204 



THREE YEARS IN THE PACIFIC. 



To the south and west, Lima is open to the breezes which 

 blow from that quarter over the bosom of the Pacific, cooling 

 the air of summer, and clearing away the fogs and mists which 

 hang heavy over the city in the winter. 



From the stone bridge, built in 1610, over the river, is a 

 beautiful view of the Rimac, which in winter is but a brawling 

 brook, split into streams by a number of pebbly islands, which 

 sprinkle its bed ; while in summer, when it is swollen by the 

 melting snows of the Cordilleras, it rushes impetuously to the 

 sea. On the left bank, looking to the southward, are seen the 

 Alameda del Acho, and the snowy peaks of the Andes, tower- 

 ing far above the cross of San Cristoval ; on the right are the 

 Convent of San Francisco, with its garden and out buildings, 

 and beyond the precincts of the city, the Pantheon, half hidden 

 amidst gardens and trees. The view is closed by mountains, 

 rising one above the other, till the most distant seem to sup- 

 port the blue vault. To the northward, the eye is lost amongst 

 valleys and hills, and to the west, the immense Pacific expands 

 away till it meets the arching sky. 



The climate of Lima is perhaps the most flattering in the 

 world. The soil and skies have been themes of praise both 

 with historians and poets. 



** En su horizonte el Sol todo es Aurora 5 

 Eterna el tiempo todo es primavera ; 

 Solo es risa del cielo cada hora ; 

 Cada mes es cuenta de la esphera : 

 Son cada viento un halito de Flora, 

 Cada arroyo una Musa lisonjera ; 

 Y los vergeles, que el confin le debe, 

 Nubes fragantes con que al cielo llueve 



This valley may be said to enjoy an eternal spring, for vege- 

 tation and fructification are constantly going forward. We see 

 in the same garden, one tree putting forth its tender blossoms, 

 while another is bending beneath its matured fruit ; and both 

 phenomena are sometimes seen upon the branches of the same 

 plant. Wherever water reaches it, the soil, though not deep, 



• Peralta. Lima Fundada, o* Conquista del Peru. torn. 2. p. 289., cant. 8. 

 St. HI. Lima 1732. 



