Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-06-18

twenty-five or thereabouts, to develop mus
taches worthy of grenadiers.
AoURIoUs COMBINATION.
One may stroll for hours, if he can endure
the mingled odors of fish and filth, decayed
vegetables and dirty humans, among thick-set
ranks of baskets of fruit-mostly fruits I'm
known to northern eyes-of every conceivable
shape and color, smooth, ridged, knobbed and
set with spines; vegetables queer in shape and
hue, suggesting complicated COLES of which
our plain garden sass" is innocent; fish in gilt
| tering piles, scaly, Shiny and odorous, but
showing lovely lines of ruby, opal emerald,
pearl and gold. IL you are brave enough to
penetrate the depths of the interior you will
| find more gipsy-like, half-naked hucksters
squatted on the ground, their chatter sound
ing above the gibbering CT monkeys, tho paw,
paw, of shrill-voiced parrots and the squawkinR
of imprisoned poultry. To the very roof the
commodities are piled, and from the central
rafters swing inflated bladders, strings of
sausage. tripe, sailed fish, articles Of clothing
and goodness knows what not Birds whose
| brilliant plumage looks a. IL 1t had been dipped
| in melted jewels hop about in cages of wild
! bamboo, skins of toncans, famiugoes and other
gorgeous feathered creatures hang on door
posts countless monkeys mock humanity and
hundreds OF "frigate Birds" lowering over
! all, with wings like those the early italian
painters bestowed upon Beelzebub and his at
tendant devils, add confusion to the outcry and
bewilderment of motion to the scene.
PUTTING UP THE PRICES
You naturally essay to purchase certain fruits
and curiosities, and are warmly ENCOURAGED
thereto by perspiring merchants at their baskets
and counters; but you are amazed to find that
the price Of everything you approach Is
promptly advanced thousand per cent. Being
travellers. OF course from afar, you are believed
to have unlimited cash concealed about your
person. Therefore the oranges, hgs pears, &C.,
that you have just seen sold at the rate Of half
dozen for penny are now quoted at a shilling
apiece, and no abatement by the quantity. And
you will find the same condition of affairs all
over the country, for every dealer, great or
small, scents money in the air at the approach
OF a presumably opulent foreigner. Strolling
down to the waters edge, You come upon heaps
of crabs, shrimps, Holsters and other Shiny YER
min of the sea; and a dirty lot of Greek fisher
men. cleaning. sailing and selling their anny
plumber. throwing their offal into the street for
pedestrians TO walk over. and swearing ''like
troopers" the while--if il be true that troopers
swear worse than anybody else.
THE OLD SARIocA AouRpUcr.
One of the sights that most impress stranger
IN Rio is the old Carioca aqueduct, . remnant
of colonial times, constructed q century and q
half ago, and as picturesque as historically in
teresting. 1t is twelve miles long, and crosses
the valley between Santa Thereza and San
Antonio Hill on double series of arches, the
gap being 30 feet deep and TAO feet wide. It's
water supply Is drawn from several small
streams flowing down the Carioca hills, and at
Its head are three tanks, built Of cut stone,
called the Mae dAgua''-mother of water
The work Of conveying water into the city IVES
begun by the Jesuits as early as 1878, and their
aqueduct, made Of open tile laid on foundations
of masonry, passed down to the present reser-
voir on the Largo da Carioca. It was partly
built by the conquered Indians, but completed
BY African slaves, which the municipality i'm
ported for the purpose, and though somewhat
demoralized by wind and weather, it il yet in
use. The later aqueduct did not follow quite
place, and its tail stone arches, spanning the
busy Rua (street) dos ARGOS, ninety feet above,
form one Of Rios quaintest attractions.
THE NEW WATER woRKa
As the city grew the water supply had to be
further increased and now much Of il comes
from Rio do Ouro water works. The latter
being of modern construction are much more
elaborate In character than the old ones, but
probably will not last as long. The plans were
furnished to the government by Epglish en-
gineers and executed by English contractors ct
the cost OF about two and half millions, ster
ling. Its minimum daily supply Is estimated
at 10 0O0, 900 gallons and its receiving reservoir
Is 400 feet above the sea level, thirty-three
miles from the main distributing reservoir
from whence the water Is carried throughout
the city in iron pipes, supplying the best mod
ern houses. Yet the great bulk Of the popula-
ton still go to the old reservoir on the Largo
ia Carioca, or depend upon the water carriers
FOR the daily supply, and to them the old Jesuit
aqueduct Is the first and greatest wonder In the
world, never to be equaled by modern engineer
ing. In the early mornings the streets swarm with
water carriers and with house servants going
after the days supply, bearing casks and
buckets upon their heads. As in the days when
Rebecca went to the well the public fountains
are the great meeting places for gossipers.
Those of Rio present a scene Of perpetual ami
nation. and often a detachment Of soldiers
have to be called to preserve order.
THE CHURCH ON CASTLE HILL.
Among the ancient landmarks il the little
church on Castle Hill, whose construction was
begun in 1867. Immediately after the site Of the
city was changed from Villa velha to that it
now occupies. 1t was dedicated to Sac Sebas-
tao, the citys patron saint, and the ashes of
its founder, Estacio de Sa, rest within its walls
For about two centuries it served a. the
cathedral church until the Capella IAperial was
built, at the corner of the streets now patriot
icaIly called First of March" and Seventh of
September" The latter is the most interesting
NS