*38 He died at Valladolid, and was
buried in the church of Santa Maria Magdalena, in that city,
which he had built and liberally endowed. His monument,
surmounted by the sculptured effigy of a priest in his sacerdotal
robes, is still to be seen there, attracting the admiration of
the traveller by the beauty of its execution. The banners taken
from Gonzalo Pizarro on the field of Xaquixaguana were suspended
over his tomb, as the trophies of his memorable mission to Peru.
*39 The banners have long since mouldered into dust, with the
remains of him who slept beneath them; but the memory of his good
deeds will endure for ever. *40
[Footnote 38: I have met with no account of the year in which
Gasca was born; but an inscription on his portrait in the
sacristy of St. Mary Magdalene at Valladolid, from which the
engraving prefixed to this volume is taken, states that he died
in 1567, at the age of seventy-one. This is perfectly consistent
with the time of life at which he had probably arrived when we
find him a collegiate at Salamanca, in the year 1522.]
[Footnote 39: "Murio en Valladolid, donde mando enterrar su
cuerpo en la Iglesia de la advocacion de la Magdalena, que hizo
edificar en aquella ciudad, donde se pusieron las vanderas que
gano a Gonzalo Pizarro." Ms. de Caravantes.]
[Footnote 40: The memory of his achievements has not been left
entirely to the care of the historian. It is but a few years
since the character and administration of Gasca formed the
subject of an elaborate panegyric from one of the most
distinguished statesmen in the British parliament.
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