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51 themselves much upon their standing. Señora Hosefa did us the pleasure many times of singing - and really it was quite romatic to hear a native Spanish Song. One call La Aminte I learned from her. I did not hear much music in Panama. There was a bad of young men - who with violins flutes so gave concerts week nights - or played Sunday in the Church Service. They were quite good performers. A native man sat on our balcony one evening and sang for us several airs. The Spanish words and music are singularly sweet. The liquid sounds of their language adapt it well for songs. I listened with great pleasure to these singers in their native tongue. The Spanish lover and guitar are favorite pictures in the folio of the Poct. They are the embodiment of lives strongest and purest phrenzy - Senorita Hosefa - and her darker and livilier cousin Serefina - became very friendly toward us. We often stoped to while away an hour with them - to drink checher - or listen to their singing. The women are very averse to singing in the day time - it is only in the evenings they will assume their guitars - and songs. They very quietly remark night is the only time proper to music. The songs of the family were low and plaintive - when all joined in as they frequently did - they made music which charmed me. Most of the women as well as men practice smoking. It is as much a custom as eating. The women delight greatly in inhaling the tobacco - by placing the lighted ends of their sigars - within their mouths. It was singular to me how they could talk - their sigars being thus reversed without burning themselves. Tobacco being a home articles is cheap - the reigning price of their segars being ocho por rial (eight for a shilling) I enjoyed one day pleasantly an excursion to Bolivars Hill. At the base we found several houses - with gardens land out around them. I noticed pine apples growing - the papaya or Bread Fruit Tree - and some flowers. Owing to the want of rain - vegetation looked poorly. We were fortunate in striking the Isthmus in the dry season - though the heat was great - we were not annoyed by rain in travelling. We wound up the hill by a tortuous and winding path - as we neared the summit - several turkey buzzards sailed lazily about us - and finally lit upon some tree tops in a ravine below our feet. I threw a stone at them