171.]
[Footnote 32: The account of Blasco Nunez Vela rests chiefly on
the authority of loyal writers, some of whom wrote after their
return to Castile. They would, therefore, more naturally lean to
the side of the true representative of the Crown, than to that of
the rebel. Indeed, the only voice raised decidedly in favor of
Pizarro is his own, - a very suspicious authority. Yet, with all
the prestiges in his favor, the administration of Blasco Nunez,
from universal testimony, was a total failure. And there is
little to interest us in the story of the man, except his
unparalleled misfortunes and the firmness with which he bore
them.]
The victory of Anaquito was received with general joy in the
neighbouring capital; all the cities of Peru looked on it as
sealing the downfall of the detested ordinances, and the name of
Gonzalo Pizarro was sounded from one end of the country to the
other as that of its deliverer. That chief continued to prolong
his stay in Quito during the wet season, dividing his time
between the licentious pleasures of the reckless adventurer and
the cares of business that now pressed on him as ruler of the
state. His administration was stained with fewer acts of
violence than might have been expected from the circumstances of
his situation. So long as Carbajal, the counsellor in whom he
unfortunately placed greatest reliance, was absent, Gonzalo
sanctioned no execution, it was observed, but according to the
forms of law.
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