SOUTH AMERICA. 



S99 



prevailed here, as well as at Rio, of throwing wax- 

 balls filled with water, at people in the street, during 

 three days, at the end or commencement of the carni- 

 val, I do not recollect which. He effected it by a sim- 

 ple appeal through the medium of the newspapers, to 

 their good sense, and their regard for those manners, 

 which distinguish a polite from a barbarous people. 



We continued our walk about two miles beyond 

 the town, but appeared to be no nearer the open fields, 

 being completely enclosed on all sides, by what are 

 here called quintas, which are large gardens of seve- 

 ral acres, with abundance of fruit trees and vegetables. 

 Many of these are owned by the inhabitants of the 

 city, but they chiefly belong to people, who make a 

 living by attending the market. There are very few 

 of those neat dwellings which are seen about our ci- 

 ties; the houses here are chiefly small, and built of 

 very indifferent brick. The grape-vine, however, 

 with which they are fond of adorning their houses, had 

 to me a very pleasing appearance, particularly when 

 loaded with their exquisite fruit. We stepped into 

 one, where our friend was acquainted, and were re- 

 ceived with much politeness and civility by the inhabi- 

 tants; their countenances seeming to brighten up, when 

 told we were Americans of the north. They treated 

 us with fine peaches, pears, grapes, and melons. In- 

 stead of pales, or fences, hedges of the prickly pear 

 are invariably used, which are planted on the mound 

 of earth, thrown up in digging the ditch on the out- 

 side. The soil is like that of our best river bottoms, 

 and its particles are so fine, that the road at this sea- 

 son of the year is intolerably dusty. 



On our way back to town, our friend induced us to 



