next to no English people, he would probably only go about once or twice
a year. Church Sunday is quite an event, and again gives one an
opportunity of meeting friends from a distance. The parson is very
lenient with us as a rule, and does not object to any form of amusement
in the afternoon, such as polo, tennis, cricket, football, or golf, and
encourages the young men to come to _Church_ (usually a room hired for
the occasion) in costumes suitable for such. Our poor Camp Chaplain does
not have an easy time; distances are so great that more than half his
time is spent on the train.

[Illustration: _Carnival at Vera_.]

CARNIVAL IN THE ARGENTINE.

Carnival falls every year during the week before the beginning of Lent.
It is a general holiday, and much fun and amusement are crammed into the
few days which precede the dull season of fasting.

Carnival is more observed in camp towns than in the bigger cities, where
the custom of celebrating it is very much on the wane, and where the law
forbids water-throwing and other such damp forms of amusement, which are
winked at by the more lenient authorities in local towns.

It is really quite a pretty sight to see a camp town during carnival.
The one main street, which does not boast of pavements, and is generally
a yard deep in dust, is gaily decorated with bunting and festoons. Small
stands are put up every ten yards or so, in which the "caballeros" take
up their positions and pelt the "senoritas" with confetti and
"serpentinas" (blocks of different coloured paper which look like rolls
of tape about 30 or 50 yards long). The elite of the "pueblo" drive
round in the procession; ladies, some in the very latest creations, and
some in beautiful fancy dresses, parade round in flower and ribbon
bedecked carriages. A prize is generally given to the best decorated
conveyance, and to the best fancy costume, which causes a lot of
competition and jealousy amongst the fair sex.

On an estancia, carnival is celebrated in a much more drastic fashion.
On one place, the giddy members of the household have a very rowdy time
of it, and make things very lively for the unwary. On one occasion, they
determined to give the mayor-domo his share of the general drenching
which he had missed; so when he rode in at midday, after a long and busy
morning's work in the camp, he was welcomed with a volley of buckets of
water, which were emptied over him from the top of the house, where the
delin