288 



PERU IN FORMER TIMES. 



Chap. XVIII. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



PRESENT CONDITION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS OF PERU. 



Population — Civil wars — Government — Constitution — General Castilla and 

 his ministers — Dr. Vigil — Mariano Paz Soldan — Valleys on the coast — 

 Cotton, wool, and specie — The Amazons — Guano — Finances — Literature 

 — Future prospects. 



After a sojourn of a few days at Lima we took a final 

 farewell of the land of tlie Incas, on June 29th, 1860. As 

 we steamed along the coast, in sight of the emerald-green 

 valleys, surrounded by trackless wastes of sand, and of the 

 glorious Cordilleras which towered up behind them, a long 

 train of memories passed in array before us. In this land 

 alone, of all the nations of the earth, did the ideal of a 

 perfect patriarchal form of government become a reality. 

 Here, too, are the scenes of the most romantic ejjisode in 

 modern history, comprised in the career of the Pizarros. 

 The sufferings of the gentle Indians excited the indignation 

 of the Elizabethan chivalry; the fabulous riches extracted 

 from the mines of Peru attracted the adventurous spirit of 

 the buccaneers of a baser age ; and the brave struggle for 

 independence led more than one gaUant Englishman to shed 

 his blood in the cause of Peruvian liberty.^ What is now 

 the state of this famous land, and what prospect is there of 

 the glowing hopes expressed in Mr. Canning's well-known 

 speech ever being fulfilled, are questions which cannot fail 

 to arouse some passing interest. 



1 In an Appendix will be found a 

 list of these knights errant in the 

 cause of hberty. It was one of the last 

 things upon which that gallant old 



warrior, General Miller, the most dis- 

 tinguished of their number, was en- 

 gaged before his death in November 

 1861. 



