POLITICAL HISTORY OF PERU. 
309 
America have brought forth, appear to have been influenced by the 
leelmg that he was serving his country. 
La Mar was, during the early part of the war of the revolution, in 
the Spanish service, but he afterwards joined the popular side He 
served with great credit to himself until the close of it, and contri- 
buted much to the success of the last and decisive battle of Ayacucho 
After this he retired to Guayaquil, where he had married a lady of 
good family, and remained quietly in the enjoyment of domestic 
comfort, until he was called to the presidency of Peru. He was a 
man of respectable talents, pure and unsuspected integrity of cha- 
racter, and universally esteemed in private life. He died in Central 
America, after he had been banished by Gamarra, leaving a reputation 
much above that of any of his associates. 
Gamarra also served for several years in the Spanish army, before, 
the revolution broke out. He early joined the patriot side. As a 
subaltern, he acquired the reputation of being an active and zealous 
officer, but on his promotion to higher grades, he is said not to have 
displayed, in the battles and skirmishes in which he was engaged, 
any skill, and his courage was more than once questioned. At the 
close of the war he was raised to the rank of general of division; and 
his first act, as has been seen, was to desert La Mar at Portete, which 
showed both his treachery and cowardice. His success has been 
ascribed to his skill in intrigue, and to his making use of the patronage 
his situation placed in his hands to effect his purposes. He trampled 
upon the rights of those over whom he ruled, while he at the same 
time was making the strongest professions in favour of democratic 
principles, and the rights of the people. Under the pretext of 
restoring to his country its violated constitution, he has twice over- 
thrown the established authorities, and placed himself in power at the 
point of the bayonet. Lavish of the public treasure, and equally 
careless in the economy of his private affairs, he lived and died in 
poverty. He was false in his friendships, and unforgiving in his 
enmities; he was greatly to be feared by those with whom he became 
reconciled after a quarrel. He has left but few admirers, although 
through his management he contrived to hold the reins of govern- 
ment longer than any one who has yet occupied the presidential 
chair. 
Lafuente was a cadet in the Spanish service, but joined the patriot 
cause. He did not gain much reputation in the war of the revolution, 
and his first essay as a general officer was a disobedience of orders 
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