88 



THE FORT. 



In the rooms of the few who can or will afford 

 such trifles, ornaments of porcelain or glass- 

 ware, and French or Yankee knicknacks fill 

 the niches. Of course the inner apartments are 

 more showily dressed, but these we may not ex- 

 plore. 



About half way down the front of the city 

 we debouch upon the c Gurayza ' or fort. The 

 material is the usual coral-rag, cemented with 

 lime of the same formation, rudely burnt, and 

 the style as well as the name (Igreja — Ecclesia) 

 recall to mind the Portuguese of the heroic 

 sixteenth century. It is one of those naive, cre- 

 nelated structures, flanked by polygonal towers, 

 each pierced for one small gun, and connected 

 by the comparatively low curtains, in which our 

 ancestors put their trust. A narrow open space 

 runs round it, and it is faced by a straight-lined 

 detached battery, commanding the landing, and 

 about 12 yards long. The embrasures of this 

 outwork are so close that the first broadside 

 would blow open the thin wall; and the score 

 of guns is so placed that every bullet striking 

 the fort must send a billet or two into the men 

 that serve them. A 6 place d'armcs,' about 50 

 feet wide, divides the two, and represents the 

 naval and military arsenal — two dozen iron car- 



