. The Spanish-American republics . hey returned down the sandy lane rejoicing, with elastic and grace-ful step, a charm of slender silhouettes and a floating of bright-coloreddrapery that reminded one of the frescos of Ghirlandajo and Bernar-dino Luini. v^The town of Asuncion is not rich in monuments. Although itis the oldest city on the South-American continent, it has no relics ofthe conquistadorcs, whose aim, it is to be feared, was always to enrichthemselves rather than to create a healthy and noble from the churches, one of which is in ruins, having been guttedby fire,
. The Spanish-American republics . hey returned down the sandy lane rejoicing, with elastic and grace-ful step, a charm of slender silhouettes and a floating of bright-coloreddrapery that reminded one of the frescos of Ghirlandajo and Bernar-dino Luini. v^The town of Asuncion is not rich in monuments. Although itis the oldest city on the South-American continent, it has no relics ofthe conquistadorcs, whose aim, it is to be feared, was always to enrichthemselves rather than to create a healthy and noble from the churches, one of which is in ruins, having been guttedby fire, the only buildings of note are the palace of the tyrant Lopez,which has now been repaired for use as Government offices, the 392 THE SPANISH-AMERICAN REPUBLICS. theatre, the railway station, and the old Cabildo. The theatre is hand-some, and more commodious than many a famous European is entirely lighted by electricity, and in the boxes are electric bellsto call for refreshments. The decoration of the three tiers of boxes. VIEW OF THE LOPEZ PALACE FROM THE RIVER. and galleries is agreeable. The cartouches round the ceiling give toMoliere the place of honor over the proscenium, with Gounod on theleft and Massenet on the right, while the remaining cartouches areassigned to Racine, Corneille, Lulli, Wagner, Shakespeare, Alarcon,Lopez de Vega, Schumann, Mozart, Beaumarchais, Hugo, Berlioz,Beethoven, Scribe, Goethe, Donizetti, Verdi, and Calderon. The ad-miration of the Paraguayans is well employed in theory, but it is tobe feared that the only musical or dramatic pleasure that they getis afforded by very indifferent ambulant zarzuela companies. If Lo-pez had been allowed to carry out his dream of greatness things wouldhave been different, for his desire was to endow Asuncion with a thea-tre as vast as that of La Scala at Milan. The prodigious edifice wascarried up to a height of some twenty feet above ground, and nowstands a deserted and melancholy pile of moss-covered mas
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidgrispanishameri00chil
