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YAUCO TO LAS MARIAS

the most picturesque and attractive streets in the world. It stretches from one end of the town to the other, wide and beautifully clean; and it is lined on either hand by the handsome houses of rich merchants. In the middle of its length lies the Plaza del Flores, between the theatre and the Hotel Paris. Moreover, it is in the Calle Mendez-Vigo that there lives the prettiest girl in Puerto Rico, — a little maid of sixteen years, Esperanza Bages by name, and already famous for her charms.

The church was built in 1760. It is of masonry, with two towers and magnificent altars. The town hall, situated on the Plaza Principal, is a good stone building of two stories. Annexed to it is the Casa del Rey, built in 1832, and serving for offices of the military commandancy. The infantry barracks — Cuartel del Infanteria — is also a building of modern construction, dating from 1848; and, though of simple architecture, it is very capacious.


And now let us leave Mayaguez for a little while, and get on with the war.