unfortunately, it was Lent during my visit, when all public amusements are prohibited.  The people themselves, however, were not so particular, and were only too ready, for a few reaux, to go through the Sammaquecca and Refolosa—­the national dances of the country.  I had soon seen sufficient; the gestures and movements of the dancers were beyond all description unbecoming, and I could but pity the children, whose natural modesty cannot fail to be nipped in the bud by witnessing the performance of these dances.

I was equally displeased with a remarkable custom prevalent here, in accordance with which the death of a little child is celebrated by its parents as a grand festival.  They name the deceased child an angelito, (little angel), and adorn it in every possible way.  Its eyes are not closed, but, on the contrary, opened as wide as possible, and its cheeks are painted red; it is then dressed out in the finest clothes, crowned with flowers, and placed in a little chair in a kind of niche, which also is ornamented with flowers.  The relations and neighbours then come and wish the parents joy at possessing such an angel; and, during the first night, the parents, relations, and friends execute the wildest dances, and feast in the most joyous fashion before the angelito.  I heard that in the country it was not unusual for the parents to carry the little coffin to the churchyard themselves, followed by the relations with the brandy bottle in their hands, and giving vent to their joy in the most outrageous manner.

A merchant told me that one of his friends, who holds a judicial appointment, had, a short time previous, been called to decide a curious case.  A grave-digger was carrying one of these deceased angels to the churchyard, when he stept into a tavern to take a dram.  The landlord inquired what he had got under his poncho, and on learning that it was an angelito, offered him two reaux for it.  The gravedigger consented; the landlord quickly arranged a niche with flowers in the drinking-room, and then hastened to inform the whole neighbourhood what a treasure he had got.  They all came, admired the little angel, and drank and feasted in its honour.  But the parents also soon heard of it, hurried down to the tavern, took away their child, and had the landlord brought before the magistrate.  On hearing the case, the latter could scarcely restrain from laughing, but arranged the matter amicably, as such a crime was not mentioned in the statute book.

The manner in which patients are conveyed to the hospital here is very remarkable.  They are placed upon a simple wooden armchair, with one band fastened in front of them to prevent their falling off, and another beneath for them to place their feet on—­a most horrible sight when the sick person is so weak that he can no longer hold himself in an upright posture.