174

THE PRESIDENT AND SUITE.

fact which I was satisfied not to have learned till after my curiosity in tasting it had been indulged.

On turning from the mob which surrounded this establishment, we descried the "provisional chief,” or president, and suite approaching. His equipage was an English chariot, painted brown with gilt trimmings, drawn by four fine black horses in harness of silver gilt, the coachman and footman being in a livery of blue and silver. An aid was with him in the carriage; and four horse-guards, bearing lances with the Peruvian pennant attached, followed immediately behind. Four officers were also in the train, two on horseback and two in a gig. He recognized us in passing; and the carriage drawing up close by, we paid our respects for a few moments to him. It was not a time for much conversation however; and I merely noticed that his dress was the same as on the interview at the castle, with the addition of a chapeau edged with white feathers, and surmounted by three ostrich plumes, one red between two of white -the arrangement of the national colors.

By this time the scene around had reached the height of interest in its novel and varied exhibitions : In addition to hundreds of calesas-the clumsy and antique carriage in general use-there were two English chariots, two barouches, two gigs, and a few other foreign vehicles on the ground. One or two Scotch and English ladies on horseback were also distinguished in the throng, and a few Spanish ladies mounted, in similar dresses and attitude; while other natives, male and female, Peruvians both Spaniards and Indians, negroes and negresses of every shade

NEGRESS ON HORSEBACK.

175

and in an endless variety of costume-some on foot, and others on every kind of animal from the noblest of horses to the sorriest jackass-were scattered in thousands around.

The eye could scarce fail in such a scene of resting on many a ludicrous spectacle. That presented by one of the negresses attracted our observation almost as much as "Diana Vernon" herself: a very short, fat young woman, with a physiognomy as conspicuously African-especially in the nose and lips--as well could be, and of a figure equally national, with a skin black as jet itself, and shining as if fresh from a bath of cocoa-nut oil in one of her ancestral groves. Her dress of white muslin was made with no inconsiderable regard to fashion-low off the neck and shoulders, with full, short sleeves, from which her arms protruded in all the plenitude of their blackness and rotundity. On her head she wore a high, conical, crowned hat of white Guayaquil grass, with a narrow rim turned up on all sides-contrasting as strongly in its lofty, tapering shape with the flatness of her head and face, as the whiteness of the dress did with the pure ebony of her complexion.

The animal she rode, was a miserable broken down skeleton of a donkey, with a trot, when he could be forced into one, as obdurately hard as the jolting of the roughest corduroy turnpike in America; and being mounted in the attitude of the country, without a saddle, this gait made it necessary for her to cling closely to the shoulder blades of the beast, with her feet almost horizontally beneath her; while her arms, in the motion flew up and down from her

176

RETURN TO THE CITY.

sides to her head, with the rapidity and regularity of a pair of wings in flying.

For a time, every eye was upon her and conscious of the observation attracted, she endeavored by an occasional cut under the sides of her rosinante with the knotted end of the bridle, to put all the life possible into him, and raise a canter: but the only effect produced on his mulish spirit, was to bring him for a moment to a dead stand--when, kicking up behind three or four times at the imminent hazard of tossing her ladyship over his head, he bolted forward in a gait tenfold harder than before, while all around were in a roar of laughter.

It was not long before the fashionables began to move on a return, and the mob slowly to follow: many of those on foot dancing as they went, to the rude tunes of the negroes, still heard at a distance. I observed one Peruvian female advance in this manner at least a quarter of a mile, turning as in a waltz the whole time, in the midst of carriages and gay horsemen, apparently in danger, every moment, of being run over.

In coming from the city, I had noticed at the termination of the road where we entered the Amancaise, a kind of tent in crimson hangings, at which there was dancing and music, with a crowd around. The throng pressing forward, however, was so great, that I merely observed a man and a woman running to the carriages and horseman passing, with plates extended for money. On our way back, we stopped here for a moment. The musicians were still playing the instruments, a violin, flute, and rude harp;

the air, a monotonous repetition of a few wild notes. But what most astonished and affected me—and what is perfectly characteristic of the religious views and state of the people--was to behold a table, in front of which the dancers were, spread with the flowers of the Amancaise at which was seated a full length waxen figure of the Savior of men, crowned with thorns, and streaming with blood! representing Him who was emphatically "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" thus presiding over a scene of mirth and folly; and patronizing exhibitions, that, to say the least, bordered on sin!

The sight induced a sadness which all the gaiety of the thousands we met and passed on our way to the city could not dissipate. And it was only with the deep tones of the vesper bell, falling upon us from the towers of the cathedral as we entered the royal square-invoking from all a moment at least for solemnity and prayer-that a change of thought and feeling came over me. Of all I have seen and known of the Catholic church and its services, this observance of the "evening oraison" is the most interesting and most impressive: and one in which no one can refuse to join.

At sunset, the great bell of the cathedral is slowly tolled three times: when, in a moment, the stillness of death, both within and without doors, spreads over the city; and all the thousands of her inhabitants assume the attitude of prayer. Whether walking or riding, whether buying or selling, whether singing or dancing, all at the instant suspend their conversation, their business, and their amusement, and, with

178

SHOPS IN THE PLAZA.

uncovered heads, stand in the presence of their Maker and their Judge. Were the observance as sincere and heartfelt as the signal for it is striking and solemn, the effect would be salutary indeed. But among those who understand the appointment best, in a majority of cases, it is to be feared, it leads only to the counting of the beads of a rosary, or to the repetition of an "Ave Maria"--while those from more enlightened lands, who know better than to trust for a blessing to the efficacy of these, in too many instances there is reason to believe, waste the moment in idle gaze, or in an apprehension if the air be damp, of taking cold from the exposure of their heads.

LETTER IV.

NATIONAL MUSEUM, INQUISITORIAL COURT, AND PRIVATE MANSIONS IN THE CITY.

Lima, June 26th, 1829.

A HANDSOME brass fountain occupies the centre of the plaza, and formerly must have been highly ornamental to it; but like almost every thing else public and private in the city, it is now in decay, and destitute of water.

The chief attraction of the square at present is the exhibition made by the shopkeepers of their various wares, not only in small apartments under the arcades along the south and west sides, but more particularly in booths and temporary stalls-in front of