by
study. He seldom rises above the level of every-day life, and is
ignorant of everything beyond the boundary of the city, or, at all
events, of the province in which he was born. I have often been amazed
at the monstrous ignorance of so-called educated Peruvians, respecting
the situation, the extent, the physical formation, and the productions
of their native country.

On the other hand, it must not be forgotten that Lima has been the
birthplace of several white Creoles, whose talents and learning have
honorably distinguished them from the rest of their countrymen. For
example, Don Tomas de Salazar, author of the "Interpretaciones de los
Leyes de Indias."[13] Don Miguel Nunez de Rojas, the learned Judge of
Confiscations in the Spanish war of succession, and Don Alonzo Conde de
San Donas, who in the reign of Philip IV. was Spanish Ambassador at the
Court of France. Among those eminent in literature may be named Don
Pedro de la Reyna Maldonado, and the poet Don Diego Martinez de Rivera,
of whom Cervantes in his "Galatea" says--

Su divina ingenio ha producido
En Arequipa eterna Primavera.[14]

Several monks distinguished for learning have been white Creoles,
and an eminent individual of that race was Don Hipolito Unanue, the
author of the "Guide to Peru," and "Observations on the Climate of
Lima, and its Influence on organized Beings, especially Man;"[15] a
Treatise on the Cocoa-tree, &c. In more recent times, Don Mariano
Eduardo de Rivero has zealously devoted himself to the study of
natural history and antiquities.

But in spite of his faults, the Lima Creole has his good qualities.
He is an enemy to strong drinks. When he takes wine it is usually of
some sweet kind, and of that he partakes very sparingly. A white
Creole in a state of intoxication would, indeed, be a rare sight. Not
so in the interior of the country, where the whites are remarkable
for intemperate drinking.

Far superior to the men, both physically and intellectually, are the
women of Lima. Nature has lavishly endowed them with many of her
choicest gifts. In figure they are usually slender and rather tall, and
they are especially remarkable for small, elegantly formed feet. Their
fair faces, from which the glowing breath of the tropics banishes every
trace of bloom, are animated by large, bright, dark eyes. Their features
are pleasing--the nose being well formed, though in general not
small--the mouth invariably adorned with two rows of