A GARDEN ON THE RIMAC.
Much of the country between Callao and Lima is under cultivation, by means of irrigating canals brought from the Rimac River. The Rimac dwindles to a small brook in the dry season, but in the period of rains it swells into quite a river, and furnishes more water than is needed. In the absence of rain it is the sole reliance for the gardens and fields around Lima; it is as necessary to this region as is the Nile to Lower Egypt. Without the Rimac, Lima would dry up and disappear; with it the city stands in a surrounding of luxuriant gardens and smiling fields.
A CLAIMANT FOR THE SIDEWALK.
The baggage was intrusted to an employé of the hotel, who had been telegraphed for, and met our friends at the station; guided by a servant from the same establishment, they walked the short distance intervening between the station and their lodging-place, narrowly escaping collisions with troops of laden donkeys, that rushed along the streets as though they possessed the sole right of occupation. They seemed to prefer the sidewalks to the middle of the street, probably because the latter was less smooth than the sidewalks, and their drivers didn't care where they went as long as they kept moving in the right direction. Few carriages were visible, and these few were not attractive in appearance.
For a description of Lima we will quote from Frank's letter to his mother, which was sent by the next steamer northward from Callao:
"Here we are, in the 'City of the Kings,' as it was named by Pizarro. According to the histories, it was on the 6th of January, 1535, Old Style, that the Spanish conqueror designated it as the capital of his dominions. That day happened to be the festival of the Magi, or Three Wise Men of the East, who came to Bethlehem to adore the Saviour; in old chronicles they are styled 'The Three Kings,' and hence Pizarro called his capital Ciudad de los Reyes, or 'City of the Kings.' Charles V. designated the arms of the city to be three golden crowns on a blue field, with a rayed star to indicate the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the kings. The name Lima is a modification or adaptation of the native word Rimac, which formerly belonged to the plain or valley where the city is built, and is still borne by the river which supplies it with water.