BUENOS AYRES. 



83 



Dr. L , who has long practised here as 



an English physician, has kindly become my 

 cicerone at Buenos Ayres. We went first to 

 the museum, which is indeed a poor affair. 

 It contains very little beyond an imperfect set 

 of electrical instruments, " an alligator stuffed, 

 and other skins of illshaped fishes," and a few 

 birds. Government contributes nothing to its 

 support, and the public do not care a farthing 

 about it; so it must soon go to ruin. 



We went after this to the chamber of de- 

 puties, or sala, where there was a sitting at 

 the time. The building is small, in the form 

 of a theatre, with boxes round it for those who 

 are not members. The deputies sit round an 

 elevated stage, in a semicircle, and the pre- 

 sident sits at a table on the stage. They were 

 discussing how to pay off the national debt by 

 raising a loan ! A long prospectus of the mea- 



