Dec] 



CITY OF LIMA. 



133 



sive apartment in the same building is called the Hall of Independence. 

 On the west side is the town-house and city-prison ; and the south is 

 occupied with private houses, which have fronts of stone, adorned with 

 elegant porticoes. 



The churches and chapels, which are partly built of stone, are deco- 

 rated in the most splendid style, with paintings and ornaments of the 

 greatest value. But the riches which have been lavished on the cathe- 

 dral are almost beyond belief, though characteristic of a people who 

 once paved a whole street with ingots of silver in honour of the arrival 

 of a new viceroy ! Among the other public buildings worthy of notice, 

 I would mention the cabildo, or city-house, built in the Chinese style ; 

 the mint ; the palace of the Inquisition, part of which is now occupied 

 as a national museum ; and the convent of the Franciscans, said to 

 cover an eighth of the whole city. There were formerly more than 

 twelve hundred monks in this place, but the number is now very much 

 reduced. There are fourteen convents for women, and an edifice for 

 a university, that was founded in 1576. 



The women of Lima are celebrated for their beauty, vivacity, and 

 extravagance in dress. "They have handsome persons, fair com- 

 plexions, beautiful hair, and a pleasing lustre in their eyes : their intel- 

 lects are very acute, their behaviour easy, yet respectful, and their con- 

 versation inexpressibly interesting; and though chargeable with a 

 considerable degree of haughtiness, even towards their husbands, yet 

 their address, affection, and general discretion are seldom equalled in 

 any other part of the world. The women of the lower classes, besides 

 imitating their superiors in the love of dress, are remarkably cleanly, 

 and keep their houses in the utmost neatness. They are naturally 

 sprightly in their dispositions, and fond of music and dancing. The 

 reigning passions, in short, of the fair sex in this city are show, mirth, 

 and festivity ; and the inhabitants generally are distinguished by their 

 vivacity, intelligence, and agreeable manners."* 



Both sexes smoke tobacco, for which they excuse themselves by 

 saying that it is to guard against the deleterious effects of a certain 

 mist and drizzle which hangs over the city at some particular seasons, 

 and which is called Peruvian dew. The Spaniards in Lima are all 

 Creoles ; and the whole population, comprising negroes, Indians, mes- 

 tizoes, and other castes, together with the Spaniards, has been variously 

 estimated at from fifty to seventy thousand. In 1824 there were 

 fifteen thousand slaves in the city, but slavery has since been abolished. 



This city has frequently been laid in ruins by earthquakes ; and in 

 1746, when Callao was destroyed, not more than twenty houses were 

 left standing in Lima, out of more than three thousand. Since the 

 year 1582 more than twenty earthquakes have occurred, of such vio- 

 lence as to occasion more or less damage to the buildings, and destruc- 

 tion of lives. 



The country around Lima is remarkably fertile, producing all kinds 

 of grain and fruits in the greatest abundance ; and the fields are regu- 

 larly irrigated by trenches and canals arranged for the purpose. The 



* Edinburgh Encyclopedia, 



