451 



houses are spacious, and higher than they ought 

 to be in a country subject to earthquakes. In 

 1800, the two squares of Alta Gracia and St. 

 Francis presented a very agreeable aspect ; I 

 say in the year 1800, because the terrible 

 shocks of the 26th of March, 1812, destroyed 

 almost the whole city. It rises slowly from it's 

 ruins. The quarter of Trinidad, where I re- 

 sided, was overturned as if a mine had been 

 sprung underneath it. 



The small extent of the valley, and the prox- 

 imity of the high mountains of Avila and the 

 Silla, give a gloomy and stern character to the 

 scenery of Caraccas ; particularly in that part 

 of the year, when the coolest temperature pre- 

 vails, in the months of November and Decem- 

 ber. The mornings are then very fine ; and 

 on a clear and serene sky we perceived the two 

 domes or rounded pyramids of the Silla, and 

 the craggy ridge of the Cerro de Avila. But 

 toward the evening the atmosphere thickens; 

 the mountains are covered ; streams of vapour 

 cling to their ever-green slopes, and seem to 

 divide them into zones one above another. 

 These zones are gradually blended together ; 

 the cold air, which descends from the Silla, ac- 

 cumulates in the valley, and condenses the 

 light vapours into large fleecy clouds. These 

 often descend below the Cross of La Guay- 

 ra, and advance, gliding on the soil, to- 



2g2 



