a city of South America, in Peru, of which it is capital, with an archbishop's see, and an university. It gives its name to the principal audience of Peru; and is surrounded with brick-walls, fortified with several ramparts and battions, eight yards high. The streets are handsome, and as straight as a line; but the houses are generally only one story high, on account of the earthquakes. However, they are pretty enough, and well adorned, having long galleries on the front. One part of the roofs are covered with coarse linen cloth, and the others only with reeds, which is not inconvenient, because it never rains here; however, the richest inhabitants cover theirs with fine mats or beautiful cotton-cloths. There are trees planted all round their houses, to keep off the heat of the sun. What the houses want in height they have in length and depth; for some of them are 200 feet long, and proportionally broad, so that they have 10 or 12 large apartments on the ground-floor. The royal square is very handsome, and in the middle there is a fountain of bronze, adorned with the image of Fame which spouts up water. On the east and west sides are the public structures, which are well built. The river which crosses Lima forms canals or streams which run to most of the houses, and serve to water their gardens, as well as for other uses. All the churches and convents are extremely rich; and many images of the saints are of mussy gold, adorned with jewels. This city is four miles LIMA

miles in length, and two in breadth, and is divided into eight parishes; and yet it contains but 28,000 inhabitants, whereof 9000 are Spaniards. They make use of mules to draw their coaches with, and of these there are about 5000. It is the seat of the viceroy, and contains several courts; as that of the viceroy, of the archbishop, of the inquisition, of the cruzado, and of the wills. Earthquakes are here very frequent; some of which have done this city a great deal of damage, particularly that in 1746, whereby it was almost destroyed: were it not for this, it would be a perfect paradise; there being plenty of corn, wine, oil, sugar, fruits, and flax. The inhabitants are so rich, that when the viceroy, who was duke of Palata, and sent from Spain to Peru in 1672, made his public entrance into this city, the inhabitants paved the streets he was to pass through with ingots of silver. The inhabitants of Lima are very debauched, but at the same time extremely superstitious, and they have a strong belief in the power of charms. About a fourth part of the city are monks and nuns, who are not a jot more chaste than the rest; and if any one happens to rival a monk, he is in danger of his life, for they always carry a dagger under their frocks. The nuns are such libertines, that it is hard to find any free from the French disease, of which they sometimes die for want of good physicians. The greatest sinners think they atone for all their faults by hearing a mass, and kissing the robe of St Francis or St Dominic, and then they return to their former practices. It is seated on a large, pleasant, fertile plain, on a small river near the sea. W. Long. 68. 45. S. Lat. 12. 15.