300 



THREE YEARS IN THE PACIFIC. 



off the pascua, and if they are no^ good boys and girls, she will 

 take them away too. The only explanation of the festival that 

 I could obtain from the curate was, es solamente para acor- 

 darse, de las muchas pascuas que han pasado" — "It is only to 

 call to remembrance the many lents that have passed." 



There is a pleasant road from Miraflores to Callao, passing 

 through a small village called Magdalena. This place, which 

 has many gardens attached to it, is resorted to by some of the 

 better and quieter part of society. The Liberator, Bolivar, occu- 

 pied a house there for some weeks, while in Peru ; it is a more 

 pleasant summer retreat than either Miraflores or Chorillos. 

 The road passes amidst small cultivated farms, and is shaded 

 in the afternoon by the walls that surround them. 



Another frequent paseo is to Lurin, in the valley of Pacha- 

 camac, where there are extensive remains of the temple of 

 that god. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



St. John's day — Amancaes. 



Amongst the great holy-days of Lima is the festival in ho- 

 nor of St. John. It falls on the 24th of June, when a beau- 

 tiful yellow flower, called the amancaes [Narcissus amancaes) 

 is in full bloom, which circumstance has given name to the 

 day. About three miles to the northward of the city is a high 

 hill, forming with two others a deep vale or gorge, which, 

 from the number of these flowers growing on its sides, is called 

 the valley of the amancaes. 



Early in the afternoon, all the world, in every variety of 

 costume and equipage, began to move over the bridge, through 

 the suburb of San Lazaro and the Alam6da de los Descalzos, 

 towards Amancaes. Passing from the alam6da, the road is shut 



