"We wanted to ascend the Paraguay to its head-waters, but circumstances did not permit, and we turned back from Asuncion. We went to the end of the railway, and had a delightful ride through a diversified country; forest, pampas, hills, valleys, mountains, and plains alternated rapidly, and gave us a succession of surprises. Numerous herds of cattle and horses told of the wealth of the country in live-stock, and if we had not seen the herds we should have known of the prevailing industry by the piles of hides that awaited shipment at the railway stations.
"We are in the land of yerba maté, or Paraguay tea, and have drunk nothing else at breakfast and other meals; of course, we have tried it frequently in our journeyings in South America, but have never adhered closely to it until now. Perhaps you would like to know more fully about it.
A LANDED PROPRIETOR.
"Well, everybody drinks it, or, rather, sucks it, as the leaves are broken into powder while drying, and not preserved whole, like Chinese tea-leaves. Fred and I have provided ourselves with bombillas, as the tubes are called, after the custom of the European residents, and whenever the cup is circulating we come in for our share. The dry powder is poured into a cup or bowl and covered with boiling water; when it has stood long enough for the infusion to be drawn it is sucked through the bombilla, precisely as people in New York take lemonades through straws.
CUPS AND TUBES FOR MATÉ.