CaIIjwi ilewrlbcd.— Markrl. 

 M.Uiritiou of iijd ralluo 



PKEU. 



h>|iul*tum of new town. 

 Appruacli to Lima. 



•J7 



there the Chilian troops had pr^seseion of the 

 country, which they had 1 1 « - 1 > 1 shire ilk' battle nf 

 Yungai. Must of the building* are undergoing 

 repairs since the Into contest. 



It is aaid thut the fortress is in be demolished, 

 and thus the peace of Callno will in a great mca- 

 Bure be secured. 



The principal street Off Callao rmw parallel with 

 the bay. Then; are a few tolerably well-built two- 

 Btory houses on the main street, which is paved, 

 These houses are built of adobes, ami have Hat 

 roofs, which is no inconvenience here, in eonse. 

 fpienee of the. absence of heavy rains. The interior 

 of the houses is of the communest kind of work. 

 The partition walls arc built of cane, closely laced 

 together. The houses of the common people are of 

 one story, and about ton feel Idyll ; some of them 

 have a grated window, but moid of them only a 

 doorway and one room. < hhors are seen that 

 hardly deserve the name of houses, being nothing 

 more than mud walls, with hole* covered with a 

 mat, and the same overhead. 



The outskirts of Callao deserve mentioning only 

 for their excessive, tilth; and were if not for the 

 fine climate it would be the hot-la-d of pestilence. 

 One feels glad to escape from this neighbour! i. 



The donations to the clergy or priests, at two 

 small chapels, are collected oh Saturday. 1 * from the 

 inhabitants, Uu the evening of the same day, the 

 devotees of the church, headed by the priest, carry 

 a small [vorlable altar through the street*, decorated 

 with much tinsel, and various coloured glass lamps, 

 on which in a rude painting of the Virgin. As they 

 Walk, they chant their prayers. 



The market, though there tu nothing else re- 

 markable about it, exhibits ninny of the peculiar 

 etisiotns of the country. It is hold in a square of 

 about OIK- ami a half acres. The stands for Helling 

 meat are placed indiscriminately, or without order, 

 h- ef in n otd for from four to six cents the pound, is 

 cut in the direction of its fibre, and looks filthy. It 

 in killed 1.11 the commons, ami the hide, head, and 

 horns ore left for the buzzards and dogs. The rest 

 is brought to market on the backs of donkeys. 

 Chickens are cut up to suit purchasers. Fish and 

 vigfialdes are abundant, and of good kinds, and 

 good fruit may be luid if bespoken. In ibis cane it 

 is brought from Lima. Every thing confirms, on 

 landing, the truth of the geographical adage, " In 

 f'eru it never ruins.' 1 it appears every where dusty 

 and parched up. 



TlM situation of old Callao is still visible under 

 the water, and though an interesting object, be- 

 comes a melancholy one, when one 1 1 links of the 

 ha* oc a few minutes em-etcd. The very foundation 

 seems to have been upturned and shaken to pieces, 

 «ud the whole submerged by a mighty wave. The 

 wonder is that any one escaped to teil the tale. 



Two crosses mark the height to which the sea 

 rose. The upper one, one-third of the way to Limn, 

 indicates the extreme distance to which the water 

 flowed; the lower one marks the place whither the 

 Spanish frigate was carried. I very much doubt 

 the truth of either. I can easily conceive that a 

 great wave would be sufficient to carry a large 

 vessel from her moorings half a mile inland, but I 

 cannot imagine how the water should have reached 

 the height of one hundred and fifty feel at bast 

 above the level ,,[ the sea, and yel permitted two 

 hundred inhabitants of old Cullao to have escaped 



on the walls of a church which are not half that 

 height. 



Outside the walls of the fortress are several 

 little vaults, tilled with the dead, in all stages of 

 decay, and on which the vulture* were gorging 

 themselves: this was a revolting spectacle, Irnle< I 

 it is truly surprising that the higher classes, and 

 those in immediate authority, should not feel the 

 necessity of appearing more civilized in the dispo- 

 sition of their dead. Many are thrown in naked, 

 and covered only with a few inches of sand. Great 

 numbers of skeletons are alii I seen with pieces of 

 clothing hanging to them. Dogs and vultures in 

 great numbers were every where feeding upon tho 

 dead, or standing aloof fairly gorged wiih tloir 

 disgusting repast. Jf any tiling is calculated to 

 make a people brutal, and to prevent the inculca- 

 tion of proper feeling, it is such revelling sights 

 as these. 



Callao is said to con lain between two and three 

 thousand inhabitants, but ibis number, from the 

 appearance of ihe place, seems to be overrated. 

 Several new buildings are going up, which proves, 

 that notwithstanding th" nines of revolution, ihey 

 still persist in carrying on improvements. The 

 principal street is about a third of a mile in length, 

 and is tolerably well paved, with side- walks. Bil- 

 liard-signs stare you in the face. This, I presume, 

 may be «et down as the great amusement, to which 

 may be added the favourite montc at night. 



< oneh. -, ,-r rather oiimi busses, run several times 

 a day to Lima. The. old accounts of robberies on 

 the road to Lima, are still fresh in the months of 

 strangers. In times of revolution it was infested by 

 robbers, hut the steps taken by government have 

 effectually put a stop to them. 



tin the road to Lima is IJelln V ista ; hut it is in 

 ruins, and has been so ever since the revolution. It 

 was general!} the outpost or battle-ground of the 

 two parties, and although the soil in the plain 

 which borders the sea is extremely fertile, consist- 

 in:: of decomposed reek, containing the elements of 

 fertility in the greatest abundance, it now ap[s ars 

 a neglected waste. Attention to its cultivation and 

 irrigation would make it a perfect garden. On 

 approaching Lima, the gardens and fields are found 

 to be cultivated and well irrigated. Fields nf Indian 

 corn are seen, some fully ripe, some half-grown, 

 and others just shooting up, — a novel sight to us. 

 This hears testimony not only to the fineness of the 

 climate, but to the fertility of the soil. The gardens 

 near the city are filled to profusion with fruits of all 

 descriptions. 



The road, on its near approach to the city, forms 

 an avenue of about a mile in length. This, in its 

 prosperous days, was the usual evening drive, and 

 afforded a most agreeable one. On each side are 

 gardens tilled with orange- trees, the fragrance of 

 whoso Sowers, and the beauty and variety of the 

 fruit, added to its pleasures. It is now going to 

 decay from utter neglect. Its rows of willows, and 

 the streams of running water on each side, though 

 forming its great attraction, will, if suffered to 

 remain without attention, be completely destroyed. 

 No one seems to take interest in the public works. 

 So marked a difference from Chili could not but be 

 observed. 



At Lima 1 was struck with the change that had 

 taken place since my former visit. Every thing 

 now betokens poverty and decay ; a sad change 



