with Antonio, the owner 

 of a fiacre and a sound horse, with whom I made a 

 bargain that he would enter into my service, accept- 

 ing wages for the day instead of for the trip, and he 

 became my fidus Achates. He seemed pleased to 

 enter into the arrangement, and I had no occasion 

 during my stay to regret the fact that I had made it. 

 The hotel, to which I resorted for my luncheon, was a 

 low structure, two stories in height, very deep, and 

 traversed through its entire length by a long, narrow 

 patio over which was a glazed roof. At the extreme 

 rear of this cool passageway, nearly two hundred feet 

 long, was the dining-room. On either side of the 

 passageway were offices, and bed-rooms for guests, 

 though most of the guests have their bed-rooms on the 

 second floor, with their doors opening out upon a 

 balcony. The place had a somewhat rusty and antique 

 appearance, but the viands were good and the service 

 was prompt. After luncheon I informed Antonio that 

 I wished to make a round of the city and see the princi- 

 pal sights. We first repaired to the "Casa Historica. ' 

 This is the building in which on the 9th day of July, 

 in the year 1816 the representatives of the Spanish 

 colonies in the southern part of the continent of South 

 America assembled, and where they formulated and 

 adopted their declaration of independence from Spain. 

 The building is about twenty feet wide and sixty feet 

 long, roofed with tiles. The interior forms a single 

 room, floored with rough red tiles about a foot square, 

 somewhat irregularly laid. The walls are whitewashed, 

 and the ceiling, which is built of rough planking, is also 



