I heard this from so many Argentinians that it led me to visit this made-to-order city of which they are so proud. It is an hour’s ride—thirty-five miles—from Buenos Aires to La Plata. After leaving the suburbs the train crosses the dead level of the pampas in a line as direct as the crow would fly. Through great _estancias_, with their immense herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, the line passes, after escaping from the suburbs of the metropolis, with a half dozen small and unimportant towns along the route, in which the one-storied buildings are ever built in monotonous lines with the front wall a little higher than the rest in order to give it a fictitious height. One explanation given me for this high front is that it acted as a protection in street fighting. Whether built for that purpose or not, this parapet has frequently been used by both civilians and troops as a protection in the revolutionary scrimmages which have been so frequent in the past. At last the train runs into an imposing station that would be a credit to almost any city, with a façade which is really an architectural gem. This is La Plata, the wonderful. When the national government appropriated the city of Buenos Aires as the national capital the inhabitants of the province of the same name, which had hitherto dominated the country, were highly indignant. Unable to change the official edict they set to work to create a rival city. At that time there was not even a settlement at La Plata, and only a few mud huts denoted its location. A site down the river was chosen in order to secure a deeper natural channel, and avoid the necessity of so much dredging to keep the channel free from mud. A new port, called Enseñada, was constructed, with commodious docks, the new capital having been located five miles back from the water front. To complete this stupendous undertaking the province assumed a bonded debtedness of $70,000,000, most of which was obtained in Europe, and not until then was the vanity of these provincials appeased. It was one of the greatest follies that the Argentinians have ever engaged in. It was in 1881 that the government decided to build this new capital for the province of Buenos Aires. It was to be a model city, and worthy of its rank as the chief city of the wealthiest province of an opulent republic. To this end the finest architectural raiment for a corporate body that could possibly be conceived was erected, with all the ostentation possible in a Latin nation. Magnificent public buildings, palatial law courts, a great cathedral and stately edifices of every kind—all were comprised in the scheme. Broad avenues paved and planted with rows of trees, stretching their long lengths between the imposing facades, were traced upon paper by the architects, and builders were set at work to reproduce these plans out of brick, stone and mortar, and the resulting city of La Plata stands to-day as their monument.