1835. ] BAY OF CALLAO. 265 
lows for a length of one hundred and fifty miles the margin of a 
grand basin or plain; this, from its outline, manifestly must once 
have been a lake, or more probably an inland arm of the sea, as 
may be inferred from the presence of iodic salts in the saline stra- 
tum. The surface of the plain is 3300 feet above the Pacific. 
19¢h.—We anchored in the Bay of Callao, the seaport of 
Lima, the capital of Peru. We stayed here six weeks, but from 
the troubled state of public affairs, I saw very little of the coun- 
try. During our whole visit the climate was far from being so 
delightful, as it is generally represented. A dull heavy bank of 
clouds constantly hung over the land, so that during the first six- 
teen days I had only one view of the Cordillera. behind Lima. 
These mountains, seen in stages, one above the other, through 
openings in the clouds, had a very grand appearance. It isalmost 
become a proverb, that rain never falls in the lower part of Peru. 
Yet this can hardly be considered correct; for during almost 
every day of our visit there was a thick drizzling mist, which was 
sufficient to make the streets muddy and one’s clothes damp : this 
the people are pleased to call Peruvian dew. That much rain 
does not fall is very certain, for the houses are covered only with 
flat roofs made of hardened mud; and on the mole ship-loads of 
wheat were piled up, being thus left for weeks together without 
any shelter. ; 
I cannot say I liked the very little I saw of Peru: in summer, 
however, it is said that the climate is much pleasanter. In all 
seasons, both inhabitants and foreigners suffer from severe attacks 
of ague. This disease is common on the whole coast of Peru, 
but is unknown in the interior. The attacks of illness which 
arise from miasma never fail to appear most mysterious. So dif- 
ficult is it to judge from the aspect of a country, whether or not 
it is healthy, that if a person had been told to choose within the 
tropics a situation appearing favourable for health, very probably 
he would have named this coast. The plain round the outskirts 
of Callao is sparingly covered with a coarse grass, and in some 
parts there are a few stagnant, though very small, pools of water. 
The miasma, in all probability, arises from these: for the town 
of Arica was similarly circumstanced, and its healthiness was 
much improved by the drainage of some little pools. Miasma 
