130 Travels and Adventures 



the world can give. Apples, strawberries, plums, and 

 cherries mix with their tropical relations — pines, 

 bananas, figs, and mangoes ; while, on the other hand, 

 potatoes and cabbages are as plentiful here as yams, 

 cassava roots, and pumpkins — in fact, anyone who 

 will take a European cook to Bogota may live in 

 Epicurean luxury. The religion of the capital, as 

 well as of the whole civilised part of the country, 

 is Roman Catholic ; but all creeds are tolerated, and in 

 Bogota a very nice Protestant church has been con- 

 structed, besides a large number of schools, and 

 colleges. There is what is called the National 

 University, founded in 1867 ; in this institution every 

 branch of higher education is taught, and the school 

 for medicine in Bogota has long been celebrated. 

 These schools admit something like five thousand 

 students every year, and ten thousand more would 

 be necessary to somewhat advance the educational 

 condition of this immense country. Although there 

 is not much liberty of the press, some twenty-five 

 newspapers are printed in Bogota, several of them 

 daily. The principal and central square of the city is 

 called La Plaza de Bolivar ; it is very much more 

 spacious than that of its rival at Caracas. The situa- 

 tion is most agreeable, one side being taken up by the 

 large cathedral, and the other three sides by gay 

 shops, hotels, and imposing municipal buildings ; while 



