OROTAVA. 285 



extreme, and it gives one the idea of a place that 

 had lately been visited by a pestilence, for grass was 

 growing between the stones with which the streets 

 are paved, and hardly a living creature was to 

 be seen except two or three hungry-looking dogs. 

 The ancient massive churches, and the numerous 

 substantially built palaces formerly belonging to 

 the grandees of Spain, prove that the place had 

 evidently seen better days ; but the wealth has 

 disappeared with the old race, and the poverty- 

 stricken descendants are not worthy of their illus- 

 trious ancestors, having lost all that spirit of 

 enterprise and proud independence for which as a 

 nation they were at one time so celebrated. Who 

 would believe that the swarthy phlegmatic-looking 

 individuals who peer at you with a dreamy air, and 

 whose whole idea seems to be smoking cigarettes 

 and sunning themselves, could be the descendants 

 of such men as Pizarro. The present Spaniard is 

 but a shadow of the ancient race. 



After wandering through the apparently de- 

 serted town, we arrived at the hotel, a large 

 substantial-looking building in a street having a 



