The country realised at once that it was in the hands of a master--a man strong enough to be generous, but with whom it was not safe to trifle. Almost instantaneously commerce felt the impulse which assured peace always gives. The turbulent military leaders found their occupation slipping away, while the orderly elements of the community grew in power. At heart the vast majority of the people were law-abiding, and the class which promoted revolutions was numerically an insignificant element of the population. But it was not alone Castilla's personal force of character, his shrewdness as a politician, his prestige as a general, his popularity so nobly won by generosity and moderation, which made his position secure. At the moment he assumed supreme power bountiful Providence placed in his hands riches untold. Holding the strings of a purse into which poured the millions from the guano and nitrate deposits, he could reward his friends, keep his troops contented by regular pay, relieve agriculture of taxation, place the disordered finances on a sound footing, and promote general prosperity by works of public utility. Europe suddenly realised the value of the bird manure found on the desert islands of the Peruvian coast, and soon hundreds of ships were coming annually to load the precious fertiliser. Instead of squandering this fairy gift on the enrichment of his creatures, or on the creation of a vast, useless, and wasteful swarm of office-holders,--the hardest of all temptations for a South American politician to resist,--Castilla paid interest on the foreign debt which Peru had incurred during the war of independence, and refunded it, with the accrued interest, that already amounted to more than the principal. The internal debt was also consolidated, care being taken to admit no fictitious claims; telegraphs and railways were constructed; steam vessels added to the navy; and all legitimate branches of the administration adequately provided for. But the moment Castilla's strong hand was removed, extravagance and corruption grew to alarming proportions. Under General Echenique, his successor, public offices and pensions were multiplied; concessions were granted not to promote honestly new industries, but to favourites to be sold for what they would bring; and finally a measure was rushed through congress to extend the time fixed by Castilla for presenting claims to be funded in the internal debt. It was openly charged that the ministerial ring had arranged to put themselves on the roll of national creditors. Public opinion was scandalised, and the discontent and jealousy soon showed itself in open revolt. The first insurrection was suppressed, but in the beginning of 1854 Castilla decided to put himself at the head of the movement against Echenique. Though the government regulars were better armed and provided than the militia which rallied around Castilla, the latter advanced from one position to another and finally overthrew the