the duke of La Plata, came in 1682 to take possession of his government."
Peru! Land of gold and silver, with thy fertile and beautiful soil, and temperate and healthy climate, once the terrestrial paradise of South America, now its poorest and most wretched region: thy commerce languishes; the education of thy children is neglected; the officers of thy venal army fly from standard to standard; the ambition and faithlessness of thy leaders have exhausted thy treasury; thy chiefs, destitute of patriotism, seek their own aggrandizement, and oppress thy people; - such is the state of things in Peru at present.
The length of Peru from northwest to southeast is 430 leagues, and its average width 16o leagues. The country is crossed from north to south by the Andes, which are divided into two parallel chains; the central is the higher, the other is called the Coast Range. Maritime Peru is an inclined plain, almost entirely sterile and sandy. This is attributed mainly to the height of the Andes, which catch the drifting clouds and prevent the rain from falling on the plains: partly also to the dry winds which blow constantly from the desert of Atacama to the Gulf of Guayaquil. The cultivated spots lie principally along the rivers, and the vegetation is entirely nourished by the abundant dew, which often resembles a light rain. Upon all the coast of Peru the sun is visible hardly six months of the year, and the air is in general stifling and variable. In the interior, on the high lands, vegetation is abundant and of lofty growth.
Up to the elevation of 1o,ooo feet, the climate is a mixture of autumn and spring. Beyond this, at the height of 14,000 feet, commences the region of eternal winter, where the volcanoes are in full operation, vomiting flames and lava upon the glaciers and snowfields round about. It is the abysses whence these volcanoes are fed that so often scatter terror and consternation among the sparse populations of the Republic. We had three shocks during our short stay in Lima, two of which were pretty hard. In 1746 the little city of 28