"We spent the first evening of our visit in strolling through the Plaza Mayor, or Great Square, which covers nine acres of ground, and listening to a band of music which played several national and other airs. There is a bronze fountain in the centre of the square, and a garden around the fountain where tropical plants and trees seemed to flourish. The cathedral is on one side of the square; it is a fine building, and its corner-stone was laid by Pizarro twelve days after the city was founded. Our guide took us from the cathedral to an alley leading from the south side of the square, and pointed out the house where the great conqueror was assassinated. 'But he killed three of his assailants before they could overpower him,' said the guide, proudly, as if in reverence of the memory of Pizarro. We thought he might claim to be a descendant of one of the Spanish conquerors, and make his noble blood an excuse for demanding increased pay for his services, but he did not. [Illustration: INTERIOR COURT, LIMA.] "The government palace fronts on the plaza, and the rest of the space surrounding the square is occupied by shops, principally filled with European goods; American products may be seen here, but not as often as we wished to find them. In two of the shops we observed that the weighing was done on Fairbanks' Scales, and our guide said the same apparatus could be found all through Lima, and elsewhere in Peru. Of the agricultural machinery used in Peru the greater part is said to be of American manufacture. [Illustration: BRIDGE OVER THE RIMAC, LIMA.] "One of the sights of Lima is the stone bridge over the Rimac; it was built by the old Spaniards, and has stood bravely against all the earthquakes that have shaken the city for the last three centuries. The bridge is five hundred and thirty feet long, and rests on stone arches; at the entrance there is a splendid arch bearing the inscription 'Dios y La Patria' ('God and Country'). We walked over the bridge, and from its parapet looked upon the river, which was not over two feet deep in its principal channel, while a large part of its bed was bare. The Rimac resembles the Manzanares at Madrid, and some of the foreign residents say the bottom has to be sprinkled at times to keep it from flying away. When the rain falls in the mountains the Rimac swells to a considerable stream, and rushes along with great violence.