Soon after breakfast we went ashore--in more senses of the word than
one; for they have commenced to build a mole for the protection of
small vessels, which, in its unfinished state, is not yet visible
above the water. The consequence was that, at a distance of about half
a mile from the landing-steps, we rowed straight on to the submerged
stonework, but fortunately got off again very quickly, without having
sustained any damage. On landing, we found ourselves opposite the
Custom House, a fine building, with which we afterwards made a closer
acquaintance.
There is a large and very good hotel here, l'Hotel Oriental. It is a
handsome building outside, and the interior is full of marble courts,
stone corridors, and lofty rooms, deliciously cool in the hottest
weather. Having procured a carriage, Tom and I and the children drove
through the streets, which are wide and handsome, though badly paved,
and so full of holes that it is a wonder how the springs of a carriage
can last a week. The houses seem built chiefly in the Italian style of
architecture, with fine stucco fronts, and in many cases marble floors
and facings, while the courtyards, seen through the grilles, blazed
with flowers. All the lower windows were strongly barred, a precaution
by no means unnecessary against the effects of the revolutions, which
are of such frequent occurrence in this country.
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