178 RIO PARANA, 



lish, but stoutly maintained that the battle of Tra- 

 falgar was merely won by the Spanish captains 

 having been all bought over; and that the only 

 really gallant action on either side was perfoz'med 

 by the Spanish admiral. It struck me as rather 

 characteristic, that this man should prefer his coun- 

 trymen being thought the worst of traitors, rather 

 than unskilful or cowardly. 



IStJi cuid 19th. — We continued slowly to sail 

 down the noble stream : the current helped us but 

 little. We met, during our descent, very few ves- 

 sels. One of the best gifts of nature, in so grand 

 a channel of communication, seems here wilfully 

 thrown away — a river in which ships might navi- 

 gate from a temperate country, as suiiirisingly 

 abundant in certain productions as destitute of oth- 

 ers, to another possessing a tropical climate, and a 

 soil which, according to the best of judges, M. Bon- 

 pland, is perhaps unequalled in fertility in any part 

 of the world. How different would have been the 

 aspect of this river if English colonists had, by good 

 fortune, first sailed up the Plata ! What noble 

 towns would now have occupied its shores ! Till 

 the death of Francia, the Dictator of Paraguay, 

 these two countries must remain distinct, as if 

 placed on opposite sides of the globe. And when 

 the old bloody-minded tyrant is gone to his long 

 account, Paraguay will be torn by revolutions, vi- 

 olent in proportion to the previous unnatural calm. 

 That country will have to learn, like eveiy other 

 South American state, that a republic cannot suc- 

 ceed till it contains a certain body of men imbued 

 with the principles of justice and honour. 



October 20th. — Being arrived at the mouth of the 

 Parana, and as I was very anxious to reach Buenos 

 Ayres, I went on shore at Las Conchas, with the 

 intention of riding there. Upon landing, I found, 



