Hotels. Plaza, E. P., 10 pesos and up; Palace, a little more moderate; others A. P., Grand, 9-20; Royal, 9-20; Majestic, 12 up; Metropole; Splendid; Caviezel’s New Hotel; Phoenix; Albion.

Cabs. First class, 15 blocks, 1 peso, next 15 blocks, 50 ctvs.; second class, first course 60 ctvs., second 40 ctvs. By the hour, first class, 2 pesos, then 80 ctvs. each half hour; second class, 1.50 first hour, .60 each half hour. Automobiles, higher.

Money. Argentine peso, 44 cents; double the Chilian peso.

Guide-book to the Argentine Republic by Albert B. Martinez, valuable; in Spanish and French, perhaps now in English.

Chief Points of Interest

The Plaza and the Avenida de Mayo, the Government Palace, Capitol, Palace of Justice, Plaza San Martin, the Museum of Art, Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Palermo Park, Hippodrome, Colon Theater, Parque Lezama and National Historical Museum, Recoleta Cemetery, the Docks, Frigorificos, Mercado de Frutos.

Tourists coming from Mendoza will arrive at the Retiro Station. Outside are numerous carriages to convey the traveler and small luggage to his hotel. The price of these carriages is astonishingly cheap to a New Yorker, 1 peso, 44 cents, for a ride of 15 squares, and nearly all of the hotels are within this distance. From the docks the ride may be longer, according to where landing is made. Further, there are carriages of the second class, which seem equally good. For these the fee is 60 centavos. The only difference that I could learn was that the first-class coachman wears a uniform. The number of horses, one or two, makes no difference. The automobiles are somewhat more expensive. The drivers have a habit, as elsewhere, especially at the station, of demanding more than their fee, particularly on Sunday; so it may be as well to say nothing, take the first carriage offered and pay what is due with a small tip and no remarks, and something additional for baggage. Trunks should be arranged for with an agent of the express company, Expreso Villalonga, either at the station, or after reaching your hotel, if that is not already decided upon. The hotel porter will attend to it if you hand him your checks.

Unlike the cities previously visited, as might be expected from its size, a wide choice of accommodations is here offered. Hotels galore and lodging houses as well are to be found, though perhaps not a room at the desired hostelry unless engaged in advance: not always even then, if reports are true of certain establishments. There are all kinds of prices except very cheap, for this is quite another world from the West Coast, and except as to carriages, prices compare with those of New York.

The first choice of the ultra fashionable and wealthy is likely to be the Hotel Plaza, unless a new one promised to be still finer should already be completed. At the Plaza, barely two blocks from the station, a room may be had on either the American or the European plan. The lowest price for the latter is ten pesos ($4.40) a day—and from that far up, doubtless 30 or 40 pesos or more for suites with bath. Meals are in proportion. The location is good, on the handsome Plaza San Martin, and very near the river, the American Legation is close by—but it is quite a distance, 11 blocks, from the Avenida de Mayo, the principal avenue, and many will prefer a hotel in the heart of the city on this handsome and busy thoroughfare, or one within a few blocks of it. The other hotels are somewhat lower priced and by many regarded as more comfortable and agreeable. The Plaza, under the management of the world famed Ritz Carlton people, is naturally the grand affair that one would expect, the pompous, uniformed British attendants easily leading one within to fancy himself in London.

The Palace Hotel, before the erection of the Plaza, regarded as the first in the city, is a large edifice, property of Nicolas Mihanovich, the noted steamboat man. This fine structure, two blocks from the Plaza de Mayo, fronts on three streets, the 25th of May, Cangallo, and the Paseo de Julio, many rooms thus looking upon the Paseo, a fine boulevard and parkway, and out over the docks to the river. On this side there are five stories, with an observation tower at the corner 150 feet high for the use of the Mihanovich Company, and containing a powerful electric light. The offices of the company are on the ground floor of the building. The hotel has an imposing entrance with a monumental stairway (also elevators) leading to the main floor. Here is a hall of the Louis XIV style, and a luxurious dining-room of the Empire fashion with white and gold ceiling. All floors are heated and there is a telephone in every room or suite, conveniences and elegance of all kinds. Above there is a roof garden (a favorite resort on summer evenings) adorned with exotic plants, and a summer dining-room which affords charming views.

Other hotels, older and equally popular, are the Grand and the Royal, comfortable, even luxurious, much patronized by English-speaking folk. The Grand, built in 1900, on Florida and Rivadavia, is in the very heart of the city and by some called noisy; the Royal at the corner of Corrientes and Esmeralda is a few blocks distant. At these the price for room and board with bath privilege is from 9 to 12 or 14 pesos a day; for room with morning coffee only, 5 to 8 pesos a day.

On the Avenida, which means always the Avenida de Mayo, are the Hotels Splendid, Metropole, Paris, Majestic, Caviezel’s New Hotel, all of the first rank with pension prices from 10 or 12 pesos up. Also on the Avenue near the Plaza de Mayo is the Hotel Nuevo, said when built to have been the acme of elegance. The Phoenix, San Martin 780, more quiet and less pretentious than some of the others, is much patronized by English. One preferring lower prices will find good board and rooms at the Pension Caviezel for from 7 to 9 or more pesos daily (elevator), an excellent location on the Avenida, Rivadavia and Esmeralda (painfully neat, some one said, which is hardly a fault), a Swiss proprietor; another pension of the same name is at the next corner, with prices a little higher. At the Hotel Albion on the Avenue rooms without board may be obtained, cheaper but less attractive, and furnished rooms elsewhere at 2-4 pesos a day, according to style and location.

Comfortably settled in a good hotel, what is first to be done? I should say, after morning coffee take a stroll around the center of the city, down the Avenue, turning to the left on Florida with a glance at the shop windows, down Cangallo to Reconquista and the Plaza at the right. If time is short begin at once sight-seeing there, the center of the old and new city, a historic site for nearly four centuries. Called by Garay, Plaza Grande or Mayor, containing 8 acres or more, it is now Plaza de Mayo. The center, regarded as the Altar of the Country, has been occupied by a modest monument, an obelisk called the Pyramid of May, commemorating the Revolution of 1810. For this, excavation was made in April, 1811. This will now be replaced by a great and worthy monument on the same spot to the same event, voted by the centenary commission to the competing artists, Gaetano Moretti and Luis Brizzolara. The splendid marble monument, having a base 150 feet square, will be a trifle taller, the base supporting a colossal obelisk 115 feet high, upon which will stand a group of statuary, the apotheosis of the Argentine flag: a figure representing the New Nation waving the sacred banner, preceded by Progress crushing down Ignorance and Prejudice, and acclaimed by Revolution, Justice, and the People. Other statues and reliefs will be used in decoration. An interesting innovation will be a large chamber within the monument to be used as a museum and to contain as a first relic the actual Pyramid of May, the first memento of the glorious dawn of liberty. This monument is to be finished and in position in 1916.

Of other monuments already decorating the Plaza, one erected in 1906 faces the Avenue, a fine group of marble portraying a figure, the City of Buenos Aires, being crowned by Progress; a child, the Future, observing the act. Towards the other end of the Plaza, the east, is an equestrian statue of General Manuel Belgrano, one of the first Council of Government, appointed by the Corporation of the City, May 25, 1810; he was afterwards a commander of Argentine troops, gaining victories at TucumÁn and Salta, in 1812 and ‘13, later suffering defeat in Bolivia, after which he resigned the command to San Martin. The rest of the Plaza is occupied by gardens, walks, and fountains. Occasionally there is music.

At the southwest corner of the Plaza is the ancient Cabildo where met, May 22, 1810, on the upper floor, a popular assembly which declared the authority of the Viceroy incompatible with public tranquillity. May 25 the Cabildo appointed a Junta or Council of Government with Don Cornelio Saavedra as President. The Viceroy having already withdrawn to avoid bloodshed, the Council took the oath the same afternoon; Saavedra addressed the people from a balcony with an appeal for order and harmony. Thus the revolution triumphed without bloodshed, and from here spread to other sections, where long struggle was necessary; to Argentina, the success in all the countries south of Ecuador was largely due.

The most imposing structure on the Plaza is the Government Palace on the east. On this spot in 1595 the construction of a fort was begun; but it was 1718-1720 before a considerable fortress was erected, whose walls remained till 1853. They were then demolished for a custom house, which in 1894 was destroyed to make room for the present palace. This great brick edifice, 400 feet long and 250 deep, with two wings of slightly different form, constructed at different periods, contains offices of the President of the Republic and of the various Ministers, of the Interior, of Foreign Relations and Worship, of Finance, of Justice and Public Instruction, of Agriculture, of Public Works (Hacienda), of War and Marine. In the building are several libraries, the most important that of the Ministry of Foreign Relations (State Department), where in iron cases are the treaties with foreign nations since 1811, some of these, real works of art, superbly engrossed on parchment with enormous wax seals. The entrance on the north side gives access to two large and elegant salons where receptions and banquets are given by the President, his official residence occupying this end of the building. The banquet salon, richly furnished in Louis XV style, contains a central chandelier, a notable work of art made in the country by Azaretto. There is also a fine marble figure representing the Argentine Republic, and there are busts of the various Presidents. Within the building are several patios and pleasant reception rooms. Sentinels abound, but the doors are open and on business days at the usual hours the building is accessible to the public. On feast days, if necessary, permits to enter may be obtained from the Superintendent of the Palace.

On the north side of the Plaza, coming from the Palace, one first reaches the Chamber of Commerce, in 1885 established in its present edifice, though inaugurated as a Bolsa do Comercio in 1854 with 118 members. It has now above 4000, and is a very important establishment. Operations in 1909 amounted to a value of 328 million pesos. The same year the Clearing House account for banks was 4½ billion pesos.

In the same block at the corner of Reconquista is the Bank of the Argentine Nation, the most powerful institution in the Republic. Founded in 1902 with a debt of 50 million pesos in bills emitted as its capital, thanks to a rigid organic law, excellent administration, and the honesty of its directors, it has become a great financial power. In October, 1908, the capital was increased by $17,800,000 gold. As a Bank of the State, no dividends are made, the annual profit of fifty per cent being converted into gold reserve and added to the capital. January 1, 1910, the capital was 113 million pesos, the reserve 39 millions gold. The bank in 1910 had 121 branches in the provinces and 8 agencies, mostly in their own buildings, making easy the commercial transactions for cattle and agriculture, in contrast to our own difficulties, due to the silly prejudice against a Central Bank, so serviceable in all other countries. It performs all the operations of other banks, these in 1909 amounting to 645 million pesos.

At the west end of the north side is the Cathedral, on the spot selected by Garay for the church in 1580, when a simple structure with mud walls and thatched roof served the purpose. An edifice with arches in the present form was begun in 1701, but the faÇade in imitation of the Madeleine in Paris was built in the time of Rivadavia by the architect Catelin. The great semi-spherical dome, covered on the outside with blue and white squares in the Spanish style, is a contrast to the other roofs. The interior has a central nave, two aisles and a transept, well proportioned except for the great thickness of the pillars. The side chapels are not of especial importance save the third on the right, the sepulcher of the great San Martin, liberator of Chile and Peru, a patriot whose purity of motive, possibly his ability, equaled that of Washington, though he was far less happy in the contemporary appreciation of his services; not until after his death receiving his merited honors. The octagonal chapel is effectively lighted from a small dome above. Four marble plaques bear the names Lima, Chacabuco, San Lorenzo, and Maipu, reminding of his glorious deeds. In the center a bronze sarcophagus containing the ashes of the hero has several pediments upon a broad marble base which bears also four marble blocks. On three of these stand marble statues, in front, that of Liberty, at the sides, Labor, and Commerce. The block in the rear carries laurels and palms only, with a bas relief representing the battle of Maipu. In front are the arms of Argentina, at the sides those of Peru and Chile. On the right stands a bust of the great patriot, the whole forming a worthy, artistic, and most impressive monument.

On the west side of the Plaza at the corner of the Avenida, with entrance on the latter, is the Municipal Palace or City Hall, where the Executive Department of the City Government has been located since 1892, the Deliberative Council meeting at Peru 272. The Intendente or Mayor is appointed for two years by the President with the approval of the Senate, and may be re-appointed. The Deliberative Council of 22 is also named by the President, as the elections formerly held gave poor results. On the other side of the Avenue are the Civil Courts.

The Avenida de Mayo, in front of the Capitol, extends from the Plaza de Mayo a little more than a mile to the Plaza, about 100 feet wide, paved with asphalt, lined with trees, and with a row of posts for electric lights in the center. Cut through the block between Rivadavia, originally the main street, and Victoria, the next street south, at a cost of ten million pesos, it was opened for traffic July 9, 1894. It is considered by some the finest street on this hemisphere, others prefer the Avenida Central in Rio, while all who admire skyscrapers will insist that it is not to be compared to Fifth Avenue. Adjoining the City Hall, is seen on the right the splendid edifice erected by Dr. JosÉ C. Paz for La Prensa. As the finest newspaper building in the world for the sole use of a single publication, it should be visited by every traveler, though only certain parts are open for inspection. There are five stories above ground and two below, the sub-basement containing the electric fixtures and the paper storage room. On the next floor is the machinery, presses, etc., with a room at the back 120 feet long and 25 deep for the distribution of papers. On the ground floor on the Avenida are the bureaus of administration, as for advertising, etc., and the museum; while fronting on Rivadavia are rooms for free consultation with physicians and lawyers. One flight up, a long one, for ceilings are high, but there is a good elevator, are the handsome rooms of the chief editors. A fine salon with luxurious appointments, Turkish rugs, furniture upholstered in leather, sofas and armchairs, and a heavy carved table, is the reception room, where gentlemanly attendants in uniform are at your service,—a contrast indeed to the dingy hallways where people are kept, by often pert youths, from entering the sacred though bare and noisy quarters of the editorial staff of some of our great and wealthy journals. On the other side of the large patio is a handsomely decorated hall seating 500, with furniture of red and gold, used only for entertainments for the employees. On the next floor are various editorial rooms, on the fourth luxurious apartments for the entertainment of distinguished guests from abroad. At the top are rooms for photography, composing, etc. On the turret is a statue holding a powerful electric light, the rays of which are visible to a great distance. The editor of this great newspaper, which like its building in some respects, for instance in the amount of its telegraphic despatches, is superior to any in the United States, is Dr. Adolfo E. Davila, who has held the office since 1877. To him the paper owes a large share of its progress which is deemed worthy of its palatial setting.

A little farther up is the great store of Gath & Chaves, one of the best in the city, and at 633 the fine building of the Progreso or Progress Club. Opposite is the Diario building, which in 1911 had just been afflicted with a fire. The Diario is an important, perhaps the leading afternoon paper. Along the way are many hotels and other business structures. Some of the buildings, like the Prensa, are almost covered with electric light bulbs, probably remaining from the Centennial display in 1910, when lighted obviously producing a brilliant spectacle.

At the upper end of this splendid avenue, beyond a large Plaza, is the Capitol, strongly reminiscent of the one in Washington, but none the worse for that. The plans were by the late Victor Meano; the cost was $9,000,000. It may be mentioned in passing that the Plaza in front was constructed for the celebration of the Centenary in the short space of 90 days; four solid blocks of buildings were torn down, ground was filled in, leveled, and grassed, walks were laid, trees, shrubs, and flowers planted, fountains with colored waters, obelisks, candelabra, and statues were erected, and all done at a cost of $5,000,000, in time to receive their guests in 1910. And we call South Americans slow! Monuments to the Constituent Assembly of 1813, the Congress of 1816, and to General Mitre are to be added.

The central faÇade of the Capitol, setting a trifle back from the line of the projecting wings, is adorned with a fine portico and approached by a stately staircase having on each side an equestrian statue. The central dome is a remarkable work, the pillars supporting it covering 300 square meters. To sustain the weight of 30,000 tons, the foundations were laid 30 feet deep, and an inverted dome of stone was fixed. No one should fail to visit the top of the great dome, which provides a splendid view over the city and the broad river; or the magnificently furnished reception halls and legislative chambers. The Senate Chamber, arranged for but 30 members, is a small room though provided with two galleries. The larger Chamber of Deputies has three rows of galleries, the first for the diplomatic corps with an especial reservation for ladies, some of whom come to hear the debates. The acoustics are said to be poor and the heating inadequate. There are conference rooms, a library, rooms for secretaries, etc. The Houses regularly meet from May 1 to the end of September, but the sessions are usually prolonged until January by Executive Decree. The Deputies meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at three, the Senate on the alternate days. The Chamber of Deputies, semi-circular in form, has 130 seats besides eight for the Ministers, here admitted to their deliberations. There is a platform for the President and two secretaries. Behind the Presidential chair is a portrait of Valentin Alsina.

Below the platform is a table for stenographers, two of whom write a report of the proceedings, published the day following. Members speak from their places receiving polite attention, especially noticeable in comparison with the practice in Assemblies of older nations. There is no division of seats for political parties, nor special garb for President or Ministers. Each Deputy has a desk with writing material. For each 33,000 people, and for an additional half as many more, one Deputy is elected for four years, receiving a salary of 18,000 pesos. Every two years one half of the House is renewed. The Senate Chamber also has seats for the Ministers. The Vice President, according to the Constitution, is the presiding officer. Strangers of distinction desiring to visit the sessions of Congress may obtain from the Secretary cards of admission to the galleries.

The characteristic of the city first obvious is its extreme neatness, in strong contrast to our chief cities; then the narrow streets of the business section and the absence of skyscrapers, each of which will seem to Americans generally an evidence of backwardness and provincialism. The former certainly is a great defect, inherited from colonial times, which the officials of recent days have been and still are endeavoring to remedy. As the widening of all the streets at once was obviously impossible, to relieve the congestion of traffic and to beautify the city, the Avenida de Mayo was constructed. Soon two diagonals, wonderfully diminishing the present difficulty, will be cut from the north- and southwest corners of the Plaza de Mayo through the busiest parts of the city. Although the streets in the center are only 33 feet wide, since the buildings have mostly but two or three stories, they do not lack air and light, as in so many of the streets of New York; the height of all buildings being limited according to the width of the street on which it stands, an excellent and necessary rule. All of these narrow central streets are one way thoroughfares, both for cars and other vehicles. Natty policemen stand, not at a few, but at dozens of busy corners, regulating traffic. Yet in spite of their best efforts blocks are frequent, sometimes delaying cars for ten or fifteen minutes. It may be mentioned that the city has, in proportion to the inhabitants, twice as many policemen as New York, generally courteous and obliging. In order to help a little, the corners of many buildings and sidewalks have been chopped off in accordance with a law promulgated some years ago, though long not strictly enforced. Many of these old streets will be widened in time, as new buildings must be set 10 or 12 feet farther back, a temporary disfigurement, ultimately of great advantage. West of the Capitol all streets are wider. New ones must have a breadth of at least 60 feet. In the newer sections are many beautiful broad avenues, the Santa FÉ and Alvear in some respects surpassing the Avenida. There is an excellent service of electric cars, one writer says the best on this hemisphere, already supplemented by a subway now being constructed from the Plaza de Mayo to Plaza 11 de Setembro. This one completed, others will be promptly begun; not as in New York ten years after they should have been finished. For in Buenos Aires, packing like sardines is not permitted, as will be discovered, perhaps with indignation, when a car marked completo passes without a pause, and one has to wait several minutes for a second or a third. Within, all are comfortable, the seats, each for two, facing the front with an aisle between, where no one is allowed to stand; on the broad rear platform six only are permitted. With carriages so cheap, anyone in a hurry can easily afford to patronize them. The cars with large figures in front, as in Chile, a fashion which might well be introduced in our cities, are easily distinguished; the hotel porters and the policemen being usually able to tell you two or three numbers of the several cars which may take you to your destination, and the points at which these are to be found. Also a little red guide book, Guia Peuser, purchasable for 10 centavos, will give all necessary information as to railways and electric cars, carriage tariffs, etc.

An afternoon drive may be taken in auto, car, or carriage. Setting out in good season, one may first traverse a few streets in the center of the city, the fashionable Florida to Plaza San Martin, returning by Reconquista to the Plaza de Mayo, cross down to Parque 9th of July below the government Palace, then go by Paseo de Julio and Avenue Alvear to Parque 3rd of February, commonly called Palermo. After a drive in the park return may be made by Santa FÉ and Callao to the Capitol building and upper end of the Avenue, or by other streets past the Recoleta, the Aguas Corrientes, etc.

The calle Florida is par excellence the fashionable promenade of the city. Though narrow like the others and but ten blocks long, it is distinguished from the rest by having no car tracks and is lined by many of the most fashionable shops, beginning with Gath & Chaves extending from the Avenue to Rivadavia; though to be accurate, this is on Peru instead of Florida, the old Rivadavia street being the dividing line where the names change and the numbering each way begins, instead of the Avenue as would seem more natural. Besides many of the best shops, there are on Florida many fine residences, among these one between B. Mitre and Cangallo belonging to the Guerrero family; one on the left in the Louis XV style between Corrientes and Lavalle, the home of Juan PeÑa; opposite is that of Juan Cobo. Beyond Lavalle on the right is the magnificent home of the Jockey Club, soon to be abandoned for a larger and still more costly establishment. This Club, noted as probably the richest in the world, with an entrance fee of £300, nearly $1500, yet having a considerable waiting list, receives so large an income from the receipts at the races that it hardly knows what to do with it. Its present edifice has a noticeable faÇade, a fine entrance hall and staircase, on the first landing a famous Diana sculptured by FalguiÈres. Corinthian columns, ornamentation of onyx, ivory, and azul are part of the decoration. A fine banquet hall, various dining-rooms, luxurious drawing and reading rooms, rooms for cards, billiards, fencing, baths, etc., and a few to which ladies are admitted with a member for afternoon tea, unite to make this the equal of any Clubhouse in the world. Beautiful paintings and other expensive luxuries, like tapestries and carving, contribute to the elegance of the establishment. On moving from their present quarters to the much larger and more splendid structure now being erected near the Plaza San Martin, the Club will present this edifice to the Government to be occupied by the Department of State.

Beyond on the same side between Viamonte and Cordoba, a large building with arcades, covered by a glass roof, occupies the entire square. This, called the Bon MarchÉ, is used mainly as an office building and contains some Bureaus of various Ministries. Formerly the National Museum and the Academy of Fine Arts were here located, but the Museum or Gallery now occupies a fine building on Plaza San Martin, with the Academy adjoining. The Florida ends at this Plaza, one of the handsomest of the city, surrounded by many splendid edifices, adorned with large trees, flowers, shrubbery; and at the upper end an equestrian Statue of San Martin. The Art Museum is at the east end of the north side; farther west are stately residences, as also on the south side. Here, between Florida and Maipu is the office of the United States Legation, easily distinguishable by the United States Coat of arms above the door, should the flag not be floating from the projecting staff. Happily in the South American countries visited, the legations are all suitably housed, though it is said that at least one Minister of ours to Argentina, paid more for his house rent in Buenos Aires than his entire salary. It is obviously not a position to be sought at present by a man with only his talents to recommend him. Returning by Reconquista one would pass many fine business blocks, including banks.

Driving past the Government Palace and turning down to the left, we come to the Parque 9th of July in the rear of the palace, from which we proceed again north on the way to Palermo. Buenos Aires boasts of 74 parks and plazas altogether, with an extent of 10 million square meters. The 9th of July is modeled after the Champs ÉlysÉes, having a broad avenue with gardens of the Renaissance style on each side. It begins at the south with a half circle in which a statue, probably Rivadavia, was to be placed. In the middle is a circle with an artistic fountain by the French sculptor Moreau, and at the north end, opposite Cangallo, is a pretty fountain by an Argentine artist, Lola Mora. Along the way are cafÉs, restaurants, and concert halls.

Proceeding along the Paseo de Julio, with its line of shrubs and flowers, one may continue by the fine Avenue Alvear through the most fashionable quarter of the city. The Avenue, bordered with flowering trees and palms, is lined with palatial mansions, in the midst of beautiful grounds and gardens. At the fashionable hour this avenue is filled with vehicles, rented victorias, the stately carriages of the residents, and many automobiles, which although numerous have not yet seemed to lessen the multitude of carriages.

Almost too soon the Park is reached, its formal title, the 3rd of February, recalling the defeat of the tyrant Rosas in 1852 by General Urquiza with an army of soldiers from Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, Rosas then fleeing to an English ship and to permanent exile. He formerly resided on the site of the Round Point. This park covering 3,677,000 square meters corresponds to Central Park, New York, or Hyde Park, London, though it is more at one side, being on the border of La Plata River. The many beautiful, shaded avenues are, on the dies de modo or days of fashion, thronged with carriages before or after dinner according to the season, when thousands of people may be seen enjoying the spectacle as well as the fresh air, the ladies displaying magnificent toilets for the pleasure of all beholders.

The drive should be continued to the lake, where the charming pagoda-like Restaurant of the Lake will be admired. At certain times and seasons, it is quite the thing to enjoy here at the price of three pesos, a cup of afternoon tea, etc., to the accompaniment of a good orchestra. At a kiosk on the round point of the lake, La Granja Blanca offers for refreshment sterilized milk and other dairy products. Not far distant is the Restaurant Palermo, to which persons wishing to dine there are gratuitously conveyed from the center of the city. Excellent entertainment with good orchestral music is said to be provided at a moderate price for this city.

Within the area of the park are included enclosures for various sports. Close to the lake is the ground of the Cricket Club with chiefly English members. Enclosed by the avenues Pampa, Ombu, Alsina, and Palomar, covering a space of about 125 acres, are the Golf Links of the Argentine Club, with a course of 5300 yards. A Gymnastic and Fencing Club possesses a fine court for their exercises, where much frequented contests are often held, as also in the bicycle track. The northwest end of the Park is occupied by a Rifle Range, covering 10,000 square meters. An imposing faÇade is flanked by two towers 60 feet high, from which a magnificent panorama may be witnessed. Three large gateways with glazed iron doors open into a vestibule 80 feet long, from which two doorways lead to the shooting galleries, 300 feet long and 20 wide; 38 targets all double and movable give ample opportunity for shooting, eight at a distance of 150 feet for revolver practice, twenty at 1200, and ten at 1600 feet, for rifle shooting. Shields of iron and banks of earth give protection against poor shots. Admission is free and any one by paying for the cartridges will be supplied with arms and allowed to practice to his heart’s content. Contests both national and international are frequently organized.

Near the rifle range is the great hippodrome. Beyond it, outside the park, is a field of 30 acres belonging to the Argentine Sporting Association. This contains a track of 3500 feet for trotting races with sulkies, and one of 3200 feet for obstacle races with hurdles, fences, and ditches of water. The space in the center of the course is used for polo and football. Clubs from Uruguay and South Africa have participated in games held here by the Argentine Football League.

The glimpse now gained of the Argentine Hippodrome will incite to a visit on one of the gala days, Thursday and Sunday, when many will enjoy a display superior to anything of the sort previously witnessed. Nothing in the United States approaches it. While some Americans asserted that this was the finest Racing Ground in the world, a gentleman of Buenos Aires stated that it hardly equaled Longchamps. However, the buildings here are superior. The spectators are accommodated in a row of great white stands, that for the especial use of the members of the Jockey Club and their families being largely of white marble and capped with a graceful roofing. Behind the upper rows of seats is a spacious promenade with tables for afternoon tea, and farther back large and well appointed club rooms.

Worthy of attention is the long series of other white buildings, elaborate and spacious, for all required purposes, also the space enclosed by the track: not the usual bare field but a plat decorated with flower beds, greenery, and rivulets crossed by little white bridges. There are three tracks one inside another, the outermost a mile and three-quarters in length. The grounds outside the track are embellished with flowers, lawns, and trees, the eucalyptus, pines, and palms; an excellent band discourses music; while a throng of gaily dressed people, the men (at least the Argentines), in faultless attire, the ladies in elegant Parisian costumes with a liberal display of jewelry, contribute to the brilliant spectacle.

The season is a long one, continuing from March 4 to December 30, with 56 regular functions. The races are of a high order (the riders generally Argentine), the most important being for the Jockey Club Prize, Sept. 8, the Cup of Honor, Sept. 16, the National Prize, Oct. 7, and the International, Oct. 28. These are the true Society events, the dates varying slightly with the year. On these occasions the throng is so great that movement is impossible. In 1905 the winner of the National Prize received $27,000 and the sale of tickets reached $346,000. In the year 1906, the betting at two pesos a ticket was equal to $20,000,000. Persons of distinction or with influential friends may be able to procure an invitation to the official stand. For seven pesos, tickets may be purchased admitting to everything except that, or for two pesos to the old stand and four to the new.

To attend the races one may go by train, every five minutes, from Retiro Station, by tram (15 ctvs.) marked Carreres from Parque de Julio, by carriage at two pesos an hour, or with a livery carriage for 15 pesos the afternoon.