BOOK II. CHAP. VII. 2r 



in fome parts lower and lower, the fucceffive inhabitants of thefe 

 houfcs were obliged to add a foundation where the water had un- 

 dermined the walls, and t>om time to time, as the earth happened 

 to be fvve^t away ; f6;thatlTre7foundations oLw.anyo^^^ an- 



tient piles fiave in fail been laid long fince the fuper£lfu£ture. Their 

 houfes-had no piazzas originally : the Englifli made thefe additions,, 

 in order to render them more cool and plealant. But they have \ 

 been attended with fome inconvenience in another refpeifl ; for, the j 

 flreets being laid out, fome of thirty, and others not exceeding 1 

 forty, i^et in breadth, thefe fliedsincroach fo far on each fide, that ^ 

 the- midway is too narrow, and liable to obflru£l carriages. The 

 Englifh in general have copied the ichnography of the Spanish 

 houfes with great- uniformity [^]. They are, for the moft part, 

 difpofed in three divi-lions : the centre room is a hall, communi- 

 cating at each end with a bed-chamber; the back part, ufually a 

 fhed, is divided in the fame manner, and communicates with the 

 front, or principal hall, by an arch, which in fome houfes is wain- 

 icotted with mahogany, in others covered only with plaifter. They 

 are fmall, and rather inconvenient for a family, efpecially when it 

 confifts of fix or feven perfons. Great alterations have, however, 

 been made by the English inhabitants ; and feveral of thefe old 

 houfes have received very confiderable additions, which make them 

 more roomy and commodious. In the piazzas many families may 

 be faid to live the greater part of their time ; the fhade and re- 

 frefhing breeze inviting them to employ moft hours there, that are 

 not devoted to eating, drinking, and fleeping : nor can there be a 

 more agreeable indulgence enjoyed by the mafter of the houfe, 

 than to fitjn^an elbow-chair, with his, feet .reiliug. againfl oneof 

 the piazza-columns; in this attitude he converfes, fmoaks his pipe, 

 or quaffs his tea, in all the luxury of indolence. Almoft every 

 dwelling-houfe throughout the ifland is detached from the kitcheii 

 and other offices ; which, though different from the pra6lice in 

 England, is a very judicious arrangement for this climate, where 

 the fumes and fmoak of the kitchen, and the ftench of other ne- 

 ceflary offices, would be intolerable in too near a neighbourhood. 

 But few of the inhabitants are curious in the decorations of their 



[g] See Plate IV. 



-apartments; 



