NOTICES OF PERT!. 



241 



ble tablesj chairs, maps, charts, &c. No person is allowed to 

 read in the library, nor is any one permitted to carry books to 

 his own dwelling. Th^ librarian attends on all working days, 

 from nine o'clock A. M. to two P. M., and from four P. M. 

 till sunset. In these intervals, many resort there to read the 

 daily gazettes, and the periodicals of the country. 



This institution, which is under the supervision of the Minis- 

 ter of State, is kept in better order, and is more creditable to 

 its officers and the government, than any other in Peru. 



The Convent of Monserat, in the western part of the city, 

 is small and in a state of ruin. I visited it on a Sunday morn- 

 ing, and found the only friar now attached to it, busily at work, 

 stacking grass for his horses, assisted by a negro boy. 



Of the nunneries, several in number, I can say nothing, be- 

 cause men are not permitted to enter them. Females, however, 

 are not permitted to visit the cloisters of any convent, without 

 special permission from a prelate, unless they be enceintes! 



Besides the many convents and monasteries, Lima contains 

 fifty-seven churches, and twenty-five chapels belonging to hos- 

 pitals, colleges, &c. With the exception of Rio de Janeiro, there 

 is a more continuous ringing and chiming of bells in this, than 

 in any other city I have ever visited. The clocks strike the 

 quarters, and no two in the city agree in time, so that one or 

 another is striking every five minutes. Then the church, con- 

 vent, and monastery bells, are tolled almost every hour for 

 some ceremony, and at midnight they summon, with iron 

 tongue, the nuns and friars to their vigils. Again, bells are 

 tolled after earthquakes, and rung merrily on the receiving of 

 joyful news. Habit could not accustom the inhabitants to their 

 clamorous din. Therefore, decrees have been issued at different 

 times, to regulate the length of time which bells might be rung 

 on the occasion of funerals, religious ceremonies, and general 

 or partial rejoicings. Nevertheless, they soon became as great 

 an annoyance as ever. 



From the number of churches and chapels in Lima, it was 

 a common saying, many years ago, that " Peru and its capital, 

 'The City of Kings,^ would send more souls and saints to 

 Heaven, than the mines would yield dollars to the world 1'^ Yet 

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