Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-12-20
WALKS ABOUT LIMA.
SOME OF THE SIGHTS OF THE ANCIENT
CAPITAL.
Charming SeEoritas and How They are
Arrayed-shops, Churches, Plazas
and Public Buildings.

LIMA, 1eIu, loSU.
The soiourner within these gates finds ii
difficult to believe himself living in the lat
ter part of the nineteenth century, so
strongly do all the surroundings SAVIOR OF
vice-regal days. These vice-Kings of Spain
left their fnger-marks upon everything
and there is hardly street, park, public
garden, church or Government building
that YVES not named, planned or erected by
one of them.
Beginning with the great Plaza Major, OF
principal square, which covers nearly nine
English acres, we find that the handsome
stone fountain in its center, surmounted by
bronze statue representing Fame, was built
in 1868 by order of q viceroy. One of the
earliest viceroys erected the enormous
cathedral that faces one side of this plaza,
with its facade painted red and yellow, its
three green doors and a tower at each
angie. For nearly three centuries its affairs
were burdened with gold and silver and
jeweled articles of church service and orna-
ment, until a few years ago, when most of
its treasures were appropriated and con.
Verted into money by needy republican
government. In its dark crypt is the stone
coffin of Pizafro, the conquerer, and an.
other containing the remains of his ras.
cally relative, Gonzalo Pizarro. The enter
prising tourist may go down and explore
the gruesome place by the dim flicker of a
tallow dip and if he Is curiously enough
inclined, by the payment of a moderate
sum to the sacristan, the stone cover will
be removed from the more important coffin
and the crumbling bones of the great con.
quistddor exposed TO view.
Another side of the same square is occu-
pied by a rather mean-looking building
with small shops beneath it, which is no
less than the old palace where Pizarro
ruled with high hand during his brief
day here and where he was assassinated by
1.-THE men of Chile" who appointed them.
selves the avengers of Almagro's murder
Its upper part still serves as Government
"palachio" and is occupied by various off,
GERS of the new regime.
The long, straight streets that diverge
from this central square and run at right
angles have an appearance of age and SOL
emnity not borrowed from the frail struc-
lures that line them on either side. As
earthquakes are momentarily expected and
the city stands in the very heart of the
Iainless region, its peculiarities of-srchi-
lecture are largely the outgrowth of local
causes. More substantial structures of
brick or stone could not so well resist
the commissions of nature, and the taller
and more top-heavy they were, the greater
would be the danger to their inmates;
therefore the buildings are generally of
one story only, seldom more than two,
and OF the hghtest materials that can be
made to hold together. One can hardly
believe that the apparently massive towers
and buttresses of the extensive churches
are merely great wicker baskets, deceptive
hipQfinnS nf and ro1oc tied tn
gether with thongs, plastered over with
mud, and painted; but such is the case.
Some of them are deliberately succeed,
and look like splendid structures of carved
stone, but one smart summer shower, such
as our Northern cities are subject to, would
reduce them all to skeletons as bare and
CHASTITY as that of .''the late Mr.. Pizarro,"
in his stone bed under the cathedral
As the absence Of rain renders pitched
roofs unnecessary, the coverings of the
houses are fiat, often made of poles over
which is spread a mating of shredded
cane, supporting layer of ashes and dried
grass, intended to absorb the dampness of
the fogs. More commonly, however, the
roofing is of boards, overlaid with adobe ;
and one is struck by the fact that in all
Lima, and indeed, in all South America
there is not such a thing as a Northern
chimney Notwithstanding their airy
framework, the builders thereof did not
ignore the architectural traditions of their
Moorish and Castilisn ancestors. The
largest casds of the wealthiest people show
little more than bare, blank walls outside,
with few windows on the ground floor, and
those all heavily barred with iron, each
house with one huge folding-door which
opens flush with the pavement of the street,
and leads into the patio, or inner court
yard, with its fountain and flowers and
shrubs, into which all the living-rooms
open. The barred windows are relics of
early days in old CASTLE, when precautions
against bandits were constant necessity;
and they have served equally well in this
country, during the time of the viceroys,
against hordes of pirates from the sea and
bands of robbers from the mountains, and
in later days against revolutionists.
The more modern houses are two-storied
and these always have balconies, regular
Romeo and Juliet retreats, whose golden
opportunities for Irritation are by no means
neglected. Wherever there is an upper
story, the lower one is seldom used for liv-
ing purposes, but is generally given over to
stabling the horses, storing the carriages,
servants quarters, etc., or is rented room
by room to as many small shop keepers. 1t
is not all uncommon to find q family of
high degree and great social pretensions,
belonging to that exclusive inner circle of
uppertendom, than to gain admittance
whereto it would be easier for camel to
go through the eye of needs, residing
above butchers stall, with strips OF raw
beef, halfdissected pigs, sausages and en-.
trails festooned in bold relief: while near
fhes u.s;n entrance a cobbief sits at his
bench pegging the coarse shoes OF los pobres,
and woman squats in the front door,
with kettle of odorous fat sizzling over
charcoal brszier frying vile combination
of fish, fowl and garlic made up into little
pies, which she sells to passers-by.
The two sides of the Plaza Mayor are oc-
cupied by portales, with shops behind
them, or to be more explicit by buildings
whose street fronts are faced by pillared
corridors rooted in long series of arches.
These portales are the favorite promenade
of the ladies of the city, and therefore, as
matter of course, of the gentlemen also.
At all times and seasons one may meet
here the beauty and fashion and flower
of Lima, az well as the extremes of riches
and poverty, pride and squalor, that make
up the variegated life of this old city. The
shops are small, but surprisingly crowded
with handsome goods, and in them one
may find nearly every article of fas zion
and luxury which the largest stores of
Europe and the United States can show,
They are nearly all kept by foreigners,
French predominatiDg, Germans coming
next in line, then few Italians and Eng
lishmen. Some of the finest fancy goods
stores are owned and managed by Chinese
merchants. who enjoy the monopoly of
trade in embroidered mantas and silk
oresses. 1nere are three or four large
establishments conducted by merchants
from the United States, and the house of
the Grace brothers (of which banker VIM.
r. Grace, of New York city, is the head,
practically monopolizes North American
trade in Peru.
Pawn shops are incredibly numerous
and packed with treasures of every descrip,
tion. diamonds, pearls, emeralds, splendid
laces. articles of yirtu, table service and