Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/497

Rh Anton, and San Lázaro. The two magnificent aqueducts which enter by way of Traspana and Chapultepec and supply the city with water, have been described elsewhere.

The so-called paseos, or public walks, were the delight of the Mexican population. The most beautiful of them was the famed alameda, which had no equal in Spain. The paseo of Iztacalco was another favorite resort, and lay on the banks of a canal of that name. By this route and the canal of Chaleo hundreds of canoes brought daily into the city building material, provisions, vegetables, fruit, and flowers in great quantities, until in time the canals were filled up in the central part of the capital; particularly when the streets became raised in consequence of the deposits left by inundations. The greater part of the vegetables and flowers were raised on the famous chinampas, or floating gardens; their number, however, was daily diminishing. In the paseo of Bucareli an object of just admiration was the colossal equestrian statue of Cárlos IV., first erected on the principal square, but in later years removed to this place of recreation. This piece of American art was executed by the order and at the expense of Viceroy Branciforte. It was of bronze and in one piece, modelled, cast, and erected by the celebrated Mexican sculptor Manuel Tolsa. Humboldt, who was present at the unveiling of the monument, says that, except the statue of Marcus Aurelius at Rome, there was nothing of the kind in Europe to equal it in beauty and purity of design.

Among the convents the most prominent was that of the Franciscans, which in the year 1800 enjoyed an income from alms alone of more than a hundred thousand pesos. Of the churches remarkable for splendor, elegance, and beauty of design those of San Agustin, Santo Domingo, San Pablo, Soledad, Jesus María, and Santa Teresa were the most noteworthy. In this