LIMA. 59 



their minds are neglected, nor are their morals what they 

 should be. 



There are other sights in Lima well worth seeing ; among 

 the rest, the Convent of St. Francisco, which covers about 

 eight acres of ground. In former times it must have been 

 equal to anything of the kind in the world. Its cloisters 

 are ornamented with fountains and flower-gardens, and the 

 chapels are rich in gilding and carved work. Part of the 

 convent is now occupied as barracks, and the soldier's mus- 

 kets are stacked on the altars of several of the chapels. 

 We observed in the church a shrine and an image of St. 

 Benedict, with a jet-black infant Saviour in his arms! 

 There are but few Friars here at present, but in the days of 

 its prosperity there were four hundred connected with it, 

 and had an income suited to the easy and luxurious style 

 in which they lived. Its collections of paintings have been 

 highly spoken of by connoisseurs. 



I attended the theatre several times ; it is a spacious, hand- 

 some edifice, and seemed to be well supported, although the 

 performances were of a very ordinary character. The act- 

 ing president, Lafuente, was present each time, dressed in 

 his uniform ; but he did not appear to receive much atten- 

 tion from the audience, and I was subsequently told that he 

 was not generally popular with the people, as he was in 

 favor of the Chilians, and, in fact, owed his present position 

 to them. He has the Spanish features, and appears to be 

 about fifty years of age. The ladies in the galleries wore 

 the saya and manto, and made great display in ornaments. 



During our stay in Lima there were no bull-baits, 

 although it is a common and a favorite amusement with 

 ail classes of society. 



The present state of Peru is far from being promising, if 

 we may be allowed to judge from what we saw and heard 



