ous situation as might appear at first flush, for the Lottery enjoys the patronage of the Church, which is a beneficiary of it in a substantial degree. The grand prize is $7,500, paid in silver, so that the fortunate winner needs a cart to carry off his bonanza. Everyone takes at least one chance weekly. Tickets may be bought in all the stores and women and children peddle them about the streets.

The new theatre is occasionally visited by a good company of actors, when the Sunday night performance is attended by the elite of the city. For the greater part of the year, however, the theatre is in disuse.

Driving, or riding, out upon the savannas that lie adjacent to the city, is a favorite diversion of Panamans and Americans. These stretches of rich grassland, dotted with palms and other trees, afford ideal picnicking grounds. Several suburban residences are situated upon the savannas, and the wonder is that a greater number of Panamans do not live out there in the dry season.

Almost since the time of the foundation of the city, Taboga has been a favorite resort of its population and of the foreign element. It is the most beautiful of the islands that lie in

the Bay of Panama. The French established a sanatorium there for convalescents, which has been enlarged and improved by the Commission.

There are many legends connected with Taboga, which is said to have been a resort of pirates before the modern city of Panama was founded. One of the stories tells how among the first ships to touch at the island was one manned by buccaneers. These men were much impressed by the young women of Taboga, who are to this day noted for their beauty. The pirates announced that on a certain evening they would give a dance on board their vessel, and the islanders were invited. When the time arrived, a pretext was found for taking the women on board before the men. As soon as they were on the deck, the ship attempted to make sail and leave with them. Many of the women, however, jumped into the water and swam ashore, whilst the men of the island put off in their canoes and attacked the vessel. At the conclusion of the fight, the pirates got away with a few of the fair Taboga damsels, but they paid for them with the loss of several of their own number.

In the vicinity of Panama are several ceme

teries, one for Jews, one for Chinese, one which was used by the French, and another in which natives are deposited under a peculiar system of tenancy.

The native cemetery contains a large field which is well filled with graves, some of which are permanent resting places. The reader would naturally suppose that that is an almost invariable condition of a grave, but not so in Panama. Around this field are ranged tiers of niches in a stone wall. Each of these receptacles is designed to hold a coffin. When filled, the entrance is closed with plaster and the dates of beginning and end of the lease are written on the outside. The usual length of occupancy is eighteen months. At the end of this time, the lease must be renewed, if the remains are to be allowed to rest in peace any longer. Otherwise, the niche is opened, the coffin taken out and its contents dumped on to a bone pile in a small field at the back of the cemetery proper. The occupants of the bovedas are usually connected with the better class of families, but it is seldom that the lease of a niche is renewed more than once or twice. The poorer classes find burial in a neighboring field which is so small that it is dug up