Ch. XIX.] GRANADA. 345 



hereditary but the great fundamental principle of good 

 government, namely that the will of the majority shall 

 be the law of the land, is trampled under foot and treated 

 as the dream of an enthusiast. 



The environs of Granada are very pretty ; it is situated 

 only a mile from the lake, and a few miles lower down 

 the sleeping volcano of Mombacho juts boldly out, rising 

 to a height of nearly 5,000 feet, and clothed to the very 

 summit with dark perennial verdure. The cacao of 

 Granada and Bivas is said to be amongst the finest 

 grown, and there are many large plantations of it. The 

 wild cacao grows in the forests of the Atlantic slope, 

 and when cultivated it still requires shade to thrive 

 luxuriantly. This is provided at first by plantain trees, 

 afterwards by the coral tree, a species of Erythrina, called 

 by the natives Cacao madre, or the Cacao's mother, on 

 account of the fostering shade it affords the cacao tree. 

 The coral tree rises to a height of about fortv feet, and 



CJ / 



when in flower, at the beginning of Apuil, is one mass of 

 bright crimson flowers, fairly dazzling the eyes of the 

 beholder when the sun is shining on it. 



One of the principal courts of law is held at Granada, 

 and whilst we were there a priest was being tried for 

 having seduced his own niece. He was afterwards con- 

 victed, and, to show the moral torpidity of the people, I 

 may mention that his only punishment was banishment 

 to Greytown, where he appeared to mix in Mcaraguan 

 society as if he had not a spot on his character. 



Having finished our business in Granada, we started 

 for Masaya, where I wished to consult a lawyer, Senhor 

 Rafael Blandino, who most deservedly bears a very high 



