Situation of Quito. 



63 



the Grand Plaza nine thousand five hundred and twenty 

 feet above the sea, or fifty feet lower than the calculation 

 of Humboldt. Water boils at 194°.5. Cuzco and Potosi 

 may surpass it in altitude, but there is not a city in the 

 world which can show at once such a genial climate, such 

 magnificent views, and such a checkered history. It is 

 unique likewise in its latitude, lying only fifteen miles be- 

 low the equator ; no other capital comes within tlii-ee hun- 

 dred miles of the equinoctial line. 



street in Quito. 



Whatever may have been the plan of Quito in the days 

 of Huayna-Capac, it is evident that the Spanish fomiders 

 were guided more by the spurs of Pichincha than by as- 



