ars and a quarter the garafon! I find
myself suddenly whirled round by one of my uninvited visitors. I would
not have selected such a partner, but I have no choice. Smoke is said to
be a disinfectant; so I smoke as I dance. For the closeness of the
atmosphere, and the muskiness of mulatto girls, are not congenial to
one's olfactory and respiratory organs. At last the final drop of
aguardiente is drained, the music ceases, and my friends, and my
friends' friends, and the strangers that were without my gate, take
their not unwelcome departure.

This has been a warning, which, as I live, I'll profit by. I
extemporise and assume a home-made disguise. A strange sensation of
guilt, of going to do something wrong, comes over me and makes me quake
from the top of my extemporised turban to the sole of my sandal
slippers. Whither shall I wander, forlorn pantomimist that I am? I
loiter about the least frequented neighbourhoods, until the shades of
eve--which in this climate come with a rush--have fallen, and then I mix
fearlessly with the throng, among whom I am but as a drop in a Black
Sea. In my peregrinations I meet a company of negro masqueraders, who,
without the least ceremony, are entering the private dwelling of an
opulent Don. The illustrious family are tranquilly seated in the elegant
sala; but what care their visitors? It is carnival time and they, serfs
of that same house, are licensed to bring themselves and their friends.
They bear between them a painted screen, which they unfold and plant in
the middle of the saloon. It forms a theatrical proscenium on a small
scale. An orchestra of tambours, tin-trays, and nutmeg-grating gueiros
opens the performances, and then the actors proceed to saw the air. They
perform this operation in turn, by reason of the limited proportions of
their stage; and one very tall negro, who appears to have been
altogether omitted in the carpenter's calculations, has to speak his
speech behind the top drop. He speaks it trippingly too; for in the
middle of a most exciting monologue, he upsets the whole paraphernalia
and himself into the bargain. The entertainment, including refreshments,
has lasted some fifteen minutes, when the itinerant troupe (who derive
no benefit from their labours save what honour and self-enjoyment yield)
pick up their portable proscenium and walk away.

By far the gayest region of the city during a carnival is the spacious
square called the Plaza de Armas. Here are the