THE BAY OF BISCAY. 191 



Nestling at the foot of Mount Orgullo, as if it were 

 seeking shelter from the north wind, and circum- 

 scribed by its walls which the sea beats on either side, 

 the capital of Guipuuzcoa forms an irregular square 

 whose surface is less than 120,000 square yards in 

 superficies. But this narrow space has been turned to 

 the best possible advantage. Two parochial churches, 

 a convent, an arsenal and barracks, constitute the 

 principal public edifices, which are almost all erected 

 on the lowest declivities of Mount Orgullo. In the 

 centre of the town the Hall of Ayuntamiento occupies 

 the entire side of a square surrounded by arcades, 

 something like the Palais-Royal on a small scale. 

 The remainder of the ground is mainly occupied by 

 lofty houses, forming streets which are almost all of 

 them perfectly straight, and whose width appears to 

 be strictly calculated in accordance with the necessi- 

 ties of the traffic. Here are no gardens and scarcely 

 any courts attached to the houses, and in conse- 

 quence of this economy of ground the space within 

 the Avails affords accommodation to a population of 

 9,000 souls. 



Notwithstanding this accumulation of inhabitants, 

 the town exhibits a degree of cleanliness which is 

 very uncommon in our large cities. This fact is 

 more especially explained by the manner in which 

 the population is distributed. Saint Sebastian has 

 none of those streets and alleys filled with mean and 

 low houses, which disfigure even our finest cities, 

 and which afford shelter to the poorer classes. Al- 

 most in every part of the town the houses are equally 

 good and, very similar to one another, and they are 



