This square is therefore noisy from morning till evening, and when the stars of night rise above the snowy summits of the Cordilleras, the tumult of the _elite_ of Lima equals the matinal hubbub of the merchants. Nevertheless, when the _oracion_ (evening _angelus_) sounds from the bell of the cathedral, all this noise suddenly ceases; to the clamor of pleasure succeeds the murmur of prayer; the women pause in their walk and put their hands on their rosaries, invoking the Virgin Mary. Then, not a merchant dares sell his merchandise, not a customer thinks of buying, and this square, so recently animated, seems to have become a vast solitude. While the Limanians paused and knelt at the sound of the _angelus_, a young girl, carefully surrounded by her discreet mantle, sought to pass through the praying multitude; she was followed by a mestizo woman, a sort of duenna, who watched every glance and step. The duenna, as if she had not understood the warning bell, continued her way through the devout populace: to the general surprise succeeded harsh epithets. The young girl would have stopped, but the duenna kept on. "Do you see that daughter of Satan?" said some one near her. "Who is that _balarina_--that impious dancer?" "It is one of the Carcaman women." (A reproachful name bestowed upon Europeans.) The young girl at last stopped, blushing and confused. Suddenly a _gaucho_, a merchant of mules, seized her by the shoulder, and would have compelled her to kneel; but he had scarcely laid his hand upon her when a vigorous arm rudely felled him to the ground. This scene, rapid as lightning, was followed by a moment of confusion. "Save yourself, miss," said a gentle and respectful voice in the ear of the young girl. The latter turned, pale with terror, and saw a young Indian of tall stature, who, with his arms tranquilly folded, was awaiting with firm foot the attack of his adversary. "We are lost!" exclaimed the duenna; "_nina, nina_, let us go, for the love of God!" and she seized the arm of the young girl, who disappeared, while the crowd rose and dispersed. The _gaucho_ had risen, bruised with his fall, and thinking it not prudent to seek revenge, rejoined his mules, muttering threats. CHAPTER II. EVENING IN THE STREETS OF LIMA. Night had succeeded, almost without intervening twilight, the glare of day. The two women quickened their pace, for it was late; the young girl, still under the influence of strong emotion, maintained silence, while the duenna murmured some mysterious paternosters--they walked rapidly through one of the sloping streets leading from the Plaza-Mayor. This place is situated more than four hundred feet above the level of the sea, and about a hundred and fifty rods from the bridge thrown over the river Rimac, which forms the diameter of the city of Lima, arranged in a semicircle.