Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-12-20

media. Here orange peddlers bring piles Of
golden fruit; the tomale woman squats be-
side her brazier and fries garlicky COM
pounds that scent the air; and the beggar
| suns his vermin-infested rags by day on
the same stone bench that serves him for q
bed at night. Formerly the bridge was
| reached on the side of the city proper by q
lofty arch, painted in fantastic colors and
| upholding clock; but it long since went
| the way of other unsubstantial structures.
| The quaint old theater, which nova
days serves for swell Italian opera house,
was built by another viceroy, more than
hundred years ago. Its alleged boxes"
| which are mere empty stalls, all open upon
a gallery in the open air, and to get into
| one of them you must climb long flight
! of outside stairs leading to this airy cor
ridor. The splendid Pantheon cemetery.
| just outside the city limits. was laid out Dy
another viceroy, Abascal, in the year 1908.
| Its chapel contains a handsome altar, and
| there are many costly monuments and
well-kept flower beds. The vaults are
| built up in the walls, like rows of ovens,
| tier above tier, each numbered in order.
| Most of them are rented for stated num-
| Der of years, payment, of course, being IN
advance; and if the lease is not renewed at
| the end of the term. the coffin, with what
| ever it may yet contain, is summary
| evicted.
Another viceroy laid out the beautiful
| Alameda (''grove of elms,' or public passed.,
and also built the bull.ring. The latter is
| well worth a visit, though bull-fghts are
now of comparatively rare occurrence, say
| half dozen in course of year. 1t is an
| immense circular Enclosure of old-rose
| tinted adobe, surrounded by seats rising
| tier above tier, with boxes" above as in
| the theater, the latter being entered from
| an outer corridor, reached by flights of
stairs running up outside the circle.
The fashionable entertainment is what
| is known as "bull batting" and always
not killed as in Spain, Mexico and some
| other countries, but is simply tormented
for the sport of the populace. Generally
the young bloods of society do the bait
ing and it is looked upon as very high
toned, athletic sort of pastime, something
like cricket matches in England, or polo at
Newport. The senoritas decorate tin darts
with lace and ribbon rosettes and give them
to their lovers to thrust into the hide of the
bull. The great feat is to stick these darts
into the face or fore shoulder of the enraged
animal, and in order to do so the thrower
must stand in front of his horns. No horses
are disemboweled in these performances,
but it now and then happens that gentle
maiden has the excitement of seeing her
active young lover gored to death. Many
years ago an attempt was made to suppress
bull-fghting altogether; but though the
press was opposed to il and many of the
best people, the ruling passion" was yet
too strong in the minds of the populace. So
it was determined to regulate the Sunday
pastime by law, and to confine it to sin
gle building erected for that purpose The
regulations aforesaid comprise several
~ Ia 81 -
twice as long as the Constitution of the Re-
public.
As all the world knows, the ladies of
Lima are proverbial for their beauty. Such
large, liquid, soulful" eyes; such rosebud
lips aud pearly teeth such dainty hands
and feet and rounded arms and graceful
figures, it would be hard to find so COM
monty anywhere else on earth. A COM
paratively few of the more ultra. fashion
able wear modern hats and bonnets for state
occasions, but the vast majority still cover
their glossy black tresses with the lace
mantilla or black manta of silk or wooden.
The latter is the only correct thing for
church wear among young and old, rich
and poor and bonnet would no more be
allowed during service. than a gentleman
at the North would be expected to come to
the communion altar with his hat on his
head. But the mantas are no longer put
on as formerly, so that only one eye of the
wearer lis visible, but are disposed with
more or less coquettish effect, and are
vastly more becoming to the Csstilian type
of beauty than the most elaborate triumphs
of French millinery. When properly worn,
the maIta makes meal. bag shapes look
fragile, and bean-p pole figures assume grace
full contours, and not only DISCUSSES defect
i've features, lending to the most common
place face pic.uresqueness akin to beauty
but like charity, il covers multitude of
sins in the way of uncombed hair, rents,
dirt and shabby attire. Some of the en-
broidered mantas of black crepe are ex-
ceedingly beautiful, and cost from 500 to
$500, the amount of silk embroidery upon
it indicating the wealth of the wearer. Or
binary mantas, such as the majority wear,
are simply large squares of soft black cassi-
mere, or nuns yelling, and can be bought
for from $15 to $780, A common article of
dyed cotton is imported from Englsnd, at a
cost of IS or 81 apiece, for the Indian and
negro women,
Lima boasts of no fewer than 126 Cath
Ollie churches, besides round dozen mon
asteries and converts, all of them estab-
lished by representatives of the Spanish
crown. Ou:wardly none of them are par
ticularly striking, except for their gaudy
coloring and excessive ugliness. Perhaps
the most imposing one, aside from the
great cathedral, is the church and adjacent
monastery of San Francisco, which was
built in 1886 and is said to have cost $l5,-
600 000-more than the capitol at Wash
ington. 1t covers a large tract of ground
near the bank of the Rimae. Its gardens
(of which we caught glimpse through
the open door, petticoats, of course, not
being ADMITTEDLY are lovely beyond de-
scription. The whole interior is covered
with most beautiful tiles, many acres of
them, which have stood the test of three
centuries, and still surpass the best that
modern genius can produce. In this con-
yent the monks preserve the bed on which
Saint Trancis died, his sandals, rosary,
sackcloth rohs and the coffin in which his
body was carried to Rome.
1t was not long after the conquest before
the inquisition was established in Peru
that fearful engine of Spain's despotic
power. 1t is mistake to suppose that it
was altogether Popish institution; for
here it was essentially Spanish-at least in
its worst form. The student of history
knows that while the Spsniards were using
it as cloak to cover the most hideous
enormities, Popes were found expostulating
against the atrocities they perpetrated.
Thus while Torquemade and Maurique
were burning their hlndreds of heretics,
Sextus ". was ordering the former to cease
their prosecutions of several individuals,
and counseling moderation. Pope Plus
W interceded in favor of Carranzs, the
aged Archbishop of Toledo, who had closed
the eyes of Charles ", but was afterwards
accused Of holding Lutheran doctrines
and George Ill erected in Rome monu-
ment in praise of the same prelate. Ger
tainly the inquisition of Spain and Peru
was not so much a religious as political
institution, employed py rulers =. 70 render
themselves absolute. In theory, the In
dams were exempted from its jurisdiction
but it is extremely doubtful whether those
prosecuted people always escaped its cruel
clutches.