Page:Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay (1870).djvu/139



MONTE VIDEO. 109

of small blemishes, is invaluable to the tourist, and is owed principally to the energy and industry of Mr. M. Mulhall, who has, I trust, escaped the ruin with which his brother declared it threatened them. It has already enabled a cer- tain traveller, who came out by one mail and went home by the next, to produce a book about Argentine-cum- Oriental land. The third edition* will doubtless justify authors in writing without the trouble of leaving their firesides. Finally, the work amply deserves from the native Government that patronage which as yet they have not dealt to it. I shall often cite it with a view of " differinsr in opinion.^^ Such, in fact, is the main use of guide- books.

A single walk through the place suffices : one palazzo at Rome or Naples contains, I believe, far more of art than the combined treasures of South America. The cathedral, dedicated to the Purisima, and to the two patron saints, is grotesque outside and inside, plain to ugliness. It fronts the main square, a poor small place of recreation, at times crowded ; in a street behind it, a house of moderate size combines Post-office with National Library and Museum ; and in face, a tall flagstaff and a quaint sentry-box, like an office tent in wood, denote the Representacion Nacional â€” the Chambers. Further on to the right rises the Solis Theatre, a heavy, sturdy mass of masonry, in which Mr. M. M. detects an '^ aerial appearance." Below it lies the grand new market, ready to be opened, and far too grand for the place ; lower still the British " templum,"^ very aggressive, hideous, and Protestant. At the top of the Calle Sarandi, and soon to be swept away, stands the solid Spanish citadel, lately a market, and till 1840 the

second is in two, 12001'; and the third will be in four â€” say 3500 pages.
 * The first edition, in 1863, was of one volume and 300 pages ; the