On one of them is said to have been visible, not long ago, the date, 1725. As he entered the outskirts of the town from the German settlement of New Braunfels to the northeast, he noticed a sparcity of foliage to be seen in this broad landscape. We irresistibly stop to examine it, we are so struck with its beauty. It is of a rich blue and as clear as a crystal, flowing rapidly but noiselessly over pebbles and between reedy banks. One could lean for hours over the bridge-rail.
Few cities have such a luxury.
It remains throughout the year without perceptible change of temperature, and never varies in height or volume. The streets are laid out in such a way that a great number of houses have a garden extending to the bank, and so a bathing-house, which is in constant use. The Mexicans seem half the time about the water. Their plump women, especially, are fine swimmers, and fond of displaying their luxurious buoyancy. The latter is a wooded spot of great beauty, but a mile or two from the town, and boasts a restaurant and beer-garden beyond its natural attractions.