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Memoir of Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill.

Attingham, in which title he was succeeded by his son, the present Lord

Berwick.

Sir Rowland Hill, the grandfather of General Hill, was of the other branch of the family; he is mentioned as a most worthy and honourable gentleman in all the relations of his public and private life. He contributed very liberally to the comforts and conveniences of his neighbourhood, and built and founded, we believe, some public works at Shrewsbury and in its vicinity. Of these the most conspicuous and most useful is the English bridge, as it is termed, in contradistinction to the Welsh; respecting which we find the following notice, viz.

"On Thursday, July 27, 1769, Sir Rowland Hill, Bart. laid the first stone of the new bridge here, with this inscription, erected under the direc tion of Mr. John Gwynn :

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ANNO CHRISTI, MDCCLXIX.

GEORG. III. REGIS, IX.
JOANNE GWYNN, ARCHITECTO,

HUJUSCE PONTIS,

PUBLICO COMITATUS SUMPTU EXTRUENDI,

PRIMUM LAPIDEM POSUIT

ROLANDUS HILL, BARONETTUS,

ROLANDI HILL, EQUIT. OLIM PRETORIS LONDIN.
CONSANGUINEUS,

QUI PONTEM JAM VETUSTATE LABENTEM,

ANNOS ABHINC CC. ET PLURES

SUMPTU SUO PROPRIO

MUNIFICENTISSIME FUNDAVIT.

Sir Rowland Hill, at his death, left three sons, namely, Sir Richard Hill, Bart. who was, for several years, one of the representatives of the county of Salop, and who died at his beautiful seat at Hawkestone*, November 28, 1808, in the 76th year of his age.

• Hawkestone, ten miles from Shrewsbury, has been justly termed "An Elysian resi dence. It was, at a most enormous expense, formied out of a sandy waste; but has been embellished with so much taste, that the particular features that adorn it can scarcely receive justice from the most animated and vivid description:

"Here hills and dales, the woodlands and the plain,

"Here art and nature seem to strive again."

The family mansion stands in a grove of oaks, it is a large brick building, with spacious wings. The style of its architecture is rather grand then elegaut, a style that ine dicates, in its sumptuous solidity, liberality and benevolence. The park ranges in its front, and the adjacent village abounds with monuments of the taste and munificence of Sir Richard Hill; upon the hospitality of whose hall, he was once in parliament com plimented by the late Mr. Pitt.

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Narrative of a Journey in South America.

NARRATIVE

OF A

JOURNEY IN THE INTERIOR OF SOUTH AMERICA, IN NOVEMBER 1810.

BEING in La Guayra, the seaport of the province of Caracas, in the month of November 1810, I resolved to employ the occasion to obtain a knowledge of the interior of the country; and to that end I formed the resolution of making a journey upwards; I resolved, moreover, to make it on foot, a circumstance not very usual in these tropical climates, but which I preferred, as affording me a more accurate survey both of the scenery and manners. Accordingly I left La Guayra some time about the middle of November 1810, and proceeded, attended only by a guide, for Macuta. For about a mile the road continues along the shore until we reach Macuta, a neat and pleasant village, also close upon the sea, where most of the richer inhabitants of La Guayra have houses. Here the mountains recede a little from the shore, and leave a small opening, certainly better adapted for the situation of the port than the spot which has been chosen for it. I have little doubt that Macuta will one day surpass. La Guayra in size, as it now does in neatness and regularity.

Having passed through Macuta, the road turns to the left, and we immediately begin to ascend. The soil is at first a deep clay, or a rich mould, and so continues to a considerable height; the road is therefore paved in many parts, without which it would, in rainy weather, be wholly impassable. In the steepest parts it ascends by zigzags; but sometimes it is so narrow, that two loaded mules cannot pass each other; and the banks are high and steep on each side.

We continue constantly to ascend. From clay, the road changes in many parts to rugged rock. At the height of about a thousand feet, we begin to breathe already a lighter and cooler air: and, turning back, enjoy the view of Macuta and the coast beneath our feet. We see the white breakers along the shore, and hear their noise, which now sounds like a hollow murmur among the woods which begin to crown the steeps. Opposite to us is a high and steep hill, covered with vegetation, and all the deep hollow between is dark with trees. Here and there spots are cleared away, plantations are formed, and the experienced eye can distinguish the various hues of the fields of coffee, sugar, or maize. We pass also from time to time two or three miserable huts, where the muleteers are accustomed to stop and refresh themselves. In this manner we continue to ascend, the mountains still rising steep before us, till we arrive at a draw-bridge over a deep cut made across the narrow ridge upon which we have been ad◄ vancing. On each side are deep valleys, clothed with tall trees and thick

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Narrative of a Journey in South America.

underwood, through which there is no path. This point is defended by two or three guns and a few soldiers, and forms the first military obstacle to the march of an enemy. In its present state it is by no means formidable, but a very little care might render it so. Having passed this, the steepness increases, so that the mules, and even the foot traveller, can only proceed by crossing obliquely from side to side; and even that is attended with difficulty after rain or heavy dues, on account of the smooth round stones with which the road is paved. But the great and enlivening change experienced in the state of the atmosphere removes all difficulties. Never within the tropics had I before breathed so pure and so cool an air. Instead of the stifling heat of the coast, where the slightest exertion was attended with profuse perspiration, I walked fast for joy, and thought myself in England. It was four o'clock in the afternoon when I left La Guayra, and it was now become dark when I reached La Venta, or the inn, a poor house, but well known upon the road, as being about half way between Caracas and the Port. It is situated at the height of about 3600 English feet above the level of the sea, at which elevation the heat is never oppressive. Here, having supped, and drank large draughts of delicious cold water, I repaired to sleep, unmolested by heat or musquitoes. Being still warm with my walk and my supper, I cared little that the frame on which I lay down was unprovided with a single article of covering; but, about midnight I awoke, shivering with cold, and astonished at a sensation so unexpected. At three o'clock, being a fine moonlight morning, we resumed our journey, having still a considerable distance to ascend, although the worst of the road was now past. In an hour we had passed the highest point of the road, and proceeded along an uneven ridge of two or three miles before beginning to descend towards the valley of Caracas. On the summit of the highest hill above the road is a fort, which completes the military defences on the side of La Guayra. This fort is only visible from certain points somewhat distant, as we wind close round the base of the hill on which it stands, without seeing any vestiges of it. When we had passed the ridge, and were descending towards Caracas, the day began to dawn. Never had I seen a more interesting prospect. A valley, upwards of twenty miles in length, inclosed by lofty mountains, unfolded itself by degrees to my eyes. A small river, which ran through the whole length of it was marked by a line of mist along the bottom of the valley; while the large white clouds, which here and there lingered on the sides of the hills, began to be tinged with the first beams of light. Beneath my feet was the town of Caracas, although only its church towers were visible, rising above the light mist in which it lay buried. Presently the bells began to chime, and I heard all their changes distinctly, although following the windings of the road I had still four miles to descend, whilst in a straight line the distance did not appear more than At the foot of the hill is a gate, where a guard and officers are stationed, to examine the permits for merchandize, and sometimes the pass

one.

Narrative of a Journey in South America.

ports of strangers. Within this is an open space before reaching the town, which we entered about six o'clock. After passing the first rows of houses, I was struck with the neatness and regularity of most of the streets, which were well paved, and far superior to any thing I had yet seen in the West Indies. In the principal Posada, or inn, kept by a Genoese, I found every accommodation that could be here reasonably expected; and indeed, for some days, the constant sensation of refreshing coolness in the mornings and evenings, as well as throughout the night, was of itself a luxury which seemed to have all the charms of novelty, and left no room for petty complaints.

Santiago de Leon de Caracas, the capital of the whole captain generalship of Caracas, is situated in long. 66° 46′ west, and lat. 10° 30′ north, at an elevation of nearly 2000 feet above the level of the sea. The valley towards the head of which it is placed extends nearly east and west more than twenty miles, and varies in breadth from four to six or seven It narrows towards the west, where it is almost entirely shut in by hills, which along the south side of the valley rise by gradations above each other. Those on the north side, on the contrary, form one bold and continued range, separating the valley from the coast, and rising at one point, called the Peak of La Silla, or the Saddle, to a height of more than eight thousand four hundred English feet above the level of the sea. It is close at the foot of this northern side that the town is placed. The ground on which it stands slopes regularly down to the Guayra, a small river which bounds it on the south, and with which three other streams afterwards unite and run through the whole valley in one channel. Although called a river, it would, in North America, be considered as no more than a brook, being every where fordable near the town, except after heavy rains, when it runs with great rapidity, but subsides almost as suddenly as it rises. Of the three streams which join the Guayra, the Catucho is the most useful to the inhabitants, as from it they derive the principal supply of water for the public fountains, of which there are several; as also for private houses, many of which are furnished with pipes and reservoirs. Besides its inclination to the south, the ground slopes also to the east, and is consequently, upon the whole, extremely well calculated for contributing to the health and convenience of a large town. After a heavy shower of rain every street pours a muddy torrent into the Guayra, or the Anau-o; but in a few minutes all is again dry, and we find the whole town suddenly rendered cleaner than could be effected by the utmost labour in any other not similarly situated. The streets are in general about a hundred yards apart, and as they intersect each other at right angles, the whole town is by this means divided into square portions, called quadras. When one of these is left unoccupied by houses, there remains of course a plaza, or open square, occupying the same space as the quadra. This construction is abundantly simple, and is perhaps the best that can be adopted for a large town, where the nature of the ground admits of it. It is upon a similar plan that Philadelphia is built; but the want of open

Narrative of a Journey in South America.

squares renders that otherwise beautiful city somewhat too dull and uniform.

There are several squares in Caracas; but none of them worthy of notice, except the Plaza Mayor, or great square, where the market for fruits, vegetables, fish, and other smaller articles, is held. The east side is principally occupied by the cathedral, the south by the college, and the west by by the public prison. Within these is, as it were, another square, formed principally by ranges of low shops, which, however convenien in a commercial point of view, entirely disfigure the whole. The principal fountain discharges itself in the middle of the north side. In this square may be seen the fruits which we have been accustomed to consider as peculiar to very different climates all brought from the distance of a few leagues. The banana, the pine apple, and the sapadillo, are mingled with the apple, the pear, and the chesnut. The potatoe and the plantain, fresh provisions which seem to belong to the temperate zones, and those kinds of fish which are peculiar to tropical seas, are here offered for sale on the same spot.

The cathedral of Caracas is heavily built, and the interior construction is badly planned; as, during the celebration of mass, a great proportion of the number of people which the church is capable of holding cannot see the priest; a most essential point where the ceremony constitutes so essential a part of the devotion. The length of the cathedral is about ninety yards, by twenty-seven in breadth. It is supported by twenty-four pillars, without beauty or proportion; but its brick steeple contains the only public clock in the town, and may thus compensate by its utility for what it wants in elegance.

Next in point of importance, and superior in the richness of its ornaments, is the parochial church of Alta Gracia, which was built chiefly at the expence of people of colour, and to which they seem to have contributed through emulation. It is by far the most splendid church in Caracas, and does some honour to the zeal of the contributors, if not to the taste of the architects, or of those who had the direction of its ornamenting.

The church of La Candelaria gives name to the quarter of the town in which it stands, and was built by the settlers from the Canaries, called here Islenos, or Islanders. Besides these, there are two other parish churches, St. Rosolia and St. Paul, three monasteries for friars, two nunneries, and three hospitals, of which one is for lepers alone.

The population of Caracas is upwards of forty thousand, of which about one third are whites. Among the remainder are a very few Indians; but the mixture of Indian blood is general. Almost all the handicrafts are carried on by freed-men of colour, who are in general ingenious, but indolent and indifferent to the highest degree. They promise, without the smallest intention of performing, and appear perfectly unmoved when reproached with their falsehood. But indifference on this score is not peculiar to this class alone.

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