Page:Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay (1870).djvu/347



humaitA. 317

and made of bell-metal taken from the churches ; it fired a round shot of 150 lbs. One trunnion was inscribed '^ Arsenal Asuncion^^ (where it was rifled), 1867 ; on the other appeared the patriotic legend " La Religion k el Estado" — Church giving to State, somewhat a reversal of the usual rule. Next to the Fundicion de Nierro, a ragged orange-grove showed where the Paraguayan barracks had been ; those of the infantry lay further to the south-west. The sheds called barracks which lodged the escort of the Marshal- President were a little north of the church of San Carlos (Borromeo), a namesake of the elder Lopez ; on January 1, 1861, it had been consecrated, amidst general rejoicings, by the Bishop. Originally it resembled the Cathedral of Asuncion, as represented by Captain Page (p. 224) ; the colours are blue and white, whilst the cornices and pilasters evidence some taste. We read in 1863 — " The church is a splendid edifice with three towers, the middle one being 120 or 150 feet high ; the interior is neat, and a colonnade runs round the exterior; there are four large bells, hung from a wooden scaffolding, one bearing the inscription, Sancte Carole, ora pro nobis.^^ It is now a mere heap of picturesque ruins, with hardwood timber barely supported by cracked walls of brick ; the latter is unusually well baked, and the proportions are those of the old Romans — twelve or fourteen inches long, eight broad, and two thick. One belfry, with the roof and fa9ade, has been reduced to heaps ; the south-eastern tower still rises above the ruins, but in a sadly shaky condition. The Bra- zilians banged at the fane persistently as an Anglo-Indian gunner at a flagstaff; and the Paraguayans at times amused themselves with repairing it. The church of S. Carlos lies in Lat. S. 27" 2', Long. W. (G.), 61Â° 30^ and here the variation is 7Â° 50' E.

Near it is the Presidential " palace,'^ a ground-floor shed