The brilliant functions of the viceroy’s court, that illuminated the palace on the north side of the plaza a century ago, could hardly have been more elaborate or more elegant than the entertainments which are given to-day in the handsome quarters of the Union Club, overlooking the plaza from the opposite side, or in the Nacional Club, a few blocks away. The balls and banquets held by these societies in honor of distinguished visitors are memorable affairs: as when Mr. Root was entertained with true Peruvian hospitality in a series of brilliant social events under their auspices. The beautiful bronze fountain, more than two hundred and fifty years old, which forms the centre-piece of the great plaza, is an ornament of rare value. A short distance from the square is located the Plaza de la Inquisicion, where, during the viceroyalty, the tribunals of the Inquisition were held. The building in which the Holy Office had its court is now the Senate Chamber of the republic. The interior of this edifice possesses peculiar interest. The ceiling is of carved mahogany, a magnificent example of workmanship; the mahogany table used to-day by the honorable Senate when writing the laws that govern a free people is the same on which the death warrant was signed in the tyrannous period of the _auto de fé_. In the centre of this plaza stands an equestrian statue erected to immortalize the hero of the Independence, Simon Bolivar. The statue, superbly sculptured, is of bronze, and rests on a pedestal of white marble, with _bas-reliefs_ on the sides, representing the battles of Junin and Ayacucho. [Illustration: THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, LIMA.]