defence. The viceroy immediately put on his armour and ordered to sound
an alarm, after which he went out into the great square before the
palace, accompanied by his nightly guard of a hundred soldiers and all
his domestic establishment, meaning to have proceeded to the house of
Cepeda, to arrest the oydors, to chastise the mutineers, and to
re-establish order in the city. While in the great square near the gate
of the palace, he noticed that it was impossible to prevent the soldiers
from going to join the oydors, as the horsemen who filled all the
streets constrained them to take that direction. If, however, the
viceroy had persisted in his first design, he could hardly have found
much difficulty or considerable resistance, as he then had a greatly
superior force to what had assembled with Cepeda and the other judges.
He was disuaded from executing these intentions by Alfonzo Palomino,
alcalde or police-judge of Lima, who asserted that a great majority of
the troops were assembled at the house of Cepeda, and were about to
attack him; for which reason, the best measure was to fortify himself in
the palace, which could easily be defended; whereas he had not a
sufficient force to assail the oydors and their adherents. Influenced by
this advice, the viceroy retired into the palace, accompanied by his
brother Vela Nunnez, Paul de Meneses, Jerom de la Cerna, Alfonso de
Caceres, Diego de Urbina, and others of his friends and followers, with
all his relations and servants. The hundred soldiers of the nightly
guard were posted at the great gate of the palace, with orders to
prevent any one from going in.

While these vacillatory measures were going on at the viceregal palace,
information was brought to the oydors, that the viceroy had drawn out
his troops in the great square, with the intention of attacking them.
Having as yet collected only a small force for their protection, they
resolved to go out into the street; believing, if the viceroy should