cr own readers

56 A CITY IN THE ANDES.
Quito has never been written, hut tradition makes the
city Il.S old Il.S J erusalem or Damascus. The Incas,
or native Indians, tell of a mighty nation, called the
Quitos, who lived th ere before th eir' fathers came, hut of
whom th e world has no oth er kn owledge. Pizarro, the
conqueror of Peru, found it th e lllngnificent capital of
n mighty empire exte nding over three th ousand mile,
and Il.S thickly settled as Europe. Th e city WIl.S then
filled with beautiful palaces of stone, adorned with
gold and silver and gems, but nil wa plundered and
destroyed through th e Spaniards' greed for wealth.
Q=.
4. Decay and dilapidation, poverty and ignorance,
filth and depravity, are th e most conspicuous features
of life in Quito ; but th e people ar e as vain and proud
Il.S if th ey had all the good things of th e world , and
th ey think th eir city grander than London or Paris.
.\Ien tand idly around th e street corn ers, wrapped
in th eir ponchos or cloaks, and beggar: reach out
th eir hands for alms to those who pa&; by. Soldiers