336 A VOYAGE TO Book VI, 



The city is moderately large, with broad, straight, 

 Jevel streets ; and, though not every where paved, 

 are equally convenient, the foot-path near the houses 

 being paved in all parts; and the middle of the 

 streets, being composed of a hard small gravel, is ne- 

 ver dirty in rainy weather, nor dusty in the great 

 droughts of this climate; hence the middle of the 

 streets are more convenient for walking than even the 

 pavement itself. 



The houses arc built of unburnt bricks, as at 

 Quito, and entirely of the same construction : alt the 

 houses of note have a storv ; but the others only a 

 ground floor. An idea of the largeness and conve- 

 nience of the offices and apartments may be formed 

 by their outward appearance, as well as the magnifi- 

 cence of the furniture, which is all brought from Eu- 

 rope; the expcnce of which must be enormouslygreat, 

 as, beside the long voyage, there is a necessity for 

 bringing it a prodigious distance by land carriage, 

 and subject to unknown dangers in these countries. 



The church was erected into a cathedral in theyear 

 1547, and is the only parochial church in the city. 

 Not that its extent is too small foi maintaining others; 

 but, having originally been the only church, the pre- 

 bends could never be brought to allow of its being 

 subdivided, and part of its revenues applied to the 

 support of other parishes. Here are also conven sof 

 Franciscans, Dominicans, and Auguscines, with a col- 

 lege of Jesuits ; all of them having churches. In the 

 latter is also a grammar school. The plan of an uni- 

 versity, under the direction of the same fathers, is in 

 such forwardness, that the charter is already granted. 

 The number of religious belonging to each of these 

 convenís is but small, some of them amounting to no 

 more than six or eight. It is, however, very diííerent 

 with regard to one ofthe nimneriesjthat of the Incnr- 

 rialion,iheprofessednunsbeingbetween forty andfiity; 

 but the whole uuinber, nuns, seculars, and servants 



included. 



