On the opposite side of the cathedral stands the palace of the bishop; it is a large old decayed building, the inside of which is fitted up in a style of antique magnificence, for every succeeding bishop has generally purchased the furniture which belonged to his predecessor. The palace has an upper story, which is occupied by the bishop and his domestics; in the lower is the ecclesiastical prison, the different offices, stables, &c.
On the north-west side of the plasa are the palace of the governor, and the government offices, such as the royal treasury; the callana, where the plata piña is melted and stamped and the royal fifth is paid; also that of the secretary to the governor. The whole range of buildings has a low and mean appearance. The two remaining sides of the square are filled with the houses of private individuals, among which is that of the Marquis of Bellavista, the only title in Truxillo.
Besides the cathedral there are three parish churches, Santa Ana, San Sebastian, and San Esteban; five conventual churches of San Francisco, Santo Domingo, San Augustin, La Merced, and the ex-Jesuits; and two nunneries, the barefooted Carmelites, and Santa Clara. The convents are governed by their prelates, who are subject to their respective provinciales in Lima: in the college of ex-Jesuits a seminary is established, and the college of San Carlos is subject to the bishop. The nuns of Santa Clara are under the direction of the Franciscan prelate, as belonging to that order; and the Carmelites are under that of the ordinary, the bishop; there is also a hospital managed by the Bethlemite friars.
The inhabitants of Truxillo consist of a few Spaniards, some white creoles, indians, negroes, and the castes arising from the mixture of these, amounting in the whole to about eight thousand souls. This city is celebrated as being the birth-place and residence of some very handsome mulatas and other females of colour; indeed the features of many are very pleasing, and the castes remarkably free from those stains which not unfrequently render the complexion of coloured people so very disagreeable. Truxillo is noted for its Quixotic nobility; it is often said, that the body of this celebrated Don was buried here; I have frequently seen in the house of a mulatto or a zambo a full-length portrait of the individual, who by a kind of faux pas caused them to emerge from the African race, and sable colour, and of whom they speak with as much respect as the montañeses do of Don Pelayo, whose descendants they all pretend to be, or as any nobleman of England would do of Ptolemy or Alexander, if he fancied that he could trace his pedigree either to the Egyptian astronomer or the Macedonian hero.
There is nothing peculiar in the dress of the inhabitants; the men wear their clothes nearly in the European style, with the addition of a cloak or a poncho; the females, unlike to those of Lima, may be seen in the streets in their in-door dresses, but seldom with either hat, cap, or bonnet; their heads being usually covered with a shawl. The higher classes, and all who can afford it, have calesas, a close carriage on two wheels, drawn by a mule, on which the coachman rides. The general paseo for the ladies is to Mansiche, a small indian village to the northward of the city, about half a league from the walls, where they resort during the cool of the evening mounted on asses, having a kind of pack-saddle covered with very gay trappings of crimson broad-cloth or velvet, embroidered and fringed with gold or silk. The ladies ride sideways, and frequently two are mounted on the same ass, with their feet hanging on the opposite sides; one of the ladies generally wears a small spur. At Mansiche they treat themselves with picantes, dishes highly seasoned with aji, cayenne pepper; they also drink chicha, and generally return to the city about sunset.
The climate of Truxillo is colder than that of Lima during the winter season or the damp months, and much hotter during the summer. The market is plentifully supplied with fish, flesh meat, poultry, bread, vegetables and fruit; and is much celebrated for delicate sweetmeats, among which the preserved muscadine grapes are most esteemed.
Little commercial business is here transacted, and the city owes great part of its prosperity to its being the residence of the governor, the bishop, and the several persons employed in the civil and ecclesiastical departments.
The jurisdiction of the Gobernador Intendente extends along the coast from the river Saña to the river Santa, and eastward to the Marañon. As it includes many valleys and several mountainous districts, in it all the various climates may be found. The civic jurisdiction of the alcaldes is the same here as in other cities in the Spanish colonies.
The ecclesiastical jurisdiction contains thirty-one doctrinal curacies; it is in the hands of the bishop, who is assisted by his vicar-general, provisor, and the chapter, which is composed of the dean, the archdeacon, the chanter, four canons and two prebendaries.