48 



Lima. The alameda. 



PERU. 



Dress of the Lima ladies. 

 Houses in Lima. The arcades. 



from its former splendour and wealth. This ap- 

 pearance was observed not only in the city, but 

 also among the inhabitants. Whole families have 

 been swept off, and their former attendants, or 

 strangers, have become the possessors of their 

 houses and property. 



The country has been a scene of commotion and 

 revolution for the last twenty-five years, of which 

 Lima for a long time was the centre. The fate of 

 Lower Peru being entirely dependent on it, and 

 the fortress of Callao, the alternate possessors have 

 stripped it and its inhabitants in every way in their 

 power. It may with truth be designated a declining 

 city. 



The neglected walls and ruined tenements, the 

 want of stir and life among the people, are sad 

 evidences of this decay. The population is now 

 said to be about forty-five thousand, although in 

 former times it has been supposed to amount to as 

 many as sixty-five or seventy thousand. 



The aspect of the city, especially a bird's-eye 

 view from the neighbouring hills, gives to the eye 

 of the stranger the appearance of ruins. There are 

 few buildings that have the look of durability, and 

 no new ones have been put up for the last forty 

 years. The plan of the city combines more advan- 

 tages than any other that c mid have been adopted 

 for the locality. The streets are at right angles, 

 and all sufficiently broad. Those which run with 

 the declivity of the ground, north-west and south- 

 east, have water flowing through their middle. 

 The uses to which these streams are put, and the 

 numerous buzzards that frequent them, give the 

 stranger any other idea than that of cleanliness. 

 The buzzards are protected by law, and may be 

 seen fighting for their food in the gutters, regard- 

 less of passers ; or sitting on the tops of the 

 houses, thirty or forty in a row, watching for 

 more food. 



Great attention has been paid to laying out the 

 alameda, which is on the north side of the city. 

 Its centre is ornamented with a number of foun- 

 tains ; its walks are well shaded on each side with 

 trees; and the running water adds to its freshness: 

 all unite to form a delightful promenade. In the 

 cool of the evening it is much frequented, and its 

 stone seats are occupied by numbers of citizens. 

 This is the best place to get a view of the inha- 

 bitants; and notwithstanding their internal commo- 

 tions, they appear fully to enjoy their cigarittas, 

 which they are constantly smoking. The peculiar 

 dress of the ladies is here seen to the best advan- 

 tage, and, however fitted it may be to cover in- 

 trigue, is not, certainly, adapted to the display of 

 beauty. A more awkward and absurd dress cannot 

 well be conceived. It is by no means indicative of 

 the wearer's rank, for frequently this disguise is 

 ragged and tattered, and assumed under its most 

 forbidding aspect to deceive, or carry on an in- 

 trigue, of which it is almost an effectual cloak. 



I never could behold these dresses without con- 

 sidering them as an emblem of the wretched condi- 

 tion of domestic society in this far-famed city. 



The saya and manto were originally intended as 

 a retiring, modest dress, to mark reserve, to insure 

 seclusion, and to enable ladies to go abroad without 

 an escort. The general term for the wearers is 

 Tapada, and they were always held sacred from 

 insult. Tapada is likewise applied to a dress which 

 is also frequently seen, viz. a shawl worn over the 



head, so as to cover the nose, mouth, and forehead. 

 None but the most intimate friend can know the 

 wearers, who frequent the theatres in this disguise. 

 It is to be regretted, that it is now worn for very 

 different purposes from its original intention. In- 

 trigues of all kinds are said to be carried on under 

 it. It enables the wearer to mix in all societies, and 

 to frequent any place of amusement, without being 

 known, and, even if suspected by her husband or 

 relatives, the law of custom would protect her from 

 discovery. In this dress, it is said, a wife will pass 

 her own husband when she may be walking with 

 her lover, and the husband may make love to his 

 wife, without being aware it is she. 



The saya is a silk petticoat, with numerous small 

 vertical plaits, containing about thirty yards of 

 silk, and costing fifty or sixty dollars. It is drawn 

 in close at the bottom of the dress, so that the 

 wearer is obliged to make very short steps (ten 

 inches). It is a little elastic, and conforms to the 

 shape, whether natural or artificial, from the waist 

 down. The manto is a kind of cloak, of black silk. 

 It is fastened to the saya at the waist, and brought 

 over the head and shoulders from behind, conceal- 

 ing every thing but one eye, and one hand, in which 

 is usually seen a cross, or whose fingers are well 

 ornamented with jewels. Before the manto is 

 arranged, a French shawl of bright colours is 

 thrown over the shoulders, and brought between 

 the openings of the manto in front, hanging down 

 nearly to the feet. The loose saya is also much 

 worn : this is not contracted at the bottom, and in 

 walking has a gi-eat swing from side to side. 



The walk of the Lima ladies is graceful and 

 pretty, and they usually have small feet and hands. 



The houses are built of sun-burnt brick, cane, 

 and small timber. All those of the better class 

 have small balconies to the second story. Most of 

 the houses are of two stories, and they generally 

 have an archway from the street, secured by a 

 strong portal, leading into an open court. The 

 lower, or ground-floor, is used as store-houses, 

 stables, &c. This peculiar manner of building is 

 intended as a security against the effects of earth- 

 quakes. The housetops are a depository for all 

 kinds of rubbish, and the accumulation of dust is 

 great. The staircase leading to the upper story is 

 generally handsome, and decorated with fresco 

 paintings, which are, however, far below medio- 

 crity. This style of building is well adapted to the 

 climate. 



The portales or arcades is one of the most 

 attractive places for the stranger. He is there 

 sure at all hours to see more of life in Lima than 

 at any other place. They are built on two sides of 

 the plaza. The ground-floor is occupied as shops, 

 where all kinds of dry goods and fancy articles are 

 sold. Between the columns, next the plaza, are 

 many lace and fringe-workers ; and without these 

 again are sundry cooks, fresco- sellers, &c., who 

 are frying savoury cakes and fish for their cus- 

 tomers, particularly in the morning and late in the 

 evening. 



The arcades are about five hundred feet long, 

 well paved with small stones, interlaid with the 

 knuckle-bones of sheep, which produces a kind of 

 mosaic pavement, and makes known the date of its 

 being laid down as 1799- This place for hours 

 every day is the great resort, and one has a full 

 insight to every store, as they are all doors, and 



