366 Voyage of the No vara. 



cane and straw mats, wliicli, for better security, occasionally 

 have a coating of clay. Thus an open space [Azotea), sur- 

 rounded by balustrades, is secured, which is used as a play- 

 ground by children, and serves as a promenade for the 

 grown-up portion of the community. Some of the windows 

 communicate with the roof by a sort of trap-door, which in- 

 stead of sashes of glass has shutters of wood, which communi- 

 cate with the rooms beneath by a long cord, so that they can 

 be opened or shut from below at pleasure. Many of the 

 chambers in the interior of the house get light and air solely 

 through these apertures (called Ventana de Teatinas, because 

 first introduced by the Theatine monks), while windows pro- 

 perly so-called are less numerous, and when looking towards 

 the street are usually provided with large, broad, sometimes 

 richly-gilt iron shutters. We saw these curious cords for 

 opening and shutting the trap-doors in the roof hanging 

 down in the middle of even elegantly-furnished apartments, 

 and not even the circumstance of being made of silk prevented 

 their having a peculiar and ungraceful effect. 



The mode of constructing the houses, together with the 

 elegant ornamentation of the open courts {path) of the interior, 

 speedily remind the stranger that he is in a place where 

 rain (at least according to Northern ideas) is an unknown 

 phenomenon, since one single, even down-pour must inevitably 

 do immense damage in the Lima of the present day. During 

 the winter months, however, as they are called, viz. June to 

 November, fogs {garuas) are very frequent, which, albeit light. 



