Ai 



L835.] CALLAO.— LIMA. 3C; 



of our visit, there were four chiefs in arms contending for supre- 

 macy in the government : if one succeeded in becoming for a time 

 very powerful, the others coalesced against him ; but no sooner 

 Mere they victorious, than they were again hostile to each other. 

 The other day, at the Anniversary of the Independence, high 

 mass was performed, the President partaking of the sacrament : 

 during the Te Deum laudamus, instead of each regiment display- 

 ing the Peruvian flag, a black one with death's head was unfurled. 

 Imagine a government under which such a scene could be or- 

 dered, on such an occasion, to be typical of their determination 

 of fighting to death ! This state of affairs happened at a time 

 very unfortunately for me, as I was precluded from taking any 

 excursions much beyond the limits of the town. The barren 

 island of S. Lorenzo, which forms the harbour, was nearly the 

 only place where one could walk securely. The upper part, 

 which is upwards of 1000 feet in height, during this season of 

 the year (winter), comes within the lower limit of the clouds ; 

 and in consequence, an abundant cryptogamic vegetation, and a 

 few flowers, cover the summit. On the hills near Lima, at a 

 height but little greater, the ground is carpeted with moss, and 

 beds of beautiful yellow lilies, called Amancaes. This indicates 

 a very much greater degree of humidity, than at a corresponding 

 height at Iquique. Proceeding northward of Lima, the climate 

 becomes damper, till on the banks of the Guyaquil, nearly under 

 the equator, we find the most luxuriant forests. The change, 

 however, from the sterile coast of Peru to that fertile land is 

 described as taking place rather abruptly in the latitude of Cape 

 Blanco, two degrees south of Guyaquil. 



Callao is a filthy, ill-built, small seaport. The inhabitants, 

 both here and at Lima, present every imaginable shade of mix- 

 ture, between European, Negro, and Indian blood. They appear 

 a depraved, drunken set of people. The atmosphere is loaded 

 with foul smells, and that peculiar one, which may be perceived 

 in almost every town within the tropics, was here very strong. 

 The fortress, which withstood Lord Cochrane's long siege, has 

 an imposing appearance. But the President, during our stay, 

 sold the brass guns, and proceeded to dismantle parts of it. The 

 reason assigned was, that he had not an officer to whom he could 

 trust so important a charge. He himself had good reasons for 



