ts cloistered in the leafy shades fill
the air with murmurs and drowsy noises. Behind the dark foliage a swarm
of fireflies illumines the gloom, until to the looker-on in the river
the depths of the solitary island take to themselves the fantastic guise
of a great city far away, with its gaslights twinkling merrily.

At Corrientes the Parana abruptly diverges to the east, marking the
northern boundary of Argentine territory, and separating the latter from
Paraguay. From the river the port presents a spectacle of groups of
rocks of some beauty, and of palms and orange-trees growing close to the
water's edge. Beyond the foliage are seen the belfries of several
churches built after the prevailing fashion. Among them is visible also
a handsome turret of Moorish architecture, which rears itself aloft with
a charming effect. This building is the cabildo, or court-house, and
dates from 1812. Near by is seen a white memorial pillar, built on the
site of the cross that the first Spanish settlers planted in 1588. The
population of Corrientes is about twenty thousand. From the country
around are procured the best oranges grown in the confederation, and the
city is the mart for the woods from the Paraguayan, Chaco and Corrientes
forests which are exported for manufacturing purposes.

[Illustration: GYPSIES OF THE ISLANDS IN THE PARANA.]

The elbow formed by the junction of the Parana and the Paraguay is
called by the natives _Las Tres Bocas_, or "The Three Mouths." From 1812
to 1865, under the rule of the dictators, this avenue of approach to
Paraguay remained closed. But the fortunes of the last war opened it
permanently, and the Republica quietly steams into the great
water-highway that leads to Asuncion through the passes of the Cerrito.
At the mouth of the river is the island of Cerrito, formerly the
Paraguayan Gibraltar, and now the Gibraltar of the Brazilians, who
maintain there a garrison and an arsenal for the equipment of their
navy.

After passing the Cerrito the Paraguay winds in its course and becomes
narrow--the width not exceeding twelve hundred feet--and of greater
depth than the Parana. Hereabout and above are spots made memorable by
the obstinate defence of the late President Lopez and the brave
endurance of his people. On the right are the famous batteries of
Curupaiti, where Lopez with thirty thousand Paraguayans and one hundred
and fifty cannon resisted for eight months the attempts of the united
Brazilian a