The invitation of Mr. William White to spend a few days at his estancia took me over to Colonia, from which it is distant about 15 miles, amidst the beautiful undulating country of the Banda Oriental. Three to four hours is the time usually occupied in crossing the river, almost in a direct line from Buenos Ayres, and the steamer in which I embarked had very comfortable accommodation but few passengers on board. There was a small boat in opposition to the one I was in, and we arrived very close together.

Colonia is one of the oldest settlements in the River, being built upon a peninsula jutting out into the stream, with a snug little harbour, which is in course of improvement. The town presents a dilapidated and neglected appearance, which is accounted for by its having, until recently, been fortified, and made the head-quarters of different factions during the long civil wars. There is a large church, with three high towers, visible at a considerable distance, and a lighthouse for the protection of vessels passing, as several low islands are situated close to the harbour. Some good looking houses have lately been erected, and the site of a new town laid, but it will be many years before it is likely to assume any importance. I noticed an old gateway, with an inscription dated 1724 over it.

I found Mr. White's carriage waiting for me at Colonia. It was drawn by four horses, the road being heavy for a few miles, but after that we got into a good one,—a kind of beaten track over what is called the campo, and for the first time I realised the pleasurable feeling of travelling over a sea of land, if it can be so named, where, excepting an occasional puesto, or shepherd's hut, not a human habitation is to be seen. The undulations of the land are here very like the long roll of the ocean, by which it is supposed to have been formed, and you are at once in the midst of cattle, horses, and sheep, with grass and thistles growing everywhere, the thistles in many cases being masters of the situation.

It was getting foggy before we reached Mr. White's estancia, but the light of the moon assisted our course across an apparently trackless country. I found Mr. White's quinta a very pretty and comfortable residence, surrounded by trees and evergreens, all of which have been planted by the present owner. The whole place is in fact the creation of some ten years, showing what can be done in this country by a judicious application of capital and labour. The house and estate cover a space of some nine square miles, the former being built on an elevated spot, called “Monte” (or the “Mount,”) and occupying with grounds about 50 acres of good rich soil, overlooking an amphitheatre of hill and dale, which stretches as far as the eye can reach, with “puestos” or shepherds' cottages at regular distances, where the cattle and sheep are collected together at dusk and let out again at daylight. This is a most interesting process, which I have seen described, but it can only be realised personally. It is something like marshalling a scattered army and bringing them into a given square. The shepherds or peons go galloping about until the cattle and sheep are gathered together, when they all, as by a kind of instinct, find their way to the corral or fold. At dawn the following morning they are let out again and roam for miles over the estate. The arrangements at a good estancia like that of Mr. White's are very complete, and every one understands his work, but of course the eye of a master is required to see that the work is properly done. The stock on this estancia consists of about 30,000 sheep, upwards of 1,000 head of cattle, and some 100 horses.

My first day was employed in visiting several of the stations, and very agreeable it was cantering over the springy turf, clothed with grass and thistles, where the sheep and cattle were quietly feeding. Buttercups glittered in the sunshine, but we missed the modest daisies so familiar at home. We were on horseback five hours, and I returned to dinner highly delighted with all I had seen. The second day we took the carriage and a gun, as partridges are plentiful and innumerable flocks of doves. Paid a visit to the estancia of Mr. Giffard, about six miles distant in a direct line, but further by the course we had to take, partly over the open campo. Returning we came close upon some half-dozen ostriches and Mr. White shot at and wounded a very fine male; but it was a painful sight to see the struggles of the poor bird, and we were obliged to get one of the men from a neighbouring station to dispatch it with his knife. Many of these noble birds are still to be met with in the campo, where they are pursued by the natives for the value of the feathers. I was presented with a portion of the feathers of the ostrich killed as described. The third day we were again on horseback for several hours, with a boy carrying a gun and some refreshment. We rode along one of the running streams with which the campo is favoured, to look for some ducks, but the streams were very low, and we only succeeded in bagging one. These streams are invaluable for cattle, and the Banda Oriental in this respect is more fortunate than Buenos Ayres, and in consequence suffers less from drought. Finding game so scarce, the boy was sent home, and we cantered on to visit some of the other stations I had not yet seen, the weather throughout being beautifully fine, clear sunshine, with a bracing and most exhilarating breeze.

There are some curious collections of rocks mostly on the margins of the streams. Huge boulders, thrown up it would seem by some convulsion of nature, and between which trees and enormous cactuses have forced their way, in cases even splitting the stone, especially present a most singular appearance. About Mr. Giffard's quinta there is quite a large formation of this kind, and a collection of very fine ombu trees, several with immense trunks and evidently of great age.

To-day, the last of my visit, has been spent in riding about the quinta, watching the operation of lassoing and bringing into the corral a refractory bull and cow that had left their companions and roamed miles away. The dexterity of the peons, and the way they manage their horses on these occasions, is something wonderful, and fairly exhausts the strength of the animals.

This is the finest season of the year in these countries, and it is impossible to imagine anything more pleasing or more cheerful than the present aspect of the campo. The next two or three months constitute the winter season, which is rainy and cold. September and October (their spring) are generally fine. The heat of summer is, of course, considerable, but it is not so much felt in the open country, where a fresh breeze, as a rule, prevails; it is the towns that are most disagreeable at that period.

To-morrow, I return to Colonia, highly gratified with all I have observed, and with the kind hospitality I have experienced. As I have said, partridges are abundant, but they commonly go singly, and without a pointer they are difficult to follow. Mr. White, however, shot two brace close to his house, when we were walking out before breakfast, and several single ones on other occasions. They are prettily marked birds and delicate eating. He did not happen to have a suitable dog by him at the time. The shepherds all keep fine dogs, mostly of the retriever breed, to assist them in managing their flocks, and there were a good many attached to the house and out-buildings; one of the former, a Scotch terrier, and myself becoming very great friends.