NOTICES OF PERU. 



371 



mored face. One old man, who was dressed in a rusty, snufT 

 colored suit, had a bald crown, fringed round with a light 

 growth of silvery hair. Time had made some inroads upon his 

 sun burnt cheek, but his eye was still bright, and expressive 

 of good nature and kindness of heart. His companion was 

 some years younger. His dress was a blue jacket and trowsers ; 

 the latter were of rather stinted longitude, but sat close to his 

 well proportioned leg; his vest was striped, and secured by a 

 single button. A bottle nose, and a pair of twinkling eyes, 

 evinced the remains of humor. He had been evidently a bon 

 vivant, and was doing penance, perhaps for the indiscretions 

 of youth. When we drew near, the elder lady bowed her head 

 and smiled, and both the gentlemen raised their hats, and sa- 

 luted us with " buenas dias Caballeros," without changing their 

 position in any manner. The bon vivant invited us to be seat- 

 ed, saying, though the stones are not the softest, yet we 

 share what we have." We complied, and offered cigars to our 

 new acquaintances; the lady, and the gentleman in the snuff 

 colored suit, took one each, but the bon vivant moved his fin- 

 ger before his face, from side to side, saying no, muchas gra- 

 cias, me hace daiio ahora" — no, I thank you, it is injurious to 

 me now. As is usual, we commenced the conversation with re- 

 marks upon the weather, the pleasant situation of the rancho 

 for the enjoyment of the sea breeze, and its convenience for 

 bathing. The man in blue saw that we looked towards the 

 bathers, and assenting to our remark, observed, "pero esas son 

 jovenes y no valen nada," and expressed by a look all that his 

 words did not convey. He admired our ship, and inquired 

 whether there was not a general impatience amongst those liv- 

 ing on board, to get on shore immediately after arriving in 

 port. He dwelt upon the pleasures of the land after being at 

 sea, and thought that it must be delightful to arrive at a great 

 city like Lima, where there were so many amusements, the 

 opera, the bull-bait, the cock-pit, the terttilias, " en fin, cuanto 

 hay para distraerse," — in fine, every thing to distract one from 

 care. He added, that he had been there the last year, during 

 the gay season, and had won something at Chorillos. To an- 

 chor in a place like Santa," he continued, " in these days, when 



