By the kindness of Mr. Wilhelm Brauns, the Consul-General of Hamburg, and head of the distinguished English house Huth, Grüning, and Co.,[132] to whom I brought letters of
introduction, and who was most kindly in waiting for me. I was speedily and pleasantly conveyed from the station in Lima, to take up my quarters in his house till I took my leave. Owing to this fortunate event, I found myself unexpectedly brought into the very thick of the very best German society. Nowhere in the course of many years of travel in various countries, all over the globe, did I meet with more cordial hospitality, or a more delightful reception, than during my 19 days' stay in the "City of the Kings."
On our way from the station to the house of Mr. Brauns, I remarked that the houses in every part of the city that we passed were painted with variegated stripes, and heard, to my intense astonishment, that, in consequence of a recent decree of the Government, every householder in each quarter was ordered, with a view to facilitating the identification of their houses, to paint them of a colour corresponding with the coloured official plans of the city! Accordingly in one quarter all the houses were green, in another yellow, in a third white, in a fourth reddish, and in a fifth sky-blue. As in all Spanish American cities exposed to earthquakes, most of the houses in Lima also are but one storey high. The larger buildings are constructed of sun-dried bricks or fire clay, the smaller of cane set up double, with the space between filled up with clay, and the whole whitewashed. Their most singular feature is the flat roofs, which consist of a layer of
cane and straw mats, which, for better security, occasionally have a coating of clay. Thus an open space (Azotea), surrounded by balustrades, is secured, which is used as a playground by children, and serves as a promenade for the grown-up portion of the community. Some of the windows communicate with the roof by a sort of trap-door, which instead of sashes of glass has shutters of wood, which communicate with the rooms beneath by a long cord, so that they can be opened or shut from below at pleasure. Many of the chambers in the interior of the house get light and air solely through these apertures (called Ventana de Teatinas, because first introduced by the Theatine monks), while windows properly so-called are less numerous, and when looking towards the street are usually provided with large, broad, sometimes richly-gilt iron shutters. We saw these curious cords for opening and shutting the trap-doors in the roof hanging down in the middle of even elegantly-furnished apartments, and not even the circumstance of being made of silk prevented their having a peculiar and ungraceful effect.
The mode of constructing the houses, together with the elegant ornamentation of the open courts (patìo) of the interior, speedily remind the stranger that he is in a place where rain (at least according to Northern ideas) is an unknown phenomenon, since one single, even down-pour must inevitably do immense damage in the Lima of the present day. During the winter months, however, as they are called, viz. June to November, fogs (garuas) are very frequent, which, albeit light,
are sufficiently penetrating thoroughly to soak the pedestrian or horseman who happens to be surprised by them. I have myself repeatedly experienced in Lima fogs of such density, that it was quite practicable to count each separate drop. During these winter months, fine, clear days free of all cloud are comparatively rare; but the statement one occasionally hears, that for five months together the sun is invisible in Lima, is an exaggeration. The temperature of Lima is much lower than we could expect from a city within 12 degrees of the Equator, and seems to be affected principally by the proximity of the eternal snows of the Andes, and the prevailing atmospheric currents. The thermometer never rises higher than 85°.8 Fahr., nor falls below 68°.2 Fahr. The average temperature during the hot season is 77°, and during the cold 63°.5 Fahr. Such a climate renders fires superfluous, and it is more habit than necessity that induces some Spanish families to carry about copper or iron pans (Brasero) filled with live coal, with which to warm their hands or feet.
The exteriors and internal equipments of the dwellings are very simple and devoid of ornament, only a few of the older buildings, such, for instance, as the house of Torre Tagle, near San Pedro, forming the exception. Among the architectural decorations, which preserve to the present day the tradition of the glories of the Peruvian kingdom, one may marvel at majestic designs and beautiful mosaics, which even in their ruin tell of the magnificent luxury that was once indulged in here.
The streets are wide and tolerably regular, but the absence of gutters and the wretched foundation of the roadway prevent their being used by carriages or horsemen, or by pedestrians even more than they can help. The open ditches at either side are full of filth and animal impurities, which are continually being thrown in, and but for the services of numerous carrion crows (cathartes fœtens), who perform the duties of scavengers, Lima, owing to the supineness of the native authorities, would be one of the filthiest and most unhealthy cities in South America. But the gallinazos, as these black-headed birds are called by the natives, although lazy and unwieldy, nevertheless are in such immense numbers here, that they suffice to keep the streets comparatively free from putrescent odours. Everywhere, even in the thick of places of public resort, one sees these birds, which no one injures on account of their usefulness, and which even the rising generation never think of disturbing in their disgusting avocations, hopping about upon the bare ground, and gorging themselves on the garbage around.
One of the greatest improvements to the city is its almost universal illumination by gas, which in the evening imparts a peculiar charm to the streets and fashionable shops of Lima, and enables them, in this particular at least, to vie with those of the capitals of Europe.