The Republican journal., 1897-07-22
Last Days in Guatemala.

special Correspondence of The journal j

Haling returned to the capital prepare
..ry TO leaving Guatemala ''for good"
ar md ourselves much more in sym
.tny with the native idea which has
listened this place 1.-THE Paris of Cen
-a America after our brief experience
q. this wilderness. There is nothing like a
.ro,s-country ride on mule back, through
mountainous region guiltless of inns, to
make one appreciate the comforts of civil
lion. This really up-to- date city, with
II, horse cars and electric lights, its
Hliern hotel and handsome public build
IS looks so like new place to lis after
,eral weeks sojourn in the unprogres-
.g Interior that am tempted to tell you
out it all over again. However, in this
SO history need not be up to her old
Ks of repeating herself, for the two
lhree days we shall spend here will be
.y occupied investigating things unseen
he former visit.
This morning we were afield with the
lest lark and assembled a little knoll in
northeastern part of the city for the
nose OF obtaining a birds eye view
.ich should suggest future peregrina
u.s. \ broad street, traversed by a
mway aud lit at night by electricity,
i.s out to this knoll, which is known as
erro del Carmen. A church, the old
and Quaintest in the republic, crowns
-
a-4 its cylindrical roof and tower in
ut, contains some curious carvings and
lures, and plaster sculptures in high
eft The view from the door of this
lmbHng sanctuary is worth the toll
ne climb. AT ones feet lies the city,
rounded by gardens and coffee planta-
us in the middle of a green, hill begirt
alley, which slopes off gently towards
e rising sun. On the west towers the
lat cone of the Nolcan de Aqua; on the
r. the sharp little peak of Pacaya peers
love a triple pointed ridge. To the right,
n old Fuegu smokes his crooked pipe,
ri in the farther distance, the extinct
tlGI u aCdNclldlSO lawns III INC Lace VI
eayen. Within a radius of 10 miles-al-
1ugh the clearness of the atmosphere
lkes one imagine them much nearer
e fully half a dozen huge volcanoes,
NJ ten thousand to fifteen thousand feet
IA and beyond, dim and blue against
horizon, tower the Sierras. Every
4 and mountain side is covered with
Auriant verdure-the greenest green,
lder the bluest blue of a semi tropical
ky, The city itself, fully ) 1000 feet above
level, looks beautifully clean and fresh
the morning light. 1t is compactly
lit, about two miles square, without
luding its northern suburbs; its roofs
vered with brown tiles, and its yari-col-
I'd walls springing from courtyaIds
ed with vivid foliage. The houses be-
mostly one storied, the great churches,
ayents and public buildings loom up
Yove them in picturesque prominence.
way OFF near the northern edge of the
.-7 one sees the grandstand and race
IIse OF the hippodrome-that compare
ely new institution i'll Central America,
uoduced by foreigners to supercede the
st vanishing bull-fght. Two miles OF
ne from the hippodrome, on a steep
ivity to the southwark, gleam the
Tx walls and towers Of the old Castillo
san Jose-every one of its guns pointed
Mght toward the city which it is sup
a.ed to protect: while fan to the east, on
smooth, low Hill, the white walls of the
.lt OF Matamoras gisten in the sun
Inc. The enormous cathedral stands
lear the center of the city, its domes and
wer> and massive walls making a most
lposing display. A few blocks from it
the Fashionable church of Santa Teresa,
&Aose walls and dome have recently been
paired and now shine with dazzling in
ugruous whiteness. The stately church
ind convent of San Francisco stand half
a ay between the cathedral and the Cas-
10. The old gray convent has been
tilted for post office, since the call
ea Liberal government banished the
TESTS and contiscated their property,
lud also accommodates a section of the
pice. Nearer to Ell Cerro del Carmen is
he interesting church of La MERGED,
ain, low and massive, but rich in in
-crior carvings, altar decorations and
>acred relics. Near La MERGED are the
geam- colored walls and bright red roof
+ the theater, and little to the left is
lie big convent of Santo Domingo, now
ccuped by the school of engineers and
Mechanics. These are the principal fea-
lures of our birds eye view; but the pic
are is lamentably incomplete, for words
eannot convey an idea of the vivid but
softly blended coloring, the balmy air,
warm but bracing, and the indefinable
harm of mountain scenery in the far
south.
Coming down from Ell Cerro and stroll
ng through the city, we find many points
# interest, besides the fine, large Legis-
alive Hall, the new Palace of the Presi-
lent, the big hospitals, colleges, library
museum and several military Institutes
Tho streets ara roma RI blu hroaI fnr