44.8 



PERU. 



July, 1835. 



the other hand, I have heard of one remarkable case where 

 a fever broke out among the crew of a man-of-war some 

 hundred miles off the coast of Africa, at the very same time 

 that one of those fearful periods of death commenced at 

 SierraLeone. It maybe remarked, that of the most destructive 

 diseases, which bear an evident relation to climate, and which 

 (as if by the addition of some direct poison) affect both 

 natives and strangers, nearly all originate in the hotter 

 regions of the earth. As geological induction shows that the 

 climate, during the periods antecedent to the present, had 

 an extra-tropical character, so, in all probability, there would 

 be an extra tendency to disease, and we can therefore see 

 that the introduction of man being, as generally supposed, 

 recent, is an adaptation to the existing condition of the 

 world. 



No state in South America, since the declaration of inde- 

 pendence, has suiFered more from anarchy than Peru. At 

 the time of our visit there were four chiefs in arms con- 

 tending for supremacy in the government : if one succeeded 

 in becoming for a time very poAverful, the others coalesced 

 against him ; but no sooner were they victorious, than 

 they were again disunited, and 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 Deum laudamus, instead of each 

 regiment displaying the Peruvian flag, a black one with 

 death's head was unfurled. Imagine a government un- 

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

 occasion, to be typical of their determination of fighting to 

 the death ! This state of affairs happened at a time very 

 unfortunately for me, as I was precluded from taking any 

 excursions much beyond the limits of the towns. 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 about 1200 feet in height, during this 

 season of the year, (winter) comes within the lower limit of 



