The central situation of the
spot recommended it as a suitable residence for the Peruvian
viceroy, whence he might hold easy communication with the
different parts of the country, and keep vigilant watch over his
Indian vassals. The climate was delightful, and, though only
twelve degrees south of the line, was so far tempered by the cool
breezes that generally blow from the Pacific, or from the
opposite quarter down the frozen sides of the Cordilleras, that
the heat was less than in corresponding latitudes on the
continent. It never rained on the coast; but this dryness was
corrected by a vaporous cloud, which, through the summer months,
hung like a curtain over the valley, sheltering it from the rays
of a tropical sun, and imperceptibly distilling a refreshing
moisture, that clothed the fields in the brightest verdure.
The name bestowed on the infant capital was Ciudad de los Reyes,
or City of the Kings, in honor of the day, being the sixth of
January, 1535, - the festival of Epiphany, - when it was said to
have been founded, or more probably when its site was determined,
as its actual foundation seems to have been twelve days later.
*20 But the Castilian name ceased to be used even within the
first generation, and was supplanted by that of Lima, into which
the original Indian name of Rimac was corrupted by the Spaniards.
*21
[Footnote 20: So says Quintana, who follows in this what he
pronounces a sure authority, Father Bernabe Cobo, in his book
entitled Fundacion de Lima.
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