Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/257

CH. XVI.] December of the same year: on neither of these occasions, did the whole of the inhabitants desert the city; and it was, at length, endeavoured to compel them to remove from it by a royal mandate, but without effect; nor did the ecclesiastics of the cathedral quit the old capital, until about the year 1779, although they were warned to do so by two other smart shocks, which occurred in the year 1775. The "Incorrigibles," as the present inhabitants are aptly called, amount to about 18,000 souls; and houses are both scarce and dear. The road, for the first five miles out of the new city, is over fine grassy downs; after which, it becomes more woody; then you pass through deep glens and climb the sides of precipitous ravines, which continue to the entrance of the Antigua: on approaching it, I was greatly struck with the romantic beauty of the town itself, as well as of the surrounding scenery. I will attempt to describe it.

Two sides of the city, those to the south