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18 buildings on either side were of the most beautiful, and appeared to me to be of the most costly, character. I kept on towards the harbour, and my spirits began to rise at the grandeur of the city before me. On one side of the street were lofty buildings, supported by pillars of polished stone resembling granite and agate; on the other, the buildings were equally impressive, but had not a business-like appearance, having neat flower gardens and shrubberies in front. (I afterwards found this to apply to all the streets in the city.) Indeed, as far as I could see, the one side consisted of an almost unbroken row of bright columns; the other of gardens, with flowers and creeping plants of every hue in bloom. These latter were attached to the back portions of buildings forming the business side of another street. I met many people, not hurrying and bustling on their way, but moving in an orderly and apparently leisurely manner.

Among them, indeed, were a few whose countenances were sad, but the vast majority seemed kind and cheerful, while that haggard and careworn look that clouded the brows of so many of the people in the cities of the other continents I had visited was wholly absent. I noticed that I was attracting attention. However, I kept on my course, looking