try; and in nothing did he find them differing more widely from the other South Americans whom he had seen, than in their dress,-which consisted generally of the richest silks, and a profusion of the most expensive lace, of Holland manufacture, no other being much prized. The sleeves of their shifts and jackets, which are of prodigious length and width, standing like wings on each shoulder, are loaded with rolls of lace, and slips of the finest cambric. They also wear a great deal of ornaments, both of gold and silver, as well as of precious stones, having commonly diamond buckles in their shoes, which are embroidered richly in gold and silver, or in coloured silks. Small feet they consider a great beauty, and therefore are accustomed from their infancy to wear tight shoes, in order to check their growth; some of them do not exceed five inches and a-half or six inches in length, and in women of small stature they are still less ;-the heels of their shoes are sometimes made of wrought silver, taking care, however, that the appearance of the foot may not be thereby enlarged.

All the women wear rings, necklaces, bracelets, girdles, and other ornaments of diamonds, so that when a Spanish lady is in full dress, she is supposed to be dressed at the expence of not less than thirty or forty thousand crowns,-a splendour still the more astonishing as it is so very common.-Nay, even those of low rank

never appear without bracelets, rosaries, and images, all of gold, about their necks and arms.

The ladies of Lima are also excessively fond of flowers, and every morning resort for the purchase of nosegays to the grand square, which has all the appearance of a large garden, from the quantity of beautiful plants with which it is filled. In Lima, all kinds of provisions are in great plenty.

Poultry and fish are likewise in great abund ance, the latter being brought principally from the coast. From the mountains are often sent frozen calves, which being killed there, and left two or three days on the heath to freeze, are afterwards carried to Lima, where they may be kept any time required, without the least danger of putrefaction

The principal branches of trade are woollen and cotton stuffs ;--but the great article of traffic, consists in the mules bred in the luxuriant pastures of its valleys. Inconceivabte droves of these creatures are sent to all parts of Peru, the Lima mules being famous over these countries, and far exceeding all others in strength and beauty.

The climate of this city is agreeable, and though the variation of the four seasons is perceptible, yet they are all moderate.-Spring begins in November, winter in June or July, and this season continues by a kind of second spring antil November,-rain is seldom or ever known

at Lima, tempests rarely happen, and the inha bitants are strangers to thunder and lightning; but they are infested with vermin during the warm months of the year,—and are always subject to earthquakes, several of which have nearly ruined the city at different times.

As Philips was always anxious to inform him" self of the geography of the country, he failed not to avail himself of an opportunity he here had, of learning something concerning its interior parts from a merchant who had lately arrived from Buenos Ayres, and had travelled from thence across the country to Lima.-He had left Buenos Ayres, which is situated on the south eastern coast, at the opposite side of this great continent, travelling in a light wheel carriage, and had a journey of 468 miles before he reached his first town, Cordova. The greater part of this way, and for many miles further, the road lay through extensive tracts of land, called Pampas, or Plains; these are, in some places, parched and barren, and in others fertile and covered with very high grass; but for the most part, they are uninhabited, and quite destitute of trees.

They are the abode of innumerable herds of wild oxen, horses, ostriches, and other animals, which under the shade of the high grass, find shelter from the intolerable heat of the sun. The Pampas are frequented by the Spanish hunters, for the sake of the animals which inhabit them, but

they are likewise infested with tribes of Savage. Indians, who sometimes attack the Spanish Caravans, bound to Peru and Chili, and often plunder and assassinate the solitary travellers who attempt the dangers of the way alone.--These Indians make use of no kind of weapon, but a sling or rope, which is four yards long, with a sharp stone or piece of lead, fastened to the end of it, with which they endeavour to give their enemy a blow from behind; and they are, in general, so expert in its use, and have such command of their horses, for they seldom make an attack on foot, that they rarely miss their aim.

About four hundred miles from Cordova, the traveller begins to ascend the Cordillera, or the chain of the Andes,-and here, as this merchant described it to Philips, he was obliged to quit his carriage and perform the rest of the journey, riding on a mule, having still, not less than between eighteen and nineteen hundred miles to travel, before he could reach Lima, and that through a wild and barren region, and over mountains, on which, oftentimes, no road could be traced, nor any track or pass by which he could make his way, except along the bed of a torrent.

After a short stay at Lima, and its port Callao, which lies on the sea coast, about five miles distant, our traveller took shipping thence, for the mountainous country through which he must have

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passed, rendered a land journey almost impracticable; and after a few days sail, in a southerly direction, arrived at Arica.

His object in this was to see the celebrated silver mines of Potosi, which have given such wealth to Spain, and at the same time so little increase to her strength. This to an ignorant man may seem surprising, but it would be well for him to consider the matter, in the same light that Philips did. Whatsoever is produced, whether by digging into the earth for it, or by manufacturing some material, such as wool or flax, is worth just so much as it can buy of the necessaries of life. If a piece of gold or silver, and a web of linen, buy the same exact quantity of bread or meat, it is quite plain, that the linen weaver, who owns the one, will be just as rich as the miner who possesses the other, and the only difference between the two is this, that you can divide the gold or silver into as many parts as you will, and one of these portions will bear a value exactly proportionate to its size, but it would be impossible for the weaver to find a buyer, who would take exactly so much from the piece of linen, as would buy his food, from day to day.

Now this is the way in which England and Spain stand-our manufactures are worth as much money as the mines can coin, and therefore, so far at least, we are as wealthy. Indeed, we send our manufactures abroad, and the dif