270 



among them. In St. Jago and Conception are seve- 

 ral convents of nuns, but they are the only cities 

 that contain them. 



The cities are built in the best situations in the 

 Country. Many of them, however, would have been 

 better placed for the purposes of commerce upon the 

 shores of the large rivers. This is particularly the 

 case with those of more recent construction. The 

 streets are straight, intersecting each other at right 

 angles, and are thirty- six French feet in breadth. 

 On account of earthquakes, the houses are generally 

 of one story ; they are, hov/ever, very commodious, 

 white-washed without, and generally painted within. 

 Each is accommodated with a pleasant garden, irri- 

 gated by an aqueduct that furnishes water for the use 

 of the family. Those belonging to the wealthier clas- 

 ses, particularly the nobility, are furnished with much 

 splendor and taste. The inhabitants, perceiving that 

 old buildings of two stories have resisted the most vio- 

 lent shocks, have of late years ventured to reside in 

 the upper rooms, and now begin to construct their 

 houses in the European manner. In consequence 

 of this the cities have a better appearance than for- 

 merly, and the more so, as instead of forming their 

 houses of clay hardened in the sun, which was sup-^ 

 posed less liable to injury, they now employ brick 

 and stone. Cellars, sewers and wells were formerly 

 much more common than at present, a circum- 

 stance which may have contributed to render the 

 buildings more secure from earthquakes. 



The churches are generally mpre remarkable for 

 their wealth than their style of architecture. The ca-* 



