IN QUARANTINE AT CALLAO. 57 



formalities of the visit of the sanidad. At length the 

 officials came, and, after the usual parley over the 

 ship's- side, it became apparent that the visit was no 

 mere formality. At last the ominous word quarantine 

 was heard, received at first with mere incredulity, as 

 something too absurd, but at last taking the consist- 

 ence of a stern fact. Since the outbreak of yellow 

 fever among the troops at Truxillo, the Chilian 

 authorities have naturally become nervously anxious 

 to protect the occupying army from this danger, and 

 every precaution is put in force. Under these circum- 

 stances, a ship coming from Guayaquil was naturally 

 an object of suspicion. There certainly was not at the 

 time any epidemic fever at that place ; but, if reports 

 be true, sporadic cases are not unfrequent, and that 

 city is rarely, if ever, quite free from malignant zymotic 

 disease. At last the discussion was closed, by a 

 definite order that we should repair to the quarantine 

 ground under the lee of the island of San Lorenzo. 



Up to this time we had scarcely given attention to 

 the scene immediately surrounding us ; yet the 

 harbour of Callao is at any time an interesting sight, 

 and at this moment its aspect was peculiarly expres- 

 sive. Although the Chilian forces had before this 

 time become absolute masters of the entire seaboard 

 of Peru, and there was no reason to apprehend any 

 renewal of the struggle by sea, the memorials of the 

 desperate encounters which marked the earlier phase 

 of the war were here still fresh. Near the shore in 

 several different directions were the wrecks of ships 

 which had sunk while the captors were endeavouring 

 to bring them into harbour, the masts sticking up idly 



