RIDE TO CALLAO. 



115 



by which I had first entered the town, thinking 

 it a very strange thing to be reduced to fly 

 from Lima in disguise mounted on an ass, I 

 espied the coach under a tree abandoned, not 

 far from the walls. The horses had been 

 seized, so I had lost nothing by transferring 

 my property and person to the back of an ass. 

 I was passed by a body of lancers going to 

 Callao, who took no notice of me, and I 

 met with no interruption until I arrived near 

 the entrance of that town. There I encoun- 

 tered an English merchant of my acquaint- 

 ance riding up to Lima. He informed me 

 that the unfortunate letter alluded to above, 

 which had fallen out of my shirt unperceived,had 

 been picked up by the officer commanding the 

 lancers, who had just told him that he should 

 take it to the fort to be translated into Spanish, 

 as it might contain political news. He added. 



