450 



bable, it would be well worth the attention of 

 government to make the purchase, for the pur- 

 pose of concentrating therein as many of the i 

 public offices as accommodation could be found ' 

 for. The edifices that have been enumerated 

 are the principal ones, or at least those most J 

 Avorthy of notice. The peculiar situation of ^ 

 the city, as already described, occasions irregu- 

 larity and unevenness in the streets; many of 

 them are narrow, but most of them are well I 

 paved; the breadth of the principal ones is 

 thirty-two feet, but the others usually only from 

 twenty-four to twenty-seven. The greater pro- 

 portion of the houses are built of stone, very 

 unequal in their elevation, with high sloping 

 roofs, principally of shingles, and sometimes 

 covered with tin or sheet iron. Great improve- 

 ment has taken place of late years in the mode of 

 building and in the appearance of the dwellings, 

 as the old-fashioned methods of the country are 

 gradually superseded by a modern style. No 

 less amendment has taken place in paving the 

 streets. Mountain Street, where formerly the 

 ascent was so steep as to^ make it difficult for 

 a carriage, is now passable for all sorts of ve- 

 hicles with the greatest ease. John Street^ 

 Buade Street, Fabrique Street, and the greater 

 part of Palace Street, may be considered as the 

 mercantile part of the Upper Town> being in- 



