Judging from the number of the venders of drinks we see on the streets, every one in San Juan is thirsty. We are, at any rate, and very delicious we find their ices and sherbets, their iced orange, lemon and strawberry waters, iced cherries, milk, coffee and chocolate.
[Illustration: DULCE (SWEETMEAT) SELLERS IN PUERTO RICO.]
Fruit sellers under the arcades and in stalls tempt us with their attractive wares; but the fruits are new and strange to us, and we hesitate about buying.
The hack drivers are asleep on closed carriages at the hack stand. Long lines of clumsy carts, with high wheels, rumble over the cobblestone pavements with a dreadful clatter.
In the open doorways of shops we see men and women manufacturing articles for sale. Some are making chairs, some shoes, some jewelry, some boxes, and, in one place, we see a number of workmen making coffins.
We are interested in observing that flags of different colors are used as signs, and that the walls are painted with brilliant pictures. In the quarter near the sea, the brandy stores, built of reeds, have round them swarms of beggars of every degree.
The laundry shop we find just outside the city, beside a large creek. A laundry not built by hands! Here women stand knee-deep in the stream, with the hot sun beating down upon their heads. They are doing their laundry work. The clothes are cleaned by soaking them in water and pounding them with stones. We wonder if there are any buttons left on the clothes after this treatment, and resolve not to trust our clothes to this laundry.
We note outside the city wall a broad concrete walk; along this walk seats, trees, and rude statues; and between the walk and the wall an ornamental garden.
Having now taken a general stroll, we will rest up preparatory to our visit to the points of special interest.