A VOYAGE TO 



not form a pai't of a social meal, nor is any thing eaten 

 with it; it is taken just as inclination prompts, at 

 all times of the day, thoufi;h more generally, in the 

 morning and evening, or after having undergone some 

 bodily fatigue. The decoction possesses, according 

 to them, exhilirating and restorative qualities. As 

 there were not mattes enough for each, I saw them 

 without repugnance, using the same after each other; 

 but I afterwards observed, that this was not the case 

 in the more refined portions of society. The quantities 

 of this herb consumed in the viceroyalty of La Plata, 

 and exported to Chili and Peru, was, at one time, 

 very great; but the interruption of their trade, occa- 

 sioned by the revolution, and the restrictive system 

 adopted by the government of Paraguay, has occa- 

 sioned it to diminish. Its use is said to have been 

 borrowed from the Indians, with whom it had been 

 known time immemorial. It is a large shrub, which 

 grows wild throughout Paraguay, and on the east side 

 of the Parana. Azara gives a description of the 

 manner in which it is prepared for exportation. It is 

 stated never to have been cultivated, and has not been 

 accurately described by botanists.* In speaking of 

 the matte, I cannot refrain from noticing a character 

 whom I observed with some attention; it was Paragua- 

 yoj the cook, who derives his name, as is not unusual I 

 here, from the country of his birth. He is a fair spe- | 

 cimen of the civilized Indians of that country, of the | 

 poorer class. His dress was like that of the other \ 



* Dr. Baldwin and Mr. Bonpland, were both of opinion, that it | 



is a non-descript, and that it is erroneous! j designated psoralia I 



glandulosa. They judge only from description, as the plant is not | 



to be se^ even in the gardens, as a curiosity. [ 



