NOTICES OP PERU. 



409 



lady's age, principally because she said she had married young. 



No s^ de veras — hay madres curiosas que apuntan cuando 

 nacen sus hijos, pero la mia no era una de esas !" — Indeed I 

 do not know— nhere are mothers curious enough to note down 

 when their children are born, but mine was not one of those! 

 This was said with so much ingenuousness, that I could not 

 suppose it was for evasion ; in fact, the ladies in Peru, when 

 married, do not keep their ages a secret. 



About three o'clock, the table was set out with fruits of dif- 

 ferent kinds, and we were invited " to refresh ourselves." After 

 partaking of the fruits, several dishes of meat, dressed in vari- 

 ous ways, succeeded each other to the number of ten or twelve, 

 and then followed a desert of puddings, custards, and cakes. 

 Italia was frequently recommended during the feast, to pro- 

 mote digestion and prevent cholera. ^ 



About five o'clock, much gratified with their hospitality, we 

 took leave of Don Antonio and his lady, and rode briskly back 

 to Lambayeque. 



Being what is termed passion week, there was a procession 

 every night in the streets, illustrative of some part of the pas- 

 sion of Christ: — on Sunday night, a huge table, dressed with 

 vines, flowers, and fruits, resembling a garden, and illuminated 

 with lanterns and candles, in which were several figures, and 

 among them our Saviour in a velvet robe, richly embroidered 

 in gold. The table, called the <^paso," or '^anda," is borne 

 along by as many men as can crowd their shoulders under it; 

 yet it is so heavy that they reel along, and are obliged to halt 

 frequently to take breath. The anda was preceded by a num- 

 ber of men and women bearing candles, two or three Indians 

 with silver rods, and one carrying the banner of the church. 

 Immediately in front of the anda, were two Indian girls be- 

 decked with jewels, which are generally loaned them by their 

 mistresses for the occasion, carrying silver brazeros of coals, 

 upon which others, ever and anon, sprinkled frankincense. 

 A priest, in full canonicals, followed, and the accompanying 

 band was playing lugubrious airs. One evening, the scourging 

 of the Saviour in the presence of Pontius Pilate, was the scene 

 represented ; the guards were dressed for all the world like 

 52 



