TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 33 



present formidable rows of batteries towards the 

 sea. Behind them a broad road leads up the rock 

 to the city, the houses of which, with flat roofs, are 

 built on terraces one above the other. The palace 

 of the governor-general, in the highest part of the 

 city, enjoys a fine prospect over the sea. It still 

 contains many memorials of the order : among 

 others, the portraits of the grand masters ; the 

 library of the order, which is said to be rich in 

 ancient works in theology, antiquities, and juris- 

 prudence ; and the arsenal, in which there are many 

 trophies taken from the infidels ; also the small 

 but very heavy armour of the noble grand master, 

 Lavalette. The church of St. John, built on a 

 small eminence in the city, in bad taste, and over- 

 loaded with ornaments, is particularly remarkable 

 for its riches in Italian, Greek, and Oriental 

 marble, as also in Egyptian porphyry and serpen- 

 tine. The paintings, among which those of Mat- 

 thew Preti, surnamed II Calabrese, are the best, 

 are chiefly by Neapolitan masters. The separate 

 tongues of the order have their own chapels in the 

 church, which, as well as the vault, contains many 

 fine monuments. 



From Lavaletta the way leads to Citta Vecchia, 

 over naked fields, between innumerable little 

 country-houses. The first thing shown to stran- 

 gers here, in the old town, is the church of Saint 

 Paul the Apostle, who, according to the Acts of 

 the Apostles, suflered shipwreck in a place where 



VOL. I. p 



