164

NIGHT VIEW OF A MANSION OF WEALTH.

doors adjoining, and the melody of the harp and guitar, told that the castle, if not itself on fairy ground, might still be the abode of an enchantress : an impression not diminished by the rich tones of a manly voice in the song, proving that another at least than a fairy was there.

Though much of the effect, as in the coarse painting and tinsel of the stage, was attributable, doubtless, to the illusive advantage of candle-light over the beams of day, still there was a degree of true magnificence and luxury in the scene to lead to a belief, that in the time of her noontide prospe rity, when all within were living comparatively in the same prodigality of wealth, Lima might have been fully entitled to the imposing epithet of "the splendid city," so long claimed as peculiarly her own.

But now, with much greater propriety, the sepulchral address, furnished by a poet, of the Incas of Peru to the Genius of Spain, may with all its force be applied to her:

"Art thou too fallen? Do we see

The robber and the murderer weak as we?
Thou that hast wasted earth, and dared despise

Alike the wrath and mercy of the skies;
Thy pomp is in the grave, thy glory laid
Low in the pits thine avarice has made.
We come from our eternal rest

To see the oppressor in his turn oppressed:
'Tis thus Omnipotence His law fulfills,
And Vengeance executes what Justice wills."

CONTRAST TO A SCENE OF LUXURY. 165

LETTER XXI.

VISIT TO THE PADRE ARRIETA, AND STATE OF THE CHURCHES.

Contrast to a Scene of Luxury.-Night Scenes on the Plaza.Convent of St. Francis.-Maniac Monk.-Padre Arrieta.— Library and Garden.-Paintings in the Chapel.—A House of Penance. -Convents and Monks.-Image of one in Purgatory.

Lima, June 27th, 1829.

THAT you, dear H————, may form some just idea of the strength and predominancy of contrast presented on every side by decay and poverty to the few remains of magnificence and luxury in the city, I must, after the evening sketch in the preceding letter, introduce you for a moment to the next door neighbours of this pavilion sparkling with crystal and gold.

I had passed but a step or two from the blaze of light, cast by its brilliance through the open gateway into the street, when I found myself again in partial relief, amidst the darkness around, from the illuminations of a very different abode. It was a nook on the street, three or four feet wide and ten or twelve in depth, partly built up with rough balls of mud, and hung at the entrance with an old garment of cloth in place of a door. On the ground immediately in front, an old black woman was seated beside a flat iron pan resting on two or three stones, with a blazing faggot beneath. She was shrivelled

166 CONTRAST TO A SCENE OF LUXURY.

up with age. An old rag of cotton, that had once been white, was bound about her deeply grizzled head, with a tatter hanging from it here and there around the face and temples: while a poncho, whose original colour it was vain to conjecture, shining with grease and rent by piecemeal till a strip of rags only remained, but ill concealed the upper part of her figure; leaving a long and skeleton-like arm on either side entirely bare. An article in a similar state of cleanliness and repair, which had once been a petticoat, did a like imperfect service for the lower limbs, thus preserving the entire keeping of the

costume.

She was frying small fish, probably for the eatingstalls on the Plaza. An old basket on one side contained a quantity of these rolled in flour and prepared for the pan; while on the other was one in which those already cooked had been placed. The only implement used in the process, besides the cooking vessel, was a long wooden skewer in one hand, with the sharp point of which she turned those frying, by the light of a dry stalk of sugar-cane held up in the other, and dipt occasionally into the boiling oil to cause it to burn the more brightly.

The rag of cloth used for a screen to the entrance of the hovel was cast on one side, disclosing by the light of the burning cane its contents and a single inmate, also a female, and a perfect counterpart both in figure and garb to her companion on the outside. She was creeping about in feebleness and decrepitude by the aid of a rude staff, and apparently engaged in arranging on the ground in one corner

NIGHT SCENES ON THE PLAZA.

167

an old rug as a sleeping place. A few tattered articles of clothing, some rubbish on one side, and a cup or two of earthenware, constituted all the furniture I could perceive, in the flickering of the torch-light in front.

The contrast to the preceding sight, thus presented, was so strong that I doubtless appeared to them, as I in reality was, wonder-struck, and looking up in their turn, with surprise at the steadfastness of my gaze, with toothless gums, they grinned kindly but

-"horribly, a ghastly smile."

During a turn in the Plaza immediately after, in place of one, I saw dozens of fire-light scenes of a similar character, in groupes of negroes and Indians from the country, travellers and market people, in bivouac by whole families and companies around fires which they had lighted to cook their suppers, and to dispel the dampness of a heavy atmosphere. I never beheld more admirable studies for the artist than were thus afforded in the strong and bold lights in which the various figures thus assembled were thrown against the thick darkness around. Objects more grotesque and diverse in figure or garb, can scarce be imagined; some busily engaged in the preparation of their food; some talking and laughing; some smoking and others eating, their dogs seated on their hind legs beside them, watching every motion and looking wistfully for a fragment or a bone from some friendly hand; while the donkeys at their provender, more faintly descried beyond,

168

CONVENT OF ST. FRANCIS.

with their panniers and bundles piled around, made up the imagery of the back ground.

Here and there, a peon or labourer, in a highcrowned hat and poncho, or an Indian in the dress of a soldier, might be seen intermingled with the rest; while in the arcades adjoining, females of every rank, in the impenetrable disguise of the saya et manto, were seen flitting among citizens of the Spanish population, who stalked slowly along, enveloped in immense cloaks with one corner thrown over the shoulder and held so high upon the face by the hand as in general to leave only a pair of piercing black eyes exposed.

The principal incident of the passing day has been a visit with Mr. Prevost to the Padre Arrieta, a monk of the church and monastery of St. Francis, the most austere and devout of the priesthood of Lima, and in extensive repute for piety and learning. He is an intimate friend of Mr. Tudor, from whom I had brought private letters to him; and he had intimated to Mr. Prevost a desire to see me at the monastery.

The convent of St. Francis is the largest, and was at one time, and still may be, the wealthiest in the city. It is an immense and noble pile, situated on the north side of the city, near the bridge across the Rimac, covering and inclosing many acres of ground. The entrance is through a chapel adjoining the principal church; after passing which, we came into a spacious quadrangle, in beautiful and classic architecture of white stucco, the area being filled with shrubbery and trees, interspersed with