the proceedings of Gonzalo, who was reported to be in continual dread of being put to death by his own men.  After the flight of the licentiate Carvajal and Gabriel de Roias, Gonzalo made no farther use of the royal standard, only displaying that which contained his own arms.  His cruelty increased with his disappointment, insomuch that not a day passed in which he did not put some one to death.  He took extraordinary precautions for his own personal safety, which were so far effectual, but every effort to prevent desertion was unavailing.

Lorenzo de Aldana sent intelligence of all these matters to the president, by means of messengers dispatched both by sea and land, earnestly urging him to come into Peru as quickly as possible, as the insurgent party seemed at so low an ebb that nothing was wanting but his presence to make it fall entirely in pieces and submit without a struggle.  On the 9th. of September 1547, when assured that Gonzalo had retreated eighty leagues from Lima, Aldana landed with all his officers and all the inhabitants of Lima that had taken shelter on board his ships.  He was received on shore with every demonstration of joy and respect, every one who was able appearing in arms to do him honour.  Having appointed Juan Fernandez to the command of the ships, he took charge of the vacant government of Lima, where he made every possible preparation for carrying on the war, collecting arms ammunition and all other necessaries.

Some time after the departure of Juan d’Acosta from Lima for Cuzco by the mountain road, as already mentioned, at the head of three hundred men well armed and equipped, he got notice that Gonzalo Pizarro had abandoned that city; on which he sent Fra Pedro, a monk of the order of Mercy, to Gonzalo, to demand instructions for his ulterior proceedings.  Pizarro sent back the monk with directions for Acosta to join him at a certain place.  On his return to Acosta, accompanied by a person named Gonzalo Muquos, after delivering his dispatches, Friar Pedro gave him an account of all that had happened in the army of Gonzalo, and in particular of the great number of men that had deserted from him; which Acosta had not before learnt, though several of his soldiers had received the intelligence by letters brought to them by the Indians who frequented the camp, but which they dared not to communicate to each other.  On the present occasion, the messengers from Gonzalo recommended to Acosta to keep this matter as secret as possible till such time as he should join Gonzalo.  Acosta therefore, gave out that he had received favourable intelligence from the monk, and that Gonzalo had been successful on several occasions, being daily joined by many additional soldiers; and, as he had found it convenient and necessary to send off many confidential persons in various directions, these persons pretended to have deserted from Gonzalo by way of stratagem, on purpose, to gain possession of the ships commanded by Aldana.  All this however was insufficient