LETTERS FROM 
76 
clothes, and for cultivating plants in pots and 
boxes of earth, and at our hotel part of the rool 
is shaded by a trellis-work covered by vines, 
the stems of which grow in a court below. 
In fine weather it is very delightful to walk in 
this elevated garden, which commands a beau¬ 
tiful view of the quarantine harbour and of the 
open sea; and under the cool shade of the 
vines parties sometimes dine and drink tea 
in summer. Stone floors are almost univer¬ 
sal, even in the bedrooms, though in the 
better sort of houses they are painted, and 
covered with carpet or matting. I conclude 
that the abundance of excellent and easily- 
worked stone on the island, and the absence 
of timber, is the chief reason for building in 
this substantial manner, but the intense heat 
of the summers may be another inducement, 
on which account also the rooms are very 
lofty, and have often two or three large fold- 
