The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-04-12

 | 

asH that there shall be no union of the ehdrcn and state. similar demonstra- tons are going on in Chile, and there seheiai denIanu Is expressed that rom now on religious anu secular In- suutiohs snail s1anu alone.
 But before l leave the churches 1 Ns1". u ,ahe you Into the cathedral or PIzdirO. It 1.aSes tne 4-io.a .a.sof vlin Us palm trees anu It's beautiful foun- tdiis It is Tn the Heart of the cIty,' aha its towers can De setn almost any where over the nnnae vaIiey ine Dulld- ing Is sald To De me finest church eai- lice on the South sAmerlcan continent. with the single exception of the ca tneural at Mexico City. The interior IS very impressive. and il makes one re- spect the Catholic religion when ne remembers that Catnoncs have wor- / snIped tor more than Se0 years on that spot. The nign altar is line example Of massNe snver construction and the stalls oI the sanctuary are exJraordi- mary spvciAuens of lnuIan carvlng, swhen 1iuIa1, .lng Was stiIi in It's prime. .
 on the waits are me paintings by Mufiilo sno other great maseers, and the chspeis are or exceeding beauty. l was especiaiiy impressed by that or Pizarro. The litlie verger of the cathedral took nle ineo IL, ana under the altar he showed me the conn in winch fizarros $ bones lie- I he coffin IS Of white marble with glass sides and top, so made that one could see plainly the remains lying within. The verser lighted a candle and waved 1t up and down over the glass. As he did so 1 coud see all that is now left of the great Spaniard who first explored and con quered the west coast of South America. It consisted of skeleton lying upon red velvet cushion embroidered with gold. The skeleton is black mahogany and 1t looks thought 1t were varnished. The skull lies on pillow. the neck beins fastened to it by wires through the ears. The jaw is 5trifle dropping, the nose is prominent and the great eyeless sockets looked up at me as l gazed down through the glass top of the casket. AS l looked more closely the whole seemed merely a shell. The skin has begun to peel from the shins and there are little worm holes in the bones. I am told that in times past patches of skin have been cut off and given to relic hunters but as far as | can see the most of the corpse Is intact, though decidedly leathery and the worse for wear. From the outside of the coffin l have copied these words:
 Captain General Don Francisco Pizar- TO, Fundador de Lima en IS de Enero de 15S5. Muerto en 26 de Junio de l54l." As l left l. gave the verger a dollar and Carl snapped a photograph of him as he showed me the door.
 Lima is a city built in desert. It's irrigated tracts are scattered through 15 small valleys, and they consist altogether of about 10000 acres of cultivated fields and woodlands. They are divided into l7e estates many of the holdings being large Practically the whole support of the city comes from this valley and from the trade with Peru.
 The conditions about Lima are such that 1t never rains. There is not waterproof nor pair of overshoes in the wbola town, and umbrellas are used only to keep out the sun. The streets have no gutters, and the roofs have no chimneys. All or the cooking is done over charcoal, the fumes of which get out as they cant The tiwn has practically no backwards. and only on the outskirts are there gar dens. The most. of the buildings run around courts of patios upon which tha chief rooms face. The larger houses ars hne and they cover & great deal of ground, a single one often having 20 or more rooms, surrounding several large courts, In some of which play foutains amid tropical trees. a ft
 Many of the older buildings are beautiful and exceedingly comfortable some of them are largely constructed of sun dried brick or of plaster spread over a framework of wood, lathed with bamboo canes. The roofs are of this nature. The outer walls of such build ings are covered with stucco and the city has very substantial appearance. whereas much of 1t. as I said in for mer letter. is combination of mud and fishing poles
 Of late they are putting up many fine structures of reinforced concrete: and along the Avenue of the Expo sition, for instance are residences that would be considered fine anywhere in the world Lima has altogether now about 15o,0oo Inhabitants It is steadJ lily growing, and when the canal is completed its population and business will greatly increase. It will be one of the chief tourist resorts of South America and if it can only haR, some better hotels it will be the most de. lightful resort along the west coast
 AS It is now the hotel accommoda- tions are limited. There are two or three large establishments which have rooms and board. You may take your on the American or European plan, and the rates are just about high as those of the states. You will have chamb ermen instead or cham bermaids, and your meals will consist of desayuno, almuerzo and din- i, ners Desayuno means the cup of black co1fee and two little rolls which you eat for your break fast. This the boy will bring to you in your chamber, and you may have it in bed if you choose. Almuerzo comes at 12 o'clock when there is a fairly good table dhote meal, and at 6 or there is a table dhote dinner. At both of these latter meals the dishes are Spanish and they are recorded on q menu which most, tourists need a stationary to read. r am stopping at the Maury which vtez with the Grand as the best hotel in Peru. It is 8 great two-story structure with wide balconies extending over tho street. I have d room facing ths street for which they ask s4 gold per day without board. Back of this is a little, dark sitting room. There are no private bathrooms to speak of and al- together the hotel might be improYed