MONTEVIDEO. I I 



abreast of Maldonado, and the gilded dome of its cathedral, apparently 

 the only structure of any considerable dimensions in the town, was 

 plainly visible among the other buildings of the village, which was par- 

 tially buried in a somewhat scanty forest of palms, figs, orange, and other 

 semi-tropical trees. We were not long in reaching Montevideo, where 

 we were promptly received by the master of the port and health officer. 

 Here we were to stop for the day to discharge cargo. We were only too 

 glad to improve the opportunity thus offered of spending a day on shore. 

 For however novel and interesting a sea voyage may be to the uninitiated, 

 confinement for twenty-six days within the limited area of a steamer's 

 deck is likely to create in one a desire for a wider sphere of action. We 

 were soon on shore and busily engaged regaling ourselves with the sights 

 and pleasures of the city, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed, not so 

 much from their distinctive merits as from their novelty. In style of 

 architecture Montevideo does not differ materially from other Spanish- 

 American cities. This has usually been described by most writers as 

 exceedingly ugly. To myself, however, there is something about those 

 low buildings constructed of solid masonry, with their tiled roofs and 

 broad and closed patios fitted with substantial if not always comfortable 

 seats and decorated with a variety of tropical plants in fruit and flower, 

 that is, to say the least, not entirely without beauty. While there is in 

 this architecture nothing of the grandeur to be found in that of either the 

 Roman, Greek, or Gothic style, nevertheless these old buildings which 

 have stood for several centuries are certainly even now much more 

 becoming than that enormous structure known as the "College" built 

 after the modern "dry goods box" style of architecture, which stands as 

 the most conspicuous object in the foreground of the picture formed by 

 the city as viewed from the deck of vessels lying in the roadstead. 



Whatever the individual verdict as to the architectural beauty of Mon- 

 tevideo, all will, I think, agree with me as to its cleanliness. During my 

 two visits its streets struck me as being freer from dirt than those of any 

 other city I had ever visited. This is not because of the excellence of its 

 municipal government as a whole, or the street cleaning department in 

 particular. It is due rather to the peculiarly advantageous topography 

 which causes the drainage of all the streets to flow away from the city, 

 the slope being so considerable and heavy showers so frequent, that the 

 streets are at almost all times kept by nature free from filth. 



