1042 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



rather a tawdry appearance ; but the the middle of the city, -where the soU 



iHside of the dome is painted in a diers are sometimes exercised as on a 



very tolerable manner, in compart- parade ; on one side of this square 



mcnts, representing the acts of tlie stands the town-hall, a very large and 



apostles — a subjc<St very appropriate handsome building, erc(^ed on a plan 



to the conversion of the Indians, of the Jesuits, who certainly may be 



The choir is likewise adorned with 

 paintings from the same subject ; 

 and there was a very fine altar-piece, 

 but it is now taken down to make 

 room for a more valuable one, sent 



called the fathers of architecture in 

 this part of the world. 



" There are a great many other 

 convents and nunneries dispersed 

 over the city ; some of them very 



from Old Spain, but which is not yet large, and of a noble appearance, 



ready to be put up. 



" The bishop, governor, and 

 major-general, have each a separate 

 stall, very superbly decorated with 

 p.irplc velvet, embroidered and 

 fringed with gold : over that of the 

 governor are the king's arms in gold 

 and coloured velvet, very ingenious- 

 ly contrived. But the custom here 

 of covering almost the whole inside 

 of the churches with llowers and 

 branches — which hang from one 

 saint's day to another, when the 

 dead ones are taken down and fresh 

 ones put up — though in itself it is 

 pretty enough, yet entirely destroys 

 the beauty of the archite(''ture, while 

 the effect of the llowers themselves 

 is lost in the glare of the gilding. It 

 is well gold is so ])lentifi(l on this 

 continent, or these extravagant or- 

 naments, without taste or judgment, 



but all very well inhabited ; for 

 nuns here areas jjlcntiful as monks, 

 thongh they have not the same liber- 

 ty of going into public. All these 

 edifices, with the houses of the go- 

 vernor and mnjor-gencral — both 

 very commodious — the receiver-ge- 

 neral's office, and a public hospital, 

 are builtof stone, beautifully white, 

 which is found in a small plain in 

 the vicinity of the town. The bar- 

 racks for the soldiers arc of brick, 

 as are some few of the houses, and 

 have but a mean appearance when 

 contrasted with the whiteness of the 

 public buildings, the fairness of 

 which is preserved in a great mea- 

 sure by the frequent visits of the 

 pampero, which wind is an excellent 

 bleacher. The fort, which com- 

 mands the island of St. Gabriel, 

 over against Buenos Ayres, is large, 

 por amore dt Dius, would come very strongand provided with a greatmany 



expensive. 



" The church of St. Francis and 

 that of the convent of Meicy are 

 likewise very beautiful Ijuildings : 

 ■with cupolas and high steeples, much 

 in the same style as the cathedral, 

 and just as profusely decorated, but 

 ■without any paintings except the 

 altar-piece. The church and convent 



apparently very good brass cannon ; 

 but it is awkwardly situated, and, 

 with a little mana'uvring, if there 

 was but a sufficient depth of wafer, 

 an enemy's ships might very easily 

 annoy the best part of the towu 

 without being much incommoded by 

 the fire from the fort. But they 

 have little danger to apprehend from 



of St. Francis stand in the street of an attack by water, the I'lata is too 

 that name, which runs < bli(iuely well provided with natural barriers, 

 from tUe water to the grand square in in her sands and shoals, to admit of 



a ma- 



