Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests Part 3

Owing to the heat of the climate, the doors and windows are almost always kept open, so that the houses have not the privacy and comfort of European dwellings.

Of the numerous churches and convents in Lima, some are deserving of particular mention. The cathedral occupies the whole eastern side of the Plaza Mayor. The foundation stone of this edifice was laid on the 18th of January, 1534, by Don Francisco Pizarro, who named it the Church of _Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion_. Ninety years elapsed before the building was completed, and on the 19th of October, 1625, it was consecrated by the Archbishop, Don Gonzalo de Ocampo. Such was the pomp observed at this ceremony, that, though ma.s.s commenced at six in the morning, it was five o'clock in the afternoon before the host was raised.

The interior of the cathedral is exceedingly beautiful. The grand altar is ornamented with seven Ionic columns of silver, twelve feet high, and one and a half thick, and is surmounted by a ma.s.sive silver gilt crown.

The tabernacle is seven feet and a half high, and composed of exquisitely wrought gold, set with a profusion of diamonds and emeralds.

On each side of the altar there are ma.s.sive silver candelabra, each weighing four and a half arobas (712-1/2 pounds). On high festival days, the gorgeous splendor of the cathedral of Lima probably exceeds that of the princ.i.p.al churches in Rome. The robes and ornaments worn by the priests correspond with the magnificence of the altar; they are embroidered in gold, and set with precious stones. The cathedral service is performed by the canons (Canonigos).

Among the Churches of Lima, San Lazaro is distinguished for its tasteful exterior, and the chaste simplicity of its internal decoration. The bodies of persons unknown, found dead in the streets, are conveyed to the door of the church of San Lazaro, and there exposed for the s.p.a.ce of twenty-four hours.

The convent of San Francisco, the largest of the monastic establishments in Lima, is an immense building, situated in the vicinity of the Plaza Mayor. In this convent ma.s.s is read daily every half-hour, from five in the morning till noon. A small chapel within the convent is called the _Capilla de los Milagros_, and a superst.i.tious tradition records that during the great earthquake of 1630, the image of the Madonna, which surmounts the chapel door, turned towards the grand altar, and with folded hands invoked the divine grace in favor of the city. By this intercession it is believed that Lima was saved from total destruction. The monk who conducted me over the convent, and who related to me this miracle, observed with much simplicity that it was singular that the Madonna did not repeat her gracious intercession in the year 1746.

The carved work which adorns the ceilings in the corridors is admirably executed, though not very beautiful in design. The cells of the monks are very simple, but perfectly comfortable for habitation. The s.p.a.cious and well-arranged gardens within the area of the convent form a pleasing contrast to the gloomy appearance of the external walls.

To the Franciscan monks also belongs the convent of _Los Descalzos_, situated in the suburb of San Lazaro. A broad avenue planted with six rows of trees leads to Los Descalzos. It is a neat but not large edifice, and stands at the foot of a sterile hill. The extensive garden which surrounds it, and which is in a very neglected condition, contains three palm-trees, the only ones to be seen in the near vicinity of Lima. The situation of the convent is not healthy, and in consequence the monks frequently suffer from intermittent fever. These monks go barefooted, and live entirely on alms. Every morning two lay brethren ride on a.s.ses to the city, where they visit the market-place, and obtain from the different saleswomen charitable donations of fish, vegetables, or meat.

Another convent is the _Recoleta de San Diego_. During Lent, and especially in Pa.s.sion Week, many men retire to this place to prepare themselves by mortification and prayer for confession and partic.i.p.ation in the Holy Sacrament.

The convent of Santo Domingo is very rich. It enjoys a yearly revenue of from seventy to seventy-five thousand dollars, for the most part accruing from the ground-rents of houses in the city. The steeple of Santo Domingo is the loftiest in all Lima. It is 188 feet high, and is visible at the distance of three leagues. It is built of wood, and inclines so considerably in its upper part, that there is little probability of its surviving another earthquake like that of 1746. The interior of the church is splendid. The grand altar almost vies with that of the cathedral.

San Pedro must, doubtless, at a former period, have been the princ.i.p.al convent in Lima. It belonged to the Jesuits, and was their _Colegio maximo_. This establishment possessed enormous revenues, for all the finest plantations and best houses in Lima were the property of the order. In 1773, the king of Spain, instigated by the celebrated Bull of the 21st of June of that year (Dominus ac redemptor noster), dispatched an order to the viceroys of the provinces of South America, directing them to arrest the Jesuits all in one night, to s.h.i.+p them off to Spain, and to confiscate their wealth. Of course the utmost secresy was observed, and it is a well-authenticated fact, that in Peru, with the exception of the viceroy, and those of his agents whose a.s.sistance was indispensable, no one knew anything of the affair. But the same s.h.i.+p which conveyed the king's commands to the viceroy, had on board the necessary instructions to the vicar-general in Lima, from the superior of the Jesuits in Madrid, who was fully acquainted with the king's design. The preparatory arrangements were made under the seal of perfect secresy, and at ten o'clock at night the viceroy a.s.sembled his council, and communicated to them the royal commands. It was determined that no one should be permitted to leave the council-chamber until the blow was struck. At midnight some confidential officers, with the requisite a.s.sistance, were despatched to arrest the Jesuits, an accurate list of whose names lay on the table before the viceroy. The patrols knocked at the gate of San Pedro, which was immediately opened. The commanding officer desired to see the vicar-general, and the porter ushered him into the great hall of the convent, where all the members of the order were a.s.sembled, evidently expecting his visit. The holy brethren were prepared for immediate departure, each being provided with a bag or trunk containing such articles as were requisite on a sea voyage.

Similar preparations had been made in all the other convents belonging to the Jesuits. The surprise and disappointment of the viceroy on receiving this information may be easier conceived than described.

Without delay he ordered the whole brotherhood to be conducted under a strong escort to Callao, where they embarked. In the course of a few days inventories were made of the effects in the convents. At San Pedro it was expected that vast treasures in specie would be found; but how great was the dismay, when, instead of the millions which it was well known the order possessed, only a few thousand dollars could be collected. All the keys, even that of the treasury, were politely laid out in the chamber of the superior. This was a cruel mockery! The Jesuits could not have taken a more ample revenge on the treachery that had been practised on them.

It was suspected that the treasures were concealed partly in the convent of San Pedro, and partly in the plantations. According to the evidence of an old negro, at that time in the service of the convent, he, together with some of his comrades, was employed during several nights in carrying heavy bags of money into the vaults of the convent. Their eyes were bandaged, and they were conducted by two of the brethren, who helped them to raise and set down the bags. The negro, moreover, declared his conviction that there was a subterraneous spring near the spot where the treasure was deposited. The searches. .h.i.therto made have been very superficial, and it seems not impossible that by dint of more active exertions this concealed wealth may yet be brought to light.

At present San Pedro is occupied by about a dozen lay priests. They perform the spiritual service of the _Oratorio de San Felipe Neri_. They live on the revenues derived from the rents of the few plantations which have not been confiscated or sold. The chapel is prettily fitted up in the interior, and the midnight ma.s.s at Christmas is performed there with great solemnity. The external walls of both the chapel and the convent are painted a reddish-brown color, which has a very sombre and ugly effect.

The convents of _Nuestra Senora de la Marced_ and _San Agustin_ are situated at the back of San Pedro. The former is s.p.a.cious, but not largely endowed; the latter is a poor-looking edifice, but it possesses rich revenues. To San Agustin is attached the once eminent but now very inferior college of San Ildefonso.

Besides the monastic establishments above named, Lima contains several smaller convents for friars, and sixteen nunneries. Of the latter the largest is the Monasterio de la Concepcion. It is very rich, and has an annual revenue of upwards of 100,000 dollars; in other respects it is remarkable for nothing except the not very pious habits of its inmates. _Santa Clara_ and the _Encarnacion_ are also large establishments, and well endowed. The nuns who observe the most rigorous conventual rules are the _Capuchinas de Jesus Maria_, the _Nazarenas_ and the _Trinitarias descalzas_. For extremely pious women, who wish to lead a cloistered life without taking the veil, there are three establishments called _Beaterios_, which may be entered and quitted at pleasure:[7] these are the _Beaterio de Patrocinio_, the _Beaterio de Santa Rosa de Viterbo_, and the _Beaterio de Copacabana_. This last was originally established exclusively for Indian females. The _Refugio de San Jose_ is a place for the reception of married women who wish to withdraw from the ill treatment of bad husbands. On the other hand husbands who are of opinion that their wives may be improved by a little temporary seclusion and quiet meditation, can, with the permission of the archbishop, send them for a while to the _Refugio_. The _Recojidas_ is another inst.i.tution of the same kind, but destined for females of the poorer cla.s.s.

Lima possesses a great many hospitals, but all are lamentably defective in internal arrangement, and above all in judicious medical attendance. The largest of the hospitals, San Andres, was founded in the year 1552 by the Licentiate Francisco de Molina. Three years afterwards, the Viceroy Don Andres Hurtado de Mendoza, first Marquis de Canete, placed it under the direction of the Government. Down to the year 1826 this hospital was exclusively destined for the reception of sick Spaniards. San Andres contains five large and four smaller wards, with 387 beds. One part of the establishment is set apart for incurable patients. The annual outlay of the hospital amounts to between 45,000 and 50,000 dollars. In the hospital of San Andres insane patients are received, and their number is always considerable. On the 30th of November (St. Andrew's Day) this hospital is opened for the admittance of the public, and one of the favorite amus.e.m.e.nts of the inhabitants of Lima is to go to San Andres to see the lunatics. It is melancholy to observe these unfortunate beings, thus made the objects of public exhibition, and irritated by the idle throng who go to stare at them. The collection of alms from the numerous visitors is, doubtless, the motive for keeping up this custom, which, nevertheless, is exceedingly reprehensible.

The hospital _Santa Ana_ was founded in the year 1549, by Don Fray Geronimo de Loyza, first Archbishop of Lima, and was destined for Indians of both s.e.xes. The benevolent founder, with the most earnest self-devotion, attended the patients, and with true Christian charity performed the humblest duties of a sick-nurse. He died in 1575 in the hospital, to which he bequeathed a yearly revenue of 16,000 dollars.

The building contains five large wards, and 336 beds. Since the declaration of independence no Indian has been received into it. This hospital, alternately with those of San Andres and San Bartolome, was used as a military lazaretto; but since 1841 it has been allotted exclusively to female patients of all cla.s.ses; for it was found necessary to abandon the former female hospital of _La Caridad_, on account of its damp situation.

_San Bartolome_ was an hospital founded in the year 1661, for negro patients; but it has lately been closed. It contains eleven wards and 217 beds.

Under the name of Santo Toribio an hospital for incurable patients was established in the year 1669, by Don Domingo Cueto.

In 1702 it was consigned to the superintendence of an order of monks, called the padres Belemitas, and in 1822 it was incorporated with the hospital of San Lazaro. The latter establishment was founded by Anton Sanchez, in the year 1563, and was exclusively destined for leprous patients. Persons afflicted with cutaneous diseases, and especially maladies of a contagious nature, are sent thither.

In the convent of San Pedro there is a small hospital for poor priests.

Attached to it is a dispensary, from whence the poor were supplied gratuitously with medicines, at the time when the convent was in the possession of the Jesuits.

Lima also possesses a Foundling Hospital. Luis Ojeda, who humbly took to himself the t.i.tle of _Luis el Pecador_ (Luis the Sinner), bequeathed all his fortune to the foundation of this establishment, which received the name of "Collegio de Santa Cruz de los ninos expositos."[8]

The refuge for female penitents was founded in the year 1670 by the viceroy, Count de Lemos. The funds were derived from a legacy bequeathed for that object by Don Francisco Arcain in 1572. The establishment has but few inmates.

In former times it was the custom in Lima to bury the dead in graves dug within the churches; but the heat of the climate, and the difficulty of making the graves sufficiently deep, rendering this practice exceedingly objectionable, the viceroy, Don Jose Fernando Abascal, determined on making a burial place beyond the boundaries of the city. A piece of ground was allotted for the purpose, and it was consecrated on the 1st of January, 1808. It is called the _Cementerio general_ or _Panteon_, and is situated eastward of the city on the high road leading to the Sierra de Tarma. It consists of two gardens, very prettily planted, and inclosed by high walls. Along the walls, on the inner side, there are niches, about a thousand in number, ranged in sixteen different cla.s.ses, and they may be purchased by those who wish to possess them. Many of them belong to families and convents. The graves are watched and kept in order by criminals who are condemned to this duty as a punishment. It is calculated that it will be five years before this cemetery is filled. When room is wanting, the niches which have been first occupied will be cleared, and the bones deposited in a bone-house, of simple but appropriate construction. At the entrance of the Panteon there is a neat little chapel, where the funeral obsequies are performed. Burials are permitted to take place only in the morning; and when a funeral retinue arrives too late, the body remains uninterred until the following morning. The rich are buried in coffins, the poor merely in winding sheets, which are made after the pattern of the habits worn by the barefooted friars of the order of San Francisco.

The grand square of Lima, the _Plaza Mayor_, though not in the centre of the city, is nevertheless the central point of its life and business. It is 426 feet distant from the Rimac, and presents a regular quadrangle, each side of which is 510 feet long. From each of the four corners two handsome straight streets run at right angles.

There is no pavement, but the ground is covered with fine sand. The cathedral and the archbishop's palace occupy the eastern side of the square. The latter adjoins the sanctuary, and has rather a fine facade. The windows of the princ.i.p.al apartments open into a balcony, commanding a view of the Plaza.

On the north side of the square stands the government palace, formerly the residence of the all-powerful viceroys. Its exterior aspect is mean. It is a square building, and the front next the Plaza is disfigured by a long range of shabby little shops (called _La rivera_), in which drugs are sold.[9] These shops are surmounted by a balcony. A large double door opens from the Plaza into the great court-yard of the palace. Along the western side of the building there are also a number of little shops occupied by saddlers and dealers in old iron. The street, running in this direction, is called the Old Iron Street (Calle del Fierro Viego). The princ.i.p.al entrance to the palace is on this side. On the south the building has no entrance, and it presents the gloomy aspect of a jail. On the east a door opens into a small yard or court, within which are the office and prison of the police. A few long flag-staffs, fixed on the roof of the palace, do not add to the beauty of the edifice. The interior of the building corresponds with its outward appearance, being at once tasteless and mean. The largest apartment formerly bore the name of the _Sala de los Vireyes_. It is now used as a ball room when entertainments are given by the government. Under the Spanish domination this room was hung round with portraits of the viceroys, the size of life.[10] The series of vice-regal portraits from Pizarro to Pezuela, forty-four in number, completely filled the apartment at the time when the patriot army in Lima revolted, and consequently the last viceroy, Don Jose de la Serna, who owed his elevation to the military revolution, could not have a place a.s.signed for his portrait among those of his predecessors.[11] The other apartments of the palace are small and inelegant. Some of the rooms are used as government offices.

The present palace was, as far as I have been able to ascertain, built about the beginning of the seventeenth century. In the great earthquake of 1687 it was almost totally destroyed, but it was subsequently restored. The palace which Don Francisco Pizarro built for his own residence, stood, not on the site of the existing edifice, but on the southern side of the Plaza, on the spot where now a narrow dirty alley, called the _Callejon de petateros_, forms a communication between the Plaza and the Silversmith's street (_Calle de Plateros_).

It was in that old palace that Juan de Herada, the friend and partisan of Don Diego de Almagra, carried into effect his plot against Pizarro. On the 26th of June, 1546, the viceroy was seated at table with a party of his friends, when the insurgents surrounded the palace, shouting "Death to the tyrants!" Pizarro, though warned of his danger, had scarcely time to seize his sword. One of his princ.i.p.al officers, Don Francisco de Chavez, was killed at the door of the apartment, and several of the viceroy's friends and servants escaped by the windows. Among others who attempted to save themselves in this way was Pizarro's counsellor, Juan de Velasquez. Only on the previous evening this man had been heard to declare that no one would be found bold enough to join in an insurrection as long as he held in his hand his staff of authority. This declaration was in a certain measure verified, for Velasquez, whilst descending from the window, held his staff between his teeth, that he might be the better able to support himself with his hands. Martin Pizarro, together with two n.o.blemen and two pages, were the only persons who remained faithful to the viceroy.

The latter, with the bravery of a lion, made a long stand against his a.s.sailants. "Courage, brother! Down with the traitors!" exclaimed Martin Pizarro, who, the next moment, lay dead at the viceroy's feet.

At length Pizarro, exhausted by his efforts to defend himself, could no longer wield his. .h.i.therto victorious sword: he was overpowered, and one of his a.s.sailants having stabbed him in the throat, he fell, mortally wounded. With his last faltering accents he implored the aid of a confessor; and after losing the power of utterance he traced with his finger, on the ground, the sign of the cross, kissed it repeatedly, and breathed his last. Such was the sad end of one of the greatest heroes of his age;[12] a man guilty of many crimes, but also unjustly accused of many of which he was innocent. His acts were consistent with the spirit of his age, and were influenced by the frightful circ.u.mstances in which he was placed. In short, there can be little doubt that Pizarro was "better than his fame."

The west side of the Plaza Mayor is occupied by the _Cabildo_, or senate-house (formerly called the _Casa Consistorial_), together with the city jail, and a row of houses of no very handsome appearance.

The south side is filled by a range of private dwelling-houses, with balconies looking to the Plaza. The houses, both on the west and south sides of the square, are built above a colonnade, in which there are numerous shops.

In the middle of the Plaza is a magnificent bronze fountain with three basins. From the middle basin rises a pillar, surmounted by a figure of Fame spouting the water from her trumpet. In the other two basins the water is ejected from the mouths of four lions. The pillar and figures for this triple fountain were cast in the year 1650, by the able artist Antonio Rivas, by order of the then reigning viceroy, Count de Salvatierra. Besides this princ.i.p.al fountain, there are several smaller ones, from which the public are permitted to supply themselves with water.

The second large public square in Lima is the _Plaza de la Inquisicion_, which, since the war of independence, has received the name of the Square of Independence (_Plazuela de la Independencia_).

It is of trapezi-form, widening in the eastern part, and is certainly no ornament to the town, for it is always in a very dirty condition.

Being the public market-place, it presents a very busy aspect during the fore part of the day. Two buildings on this Plazuela attract attention, viz.--the Palace of the Inquisition and the University.

There are now but few remaining traces of the internal arrangements of the fearful tribunal; for, on the suppression of the Inquisition by the Cortes, the enraged populace forced their way into the building, where they gutted the rooms, and destroyed the furniture. Lima was the seat of spiritual jurisdiction for the whole western coast of South America; and the rigor of its despotism was not far short of that of the Inquisition of Madrid. Every year vast numbers of persons convicted or suspected of crimes were brought from all the intervening points between Chiloe and Columbia to the Tribunal of the Inquisition, and most of them were doomed to the most dreadful punishments. _Autos da fe_ were frequently held in Lima, and cases of other kinds of martyrdom were exceedingly numerous. The lists, which have been only partially preserved, present melancholy results. One part of the Palace of the Inquisition is now converted into a store-house for provisions, and the other part is used as a prison.

The University of Lima was once the most important seat of education in South America. It owes its origin to a decree of the emperor Charles V., issued at the solicitation of the dominican monk Maestro Fray Tomas de San Martin. The decree was dated the 12th of May, 1551, but it did not reach Lima until two years after that time. A papal bull of Pius V. confirmed the imperial decree, and conferred on the inst.i.tution the same privileges as those enjoyed by the Spanish university of Salamanca. The Lima university was originally established in the convent of Santo Domingo, but after the lapse of three years it was removed to the building now occupied by San Marcel, and in 1576 it was installed in the site it now occupies. It received the name of _Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Marcos_. In the year 1572 the first lay rector was elected in the person of Gaspar Menendez, a doctor of medicine.

The building is situated on the east side of the _Plaza de la Independencia_, next to the hospital of _la Caridad_. The facade is not handsome, but is remarkable for a style not belonging to the age in which it was erected. The building is entered by a lofty door, opening into a s.p.a.cious quadrangular court, along the four sides of which there are pillared corridors. On the walls of these corridors the different branches of science are allegorically represented in fresco paintings, and beneath these paintings are inscribed quotations from ancient cla.s.sic authors. The lecture rooms open into the corridors which run round the court. Facing the entrance door, in the left angle of the court, are great double doors opening into the Aula, which is s.p.a.cious, and has rather an imposing aspect. In the middle of the wall, on the right-hand side, stands the rector's chair in a sort of niche, surmounted by a canopy. On either side of this chair are ranged the seats of the professors, and the members of faculties. Opposite to the rector's seat, on the left-hand side of the Aula, is an elevated chair occupied by the president, when academic prizes are distributed. Below it is an arm-chair for the candidate. On each side of the president's seat are several rows of benches, for the members of the university and visitors. Over the entrance door there is a gallery to which the public are admitted, and which, on the occasions when prizes are distributed, is usually occupied by ladies. On the walls of the Aula are hung portraits of celebrated learned men.

The National Library, situated near the convent of San Pedro, was founded by a decree, dated the 28th of August, 1821. The books belonging to the university of San Marcos formed the nucleus of the National Library. To them were added the libraries of several of the monasteries, some sequestrated works, and the collections of a few private individuals. Of these latter, the most considerable was the collection of General San Martin, and a library of 7772 volumes bequeathed, together with a legacy of a thousand dollars, by Don Miguel de la Fuente y Pacheco. In November, 1841, the National Library of Peru contained 26,344 printed volumes, 432 ma.n.u.scripts, and a small collection of maps and copperplate engravings. It is particularly rich in old works on religious and historical subjects. The books relating to the Conquest, and to the early period of the Spanish dominion, form in themselves a complete historical series. Of modern works there are but few. The pecuniary support of the establishment is very inconsiderable. The government exacts from it the import duty, three per cent., on European books, making an average annual sum of 400 dollars. In addition to this the salaries of the librarians amount annually to 2794 dollars. The library is open to the public every day (Friday and Sunday excepted) from eight in the morning till one in the afternoon, and from four in the afternoon till six in the evening.

In the left wing of the same building is the museum, containing a collection of objects of natural history, antiquities, and other curiosities. This collection was first formed in the year 1826, in some of the spare rooms of the palace of the Inquisition, and was afterwards removed from one place to another, until at length the government allotted to the purpose the two fine apartments in the building above mentioned. As yet the establishment is quite in its infancy. It contains nothing of scientific value, and but for the series of historical portraits already described, it would differ but little from the collections of curiosities frequently formed by amateurs, in which all sorts of heterogeneous objects are jumbled together. The museum of Lima bids fair to remain for some time to come on the footing on which it was when I saw it, for the establishment has no funds, save a monthly allowance of thirty-two dollars, and out of that scanty pittance the expense of fitting up the rooms, the gla.s.s cases, &c., has yet to be defrayed. The museum is open to the public four days in the week.

Two other apartments in the same building are set aside for the Academy of Design (_Academia de Debujo_). On three evenings every week pupils are admitted to this academy to receive gratuitous instruction in drawing. The number of the pupils amounts to between 80 and 100; but there is convenient room for 200. The collection of models and drawing copies for the use of the students is but indifferent.

The mint is situated in the vicinity of the Plazuela de la Independencia. It was founded in Lima in the year 1565; in 1572 transferred to Potosi, and in 1683 removed back to Lima. For the s.p.a.ce of seventy years this establishment was in the hands of private individuals; but in the year 1753 the Spanish government took the management of it, and erected the building in which it is still located. It is a large and handsome structure, but very defective in its internal arrangement. Until the year 1817 the machinery for casting was worked by mules, ninety-two of those animals being employed daily. Subsequently, under the direction of an Englishman, water-power was introduced, by which expense was diminished and time saved. A few years ago a French merchant made an arrangement with the government for the use of a complex machine, which he proposed to bring from Europe. The machine arrived, but by an unlucky fatality it proved perfectly useless. For the s.p.a.ce of four years repeated attempts were made to work it, but in vain; it fulfilled none of the required conditions. Its faults are manifold, and it reflects but little credit on the person by whom it was contrived. It has cost no less than 250,000 dollars, and has never been of the least use.

In the mint of Lima there are annually cast from two to two and a half millions of dollars, which yield a profit of from 140,000 to 180,000 dollars, out of which are paid the salaries of the persons employed.

Under the Spanish government these salaries amounted annually to 48,906 dollars; now they make, together with other customary outlays, the sum of 85,105 dollars.

The value of a mark of silver in the mint is 8 dollars 4 reales; that of a mark of gold is 144 dollars 4 reales. The standard worth of the gold is 21 carats; that of the silver 20 grains.

Next to the arena for bull-fights, situated in the Plaza firme del Acho, the theatre is the princ.i.p.al place of public amus.e.m.e.nt in Lima. The first theatre, erected in the year 1602, was situated near the convent of San Augustin, in the street which still bears the name of "Comedia vieja." It was destroyed in the earthquake of 1630, and rebuilt on the same site. In 1662 it was pulled down to make room for a new street, and afterwards the present building was erected. Its external appearance is very ugly and the interior is not much better. Before the orchestra there are some commodious inclosed seats or stalls. The boxes, which are completely separated one from another by part.i.tions, are narrow but deep: the smaller ones are capable of containing eight persons, and the larger ones twelve. In the centre of the first tier of boxes, and fronting the stage, is the government box, which occupies the s.p.a.ce of two of the others. It contains seats for the prefect, the sub-prefect, and the members of the Cabildo. The president's box is likewise on the first tier, and on the left of the stage. Adjoining it there is a small cabinet, closed on the side next the pit by a wooden railing. Into this cabinet the president retires between the acts of the performance. The stage is small, and the scenery very indifferent.

The performances are for the most part wretched, both as regards the merit of the pieces and the talent of the actors. Nothing can be in worse taste than the little farces called saynetes, which, according to Spanish custom, always close the performances, whether the princ.i.p.al piece be a tragedy or a comedy. Common-place intrigues form the subjects of these _saynetes_, and their dialogue consists of vulgar jokes. They are altogether calculated to banish any gratifying impression which might by possibility be produced by the princ.i.p.al piece.

For some years past a company of Italians, settled in Lima, have given operatic performances on a small scale. One of them, Signora Pantanelli, is an excellent singer, and would be heard with pleasure even in Europe. Some other members of the company have middling talents, but the rest are decidedly bad. The operas performed are Giulietta y Romeo, Parisina, Lucia di Lammermuir, Marino Faliero, La Sonnambula, and Il Barbiere di Seviglia: these, together with a mutilated Norma, and a much curtailed Semiramide, form almost the whole repertory. Want of stage room is an obstacle to the representation of operas demanding grand scenery and machinery. The costumes are for the most part exceedingly elegant, though seldom historically correct. The orchestra is defective, and ought to be much improved, to give satisfaction to a public pa.s.sionately fond of music.

But if the inhabitants of Lima are great lovers of music, dancing has no less powerful attractions for them. Though the time is gone, when the dress of any opera-dancer may be expected to reach below the knee, yet the drapery of a Limanese Terpsich.o.r.e appears to have attained even an ultra degree of curtailment. The representation of ballets, properly so called, is not attempted; but the Bolero, the Fandango, the Cachucha, and Don Mateo, are favorite and often repeated performances.

During the long intervals between the acts, smoking is permitted in the pit and in the outer court of the theatre. There is also a plentiful supply of very bad and very dear refreshments.