OF THE PAMPAS. 



Aires there is very little religion at all. At Men- 

 doza there are several people who wish to put down 

 the priests ; still, however, they have evidently con- 

 siderable power. 



Once a year the men and women are called upon 

 to live for nine days in a sort of barrack, which, as 

 a great favour, I was allowed to visit. It is filled 

 with little cells, and the men and women, at differ- 

 ent times, are literally shut up in these holes, 

 to fast and whip themselves. I asked several peo- 

 ple seriously whether this punishment was bond 

 fide performed, and they assured me that most of 

 them whipped themselves till they brought blood. 

 One day, I was talking very earnestly to a person 

 at Mendoza, at the hotel, when a poor-looking monk 

 arrived with a little image surrounded with flowers : 

 this image my friend was obliged to kiss, and the 

 monk then took it to every individual in the hotel — 

 to the landlord, his servants, and even to the black 

 cook, who all kissed it, and then of course paid 

 for the honour. The cook gave the monk two eggs. 



The priests at Mendoza lead a dissolute life; most 

 of them have families, and several live openly with 

 their children. Their principal amusement, however, 



