National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-09-19

ing the grand cathedral aud archiepiscOpal
palace ON one side Of II, the governors
palace and ministerial Offices on the other,
the mint In the rear, the ci Y hall on the
north, aud on the south long line OF
shops In the center Is an enormous fOun- |
tain, formerly surmOuntrd by an equcs- |
triuu statue Of Charles ", Of which now |
the horse alone remaius--fOrcver poised ON !
one foot as IL paralyzed with establishment
when sacrrlgiOus hands of the revolution
dared to defy the divine right of kings "
hy knocking King Charles from his saddle.
Clinging to the outskirts of this lovely
place, and directly under the shadow of It's
surrounding palaces, are hundreds OF ms
cradle huts, In which pottery, kitchen
utensils. mats, and baskets of braided
straw, magIey thread, and other small
wares are sold by dirty Indians, whose
garnt forms and hungry eyes bespeak
their pitilul heritage Of penury. The rents
of these mountaineering, disease-generat-
ing novels afford no uncomfortable portion
of the municipal revenue, and when even
ing approaches and beauty and fashion de-
sire to air themselves an claire du lune,
the parvcnus stink within their dOOrways,
and content themselves with breathing pes
thence upon Vanity Fair rs IL passes. In
the middle Of another place stands
THE NATIONAL THEATER,
winch Is NllNllpuSNtU III hlLc anu tltBHlNc
| by any in Central America. FlOwery ave
/ nucs surround the building, statues and
| fountains are placed ut intervals, and be-
meath its magnificent Oleanders, Icssamines,
and mnguolias Is the fashionable promenade
ON sunday mornings.
/ The cathedral, which was completed in
/ 1880, covers Il space Of $50 square feet, with
/ twin towers at the front corners and rare
old clock above the slender columns OF its
a IL. L. "A
I carving, some tine paintings by native ar
lists and the usual warming In Spanish
print las rich and poor must kneel together
| ON the stone floor, no seats being ever pro
yidrd for law worshipers In these south
crn sanctuaries) is cOnspcuOusly posted !;
"For the love Of God all good Christians
are requested not to spit in this holy place"
Guatemala Ia Nuevu boasts larger num-
Der of educational institutions than any
other city in Central America and, there
fore, many wealthy families from neighbOr-
ing republics send their children here to DE
educated. The city has no less than thirty
four common schools, which are mainly sup
pOrted by private contributions number
Of them being for the working classes OF
both sexes and all ages. Besides many
private schools and seminaries, there is also
a university, medical college, school of
jurisprudence, and recently established
art school,
A noteworthy circumstance connected
with this city Is that while most Of the
Mexican and Spanish-AmeriCan police are
ragged soldiers detailed from the army, aud
the army being mostly recruited from the
prisons, clad in scanty linen and much
''brief authority bristling with sahers
pistols, and other munitions OF warfare
those of Guatemala are tine body of men
headed by a former member of the munlci
pal police Of New York city, and wearing
precisely the same uniform rs the force OF
our metropolis.
Until the late efforts at railroad building
all communication between the dineren,
parts Of Guatemala was by burrOs (hhlal
donkeys), which, laden beyond belief, threat
there toilsomG way along mountain tran
that, during the annual season OF rains, arr
frequently impossible, Sometimes tn
coffee crop of the interior Is kept on h0nC
from wear to year because Of the impOs
sibility of getting IL to market The
GUATEMALA CENTRAL RAILWAY,
. began in June of 1880, has a sixty-seyel
/ mile route from san Jose 10 tine chpllhi ah'
! "A narruw-g gauge line to Esenihtla' hDOu
thirty miles from San Jose, In the otle
direction. The road to the capital crosse
eight stupcndous barranCas, aud has max
imum grade Of Al per cent. a TRANSFORM
= mental line Is also In progress rom uual'
mala In Nucya to Livingstone, about twenty
' five miles, for building which the late Pres
dent Barros had raised the necessar
7 Sl2,0OO,OOO
4 There are over 5000 miles Of telegraph,
= Guatemala. American consuls or consuli
y agents reside at the capital and In all II
II cities Of importance. The only port OF col
g sequence on the Pacific side Is San Jos
Il aud It has an open rOadstead when allof'
Is no shelter for shipping Naturalization beir
at NIL times difficult and often imposslb
p for weeks together, The dirty little tow
2 situated at the mouth of the Mickapl