NOTICES OP PERU. 



375 



mer times, the town stood upon the shore; but in consequence 

 of its being sacked in 1685 by the English buccaneers, it was 

 moved to its present site, to avoid the frequent descents, made 

 at different periods by the enemies of Spain, along the whole 

 coast. But here it did not escape, for in 1761, the river on 

 which it stands overflowed its banks, and reduced the place 

 nearly to a mass of mud ! 



At the house of a native, who is one of the magnates of the 

 land, and who keeps a mistress, and an immense baboon for 

 her amusement, without exciting the scandal of the neighbors, 

 (which may be owing to the absence of the practice of tea- 

 drinking,) I became acquainted with a gentleman named Don 

 Jose. Previous to the revolution, he was possessed of a million 

 of dollars, and lived only to enjoy it. Loyal in his principles, 

 in 1823 he hastily got together eighty thousand hard dollars, 

 determined to leave the country till the troubles should pass 

 over. This money he was carrying to Guanchaco, to embark, 

 when it was seized by the patriot chiefs, and spent in the ser- 

 vice of the country. Fearing that he might be drawn upon for 

 larger amounts, and for this reason, desirous of conciliating the 

 patriot officers, he kept open house, and for the amusement of 

 his friends, kept a gambling table, at which he constantly lost. 

 At last, almost ruined, he closed his establishment, the conse- 

 quence of which was, that he was accused of being favorable 

 to Ferdinand, and was obliged to fly for safety. He was hunted 

 for several years, and after the Spanish flag had disappeared 

 from South America, he made his appearance, and found his 

 immense fortune reduced to about thirty thousand dollars. Don 

 Jose told me, that even now he is afraid to express an opinion 

 about political matters, on account of the strong prejudice that 

 universally prevails against Spaniards. He therefore almost 

 constantly resides upon his estate, where he grazes large herds 

 of cattle, which are sold in the Lima market. 



One morning, while at Santa, I was attracted by an assem- 

 blage of about a dozen persons around two or three horsemen 

 in the plaza, which was an unusual sight in this lonely spot. 

 They were in front of what is termed the **cdrcel,'^ or jail. 

 Before a door made of thick wooden bars, forming a grating, 



