XVI CALLAO—LIMA 391 



independence, has suffered more from anarch}^ than Peru. At 

 the time of our visit there were four chiefs in arms contending 

 for supremacy in the government : if one succeeded in becoming 

 for a time very powerful, the others coalesced against him ; 

 but no sooner were 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 Demu laudavius, 

 instead of each regiment displaying the Peruvian flag, a black 

 one with death's head was unfurled. Imagine a government 

 under which such a scene could be ordered, on such an 

 occasion, to be typical of their determination of fighting to 

 death ! This state of affairs happened at a time very unfortu- 

 nately 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 

 Guayaquil, 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 Guayaquil 

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

 both here and at Lima, present every imaginable shade of 

 mixture between European, Negro, and Indian blood. The}- 

 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 



