This town, the capital not only of the island of th, same name but of the colony at large. the scat of govern ment, and of the courts of justice and of the military. is situated close to the sea on the right bank, to the mouth of a river also of the same name, whiell there about a league in vs idth. It is of small dimensions. the houses are badly constructed of and it is sin rounded by a swampy moat and w retched walls, vv kith form a sort of irregular hexagon. The fort that com mands the town is built of earth, and is tolerably strong towards the sea, especially for this reason, that, from the want of depth of water, ships of a large size cannot ap proach it within gun-shot. The navigation moreover on this coast is generally dangerous, being impeded by banks of sand and mud-fiats of considerable extent, which frequently shift. There is besides not even :my harbour of consequence in these parts, except that which the island affords, nor scarcely a place indeed where a boat may land with safety, particularly during the prevalence of the heavy rollers and breakers in the times of the spring tides. The palace of the government, and the nocient mansion of the Jesuits, are the only buildings in this city deserving of particular notice. They form two large fa(pdes fronting the pk.ce of parade. which pre sents a pleasing prospect, being bordered with two rows of orange trees of the largest size, that exhale an ex quisite fragrance, and are crowded with colibris skip ping from branch to branch. The population of this town having of late years increased. and its circuit not admitting of a proportionate enlarg-ement, a new towel has been built on the tu ighbouring savanna, separated from the ancient one merely by a ditch. This. which is already the more considerable of the two, and is daily is constructed on a regular plan ; the strea •s arc wide, admitting the free access and circulation of air, and contains sonic elegant houses, the beautiful app. ar tifice of which becomes more striking, from the oliv ions marks of and wretchedness exhibited by every thing about them.
The inhabitants of French Guiana have within their reach an abundant supply of all the requisites for a good table, but tht y generally pre fer salt meat and fish to frcsn provisions. From their relish also for 1 igh-sca
soned foods, they cultivate for culinary purpose s. be sides the pepper called by the 11a111( of the p ui ince, several other sorts, the sharpest and most they can procure. 'rile Creoles prefer the cassava, which is s a large round cake, about three lines thick, made of coarse flour of manioc, and slightly baked on a tin-plate, to the best and finest sorts of bread. Besides the other articles of subsistence common to Guiana and other colo nies, there is in frequent use here a dish called calatoll, which is prepared of the fruit of a plant known by the name of conzbua. At every meal a negro, when the first course is removed, presents the guests with a glass of ratifia. This liquor is as transparent at Cayenne as the purest spring-water : it is very wholesome, and ac quires a more pleasant flavour the older it grows, espe cially since the practice has been introduced of distilling it over newly gathered cinnamon. The same liquor, which is prepared here, and indeed forms a considerable article of the commerce of the province, is in great re quest on the tables of the luxurious at Paramaribo, and throughout these colonies.
The dress of the male sex in Cayenne consists in white pantaloons and a linen jacket. The women spend most of their time in hammocks, a piece of furniture which is much valued in Guiana, and which serves at once for or nament and convenience. These hammocks are made of cotton. They are in general from six to seven feet in lengh and nearly of the same breadth, and are fastened on both ends by a number of small cotton strings, which join to large ropes of the same stuff. By these ropes, which are attached to the walls of the room with large hooks, the whole burden of the hammocks is supported. It is in the corners of the room commonly that these hammocks are thus suspended, where they hang like swings, and in a garland-like form. Very fine specimens of such hammocks are made at Cayenne, but the most beautiful are imported from Peru in Brasil on the right bank of the river Amazon. Those latter hammocks are made of variegated cotton after various designs, and or namented with borders, tassels, and fringes. They cost about 50 dollars. See Bolingbroke's Voyage to the De literary, 17'c. (x)