fine farms--through open woodlands, which have much the appearance
of domains--and across large tracts of sumach, the leaves of which at this
season are no longer green, but have assumed a rich crimson hue. The
Indians use these leaves as provision for the pipe.

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