We stayed for eight days at a small village on the banks of the Mississippi, about six miles below St. Louis, and four above Jefferson barracks, called Carondalet, or, en badinage, “vide poche." The inhabitants are nearly all Creole-French, and speak a miserable patois.  The same love of pleasure which, with bravery, characterizes the French people in Europe, also distinguishes their descendants in Carondalet.  Every Saturday night les garcons et les filles meet to dance quadrilles.  The girls dance well, and on these occasions they dress tastefully.  These villagers live well, dress well, and dance well, but have miserable-looking habitations; the house of a Frenchman being always a secondary consideration.  At one of those balls I observed a very pretty girl surrounded by gay young Frenchmen, with whom she was flirting in a style that would not have disgraced a belle from the Faubourg St. Denis, and turning to my neighbour, I asked him who she was; he replied, “Elle s’appelle Louise Constant, monsieur,—­c’est la rose de village.”  Could a peasant of any other nation have expressed himself so prettily, or have been gallant with such a grace?

Accompanied by our landlord, we visited Jefferson barracks.  The officer to whom we had an introduction not being chez-lui at that time, we were introduced to some other officers by our host, who united in his single person the triple capacity of squire, or magistrate, newspaper proprietor, and tavern-keeper.  The officers, as may be expected, are men from every quarter of the Union, whose manners necessarily vary and partake of the character of their several states.

The barracks stand on the bluffs of the Mississippi, and, with the river’s bank, they form a parallelogram—­the buildings are on three sides, and the fourth opens to the river; the descent from the extremity of the area to the water’s edge is planted with trees, and the whole has a picturesque effect.  These buildings have been almost entirely erected by the soldiers, who are compelled to work from morning till night at every kind of laborious employment.  This arrangement has saved the state much money; yet the propriety of employing soldiers altogether in this manner is very questionable.  Desertions are frequent, and the punishment hitherto inflicted for that crime has been flogging; but Jackson declares now that shooting must be resorted to.  The soldiers are obliged to be servilely respectful to the officers, pulling off the undress cap at their approach.  This species of discipline may be pronounced inconsistent with the institutions of the country, yet when we come to consider the materials of which an American regular regiment is composed, we shall find the difficulty of producing order and regularity in such a body much greater than at first view might be apprehended.  In this country any man who wishes to work may employ himself profitably, consequently all those who sell