TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
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in the trade, and conducive to the prosperity of 
the colony itself. 
The capital of the peninsula (Free-town) is of 
considerable extent, and is beautifully situate, 
on an inclined plane, at the foot of some hills 
on which stand the fort and other public build- 
ings that overlook it, and the roads, from whence 
there is a delightful prospect of the town rising 
in the form of an amphitheatre from the water's 
edge, above which it is elevated about seventy 
feet. It is regularly laid out into fine wide 
streets, intersected by others parallel with the 
river, and at right angles. The houses, which 
a few years since were for the most part 
built of timber, many of them of the worst de- 
scription, and thatched with leaves or grass, are 
now replaced by commodious and substantial 
stone buildings, that both contribute to the 
health and comfort of the inhabitants, and add 
to the beauty of the place, which is rendered 
peculiarly picturesque by the numbers of cocoa- 
nut, orange, lime, and banana trees, which are 
scattered over the whole town, and afford, in 
addition to the pine-apple and gouava that grow 
wild in the woods, an abundant supply of fruit. 
The Madeira and TenerifFe vines flourish un- 
commonly well in the gardens of some private 
