160 



to me with contempt of this south road, in respect 

 of beauty, when compared with the north ; how- 

 ever, it certainly seemed to me more beautiful than 

 any road which I have ever travelled as yet. 



February 3. 



A stage of twenty miles brought us to Old Har- 

 bour, and, passing through the Dry River, twelve 

 more landed us at Spanish Town, otherwise called 

 St. Jago de la Vega, and the seat of government in 

 Jamaica, although Kingston is much larger and 

 more populous, and must be considered as the 

 principal town. We found very clean and com- 

 fortable lodgings at Miss Cole's. Spanish Town 

 has no recommendations whatever ; the houses are 

 mostly built of wood : the streets are very irregular 

 and narrow ; every alternate building is in a ruin- 

 ous state, and the whole place wears an air of gloom 

 and melancholy. The government house is a large 

 clumsy-looking brick building, with a portico the 

 stucco of which has suffered by the weather, and it 

 can advance no pretensions to architectural beauty. 

 On one side of the square in which it stands there 

 is a small temple protecting a statue of Lord Rod- 

 ney, executed by Bacon : some of the bas-reliefs 

 on the pedestal appeared to me very good ; but the 

 old admiral is most absurdly dressed in the habit of 

 a Roman General, and furnished out with buskins 

 and a truncheon. The temple itself is quite in 

 opposition to good taste, with very low arches, 



