Nicaragua

THE CITY OF LEON—ORIGINALLY BUILT ON THE SHORES OF LAKE MANAGUA—CAUSE OF ITS REMOVAL—ITS PRESENT SITE—DWELLINGS OF ITS INHABITANTS—STYLE OF BUILDING—DEVASTATION OF THE CIVIL WARS—PUBLIC BUILDINGS—THE GREAT CATHEDRAL—ITS STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE; INTERIOR; MAGNIFICENT VIEW FROM THE ROOF—THE “CUARTO DE LOS OBISPOS,” OR GALLERY OF THE BISHOPS—THE UNIVERSITY—THE BISHOP’S PALACE—“CASA DEL GOBIERNO”—“CUARTEL GENERAL”—THE CHURCHES OF LA MERCED, CALVARIO, RECOLECCION—HOSPITAL OF SAN JUAN DE DIOS—STONE BRIDGE—INDIAN MUNICIPALITY OF SUBTIABA—POPULATION OF LEON—PREDOMINANCE OF INDIAN POPULATION—DISTINCTION OF STOCKS—MIXED RACES—SOCIETY OF LEON—THE FEMALES; THEIR DRESS—SOCIAL GATHERINGS; THE “TERTULIA”—HOW TO “BREAK THE ICE” AND OPEN A BALL—NATIVE DANCES—PERSONAL CLEANLINESS OF THE PEOPLE—GENERAL TEMPERANCE—“AGUARDIENTE”—AND “ITALIA”—FOOD—THE TORTILLA—FRIJOLES—PLANTAINS—THE MARKETS—PRIMITIVE CURRENCY—MEALS—COFFEE, CHOCOLATE, AND “TISTE”—DULCES—TRADE OF LEON.

The city of Leon is situated in latitude 12° 25′ north, and longitude 86° 57′ west. As I have elsewhere mentioned, it was founded in 1523, by Hernandez de Cordova, the conqueror of the country and the founder of Granada. Its original site was at the head of the western bay of Lake Managua, near the base of the great volcano of Momotombo, at a place now called Moabita, or, as it is spelled in the early chronicles, Ymbita, where its ruins still exist, overgrown by trees undistinguishable from those of the surrounding forests. This site was abandoned in the year 1610, for that now occupied by the city, which was then the seat of a large Indian town called Subtiaba. There is a tradition that a curse was pronounced upon the old town by the Pope, when he heard of the murder there, in 1549, by Hernando de Contreras, of Antonio de Valdivieso, third bishop of Nicaragua, who opposed the cruelty and oppression towards the Indians practised by Contreras, and who, for this reason, fell under his anger. In consequence of this curse, it is said, the city was visited by a succession of calamities, which became insupportable; and the inhabitants, driven to despair, finally, on the 2d of January, 1610, after a solemn fast, with the flag of Spain and the officers of the municipality at their head, marched to the site now occupied by the city, and there proceeded to lay out a new town. The cruel and sacrilegious deed of Contreras is, even yet, mentioned with horror; and many of the people believe that the stains of the blood of the bishop, who fled to the church, and died of his wounds at the foot of the altar, are yet visible upon its ruined walls, a lasting evidence of God’s displeasure.

In common with Granada, Leon suffered from the attacks of the pirates, during their predominance in the South Sea. In 1685, a party of English freebooters, amongst them the celebrated Dampier, landed in the Estero Doña Paula, and advancing rapidly upon the city, surprised and captured it, notwithstanding the brave resistance of the little garrison of fifty men. They sacked the entire city, and burnt the cathedral, the convent of La Merced, the hospital, and many of the principal houses.

Leon is situated in the midst of the great plain of the same name, which I have described, about midway between the lake and ocean. The choice of position seems to have been determined by the same considerations which influenced the Indians in selecting it for one of their own towns, viz.: the proximity of water. Upon both sides of the city are deep ravines, in which are a multitude of springs of pure water, forming perennial streams of considerable size, which unite at the distance of half a mile from the city. From these the supply of water for the town is chiefly obtained. In later times many wells have been sunk, but they require to be of great depth—from one hundred and twenty to two hundred feet—and the water is not esteemed to be as good as that from the ravines.

Like all other cities under the tropics, Leon covers a large area of ground. It is regularly laid out, with squares or plazas, at intervals, in each ecclesiastical or municipal district. The houses, like those of Granada, are built of adobes, and are rarely of more than one story. Each one encloses a spacious patio or courtyard, filled with fruit or shade trees. Sometimes the building has an inner or back court for the domestic animals, while that immediately connected with the dwelling is ornamented with shrubbery and flowers, and surrounded on all sides by a broad corridor. This style of building, which is well adapted to the climate, and rendered necessary in a country where earthquakes are so frequent, admits of very little architectural display. The builder has no opportunity of exhibiting his taste or skill, except in the “puerta” or “zaguan”—portal, or principal entrance,—and in the elaboration of the balconied windows. These portals are often high and imposing, and profusely and tastefully ornamented. Some are copies of the Moresque arches so common in Spain, and are loaded with ornaments peculiar to that style of architecture. Others are of the severer Grecian styles, and others of orders utterly indescribable, and eminently original. Above these arches the old aristocracy often placed their arms; those of a military turn carved groups of armor, and those piously inclined a prayer or a passage from the Bible.

Formerly, very few of the buildings had more than two or three openings on the street, but of late years windows are becoming more numerous. These windows are broad and high, projecting two or three feet, and are guarded by iron balconies. Within the balconies are seats, which in the evening are occupied by the señoras, who here receive their visitors, and return the salutations of their passing friends. The gallant saunters from one to the other, and pays his devoirs without entering; an easy custom, which, in the early evening, gives the streets an air of great gayety and cheerfulness. He often carries his guitar with him, and sings a song when conversation flags. Sometimes the mounted cavalier reins in his steed before the balcony, to pay his compliments to the fair occupants,—stealthily pricking the animal with his spurs, to show off his skill in managing him, and to impress the señoras with admiration for his spirit. They are quite up to these little tricks in Nicaragua, as well as in other countries.

The interiors of the dwellings of the better classes convey an idea of great comfort, in a country where room and ventilation become necessary conditions of existence. The principal apartments, with rare exceptions, open upon the corridor, and are also connected by inner doors. In the main body of the building is the grand sala, or what we would call a parlor, used only for receptions, or as a sitting-room for the ladies. On either side are the private rooms of the families, while the wings are appropriated for sleeping apartments, to the servants, and for stores. Very few are ceiled, but are open to the roof, allowing a free circulation of air between the tiles. The floors are paved with large square tiles or bricks, occasionally with marble, and are usually kept well watered. And as the windows are never glazed, every passing breeze enters freely, and the ventilation is made perfect. Meals are taken in the corridor, on the side most shaded from the sun; and here hammocks are swung for those who choose to occupy them. The walls, both of the corridors and inner rooms, are sometimes painted, in imitation of marble or of hangings; but owing to the lack of skill on the part of the artists, the effect is not usually good. The accompanying ground-plan will convey an idea of the arrangement of the various parts of a Central American dwelling, from which the details may be discovered without further explanation. I need only repeat that, however at variance with established rules of architecture in other countries, they are probably better adapted to the climate and country than edifices of a more pretending character.

In Leon, as in Granada, the dwellings on the outskirts of the city are simple cane structures, covered with thatch, but sometimes plastered with mud and roofed with tiles. And here, as in all the other towns, they are embowered in trees, and surrounded with cactus fences. The accompanying engraving of a hut in the barrio of Saragossa, may be taken as a type of all the others.

The streets in the central part of the city are paved. The object principally had in view is the prevention of dust, which, towards the close of the dry season, is almost unendurable in the unpaved parts of the town.

Perhaps no city in America has suffered more from war than Leon. During the contest between the aristocrats and liberals which followed the declaration of independence, a large part, embracing the richest and best built portions, was destroyed by fire. Over one thousand buildings were burned in a single night. The great cathedral is surrounded by entire squares of ruins of what were once palaces. The lofty and elaborate archways, by which they were entered, still indicate their original magnificence. Entire streets, now almost deserted, are lined with the remains of large and beautiful edifices, destroyed in the civil wars. Within their abandoned courts stand rude cane huts,—as if in mockery of their former state. Leon was formerly one of the best built cities in all Spanish America. “It is,” says the old traveller, Gage, writing in 1665, “very curiously built; for the chief delight of the inhabitants consists in their houses, in the pleasure of the country adjoining, and in the abundance of all things for the life of man. They are content,” he adds, “with fine gardens, with the variety of singing birds and parrots, with plenty of fish and flesh, with gay houses, and so lead a delicious, lazy, and idle life, not aspiring much to trade and traffic, although they have the lake and ocean near them. The gentlemen of Leon are almost as gay and fantastical as those of Chiapas; and it is especially from the pleasure of this city that the province of Nicaragua is called Mahomet’s Paradise.”^[18]

The public buildings of Leon are among the finest in all Central America. Indeed, the great cathedral of St. Peter may perhaps be regarded as second to no similar structure in any of the Spanish American States. It was finished in 1743, having occupied thirty-seven years in building. The cost is said to have been five millions of dollars, but this seems to be an exaggeration. It covers an entire square, and its front extends the whole width of the grand plaza. It is constructed of cut stone, and is one firm mass of masonry. The roof is composed of massive arches, and has all the solidity of a rock. Nothing can better illustrate its strength, than the fact that it has withstood the storms and earthquakes of more than a century; and, with the exception of one of the towers, which during my residence in the country was struck by lightning, and cracked from top to bottom, it is now nearly as perfect as it came from the hands of its builders. Yet it has often been converted into a fortress, and has sustained more than one cannonade and bombardment from besieging forces. In 1823, it is said, no less than thirty pieces of artillery were planted on its roof. On its most exposed side, towards the east, there is hardly a square inch of its walls which is not indented with shot.

Its ornaments are of stucco, and are simple and chaste. Viewed from an eminence, the entire structure is very imposing, but seen from the plaza, it appears low in proportion to its width. The interior is not unworthy of its exterior; but is comparatively bare of ornament. At the head of the principal aisle, beneath a lofty, spacious dome, is the great altar, composed of silver, elaborately chased. The side chapels are not remarkable for their richness or beauty. For, in the civil commotions of the country the churches have not escaped the rapacity of the soldiery. The cathedral was once possessed of extraordinary wealth, and the costliness and variety of its ornaments were a proverb in Spain itself; but now it has little to boast beyond its massive proportions and architectural design.

I visited it shortly after my arrival, under the guidance of one of the canónigos, who was conscientious in pointing out to me everything worthy of notice. What most interested me, however, was a small room, in which were contained all the portraits of the bishops, commencing with Zuniga. They were forty-four in number, and displayed every variety of feature and complexion. The dark skins and black hair of some of the bishops showed that native or Indian blood had been no bar to ecclesiastical preferment, and contrasted strongly with the fair complexions of others of European birth. Most had an expression of great austerity; types of rigorous zealots, who looked as if every sentiment and feeling of humanity had been rudely rooted from their hearts; while others wore more cheerful faces, and a few, I am sure, had been right jolly old fellows in their day, not averse to the grape, nor wholly indifferent to the smiles of beauty.

Both the façade and rear of the cathedral were once ornamented with the royal arms of Spain, but these were removed in the first fervor of republican zeal, and their places yet remain blanks,—emblematic of a country which has got rid of one government, without having as yet fully succeeded in establishing another in its place.

One of the finest views in the world is commanded from the roof of the cathedral; and standing here, I saw for the first time the waters of the Pacific, a rim of silver on the edge of the western horizon. In the east bristled the nine volcanoes of the Marabios, which I have already mentioned, their outlines sharply defined against the sky, and in their regularity of outline emulating the symmetry of the pyramids. From this position alone is a good view to be obtained of the city, which, seen from one side, or from a distance, presents only a monotonous succession of tiled roofs, half-buried amongst the trees, and only relieved by the white walls of the churches.

To the left of the cathedral, and separated only by the street, is the “Palacio del Obispo,” the Episcopal Palace. It was described as follows, in 1751, by the then Bishop of Nicaragua, Señor Don Pedro Augustin Morel de Sta. Cruz, and has changed but little since.

Adjoining the palace of the Bishop, is the Tridentine College of St. Ramon, established in 1675. This institution was once very flourishing, and had numerous students, with professorships of law and medicine. It has, however, shared in the general decadence of the country, and has now but little more than a nominal existence. Efforts have lately been made to revive it upon a new foundation; and with an improvement in the country at large, there is no doubt it may regain something of its former position.

The government house, which occupies the northern side of the grand plaza, is distinguished for nothing except that it is somewhat more lofty than its neighbors, and has a raised corridor extending along its entire front. Opposite to this is the Cuartel General, or head-quarters of the regular forces of the government, with a guard of soldiers constantly on duty; for, in case of disturbance, this is the first place to be attacked, inasmuch as it is the general depository of the arms of the State.

The churches of La Merced, the Recoleccion, and Calvario, are remarkable for their size and their fine façades. The front of the latter is ornamented with panels containing Scriptural groups, admirably executed in bas-relief, and with niches containing statues of the saints. It has suffered much from shot, having been twice occupied by besieging forces, while the superior position of the cathedral was in possession of the other party. The Merced has also suffered from the same cause, but in a less degree. It contains some fine paintings, and its principal altar is an elaborate and very beautiful piece of composition. A convent was once attached to this church, as also to the church of the Recoleccion, and to that of San Juan de Dios. But these have been abolished; and the convent buildings of the Merced, at the time of my arrival, were used as cavalry barracks, while those of San Juan de Dios had been converted into a hospital. Besides the churches which I have named, there are ten or twelve others, but less in size, and of more moderate pretensions. And as each of these has a chime of bells, and nearly every day is dedicated to some saint, in whose honor it is essential to ring them all, a continual clangor is kept up, which, until the stranger becomes habituated to it, or is deafened outright, is excessively annoying.

When to this list I have added the stone bridge across the ravine to the south of the city, connecting with the barrio de Guadelupe, I have finished the architectural notabilities of Leon. This bridge was never fully completed, but was boldly projected, and the arches spanning the stream are models of symmetry and good workmanship.

The Indian pueblo of Subtiaba is really part of the city of Leon, although constituting a distinct municipality. It has also its grand plaza, and separate public buildings. Its great church is second in size to no other in Nicaragua, except the cathedral of Leon. The façade is quaint, with numerous niches filled with figures of grim old saints. It is substantially built, and has a very high antiquity. “The Parroquial of Subtiaba,” said the old Bishop, Augustin Morel, writing of this church in the year 1751, “is the largest and most beautiful in the Bishopric. The principal and side chapels, and baptistery, are arched, and high and ample. The body of the church consists of three naves; the columns are of cedar, with gilt capitals. It has eight altars, four chapels, a neat sacristy, and is admirably decorated. Its towers are well proportioned, and its façade imposing and tasteful, and altogether the edifice is fit for a cathedral.”

Subtiaba has suffered no less than Leon from intestine wars, and is but a shadow of what it once was, when it could muster two thousand fighting men in its plaza at a moment’s warning.

It is difficult to form a correct estimate of the population of Leon. The city is spread over so wide a space, and so involved amongst trees that, even after a three months’ residence, I found myself constantly discovering new and secluded portions, of the existence of which I was before ignorant. And although at first I thought twenty thousand an over estimate, I ultimately came to regard the number set down in the census attempted in 1847, viz: thirty thousand, as probably nearer the truth. In this calculation I include the Indian municipality of Subtiaba, which is generally, but erroneously supposed to be a town separate from Leon.

Here, as everywhere else in Nicaragua, the Indian and mixed population greatly predominates, and the pure whites constitute scarcely one-tenth of the whole number. The general complexion is however considerably lighter than at Granada, but not so clear as at Managua and some of the smaller towns. An infusion of Indian blood is easily to be detected in a large proportion of those who claim to be of pure Spanish descent. It displays itself less in the color of the skin than in a certain quickness of the eye, which is a much more expressive feature in those crossed with the Indians than in either of the original stocks. In respect of physique, leaving color out of the question, there are probably no handsomer men in the world than some of the Sambos, or offspring of Indian and negro parents. They are of course darker than the Indian, but taller and better developed. It should however be observed that the negroes of Nicaragua differ very widely in appearance from those of the United States. They must have been derived from an entirely different portion of the African continent. They have, in general, aquiline noses, small mouths, and thin lips,—in fact, with the exception of the crisp hair and dark skin, they have few of the features which, with us, are regarded as peculiar and universal in the negro race.

The fusion between all portions of the population of Nicaragua has been so complete, that notwithstanding the diversity of races, distinctions of caste are hardly recognized. The whites, in their social intercourse, maintain a certain degree of exclusion, but in all other relations the completest equality prevails. This would not probably be the case if the white population was proportionably greater, and possessed the physical power to keep up the distinctions which naturally separate the superior and inferior families of men. With a full consciousness of their numerical inferiority, their policy is plainly that of concession; and however repugnant it may have been originally to their pride, it has now come to be regarded as a matter of course, and is submitted to with a good grace.

A few days in Leon sufficed to show me that, in the tone of its society, and the manners of its people, it had more of the metropolitan character than Granada. And although the proportion of its inhabitants who laid claim to what is called “position,” was even here comparatively small, and not at all rigid in its adherence to the conventionalities of the larger cities of Mexico, South America, and our own country; yet, in the essential respects of hospitality, kindness, and courtesy, I found it entitled to a position second to no other community. The women are far from being highly educated, but are simple and unaffected in their manners, and possessed of great quickness of apprehension, and a readiness in good-natured repartee, which compensates, to a certain extent, for their deficiency in general information.

The condition of the country for many years has been such as to afford few opportunities for the cultivation of those accomplishments which are indispensable accessories of refined society; and we are therefore, not justified in subjecting the people of Leon, or of any other city of Central America, to the test of our standards. I can conceive of nothing more painful, or more calculated to awaken the interest of the visitor from abroad, than the spectacle of a people, with really high aspirations and capabilities, borne down by the force of opposing circumstances, conscious of its own condition, but almost despairing of improving it.

In dress the women of Leon have the same fashions with those of Granada, but the European styles are less common, owing to the circumstance that there are fewer foreign residents to infect the popular taste. They have an equal fondness for the cigarito; and in the street are not less proud of displaying a little foot and a satin slipper. As everywhere else in the world they are very attentive in their devotions, but beyond their daily visit to the churches, rarely go out of doors, except it is in the early evening, when visits are paid informally. If chance brings together a sufficient number, a “tertulia” or dance, is often improvised. Set parties or balls are of rare occurrence, and are generally given only on public occasions, and then with great state and ceremony.

We were witnesses of a tertulia at our own house, the second evening after our arrival. A dozen señoras casually found themselves together, a dance was proposed by the gallants loitering at the balconies, and the proposition meeting with favor, they at once dispersed to bring in recruits and the “musicos.” In an hour the grand sala was filled. The females as they came in were all ranged on one side of the room, and the males on the other. This looked rather stiff, and I began to fear that a tertulia was no great matter after all. Directly, however, a single couple took the floor; the music struck up, and as they moved down the room, the measure brought the lady first on one side, and then on the other. As she passed she alternately tapped a señor and señora on the shoulder with her fan, thus arbitrarily determining the partners, who were obliged at once to join in the dance. In this manner the whole party was brought to its feet, nolens volens,—and such I found was a frequent mode of opening the tertulia. After the first set is over, the ice once broken, and the excitement up, the gallants are permitted to exercise a choice. I thought the practice a good one, obviating a great deal of awkward diplomacy at the outset, and putting every one very speedily at their ease. As the evening progressed the party augmented, and before ten o’clock we had got together the élite of Leon. All joined heartily in the spirit of the affair, and when the bell of the cathedral tolled eleven, I think I never saw a more animated assemblage. The polka and the waltz, as also the bolero, and other well known Spanish dances, were all danced gracefully and with spirit; and besides these, after much persuasion, we had an Indian dance, a singular affair, slow and complicated, and which left upon my mind a distinct impression that it was religious in its origin. After the dancing, we had music, but beyond the national air, which was given with force and spirit, I cannot say much for the singing.

During the whole evening, the windows were festooned with urchins, and the doors blockaded by spectators, who when they were particularly pleased, applauded tumultuously, as if the whole affair had been got up for their special entertainment. The police would have driven them off, but I won an enduring popularity by interceding in their behalf, and they were consequently permitted to remain. Upon the occasions of the more formal balls subsequently given, soldiers were stationed at every entrance, and the crowd kept at a distance.

Amongst the lower classes, fandangoes and other characteristic dances are frequent, and are sufficiently uproarious and promiscuous. For obvious reasons, I never witnessed any of these in the city, although I stumbled upon them occasionally in the villages, during my excursions in the country.

The people of Nicaragua are generally scrupulously clean in their persons, except when travelling or ill, and then the touch of water is prohibited. But beyond the grand sala, and the apartments appropriated to visitors, their houses are frequently very far from being patterns of neatness. I have seen sleeping apartments, occupied by families of the first respectability, which certainly had not been swept for weeks, not to say months. Yet the beds in these rooms were clean and neat—the more so perhaps from the contrast. These remarks are less applicable to Granada than Leon, for in the former city the example of the foreign residents has worked a partial reformation amongst the native housekeepers.

The Spanish people, in all parts of the world, are temperate in their habits. Those of Nicaragua in this respect do no discredit to their progenitors. Strong liquors are little used except amongst the lower orders of the population; and even here excess is less common than with us. The sale of brandy and the “aguardiente,” or native rum, is a government monopoly, and is confined to the “estancos,” or licensed establishments, where it pays a high duty to the State. I do not remember to have seen a single respectable citizen drunk during the whole of my residence in the country. Yet a bottle of “cogniac” is usually offered to the stranger, whenever he pays a visit. A considerable quantity of sweet or Spanish wines, are used in the principal towns, but the lighter French wines have the largest consumption. There is a delicious kind of liqueur made from the Muscatel grape, called “Italia,” or “Pisco,” which is brought from Peru. It is, however, produced in small quantities, upon, I believe, a single estate, and is consequently introduced in Nicaragua to a very limited extent. Should it ever become generally known to the people of the United States, it would, no doubt, create for itself a large demand. But whether it can be produced in sufficient quantities to supply a considerable market, is a point upon which I am ignorant.

In their food, the Nicaraguans are also exceedingly simple. Tortillas and frijoles are the standard dishes. The first are composed of maize, and if well made are really palatable. Fresh and unblemished maize on the ear is always selected. It is shelled, soaked in alkali to remove the hull, and then carefully and repeatedly washed in cold water. It is afterwards placed on a metlatl, or grinding stone, and reduced to the extremest fineness. A very little cheese is ground with it, to give it consistency. A roll is then taken in the hands, beaten into a flat cake, and placed on an earthen pan, already heated upon the fire. When sufficiently done upon one side, it is adroitly turned on the other, and is finally served hot and crisp at the table. I “cottoned” to the tortilla from the start, and always preferred it to the native bread, which although light and fair to the eye, is invariably spoiled by sweetening. The tortilla is an aboriginal invention; and the foregoing engraving represents an ancient metlatl or grinding stone which was dug up during my residence in Leon. The form is unchanged to this day, although few are as elaborately ornamented as that here introduced, which is a favorable specimen of aboriginal carving.

It will be observed that this stone is curiously ornamented with grecques, which are shown more distinctly in the subjoined enlarged sketches of the upper and lower extremities of the metlatl (a. b.)

Frijoles, in plain English, are baked beans; but the beans are quite of a different flavor from those in use in more northern latitudes. They are small, white, black, or brown in color, and indigenous in the country. They are not usually relished at first, but a taste for them is gradually acquired, and a meal without frijoles finally comes to lack an essential ingredient. The man who cannot “go” the frijoles had better keep away from Central America. For the weary traveller, in soliciting the bill of fare at the Indian hut where, four times out of five, he is obliged to stop for the night, has generally this brief catalogue, “hay tortillas, frijoles, frijolitos, frijolitos fritos, y huevos,”—“tortillas, beans, little beans, little baked beans, and eggs!”

Excellent beef and pork are to be obtained, at cheap rates, in all the principal towns, and poultry is abundant. A pair of chickens costs from a quartillo to a medio,—i. e. from three to six cents. Next to the tortillas and frijoles, however, the chief articles of consumption are rice, plantains, and a kind of cheese, which is supplied in great quantities from the “haciendas de las vacas,” or cattle estates. The plantains are cooked in many ways,—boiled, fried, and roasted,—and are singly capable of sustaining life. And when I add that, in many parts of the state, they may be had for the asking, and that everywhere six cents worth will sustain a small family for a week, it will be understood that the incentives to labor cannot be very strong, and that the poorest wretch need not go hungry.

The markets of Leon display the greatest profusion of fruits and vegetables, of which it would be almost impossible to give a complete list. Water and musk melons, papayas, pine apples, oranges, mamays, nisperos, pomegranates, marañons, jocotes, yucas, plantains, bananas, beans, maize, and occasionally small potatoes but little larger than bullets, brought in bales from the highlands of Costa Rica and Honduras, and sold by the pound. And as the smallest coin in the country is a quartillo, or three cents, which would purchase more of almost any of these articles than most families would require at one time, change is made in the aboriginal coin of the country, namely cacao nuts, of which four are about equivalent in value to one cent of our currency.

But two meals a-day are eaten by the inhabitants at large. A cup of coffee or chocolate is served at the bedside, or immediately upon rising in the morning. Breakfast follows at nine or ten o’clock in the forenoon, and dinner at three or four in the afternoon. Tea is only drunk by foreigners, and by them to a very limited extent. It is not to be found therefore in any of the shops. A cup of chocolate, or more frequently a cup of tiste (parched corn ground with chocolate and sugar and mixed with water), passed unceremoniously in the evening, supplies its place, and is not an unacceptable substitute. It should be mentioned, however, that large quantities of “dulces,” literally “sweets” or sweetmeats are eaten between meals, especially by the women. The Spanish taste for “dulces” long ago passed into a proverb, but it rather surpasses itself in Nicaragua. The venders of “dulces,” generally bright Indian girls, gaily dressed, and bearing a tray, covered with the purest white napkins, and temptingly spread, upon their heads, pass daily from house to house; and it is sometimes difficult, and always ungallant to refuse purchasing something, however trifling, from their stock. The “mil gracias Señor!” in the silverest of voices, is always worth the money, and so one gets the “dulces” gratis. They sometimes, however, trespassed a little upon my good nature, and carried off more of my loose change than was proper, considering that, having a reasonable regard for my stomach, I never ate any of their dyspeptic compounds.

Leon has little trade beyond the supply of its local wants. The principal import and export business for this portion of the state is done in the large and flourishing town of Chinandega, situated within two leagues of the port of Realejo. Its shops are nevertheless well supplied, and it has some wealthy merchants. Its principal inhabitants, however, are “propietarios,” owners of large estates which are carried on through agents. Attempts have recently been made to augment the commercial importance of Leon by opening a shorter and direct communication with Realejo; but its interior position will always prove a bar to its progress in this respect. Chinandega has already a start, which it will doubtless keep, unless a town, more favorably situated nearer the port, should spring up under the requirements of commerce.

Since the above was written, a new town called “Corinth,” has been laid out on the south shore of the harbor of Realejo, in the direction of Leon, which will greatly benefit the latter city.