to describe my own personal adventures, but to
present my readers with a picture of Peru as it was at the time I speak
of, I will now give a short description of Lima, the capital. Lima
stands on the river _Rimac_, from a corruption of which word its name is
derived. The valley through which the river runs is called by the
Indians _Rimac Malca_, or the place of witches; from the custom they had
formerly of banishing there persons accused of witchcraft. The city was
founded by Pizarro soon after the conquest. He there built a palace for
himself, in which he was assassinated by Almagro. He called his beloved
Lima, La Ciudad de los Reyes, from its being founded on the day of the
Epiphany. I always think of Pizarro with much more satisfaction when I
contemplate him engaged in the peaceful occupation of laying out the
city, and superintending the labours of the workmen, than when I regard
him as the blood-stained conqueror of a race who had given him no cause
of offence. He laid the foundation of the city on the 8th of January
1534, and was murdered on the 26th of June 1541.

Besides the river Rimac, which runs through the city, there are a number
of small streams, which add much to the cleanliness of the streets, and
serve to irrigate the gardens, and to feed the fountains and canals
which adorn them. The ground on which it stands slopes towards the sea;
the great square, or _plaza mayor_, near the centre, being about four
hundred and eighty feet above its level.

The climate is agreeable, as the heat is seldom very excessive; but as
there are several marshes and swampy places in the vicinity, fevers and
agues are common. In summer a canopy of clouds hangs over it, which
mitigates the heat of the sun; but rain very seldom falls throughout the
year. Earthquakes occur nearly every year, and some have caused most
devastating effects.

Lima is about two miles long from east to west, and a mile and a quarter
broad. The streets are all straight, and about twenty-five feet wide,
and there are no less than one hundred and fifty-seven _quadras_ or open
spaces. It is enclosed by walls built of _adobes_, sun-dried bricks
made of clay and chopped straw. These bricks are considered better
calculated than stone to resist the shocks of earthquakes. The walls
are about twelve feet high and ten thick at the bottom, narrowing to
eight at the top, with a parapet of three feet on the outer edge. It is
flanked by thirty-four b