130 



PEEU. 



triumphal arch, tawdry and falling to decay, with 

 the crown of Spain mouldering on the top. 



No traveller, it is said, ever entered a great 

 town without feeling some disappointment ; and 

 the capital of Peru furnishes no exception to the 

 observation. The churches, which, at a distance, 

 make so splendid a show, turn out on closer in- 

 spection to be very paltry structures ; overlaid 

 with fantastic and tasteless stucco work, and tin- 

 sel ornaments ; the effect, therefore, which the 

 magnitude of the buildings might have produced, 

 is quite destroyed by the meanness of the details. 

 The lower part only of these great churches is 

 built of stone, the spires and domes being form- 

 ed of wood plastered over, which, though cer- 

 tainly a wise precaution, is destructive of their 

 magnificent effect. This proceeds not from eco- 

 nomical motives, but from the recollection of 

 many fatal catastrophes which have taken place 

 in churches built of stone, in consequence of 

 earthquakes, to which Peru is unfortunately very 

 liable. 



Lima, like all the Spanish towns in this country, 

 is divided by parallel streets, with others crossing 



