In the midst of the thoroughfare,the church stands like an island,a lofty and dim house with rows of windows;a rich tracery of framing sustains the roof;and through the door at either end the street shows in a vista.The proportions of the place,in such surroundings,and built of such materials,appeared august;and we threaded the nave with a sentiment befitting visitors in a cathedral.Benches run along either side.In the midst,on a crazy dais,two chairs stand ready for the king and queen when they shall choose to worship;over their heads a hoop,apparently from a hogshead,depends by a strip of red cotton;and the hoop (which hangs askew)is dressed with streamers of the same material,red and white.
This was our first advertisement of the royal dignity,and presently we stood before its seat and centre.The palace is built of imported wood upon a European plan;the roof of corrugated iron,the yard enclosed with walls,the gate surmounted by a sort of lych-house.It cannot be called spacious;a labourer in the States is sometimes more commodiously lodged;but when we had the chance to see it within,we found it was enriched (beyond all island expectation)with coloured advertisements and cuts from the illustrated papers.Even before the gate some of the treasures of the crown stand public:a bell of a good magnitude,two pieces of cannon,and a single shell.The bell cannot be rung nor the guns fired;they are curiosities,proofs of wealth,a part of the parade of the royalty,and stand to be admired like statues in a square.
A straight gut of water like a canal runs almost to the palace door;the containing quay-walls excellently built of coral;over against the mouth,by what seems an effect of landscape art,the martello-like islet of the gaol breaks the lagoon.Vassal chiefs with tribute,neighbour monarchs come a-roving,might here sail in,view with surprise these extensive public works,and be awed by these mouths of silent cannon.It was impossible to see the place and not to fancy it designed for pageantry.But the elaborate theatre then stood empty;the royal house deserted,its doors and windows gaping;the whole quarter of the town immersed in silence.