"I send you a map of Lima and the surrounding country, which will give you an excellent idea of its position. Unhappily for Peru, much of the beautiful region around its capital was laid waste by the invading army during the late war between Chili and Peru; Chili was completely victorious, and also unmerciful, and in the battle which decided the fate of Lima many of the country-houses and villages in the neighborhood were burned. This was the sad lot of Chorillos, the Long Branch or Coney Island of Lima, and also of Miraflores, which lies between Chorillos and the great city. "There is a railway from Chorillos to Lima, passing through Miraflores; the invading army landed at Chorillos, and marched along the line of railway to Lima. They destroyed nearly everything on the route, and were only prevented from burning and plundering the city by the energy of the British minister and other members of the diplomatic corps, backed by the English and French admirals, with their ships of war in the harbor of Callao. "So much for the horrors of war, which this country will long remember. The population of Lima is variously placed at from one hundred thousand to one hundred and twenty thousand; there are about fifteen thousand foreigners and six thousand priests among them, so that you cannot go far on the streets without meeting either a foreigner or a priest. In all the cities we have ever seen there does not appear to be a more mixed lot of inhabitants than here; Constantinople and Cairo are not more kaleidoscopic than Lima, and I think the American city is somewhat ahead of them. "There are English, French, German, Spanish, Belgian, and North American residents here; there are Chinese and Negroes, white, black, yellow, and all other complexions among the natives of the country, besides, as Fred says, 'several wards to hear from.' Professor Orton says there are at least twenty-five varieties of people in Lima; the upper classes are educated and polite, while the lowest of the population are among the most dangerous in the world. During the night before the occupation of Lima by the Chilian army the dangerous class had possession of the city for some hours, and committed many depredations. The foreigners organized a temporary police, and stopped the disorder; if they had not done so the whole city would have been plundered. [Illustration: WEARING THE "SAYA Y MANTO."] "We used to read in our school-books that the ladies of Lima covered their faces with the _saya y manto_, or veil, when out walking, so that only one eye could be seen. We saw a few veils worn in this way, and the Doctor said the wearers were probably old, and not pretty; the most of the ladies have dropped the old fashion, and permit their faces to be seen, using the veil only as a covering for the top of the head. I enclose a photograph of a lady of Lima to-day, and a sketch which shows the old style of wearing the _saya y manto_. [Illustration: A LADY OF LIMA.]