h room had been found for Earle's impedimenta as well as
for a few of the Indians, while those not so accommodated made no
difficulty of running or walking beside the carts. The journey was
devoid of incident, but the ride was an exceedingly pleasant one, since
the road wound its way for the whole distance through fields and
orchards, the flourishing condition of which bore eloquent testimony to
the richness of the soil and the agricultural skill of the inhabitants.
Here and there farms were passed which were devoted to the raising of
horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, and the splendid condition of the
animals was a source of constant admiration to the two white men.

The city was reached about noon, but long before then the strangers had
begun to realise the splendour and magnificence of it. A peculiarity of
it was that it had no suburbs, the farm lands coming right up to the
gardens of the outermost houses of the city, which clustered as thickly
on its outskirts as in its heart. A further peculiarity was that there
were no rows of houses; each was completely detached and stood in its
own grounds, the only difference being that some of the buildings were
larger, more ornate, and had more extensive gardens than others. The
buildings, though by no means overloaded with ornament, were exceedingly
handsome in a quiet, chaste style, which Earle said reminded him very
forcibly of certain Pompeiian houses; much of the ornamentation
consisting of painted designs upon the white walls. All the houses
appeared to be flat-roofed, and many of them had gardens on the roofs,
the shrubs and trees showing over the low parapets. Others were covered
with gay awnings, beneath which some of the occupants could be seen
taking their ease in hammocks. The Uluans appeared to be passionately
fond of flowers, the gardens being full of them, while their condition
evidenced the care with which they were tended. Fountains, too,
abounded, some of those adorning the public squares being of very
curious and elaborate design. The streets were very wide, few being
less than a hundred feet in width, while some were considerably wider,
with narrow strips of garden running down the centre, full of the most
exquisite flowers interspersed with umbrageous trees. Trees also
overshadowed the rather narrow sidewalks.

Ulua, however, was by no means a city devoted exclusively to luxury.
There was evidently a considerable amount of business done there als