Most of these palaces are situated in
gardens surrounded by high walls; they seldom join one another, for
which reason there are but few imposing squares or streets.
With the exception of the governor's palace, none of these buildings
can be compared for architectural beauty and richness with the large
palaces of Rome, Florence, and Venice. Most of them are only
distinguished from ordinary dwelling-houses by a handsome portico
upon brick pillars covered with cement, and terrace-like roof's.
Inside, the rooms are large and lofty, and the stairs of greyish
marble or even wood; but neither in doors or out are there any fine
statues or sculptures.
The Palace of the governor is as I before said, a magnificent
building - one that would be an ornament to the finest city in the
world. It is built in the form of a horse-shoe, with a handsome
cupola in the centre: the portico, as well as both the wings, is
supported upon columns. The internal arrangements are as bad as can
possibly be imagined; the supper-room being, for instance, a story
higher than the ball-room. In both these rooms there is a row of
columns on each side, and the floor of the latter is composed of
Agra marble. The pillars and walls are covered with a white cement,
which is equal to marble for its polish. The private rooms are not
worth looking at; they merely afford the spectator an opportunity of
admiring the skill of the architect, who has managed to turn the
large space at his command to the smallest imaginable profit.
Among the other buildings worthy of notice are the Town-hall, the
Hospital, the Museum, Ochterlony's Monument, the Mint, and the
English Cathedral.
The Town-hall is large and handsome. The hall itself extends
through one entire story. There are a few monuments in white marble
to the memory of several distinguished men of modern times. It is
here that all kinds of meetings are held, all speculations and
undertakings discussed, and concerts, balls, and other
entertainments given.
The Hospital consists of several small houses, each standing in the
midst of a grass plot. The male patients are lodged in one house,
the females and children in a second, while the lunatics are
confined in the third. The wards were spacious, airy, and
excessively clean. Only Christians are received as patients.
The hospital for natives is similar, but considerably smaller. The
patients are received for nothing, and numbers who cannot be
accommodated in the building itself are supplied with drugs and
medicines.
The Museum, which was only founded in 1836, possesses, considering
the short space of time that has elapsed since its establishment, a
very rich collection, particularly of quadrupeds and skeletons, but
there are very few specimens of insects, and most of those are
injured.
