“I promised to write a description of Lima, but the visitador told me that was an undertaking, in which many men of superior talents had not been able to succeed, and that it would be ridiculous for a pigmy to undertake it. But, Señor Inspector, is it possible that I must conclude such a detailed itinerary without saying anything about Lima? Certainly, Señor Inca, for this great city does not concern you, is not your affair, and here ends my commission. Señores Jorge Juan, Antonio Ulloa, he added, and the principal cosmographer of the kingdom, Dr. Cosme Bueno, wrote with a swan’s quill of all the most important things in this capital, and you cannot add anything material with yours which is the quill of a goose. Nevertheless, I replied, please tell me what is the difference between this great city and that of my birth. I suppose Señor Inca, he answered me, that you are prejudiced in favour of Cuzco, your native town, and would wish me to say that it is superior in every respect to Lima, but you are greatly mistaken; for, leaving aside the situation and the parks, you ought to observe that in this great capital the king maintains a viceroy with great magnificence and with an allowance equal to the total revenue of all the great estates of Cuzco. It has also three bodies of guards supported by the king, one of cavalry, well mounted and paid, others of infantry and halbardiers, which serve not only for ceremony and ostentation, but also for the protection of the persons and the peace of this great town. There may be added, moreover, the audiencia, the superior tribunals of accounts, the inquisition, the university, the theatre, and the public promenades near the city, which are not found at Cuzco, or at any other city of the kingdom. [Sidenote: Carriages, dress, and aristocracy of Lima] “Lima maintains two hundred and fifty public carriages and more than a thousand calesas, which are distinguished from the carriages by the fact that they have two wheels and are drawn by a mule, and are more readily upset. There is nothing of this kind in your great city. In the matter of dress, one is as crazy as the other, with a difference of tastes, and in the extent of families and commerce Lima greatly exceeds Cuzco. In this city there are many marquises and counts, and a much greater number of persons who have been decorated with the orders of Santiago and Calatrava, who with rare exceptions have sufficient incomes to maintain themselves in splendour, and to whom may be added persons having entailed estates and gentlemen who are supported by their lands and other proper kinds of business, so that they may live in a manner to give brilliancy to the society of the city. There is no doubt that in your native city, as in others of the vast viceroyalty, there are illustrious families, but the number of them is not comparable with those of this city” (Chap. XXVI). CHAPTER XVII OUTLOOK TOWARDS EMANCIPATION