In this small convent the duties of a monastic life are strictly and most religiously observed; the pale friars clad in grey sackcloth, their sandals on their half bare feet, their habitual silence, all conspire to confirm an opinion of the sanctity of the place, where men seem but to live in preparation for another life. I have often paced these cloisters on an evening, listening to the distant notes of the organ in the church, and the solemn chaunt of the friars, with such reverential awe, as I never experienced in any other place, but which, to be known, must be practised—must be felt.
In one of the principal streets there is a beautiful stone arch, opposite to the Carmelite church, under which is an altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary, where mass is celebrated every Saturday. This building, which has the appearance of a triumphal arch, is called de la Reyna de los Angeles.
In the suburbs, on the north side of the city, is a small chapel, called de la Vera Crus, and here was interred the body of Blasco Nuñes Vela, a Knight of Santiago, who was the first person to whom the title of Viceroy was granted. His conduct in Lima was so rigorous and overbearing, that the royal audience deposed him, and embarked him at Callao for Panama; but he persuaded the captain of the vessel to land him at Tumbes, from whence he proceeded to Quito, and being pursued by Gonsalo Pizarro to the plain of Añaquito, adjoining the city, a battle was fought in 1546, in which the Viceroy was slain, and his body was conveyed to this chapel, where his remains were interred.
Quito is the residence of the provincial prelates of the four orders of San Francisco, Santo Domingo, San Augstin, and la Merced, all the convents in the Presidency being subject to them.
The church belonging to the nunnery of Santa Clara is remarkable for its elliptical dome, the transverse axis being forty-one feet, the conjugate twenty-six, and the spring of the arch nine feet two inches; it is built of stone, and the inner surface is entirely plain. Seen from the floor of the church, the dome or ceiling, which is thirty-six feet high, appears almost flat; this beautiful piece of architecture was entirely executed by indians in the year 1767.
Quito has always been a place of celebrity for its great number of students; it was called the monster with two heads, because it had two Universities. That of San Gregorio Magno, under the superintendence of the Jesuits, was founded in 1586, by Felipe II., and enriched in 1621 with all the privileges granted to the celebrated university of Salamanca, in Spain. The other, that of Santo Tomas de Aquino, is under the superintendence of the order of Dominicans; but after the expulsion of the Jesuits the two were united by a royal charter of Carlos III., under the latter dedicatory title. The two colleges of San Buenaventura, of the Franciscan order, and San Fulgencio, of the Augstin order, had the privilege of conferring the degree of Doctor, but owing to several irregularities, such as presenting the degree to favourites, or for money, they have been deprived of this privilege.
The meetings of the University are held in the college of the ex-Jesuits; and here, unlike to the university of San Marcos, at Lima, and many in Europe, all the professors have both to lecture and to teach, their places not being titled sinecures.
The professorships are two for theology, two for canons, two for jurisprudence, and one for arts. There is one also for medicine, but no professor. After a course of lectures the chair becomes vacant, and is obtained by opposition and public disputation. All those who hold the degree of doctor in the faculty of the vacant chair have an elective vote, as well as all the professors in the triennial election of the Rector of the University; but these elections are referred to the President of the Government, who, as vice patron, has the privilege to reject or confirm them.
The degree of bachelor is granted to all those who undergo a public examination, after studying arts one year; and that of master to those who finish the course, and are approved in their examination. The degree of doctor in the different faculties is obtained by a private examination of the faculty, consisting of the rector of the university, and four examiners in the faculty. The different degrees and faculties are distinguished by the different colours of the badges, in the same manner as in the university of Lima.
The college of San Luis was endowed with the title of Colegio mayor, by Felipe V., being the only one holding this title in South America; it is also a royal college, and an ecclesiastical seminary. The habit is a light brown opa, or gown, and a crimson beca, or shoulder band, similar to those of Santo Toribio, at Lima; also a black cap, having four pointed mitre shaped corners; the royal arms, in silver, are worn on the breast on the left side, fastened to the beca. The college of San Fernando has the title of a royal college; the habit is a black opa, and a white beca, bearing the royal arms in gold, and a square cardinal's cap. The former is under the immediate direction of a secular clergyman, as rector, with a vice-rector and assistants; the latter under that of the Dominicans, but both are under the patronage of the president of the government. The college of San Luis has produced several eminent literary characters, and several archbishops and bishops: Mexia, who in the late cortes of Spain was called the American Cicero, was educated in this college.