192 
THE MASCARENES 
The impression made by the capital, which lies in the 
north-west of the island, is thus described by Baron 
Claus von der Decken:—''At last the City of Port Louis 
emerged from the woods which had hitherto concealed 
it—a smiling prospect, with the pleasant white-washed 
houses on the shore in the European quarter, the huts of 
the Malagasy and the negroes further up, the groves of 
CasLiarina and other trees of unwonted appearance, and the 
luxuriant landscape with its misty heights in the back¬ 
ground. The figures which we met here were most 
striking. There were Malagasy, tall robust forms of 
chocolate colour, with their well-greased hair twisted into 
elegant plaits; Hindoo coolies or load-bearers, who in 
Mauritius take the place of the Arab labourers in Zanzibar; 
lastly, Chinese with their long pigtails. Then the English 
soldiers attracted our attention by their free and easy 
bearing. We wandered through the broad macadamised 
streets bordered by low houses, till the darkness came 
on and the rain drove everyone indoors.” 
Near to the quay, among beautiful buildings, we find 
the statue of Mahe de Labourdonnais, who founded the 
city in 1735.^ In the interior the city has a poverty- 
stricken appearance, as the well-to-do population live in 
the suburban country houses. 
The city is commanded by a battery above, and there 
are two forts on the two sides of the entrance to the 
harbour. 
Crossing the river in the north, we reach, at a small 
distance, the classical spot Pamplemousse. Here it was 
that Poivre, in the year 1768, laid the foundation of the 
splendid Botanical Garden, which is still much visited. At 
this place was enacted the last sad scene of " Paul et 
Virginie”. The Creoles shew to strangers what purports 
to be the grave of the Creole children, so poetically de¬ 
scribed by Bernardin de St. Pierre, united in a common 
place of rest after their tragic death. A memorial, the 
