mitre: a coincidence of good fortune not often equalled. La Reguera had some time before left Lima for Spain, his native country, and having been more fortunate in trade than Higgins, had prosecuted his studies, and returned archbishop in 1781.
On the south side is a row of private houses, having a balcony and trellis windows: over the piazza, which is ten feet broad, the pillars are of stone; a row of mercers' and drapers' shops occupies the piazza, and between the pillars are stationed a number of men, principally indians, employed in making fringe, silk buttons, epauletts, &c.; hence it is called, el portal de botoneros. In the middle of this piazza is el callejon de petateros, remarkable as being the site of Pizarro's palace, and where he was murdered.
The west side is similar to the south, and at the north end of it is the casa consistorial, corporation house; under it is the city gaol, in front of which is the council hall, which has on one side the door a canopy over the royal arms. Under this the alcaldes formerly stood to administer justice. Here it was that, some years ago, the young Viscount de San Donas sentenced the coachman of Judge Nuñes to receive a hundred lashes for carrying prohibited arms: the man was tied to an ass, and the hangman, having inflicted twenty-five stripes, was marching him to the next corner to administer the same number, when the judge, informed of the affair, left the audience chamber, and proceeded in his robes to the rescue of his servant; but in this he was prevented by the alcalde; the judge became boisterous—the punishment was continued; at length his lordship insulted the alcalde, who immediately ordered his alguazils to seize him and conduct him to the court gaol, where San Donas confined him in a dungeon, took the keys, went home, ordered his horse, and left the city. When he returned in the evening he waited on the Viceroy, Castel-forte, who urgently interceded for the judge; but the alcalde kept him in prison until he apologised for his improper attempt to prevent a magistrate from enforcing the execution of a lawful sentence.
In the centre of the square is a beautiful brass fountain, erected by the Viceroy Count de Salvatierra in 1653. The basin is very capacious: in the middle rises a brass column twenty two feet high, on the top of which is a small cupola supported by four pillars; the whole is surmounted by a figure of Fame. Through the trumpet water is ejected; but the greater portion rises within the dome, after which it falls into a large basin, from thence into another of greater dimensions, and from thence through four orifices into a basin which has an ornamented brass enclosure, surmounted by four treble lions, ejecting water from their mouths into the basin. There are also four smaller fountains at the angles of the central one, having each a brass pillar five feet high, with four orifices, whence water issues. The water is the best in Lima, and at all hours of the day the carriers are busy in conveying it to different parts of the city. For this purpose they have a mule, with a pack-saddle and two hoops affixed to it, into which they put two barrels, each containing about ten gallons, behind which a man generally jumps up and rides. The carrier has a thick stick with an inverted iron hook near the top, with which he props one barrel when he takes out the other. If the water be for sale a small bell is attached to one of the hoops, which continues tinkling as the mule trots along. The price is one real for the two barrels.
In this square the principal market is held, and one of the greatest luxuries which the eye can witness is enjoyed by visiting it about five or six o'clock in the morning, when the articles for sale are just brought in. It is divided into several compartments by rows of large pebbles, which are placed merely to limit the venders, and prevent their encroaching on the public walks. The butchers' market is generally well supplied with excellent beef and mutton; but calves and lambs are never killed, this being prohibited by an old law for the promotion of the breed of cattle. Pork is sold in one part; in another all kinds of salted and dried meats, principally brought from the interior; these are charque, jerked beef; sesina, beef salted and smoked or dried in the sun: hams, bacon, and frozen kid from the mountains, which last is most delicate eating: there are likewise many kinds of sausages; salt fish, principally bacalao, from Europe; tollo, congrio, and corbina. The fish market is in some seasons abundantly supplied from the neighbouring coasts with corbina, jureles, mackerel, chita, plaice, turbot, peje rey, lisa, anchovies, &c., and most excellent crayfish, camarones, from the rivers, some of which are six or seven inches long. Fish is generally cheap; but during Lent, and particularly in Passion Week, it is excessively dear; which arises from the indians enjoying the exclusive privilege of fishing, and being at that time of the year too much occupied with their religious duties to attend to their regular business. Indeed no indian will fish on the Thursday, Friday, or Saturday in Passion Week; and I have seen a fish sold on those days for twenty or twenty-five dollars, which at other times might have been bought for one, or even less.
The poultry market is divided, one place being set apart for the live, and another for the dead. Poultry is almost always dear; a turkey costs from three to five dollars; a fowl from one to two dollars; ducks, Muscovy, the same price; pigeons half a dollar each; geese are seldom seen in the market, for as the natives never eat them, very few are bred. Here is also a market for all kinds of pulse—beans of several descriptions, peas, lentils, maize of five or six kinds, gurbansos, quinua, &c. The vegetable market contains every description of horticultural produce known in England, as well as the arracacha, yuca, casava root, camote, sweet potatoe, yam, oca, &c. The vegetables are remarkably fine, in great abundance, and generally cheap. The fruit market is splendid, furnishing the most delicious fruits of Europe—the grape of several varieties, the peach, apricot and nectarine, the apple, the pear, the pomegranate, the quince, the tomate, and the strawberry; and an abundance of luscious tropical fruits—the pine, the melon, badeas, granadillas, sapote, lucuma, nisperos, guavas, paltas, guanabanas, custard apples, the sweet and sour orange, lime, and lemon, the shaddock, the citron, the plantane, the banana, and above all the chirimoya, the queen of tropical fruits. The portion allotted to the flower sellers is appropriately called the calle del peligro, street of danger; for here the gentle fair resort, and their gallant swains watch the favourable opportunity of presenting to them the choicest gifts of Flora. This corner of the market, at an early hour in the morning, is truly enchanting; the fragrance of the flowers, their beauty and quantity, and the concourse of lovely females—altogether would persuade a stranger that he had found the Muses wandering in gardens of delight! In the vicinity stands a fresquera, vender of iced lemonade, pine-apple water, orchata, almond milk, pomegranate water, &c. which offer another opportunity for gallantry. It is no exaggeration in the citizens of Lima when they assert, that they have one of the finest markets in the world, for every thing in art and nature contributes to its support: the beautiful climate near the coast, the vicinity of the mountains, where all climates may be found, from the ever-during snow to perpetual sunshine—send their abundant and rich produce to this cornucopia of Ceres and Pomona.
The interior of the Viceroy's palace is very mean; but it is said to have been a magnificent building before it was destroyed by an earthquake on the 20th October, 1687. Its principal entrance is on the west side, in a narrow street leading to the bridge from the plasa; to the right of the entrance is the guard-room, where a company of infantry, a captain, lieutenant, and ensign are stationed: to the left there are four flights of steps leading to the sala de los Vireys, at the door of which is a guard of halberdiers, dressed in blue coats with full trimming of broad gold lace, crimson waistcoat and breeches with gold lace, silk stockings, velvet shoes, a laced hat, and a halberd. These soldiers are generally of good families: they are twenty-five in number, and the captain, their only officer, was always a young nobleman, because the situation was considered as highly honourable. Each Viceroy nominated a captain on his arrival. Don Diego Aliaga, son to the Marquis de Lurigancho, was captain to Abascal and Pezuela. The sala de los Vireys, so called on account of its containing full-length portraits of all the Viceroys from Pizarro to Pezuela,[5] was used only on days of ceremony, when the Viceroy stood under a canopy of crimson velvet, trimmed with gold, and received in the name of the King the compliments addressed to him, which however were generally set speeches, studied for the occasion. The Regent pronounced the first harangue, then followed the controller of the tribunal of accompts, the dean in the name of his chapter, the alcalde of the first vote, the prior
