110 



TEFtU. 



we were spoken to in the streets by ladies, who 

 appeared to know us well, but whom we could not 

 discover, till some apparently trivial remark in 

 company long afterwards betrayed the Tapadas, 

 as they call themselves. Ladies of the first rank 

 indulge in this amusement, and will wear the 

 meanest Saya, or stoop to any contrivance to ef- 

 fect a thorough disguise. I myself knew two 

 young ladies, who completely deceived their bro- 

 ther and me, although we were aware of their 

 fondness for such pranks, and I had even some 

 suspicions of them at the very time. Their su- 

 perior dexterity, however, was more than a match 

 for his discernment, or my suspicions ; and so 

 completely did they deceive our eyes, and mis- 

 lead our thoughts, that we could scarcely believe 

 our senses, when they at length chose to discover 

 themselves. 



Lima has been described as the " Heaven of 

 women, the purgatory of men, and the hell of 

 jackasses,''' and so, perhaps, it may be in times 

 of peace ; but the war had now broken down 

 such distinctions, and all parties looked equally 

 miserable ; or, if any one had the advantage, it 



