continued, we shall labour for the information of the whole world, and for posterity. It may happen that, either in this or in the other hemisphere, the account we have given of the coffee-houses of Lima maybe one day more highly valued than the relations, so often printed, and so often repeated, of its wars, conquest, and foundation. Establishments of this nature are intimately connected with the civil system of a country; and these little monuments of the luxury and policy of our age, may enable those who are to come after us, to estimate and know the history of the conveniences of this capital, its manner of thinking, and the gradations by which it has begun to emulate, perhaps to excel Europe.
The COCK MATCHES, a very favourite amusement of the inhabitants of Lima, were formerly not subject to any particular regulations either of time or place. The consequence was, that they not only occasioned many individuals to neglect the duties they owed to society, but excited continual quarrels among those who were the most add16ted to this species of entertainment. To remedy this abuse, a particular building was ere6ted in the year 1762, in the little square of Santa Catalina, the last in the city, and in a manner contiguous to its walls. A fitter situation could not have been made choice of for this purpose. The copious stream which flows in front of the edifice, and the extensive gardens by which it is surrounded on every side, not only render the prospect it possesses highly agreeable, but likewise contribute to its embellishment and cleanliness, preserving a pure and fresh air, without which it is certain that many serious diseases originate in theatres and other places of public resort.
The building itself forms a beautiful amphitheatre of a cir-
cular
