350 CUBA AND POBTO EIOO 



'a clear yellow tone, which contrasts delightfully with the burning 

 blue ribbon of tropical sky above ; and no street is absolutely level : 

 nearly all of them climb hills, descend into hollows, curve, twist, 

 describe sudden angles. There is everywhere a loud murmur of 

 running water, pouring through the deep gutters contrived be- 

 tween the paved thoroughfare and the absurd little sidewalks, 

 varying in width from one to three feet. The architecture is that 

 of the seventeenth century, and reminds one of the antiquated 

 French quarter of New Orleans. All the tints, the forms, the 

 vistas, would seem to have been especially selected or designed for 

 aquarelle studies. The windows are frameless openings without 

 glass : some have iron bars ; all have heavy wooden shutters with 

 movable slats, through which light and air can enter. 



The town has an aspect of great solidity, looking as if it 

 had been hewn out of one mountain fragment instead of 

 constructed stone by stone. Although commonly consist- 

 ing of only two stories and an attic, the dwellings have 

 walls three feet in thickness. There are also many foun- 

 tains throughout the city, carrying drinking-water, which 

 comes from another source than that of the water in the 

 gutters. The main street is known as Eue Victor Hugo. 



St. Pierre has many images and some fine statues. One 

 of the latter, standing on a height and easily visible from 

 the sea, is a gigantic " Christ," which overlooks the bay ; a 

 great white "Virgin" surmounts the Home d'Orange, to 

 the south of the city, while " Our Mother of the Watch " 

 overlooks the anchorage. There is a great white cathedral 

 with a superb chime of bells. Behind the city is a beau- 

 tiful cemetery. 



The market of St. Pierre is most picturesque. It is in 

 the middle of a square surrounding a fountain, and filled 

 with countrywomen dressed in gorgeous Oriental colors, 

 selling their little products, oranges, bananas, vanilla- 

 beans, cocoa, while the fishermen lift their boats bodily 

 out of the water and convert them into stalls, where can be 

 seen a most wonderful fish display, rivaling in colors the 

 tints of the rainbow, and having a hundred queer French 



