in a very degraded state; but this arises more from the past than from the present state of matters; their amelioration, we hope, is in a greatly progressive state, though the dreams of the visionary alone could expect to banish poverty, and suffering, and vice, entirely from human society.

How often, in past times, did famines so prevail, that the supply of food, even of the most wretched kind, was not to be procured on any conditions whatever. We have only to go back into the last century to obtain instances of this kind. In the summer of 1743, in consequence of the failure of the previous harvest, thousands of destitute beings wandered among the fields in search of whatever could satiate the famishing demands of hunger, devouring sorrel and other wild plants, and the leaves and stems of the yet unfilled pease and beans. Many perished from absolute want, and more from consequent disease and debility. The year 1782 | was also a memorable one in Scotland, and was long known afterwards as the "frosty har'st." The sufferings of the people during the succeeding winter and summer were extreme. Thousands of wretched beings wandered the country in all directions, glad, if, on arriving at country houses, they could obtain a cupful of gruel, or of boiled greens, in which had been sprinkled a small portion of meal, to satiate the cravings of hunger. It is related of a charitable family, whose mansion was situated in one of the northern counties, and who kept a daily supply of soup ready to relieve the crowds of wandering beggars, that the lane leading to this mansion was not unfrequently strewed with the dead bodies of those unfortunate beings who had sunk exhausted before they could gain the hospitable threshold for relief. A recurrence of such scenes as these could now scarcely be contemplated in Britain; even the most disastrous cases that now occur are so met by the increased improvements in agriculture, that an absolute deficiency of food, of some kind or another, is not likely to happen. Besides, the facilities of importation are now so great, that all quarters of the world are accessible to our ships and steamers, and unless Providence should see meet to visit the whole earth with disastrous seasons, the mere deficiency of one part can be promptly supplied from the excess of another.

In former times, before the introduction of green crops in our agriculture, as the turnip, potato, and the artificial grasses, the practice was to kill all the cattle and sheep destined for the winter supply, in autumn, and thus salt food, with a very scanty supply of vegetables, was the general fare of the people. This is a system which was in practice not more than a century ago; and contrast it with the daily supply of beef and other meats now, and the abundant use of all kinds of the most wholesome and nutritious vegetables. Every region in the globe is now ransacked for supplying our tables, our fields, our gardens, and our conservatories. The

most cooling and refreshing fruits,-the most beautiful and fragrant flowers, are now more plentifully within the reach of the ordinary tradesman and mechanic, than they were to kings and princes, or the wealthy nobility of former days.

It is the same with clothing. The time was when the coarsest woollen garments were the only coverings which the common people possessed,→ nay, even vestments of horse hair and rude iron sandals must have been worn at remote periods, for several such vestments have been dug out of our peat bogs both in England and Ireland. A century ago, in Scotland, almost the whole clothing of the people was manufactured at home, and by the hands of their families; this was all very good employment, but the coarse and scanty supply would ill accord with modern taste; besides, the toil of those labours absorbed all the time and energies which should have been bestowed on numberless other domestic comforts and arrangements. Hence their houses and cottages were mean and dirty, and every thing that tended to domestic comforts deficient. Glass was often awanting in the window of the cottage as well as in that of the baron's castle; fuel was by no means so good or abundant as now, nor were those arrangements for light, warmth, and comfort, in our dwellings, so much as heard of.

Then the roads and modes of conveyance were in a most wretched condition. Carriage roads through many districts there were none, and horseback by narrow paths, and over dale and mountain, and through bog and quagmire, was the only choice to the traveller. Labourers and artizans were compelled to remain stationary, whether work was to be procured in their particular locality or not; or if they did go in search of it, days and weeks were consumed in fatiguing travel before they could accomplish their object. Now, the railway waggon will convey the workman any number of miles to his destination, at a cost less than the wear of his shoes would have been to walk the half of the distance. The princes and nobles of the land, with their retinues of horses, and servants, and coaches, did not make their journeys with half so much comfort as a mason, or a carpenter, or a rude Irish hodman now can do, with a smooth railway laid for him, a steam-engine puffing and blowing, and bounding along almost with the speed of thought-a relay of anxious and careful attendants at every stage-at the end of his journey no care about putting up, or feeding horses, or any other solicitude-and all this for the sum of one or two shillings for forty or fifty miles-a sum equal to about one half of one day's labour. If he wishes to communicate with his wife and family in a distant part of the country, the same extensive arrangements will carry his letter with the utmost punctuality for the sum of one penny; or if he wishes to remit the smallest portion of his well-earned savings, a few

rectitude before his eyes, none can meddle with him, or make him afraid. If he is industrious, sober, and prudent, with his thirty to sixty pounds a-year, the produce of his daily labour, he has within his reach all the essential enjoyments of life, and in such a way and with such accompaniments as the artizans and labourers, and yeomen of old never dreamt of.

THERE are few historical events more remarkable than the different fortunes and character of the colonies founded in the new world by the nations of northern and southern Europe, by the people of the Teutonic and Romaic races. With all his faults the Anglo-American is a being apparently of a higher order, in civil and social life, in morals and religion, than the inhabitants of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonies. This has been deeply impressed on our minds by the picture of the moral condition of Peru, presented by the work named at the head of this article. The author of it is well known to the scientific world by his researches into the Fauna of Peru, in his work on that subject, and the present volume will make him no less known to the great mass of the reading public. The portion already published contains his observations on the Chiloe islands. Valparaiso and the coast of Peru, particularly the capital Lima, which, as the author well observes, “in its rapid growth, in the full bloom of its history, in power, luxury, mercantile and political importance, and at the same time in its inward corruption, represents perfectly so many cities of the Spanish colonies, which, with no proper moral element of existence, have sprung up, like tropical plants, in luxurious fulness, but soon sinking under their own worthlessness, have fallen a prey to slow disease." Leaving, at least for the present, the more descriptive parts of the book, its pictures of places, and observations on natural history, let us glean a few remarks on the political and moral condition of the people. The land in these respects may be well compared to one of those marshes in which, under the fostering warmth of a tropical sun, a richness of vegetable life springs up, fair to outward view, and adorned with large and fragrant flowers, but concealing masses of corruption hideous to behold, and producing pestilence and death.

with wonderful rapidity during his short residence in the country. In one of these, Gamarra, who had rebelled against Santa Cruz the president, and taken possession of Lima, raised great contributions from the natives, at the same time that he excited their hatred against foreigners. This worthy governor stuck up bills in the streets, one of them in these terms-" The foreigners are the enemies of your freedom, and wish to recall Santa Cruz; free your soil from these miscreants, and repeat in Peru a Bartholomew night, or the Sicilian vespers." The strangers had however provided themselves with arms, and were resolved to sell their lives dear; whilst the government, frightened by the guns of the English men-of-war which blockaded the harbour, did not venture to ring the bells, the appointed signal for commencing the scene of murder; and in a few weeks Santa Cruz entered the town amidst the shouts of the same populace who had raised arches of triumph for his opponent. His good fortune however was but shortlived. On the 20th January 1839, he was defeated by another rebel, in a battle in which three thousand fell, though the whole armies on both sides did not exceed twelve or thirteen thousand men. Santa Cruz escaped on board an English ship, but made several unsuccessful attempts to recover his authority. In one of these, in 1844, he was seized in the Cordilleras, and is now a prisoner in Chili.

These constant revolutions and tumults are ascribed by Tschudi to the faithlessness and avarice of the Peruvian officers. No sooner has one of them attained the rank of general, giving him the disposal of fifteen hundred or two thousand troops, than he fancies himself entitled to overthrow the president, and set himself in his place. True patriotism is out of the question in a land inhabited by an almost endless variety of races, and hybrid mixtures of men, of numberless shades of colour; and whose rulers consist of upstarts who have inherited like a curse, from their ancestors who conquered the country, the love of plunder, and of cheap though unjust gain. These usurpers and ring-leaders know that, willingly or unwillingly, they must soon give place to another; and consequently raise contributions and allow their soldiers to destroy and plunder, that they may, by however violent and unjust methods, collect the

Their actions are never based on any nobler motive, and even the heroism which cannot be denied to some, may always be traced back to the impure impulse of the most shameless avarice. The defence of the fortress Callao, under the command of Rodil, against Lord Coch

rane's squadron by sea, and the patriot army of Bartholomew Salom by land, is very famous. Rodil defended it for nearly a year and a-half. At last the garrison was supporting life almost entirely on the flesh of dogs, asses, rats, and putrid fish, thrown out by the sea. To this was added a terrible nervous fever, which fell with such severity on the noble families who had taken refuge in the citadel with their jewels, that of four thousand who had fled there only about two hundred survived the siege. The garrison often sought to surrender, but Rodil, endowed with remarkable coolness and presence of mind, suppressed these mutinies, and punished the guilty with iron severity. Such heroism, such endurance, seem worthy of the highest praise, had the motives which led Rodil to this protracted but useless defence, been pure and noble. But he carried on during the siege a traffic which does little honour to his heart or character. He had laid up in store a quantity of provisions, which he sold to the wealthy families, almost for their weight in gold, as in the circumstances their riches were of no use to them. For a fowl he made them pay three or four ounces of gold (L.9 to L.12), and received a similar price for bread and other necessaries. As soon as his store was sold and consumed, Rodil surrendered the fortress, concluded an honour able capitulation (on 19th February 1826), and sailed for Spain loaded with immense wealth.

The Peruvian infantry, consisting chiefly of Indians from the mountains, is very good; the men being as ready and obedient as cool and courageous. As long as the officers maintain the contest, they may depend on their soldiers; but when they retire, the troops throw down their arms, and run off. A bold chief, with brave and faithful officers, may, however, almost depend on victory, even in apparently the most desperate circumstances. The cavalry has exactly the opposite character, the officers remaining firm, whilst the troops fly. It consists for the most part of negroes, and though a few of them, with the sword of justice over their heads, may defend their lives and liberty with the utmost desperation, yet the generality are no less cowardly than cruel. The officers treat their men with great severity, and in time of war even punish them at their pleasure. Hence many of the soldiers do not wait for death in battle, but perish by their own hand. Thus, in the campaign against the Bolivians, in 1842, more than twenty men threw themselves from the hanging bridge of Oropa into the raging river, after calling to their leader, in a mocking tone, "Adios, capitan." Tschudi himself saw how on the march, those who could not move onward were coolly shot dead. The sick were forced to follow the army till they sunk down, or tied to a mule and driven forward under the burning sun. The following anecdote will give a truer idea of this inhuman conduct than any general language. "The major of a troop of light-horse asked me on my arrival at Parma, during the campaign of 1843, to take charge of his sick for a few days. Of 120 men forming this detachment, sixty-eight lay sick with scarlet fever, in a dark damp hole, and fourteen were so called 'Castigados' (Chastized). What a sight did the latter present! Their backs seemed almost stripped of flesh, and covered with the most hideous wounds. In consequence of a meeting

the major had shot six of the soldiers, and punished eighteen with from one to three hundred blows with a broad thong of tapir-skin, so that several died under the infliction. The rest must instantly mount on horseback and follow the squadron. Nine days long they had continued their journey under the most terrible tortures, and had even crossed the Cordilleras. Several obstinately refused to have their wounds dressed, and had to be compelled by force. One entreated me, with loud groans, to do nothing to promote his cure, as he was anxiously looking for death. Before the sick were at all recovered, the leader commanded them to march. The consequence of this inhumanity might easily have been foreseen: before eight days the squadron numbered scarcely sixty men!"

In a country devastated by civil war, conducted in such a spirit, it would be too much to expect that population should increase. On the contrary, it is rapidly declining, and in the capital, since 1826, the deaths each year exceeded the persons born by about 650. To this must be added the banishments, voluntary expatriations, and epidemics, which are a natural consequence of defective police regulations, and the prevailing want of cleanliness in the city. In the disorderly and lawless condition of the country, any increase from abroad rarely occurs. Last of all, a deep-rooted demoralization consumes the vitals of the population. From 1st January

to the 30th October 1841, of 1682 children born in Lima, no fewer than 860 were illegitimate; 495 were exposed dead. Tschudi himself saw the vultures tearing up and dragging about well-frequented streets, the half corrupted bodies of children. It is no wonder, therefore, that the population of Lima, which amounted to 87,000 in 1810, should, in 1842, be estimated at only 53,000; when the whole beautiful land, extending from the third to the twenty-second degree south latitude, and which at the time of the Spanish conquest had an immense population, now numbers only 1,400,000 inhabitants.

And what a singular mixture of inhabitants! Besides the white Creoles, mostly descendants of the Spaniards, besides the Negroes, the Indians, the Mulattos, the Mestizos, there are some score of other varieties distinguished,-Chinos, Zambos, Cuarteros, and Quinteros. The varieties are indeed almost innumerable. The colour of the skin is no test of parentage, but the hair of the female seldom deceives. Many mulatto women rival the fairest Europeans in the pure white tint of their complexions, and the regularity of their features, but carry about with them an undoubted mark of their pedigree, in the woolly-hair scarce a finger-length long. With such a party-coloured population, scarcely any community of feeling, or a shadow of patriotism and nationality can arise. And as the colours mix or separate from each other, so also do the characters of those who bear them. One is almost frightened to observe how, with his colour and form of countenance, man seems born to virtue or crime, to the capacity or incapacity for intellectual education, to strength, weakness, or almost total want of character. Such remarkable facts seem almost fitted to shake our firm belief in the freedom of the will, and the accountability of man.

The white Creoles, forming about a third of the population of Lima, are described by Tschudi, as slender,

tall, with pale skins and dark black hair. The men look weak and worn-out, their physiognomy noble, but deformed by marks of passionate sensuality. Both corporeally and mentally they are far inferior to the Spaniards. They are effeminate, idle, fond of delicacies, and given up to gambling with perfect infatuation. The ladies participate in this love of play, the chief cause of the many unhappy marriages in Lima, and the ruin of most families. They do not want talent, but grow up almost wild, without instruction or education; and the ignorance of even the better informed almost surpasses belief. Peru at one time possessed a minister of war, who knew neither the extent nor population of the country, and obstinately maintained that Portugal formed the eastern boundary of Peru, and that one could travel thither by land. Another respectable gentleman, high in office and esteemed very learned, once entertained the traveller with a full account of how Frederick the Great drove Napoleon out of Russia. Those who affirm that nations must be kept in ignorance in order to make them happy, are truly not so far wrong, after all; for what men wished for in vain in Europe-Frederick the Great opposed to Napoleon, a spectacle more for gods than men -existed in the fancy of an ignorant Peruvian.

The Limenas, or ladies of Lima, are far superior to the men, both in mind and body. They are distinguished by an acute penetrating understanding, a clear judgment, and very accurate views of the different relations of life, and like the ladies of Seville for quick and pointed answers. They greatly surpass the men in courage and firmness of character. Their ambition, their inclination to and skill in intrigues, their presence of mind in trying moments, fit them remarkably for conducting conspiracies and revolutions, in which, however, they look more to their own advantage than the welfare of the state.

When Gomarra, in the year 1834, was driven with his troops out of Lima, under a shower of stones from the populace, and stood lamenting and uncertain what to do on the Plaza Mayor, his wife, Dona Francisca Subyaga ran up to him, pulled the sword from his side, placed herself at the head of the troops, commanded a well-arranged retreat, and thus saved her husband and the remains of the army. Domestic industry, economy, and matrimonial fidelity, are not among the virtues of the Limenas; they are excessively fond of dress, and alike skilled in the intrigues of politics and love. But when once their passions have cooled, and beauty decayed, they turn to religion and become "Beatas," go two or three times a-day to the church, confess as often in the week, fast, pray, lament, and receive the visits of their confessor, whom they treat to all manner of delicacies. Along with devotion, talking scandal, tale-bearing, and raising bad reports on their neighbours, are their principal employments; so that, as Tschudi assures us, these Beatas are a more dangerous race than even the street-robbers.

The Indians in Lima, who are mostly shopkeepers and mechanics, are described as active, industrious, honourable, but vain and dirty. They are far inferior in mental capacity to the Creoles, for whom they entertain a fear that nothing can remove. Among the negroes, who form about a fifth part of the population, there are about 4800 slaves, who, as Tschudi remarks, are treated with

great mildness, and, on the whole, much like menial servants in Europe. He even goes 'so far as to affirm that the reason why there are so many bad slaves in Lima, lies wholly in their too mild treatment, since this class can only be fashioned into anything orderly by the most merciless severity. Much better than the native or Creole-negroes are those imported from Africa, named Bosales. Yet these, especially when of royal race, always retain a certain pride. Tschudi mentions a negro princess, who could not be compelled to any menial service by the harshest beatings, always affirming that she had been accustomed to be served, and not to serve others. She sat for hours on the ground, with a dark fixed gaze, muttering in the peculiar Bosale tone, "Yo clavita, yo clavita," (for yo esclavita, I a slave ") then sprung up suddenly and ran with her head against the wall till she fell down senseless. At last they intrusted her with the charge of the children of the family, which duty she performed with truly affecting tenderness and fidelity. The free negroes are described as the veritable pests and plagues of the country. Almost all the highway robbers on the coast of Peru are free negroes. If they have any colouring of education, if they are able to read and write, they are only so much the more refined rascals. In this view there is probably a good deal of prejudice, as the author declares his opinion that the negro can never attain a high social rank, even by the most careful education, in consequence of the form of his skull approaching too near that of the lower animals. This low and degrading view of one of the large families of the human race, is, we believe, contradicted by sound anatomy, and should not be received till proved by a wider range of facts and more extended experience than has yet been brought to bear on the subject. It is too much to expect any race to rise all at once from the condition of slaves to that of refined freemen; and in a land where the whites are themselves so degraded, there can be no surprise at the character of the poor negro, to whom the coarsest sensuality forms the centre point on which his whole being, thoughts, and actions turn; who is only free as by chance, and only acts as a freeman because he must, not because he wishes it.

The hybrid or mixed races, according to Tschudi, have in general the faults without the virtues of their ances tors; the Mestizo descended from the Indian and white being an honourable exception, He describes them as mild, compassionate, easily excitable, benevolent, yet fickle, and not courageous. They show a great preference for the society of the whites, but cannot endure the Indians. This is more especially true in the interior of the country, where they form whole villages. He gives the mulattos credit at least for their skill in mechanical works, their remarkable power of apprehension, and their extraordinary talent for imitation. Some of them have also wonderful memories, and attending all sermons, public meetings, and university disputations, repeat the speeches in a most ludicrous manner, and with the most extravagant gesticulations. The Chinos, sprung from the Indian and Negro race, are small and dwarfish, with ugly features: they are malicious, rancorous, false, blood-thirsty, and very revengeful. The most miserable race are, however, the Zambos, in whom all kind of wickedness has reached its highest degree of