they are not as energetic as men of equal strength in the temperate zones, and do not accomplish more than one-third as much in the same amount of time. The climate is enervating, and they are averse both to hard labor and to the use of time-saving and labor-saving implements. Nor are they ingenious in their methods. They insist upon doing everything in the most difficult and clumsy way.

I stood one morning and watched a party of peons moving a large water or sewer pipe. It had been brought from some warehouse to this point on the street upon the back of a donkey, and, being insecurely fastened, had fallen off not more than two-thirds of a block from its destination. An Irishman or a Yankee would have rolled it down the road to the place where it was needed, but half a dozen men were called from the ditch they were digging to assist in strapping it upon that donkey's back again. The operation absorbed the entire attention of half a dozen men for twenty or twenty-five minutes. Then the donkey was driven along a few rods and the pipe unloaded again.

CHAPTER XIII

SOCIETY IN CARACAS

STRANGERS are always received with the greatest courtesy in Venezuela, and those who bring letters of introduction find no trouble in securing a warm welcome to the homes of the best people. But one without letters will find it difficult to enter society, because of the number of adventurers that go to Venezuela, as well as to other countries in South America, not only from the United States, but from all parts of the world. There is a prevailing impression that the South American republics are populated with a half-civilized race of people, and men who have lost caste at home go there to recoup; but they soon find that it is a mistake to do so. There are no cities in the world where the character and the conduct of a stranger, his costume and his manners, are scrutinized and criticised more severely than in Caracas, and before admitting one to the sanctity of his home a Caraquanian wants to know all about him.

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And it is so to a certain extent in business matters. The merchants will of course sell to any customer who calls, but they will not buy from one they do not know. will be treated courteously enough, and will hear all sorts of polite expressions, but they do not mean anything. Nearly every man you meet will present you with his house and all the remainder of his property, but it is sim

ply a conventional form of politeness. If an entire stranger should call at the residence of a business man without letter of introduction he would, in nine cases out of ten, be asked to repeat his visit at the office the next day, and be sent off without any further satisfaction.

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But, as I have said, if a stranger comes properly introduced, he is overwhelmed with genuine hospitality, and made to feel at home not only at the residence and at the club of the gentleman to whom he is introduced, but among all his friends. A letter of introduction means. more in Spanish America than it does in the United States. It is a certificate of good character and social standing, an assurance that the bearer is worthy of confidence, and a draft upon the hospitality of him to whom it is addressed.

The old families of the republic, those of Spanish descent, are severe in their notions of propriety, and insist upon the observance of forms and ceremonies. They would sooner die than violate the laws of etiquette, and they expect the same conscientiousness from others. They are largely intermarried, too, and prejudice as well as preference spreads rapidly. A sort of social freemasonry exists among them, and the recognition of a stranger by one family is certain to win for him the confidence and attention of all its connections and acquaintances.

Very few of the old families are involved in politics. They confine their attention to agriculture, to their coffee and sugar and cocoa plantations, and sometimes to trade. They seek the learned professions also, but are usually careful to keep their political convictions to themselves, and avoid commenting upon the actions of the government. Politics is a distinct occupation, and it is either very prof. itable or unprofitable. One of the chief objects of the revolutionary leaders in the past has been to get hold of

the treasury for the purpose of plundering it for the benefit of themselves and their adherents. The president has absolute control of the finances. He can make contracts for useful or for useless purposes at will, and by writing an order on the treasury can at any time draw out all the money in the vaults. Of course his concessions are nominally approved by Congress and his expenditures are reported in the budget, but they are explained in a plausible way, and critics understand that it is not considered good policy to look too closely into the whys and wherefores of the acts of the executive.

When a political leader comes into power he appoints his adherents to the prominent offices at Caracas, makes them governors of states and collectors of customs, and when the offices are all given out grants them concessions for one thing and another by which they are enabled to make a competence. And these subordinates, understanding that they can hold office only a few years, and are likely to be thrown out by a pronunciamento at any time, make hay while the sun shines, and get rich as rapidly as they can without regard to means or methods. This accounts for the petty little exactions that are imposed upon vessels and shippers at the ports, as the fines and penalties collected are the perquisites of the officials. But there has been a great improvement in Venezuela in this respect in recent years.

But some queer things were done in the old times. A contract was once let for laying cement sidewalks all over the city at the expense of the government. General Guzman Blanco, who was then president, gave as a concession to his brother-in-law the exclusive right of importing cement, which is not produced in the country. This favored relative was the only person from whom it could be pur

chased, and the government had to pay him whatever price he chose to charge. Therefore every barrel of cement that was used in laying the sidewalks brought a profit of five or six dollars into his pocket, and made him rich.

At another time Guzman granted to a friend and favorite the exclusive privilege of carrying merchandise to and from the custom-houses. Every package imported had to be opened and examined at the custom-houses, and not on the docks, as had previously been done, and no importer was allowed to handle his own goods. They must be carted from the docks to the custom-house, and then, after examination, delivered at their destination by Guzman's friend, and he was permitted to regulate his own. charges. Of course this tax ultimately came out of the pockets of the public in the increased cost of the merchandise, but it was as good as a gold mine to the man who collected it, and he had no occasion for personal exertion, as he sublet the business in the several towns of the republic and sat down in Caracas to enjoy himself.

On the side of the hill El Calvario stands a yellow church, far away from everything else, and almost inaccessible. Every one utters an exclamation of surprise when he first sees it, and inquires why a church was ever erected in such a place. This is the story: When General Crespo was an ordinary citizen, but possessed of the ordinary ambition, his pious wife made a vow that if he was ever elevated to the presidency she would erect a handsome chapel in honor of her patron saint, the Blessed Virgin of Lourdes. It was rather more by the favor of Guzman Blanco than through the intercession of the saint that Crespo finally reached that exalted office, but his good wife determined to carry out the vow. Here the husband interfered, and determined that the work should be done at