one very large room, or hall, on the ground floor, with a door at each
end, both which generally stand open: At one end a room is taken off by
a partition, where the master of the house transacts his business; and
in the middle, between each end, there is a court, which gives light to
the hall, and at the same time increases the draught of air. From one
corner of the hall the stairs go up to the floor above, where also the
rooms are spacious and airy. In the alcove, which is formed by the
court, the family dine; and at other times it is occupied by the female
slaves, who are not allowed to sit down any where else.[133]

[Footnote 133: The houses are mostly built of brick, stuccoed without,
and with sash-windows, so as to have a light agreeable appearance. The
plan of their internal construction is much the same in the whole. On
one side of a narrow passage into which you enter from the street, you
have a parlour, and a little farther on, a large long room, lighted from
an inner court, as is mentioned in the text. The rooms in general are
badly furnished, and are floored with dark-red stones. The upper rooms
are laid out like the under ones; Few of the private houses have
gardens.--E.]

The public buildings are most of them old, heavy, and ungraceful; but
the new church is not inelegant; it is built with a dome, that is seen
from a great distance at sea, and though the outside has rather a heavy
appearance, the inside forms a very fine room: It is furnished with an
organ of a proper size, being very large, and is most magnificently
illuminated by chandeliers.[134]

[Footnote 134: There are several churches for the reformed religion, and
service is performed in the Dutch, Portuguese, and Malay languages. The
description in the text is believed to apply to the Lutheran church,
erected during the government of Baron Van Imhof.--E.]

The town is enclosed by a stone wall of a moderate height; but the whole
of it is old, and many parts are much out of repair. This wall itself is
surrounded by a river, which in some places is fifty, and in some a
hundred yards wide: The stream is rapid, but the water is shallow. The
wall is also lined within by a canal, which in different parts is of
different breadths; so that, in passing either out or in through the
gates, it is necessary to cross two draw-bridges; and there is no
access for idle people or strangers to walk upon the ramparts, which
seem to be but ill provided with guns.[13