active 1803-1825 William Bennet Stevenson

“ Gentlemen seldom go in the coaches, so that the beauty of Lima have the temporary privilege of riding alone, and nodding without reserve to their amorous galanes, who parade the side walks. The paseo de los alcaldes, the procession of new mayors, is in the old alameda, and is always an occasion of great bustle, being on new year's day. The Viceroy never attended, because his dignity would have been eclipsed by the brilliant liveries and gay appearance of the alcaldes. ”

“ I am ignorant of the treatment which the slaves may receive in the British colonies; but I feel loath to believe that that mercy which I have observed to guide the actions of a Spaniard or a Spanish creole should be a stranger in the breast of an Englishman or an English creole. If the lot of English slaves be not worse than that of Spanish slaves, they are more fortunate and more happy than the labouring classes at home. ”

“ If a climate demand only a shade from the sun or a shelter from the rain, why should men build themselves stately or close habitations? Where nature spontaneously produces the requisite articles of food, competent to the consumption of the inhabitants, why should they exert themselves to procure a superfluous stock? ”

“ If any thing be really wanting to ameliorate the condition of the English slave, let a wise legislature enact such regulations as will secure it to him; not place in his hand a weapon wherewith to sacrifice his master in a fit of frantic exasperation; let English slaves enjoy the blessings of the English poor, the boast of every Englishman—an impartial distribution of justice—an equality in the administration of the law. ”

“ At the foot of the presbytery, on the right, stands the beautifully rich chased and embossed silver cased altar of our Lady of the Rosary. This altar exceeds any other in Lima both in richness and effect; it is entirely covered with pure silver; its elegant fluted columns, highly finished embossed pedestals, capitals, cornices, &c., some of which are doubly gilt, are magnificently superb. In the centre of the altar is the niche of the Madonna, of exquisite workmanship; the interior contains a transparent painting of a temple, the light being admitted to it by a window at the back of the altar. ”

“ The white inhabitants of Lima have sallow complexions, having very little colour on their cheeks; but, to the credit of the ladies, they are not in the habit of using an artificial substitute; their hair and eyes are black, the latter full and penetrating, which, with good teeth, form very interesting countenances. The profusion of beautiful black ringlets over their foreheads appears as if formed to prevent a stranger from being over-dazzled by those sparkling eyes they are intended, but in vain, to hide. ”

“ I have no hesitation in asserting, that any impartial person who shall reside long enough among South Americans to become acquainted with their domestic manners, will declare, that conjugal and paternal affection, filial piety, beneficence, generosity, good nature and hospitality, are the inmates of almost every house. I have no doubt, too, that these virtues will continue here, until civilization and refinement shall drive them from their abode in the new world, to make room for etiquette, formality, becoming pride, prudery and hypocrisy from the old. ”

“ I never knew a nun who repented of her vows, and I have conversed with hundreds: many have said that they doubted not but that happiness was to be found without the walls, and discontent within, but that neither could be attributed exclusively to their being found in or out of a nunnery. Let those who would revile the conduct of their fellow creatures look to their own; let those who pity, search at home for objects: they who would amend others, should set the example. ”

“ It is difficult to describe the feelings by which we are affected when we witness the ruins of an edifice destined by its founder to be a monument of national glory, or even of personal honor; but when we contemplate with unprejudiced eyes the remains of a building once sacred to a large portion of our fellow creatures, and raised by them in honour of the great Father of the universe, wantonly destroyed by a being, in whose hands chance had placed more power than his vitiated mind knew how to apply to virtuous purposes—we cannot avoid cursing him, in the bitterness of our anguish. ”

“ The Araucanians have no places of worship, no idols, no religious rites. They believe that as their God and his genii need not the worship of men, they do not require it; that they are not desirous of imposing a tribute or exacting a service, except for the good or interest of their servants; and that they thus resemble the Toquis and Ulmenes, who can call upon them to fight for their country and their liberties, but for no personal offices. They, nevertheless, invoke the aid of the good Meulen, and attribute all their evils to the influence of the wicked Wencuba. ”

“ Although wheat and barley are cultivated in different parts of Peru, maize is generally considered the principal harvest; and where barley is even commoner than maize, (as in some of the more elevated provinces of the interior, and where it constitutes the principal article of food for the indians) they all greatly prefer the maize, if attainable, and will always exert themselves to cultivate a small patch of ground for this grain. Thus, where it is not used for daily food, or calculated upon as an article of trade, it is considered as a species of luxury. ”

“ There are few cities in the world whose population exhibits a greater variety of shade or tint of countenance than Lima, or, perhaps, a greater contrast of intellectual faculty, if the rules established by physiognomists may be relied on. But these arbiters of physiognomy have been white men, and there appears to be a considerable portion of egotism attached to their opinions. They have not only erected their own tribunal, and instituted their own code of laws, but they have presided, judged, and sentenced in favour of themselves. ”

“ I believe I may state, that in all hot climates an inclination to indolence is common, nay even natural; a hot climate precludes bodily exertion, unless [Pg 378] the cravings of nature are satisfied with difficulty, and as this is not the case in Peru, half the vice, if it be a vice, disappears at once; add to this, that they have no motive to exertion above supplying the wants of nature—no stimulus—no market for an excess of produce, or the supplying of artificial wants—and the cause for indolence exists as necessarily as a cause for industry is found where the contrary happens. ”

“ Among the tropical and equinoctial fruits, the plantain and banana ornament the orchards with their large green leaves, being the emblem of luxuriant fertility: this luscious and wholesome fruit ministers to the appetite of the rich, and satisfies the hunger of the poor. No native will drink water immediately after eating the plantain, nor any thing but water after the banana. ”

“ The river Bio-bio, which is two miles in breadth at San Pedro, rises in the Cordillera, and enters the sea about five miles to the south of Talcahuano, the port of Conception, having two mountains at the mouth called las tetas de Bio-bio, paps of Bio-bio. It is navigable by canoes and flats to a considerable distance from the mouth. The finest timber grows on its banks, which the wars of conquest and emancipation have repeatedly deluged with blood! ”

“ I shall not attempt to defend all the actions of the Africans in a state of slavery; but I must say, that when they are treated with compassionate kindness, they are generally faithful and honest; frequently become personally attached to their master, and though they may be sometimes loath to exert themselves in laborious tasks to serve him, yet in an emergency of danger they would often die for him. ”

“ The principal part of the labour of their farms is performed by the women, who often plough, sow, reap and carry to the thrashing floor the wheat or barley, which, when trodden out by horses, is thrown into the air, that the wind may blow away the chaff. I saw no other grain at Tucapel or its vicinity but wheat and barley, in small patches; but I was told that they produced a hundred fold.
The care of the offspring is entirely committed to the women. ”

“ Others are less known, but they are interior countries, lying between the range of the Andes and Buenos Ayres, Paraguay, Brazils and Colombia—immense tracts of the earth kept in reserve for the speculations of coming ages! But Araucania, from its locality, climate, and productions, appears destined to become one of the first and fairest portions of the new world; and should the eyes of philanthropical speculators be directed to its shores, their capitals would be more secure in the formation of new establishments than in loans to many of the old. ”

“ The site of Lima gradually inclines to the westward, the great square, plasa mayor, being 480 feet above the level of the sea. Thus all the streets in this direction, with many of those intersecting them at right angles, have small streams of water running along them, which contribute very much to the cleanliness and salubrity of the city and its inhabitants. The water which runs through the streets, as well as that which feeds the fountains and the canals for the irrigation of gardens, orchards and plantations, which fill the whole valley, is drawn from the river Rimac. ”

“ I have nevertheless known many virtuous and learned men among the hooded brethren, but rarely have I heard any one state, that he did not regret having taken the solemn oath that bound him to the cloister, and made him one of a fraternity which he could not avoid disliking. It generally happens, that the respectable individuals who assume a religious habit apply themselves to study, and by becoming lecturers, or getting a degree of D. D. in the University, they escape the drudgery of a hebdomadary, and take a seat in the chapter of the order. ”

“ The same rude mode of weaving is common, though not universal, in South America. The manner of weaving ponchos I shall describe when treating of the town of Arauco, for what I saw here did not deserve attention.
Besides the laborious occupation of spinning and weaving, and the usual household labour, each wife (for polygamy is allowed, every man marrying as many wives as he choose, or rather, as many as he can maintain) has to present to her husband daily a dish of her own cooking, and annually a poncho of her own spinning and weaving, besides flannel for shirts and drawers. ”

“ Gambling is carried on to a great extent in Lima, but much more in the higher circles than in the lower. No public gaming houses are permitted by the government, and the police officers are on the alert wherever a house is suspected; but private parties are very common, [Pg 298] particularly at the country houses of the nobility, and at the bathing places of Miraflores, Chorrillos and Lurin. The tables, although in the houses of noblemen, are free to all—the master and the slave, the marquis, the count, the mechanic, and the pedlar, mix indiscriminately. ”

“ This old man, like Manco Capac, taught them to build huts and live in communities, to till the ground, and to harvest the produce; as also to clothe themselves, with other comforts; but his wife, Chia, Yubecayguaya, or Huythaca, for she is also known by three different names, was not like Mama Oclle, who taught the females to spin, to weave, and to dye the cloths. Chia, on the contrary, opposed and thwarted every enterprize for the public good adopted by Bochica, who, like Manco Capac, was the child of the sun, dried the soil, promoted agriculture, and established wise laws. ”

“ I am certain that a labourer in England does more work in one day than [Pg 438] any slave I ever saw in the Spanish colonies performs in three. Those employed at the mills are more hours at work; but this is considered a punishment: those employed in the sugar-house have also more hours to attend; but they have always sufficient rest between the time of emptying one pan and waiting till it boils again, and this leisure some occupy in making baskets or in knitting stockings for their own profit. ”