Brazil, the River Plate, and the Falkland Islands / With the Cape Horn route to Australia. Including notices of Lisbon, Madeira, the Canaries, and Cape Verde.

by William Hadfield

RIO DE LA PLATA.

The sea-like Plata, to whose dread expanse,

Continuous depth, and wondrous length of course,

Our floods are rills. With unabated force,

In silent dignity they sweep along;

And traverse realms unknown, and blooming wilds,

And fruitful deserts, worlds of solitude!

Where the sun smiles and seasons teem in vain,

Unseen, and unenjoyed. Forsaking these,

O’er peopled plains they fair-diffusive flow;

And many a nation feed; and circle safe,

In their soft bosom, many a happy isle;

The seat of blameless Pan, yet undisturbed

By Christian crimes and Europe’s cruel sons.

Thus pouring on they proudly seek the deep,

Whose vanquished tide, recoiling from the shock,

Yields to this liquid weight of half the globe;

And Ocean trembles for his green domain.

But what avails this wondrous waste of wealth,

This gay profusion of luxurious bliss?

This pomp of Nature? what their balmy meads,

Their powerful herbs, and Ceres void of pain,

By vagrant birds dispersed, and wafting winds?

What their unplanted fruits? What the cool draughts,

The ambrosial food, rich gums, and spicy health,

Their forests yield? Their toiling insects what?

Their silky pride, and vegetable robes?

Whate’er the humanizing Muses teach;

The god-like wisdom of the tempered breast;

Progressive truth; the patient force of thought;

Investigation calm, whose silent powers

Command the world; the Light that leads to Heaven;

Kind equal rule; the government of laws,

And all-protecting Freedom, which alone

Sustains the name and dignity of Man;

These are not theirs.—Thomson.

SIR WM. GORE OUSELEY, K.C.B.—LATE HER MAJESTY’S MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY TO THE STATES OF LA PLATA, AND FORMERLY CHARGE D’AFFAIRES AT THE COURT OF BRAZIL.

Note to the Portrait.—The sketch in the preceding page is copied from an early likeness, but can hardly be considered an accurate one now. In a book of this nature, which owes much of whatever attractiveness it may possess to his permission to avail of the pictorial and literary memoranda of his prolonged sojourn in South America, and especially in a chapter on the River Plate, in whose affairs he played so important a part in the chief crisis of its history, full biographical details of Sir W. Gore Ouseley’s career may reasonably be anticipated. For such purpose, however, the writer has access only to the ordinary data to be found in works of public reference; nor, if others of a private nature were open, would it, perhaps, be in the best taste to insert them here, as they would necessarily be supposed to be used with an unduly partial bias. Without entering at length into details more fitted for a genealogical work than for our pages, it will suffice to say that, previous to the sixteenth century, the Ouseley family was allied to several of the most ancient and honourable patrician names of this country, and thus their ancestry can be traced to a remote period. The Irving family, into which the late Sir W. Ouseley (father of Sir W. Gore Ouseley) married, is allied to the Douglases, the Rollos, and many other noble Scotch families. Referring to ‘Burke’s Baronetage,’ and ‘Landed Gentry,’ ‘Dod’s Knightage’ for 1854, and other cognate authorities, we find that Sir W. G. Ouseley is descended from an ancient Shropshire family who settled in Northamptonshire in 1571, the then head of the family, Richard Ouseley Ouseley, having received from Queen Elizabeth, under whom he was a judge, a grant of the estate of Courteen Hall, in that county, with many of the most eminent families in which the Ouseleys were connected, such as the Actons of Alderham, as also the Barons Giffard of Brinsfield, and Barons Lestrange of Blackmere.[76] Nicholas Ouseley, a relative of Richard Ouseley Ouseley, was envoy to the courts of Spain and Portugal, and some of his correspondence with Sir Francis Walsingham is preserved among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum. John, son of Richard Ouseley, was knighted by James I. in 1603, for his gallant conduct during the war in Ireland with the turbulent Earl of Tyrone. The diplomatic services of Sir John are mentioned in a subsequent note, and by Purchas in his ‘Pilgrims.’ Sir Richard Ouseley, his son, held the commission of major in the royalist army during the civil war between Charles I. and the Parliament, and in consequence of debts incurred in support of the royal cause he was obliged to sell Courteen Hall in 1650. The family then settled in Ireland, where they held Ballinasloe Castle, and afterwards Dunmore Castle, in the county of Galway, which latter remained in the family until the death of Major Ralph Ouseley, grandfather of Sir William Gore Ouseley. The major was a great antiquarian, and had a very fine collection of Irish antiquities, MSS., &c. His eldest son, Sir William Ouseley, served in the 8th Dragoons during the unfortunate campaign in Holland, where the British forces were commanded by the Duke of York; but after attaining the rank of major, he abandoned war for the more congenial pursuit of literature, and became a member of most of the learned and scientific societies of Europe. He published ‘Travels in Persia,’ (to which country he accompanied his brother, Sir Gore Ouseley, in 1810,) and many other works on Eastern antiquities and literature, in which he has left a mine of Oriental and classical learning that will always remain a monument of his great industry and talent. Sir G. Ouseley was the first ambassador accredited from the court of St. James’s to that of Persia, though Sir Harford Jones, Sir John Malcolm, and others, had previously been sent by the East India Company to that country. He was chairman of the Oriental Translation Society, to whose papers, and those of the Asiatic Society, he was a contributor. Sir William, who married the daughter of the late Lieutenant-Colonel Irving, (son of General Sir Paulus E. Irving, governor-general of Canada,) left a numerous family, the eldest of whom, Sir William Gore Ouseley, entered the diplomatic service at a very early age. He was attached to the mission at Stockholm in 1817, and in 1825 was appointed paid attaché at Washington. While in that capital, he married the daughter of Mr. Van Ness, formerly governor of the state of Vermont, and subsequently the United States envoy at Madrid. He was next appointed acting secretary of legation at Brussels during Sir R. Adair’s special embassy, and subsequently at Rio Janeiro, at which court he represented our government for several years as chargé d’affaires. In 1844 Sir William was named minister plenipotentiary at Buenos Ayres, and in 1845 special minister to the states of La Plata. In tardy acknowledgment of his important diplomatic services in South America, he received the Order of the Bath in 1852. He is the author of ‘Remarks on the Slave Trade,’ ‘South American Sketches,’ and several political pamphlets. We cannot forbear quoting a few lines from a critique on his ‘Remarks on the Statistics and Political Institutions of the United States,’ in the ‘Quarterly Review’ for December, 1832, which, although opposed to the views taken in that periodical of the United States and their institutions, had the fairness to say,—‘We have no desire to be severely critical on the coup d’essai of a young author—one, we believe, of a family in which diplomatic ability may be called an hereditary possession.’ Some facts in connection with Sir William’s memorable mission to the River Plate will be found a few pages further on, as also in the notice of Rosas, whose enmity our minister had the honour of provoking in an eminent degree, by firmly protecting the persons and interests of his countrymen, and acting up to the spirit of his instructions. How deservedly he did so will be seen when we come to speak of one, at least, of those transactions of which the guilt has been incontestibly fixed upon the ex-Dictator within the last few months, but for accusing him of which at the time, our unsuspecting innocents at home deemed the British representative very culpable indeed, or, at least, very troublesome. Doubtless, so he was, as compared with certain of his predecessors and successors in the same post, who quietly winked at the atrocities of the despot without appealing to England against their continuance.

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CHAPTER XI.
MONTE VIDEO.

Biographical memoranda on the late British minister to the Plate.—First impressions of the Uruguayan capital unfavourable.—The New Custom House.—An instance of enterprise without prudence.—Commercial advantages of Monte Video.—Prosperity obtained at the expense of Buenos Ayres.—Revisal of the Buenos Ayrean tariff.—Alluvial deposits of the Rio Plata.—Gas from mares’ grease.—Traces of a siege.—Unprofitable ploughing by Oribe’s projectiles.—Condition of the streets.—The Horses of La Plata, and the Lasso.—Commerce of London with Monte Video and Buenos Ayres.—Mules for the Australian Gold Diggings.—Diminution of the Customs.—Bitter fruits of British and French intervention.—Sir William Gore Ouseley and the British Loan.—The Market-place.—Italian boatmen.—Encouragement given to foreigners.—Aspect of the environs.—The English burial ground.—The latest revolution.—Sketch of the History of Monte Video.—Senhor Castellanos.—Immigration from Europe.—Abolition of slavery in Uruguay.—Formation of agricultural colonies.—Diplomatic and consular memoranda.

MONTE VIDEO—CAPITAL OF THE BANDA ORIENTAL DEL URUGUAY

Note to the Illustration.—Pursuing the plan adopted in several of the preceding chapters, we here follow, in great part, from the source drawn upon in the former instances, the description given of Monte Video, by the same hand to which we are indebted for the illustration. Monte Video, situate in latitude 35 degrees S., longitude 56 degrees W., is the capital of the ‘Banda Oriental’ (eastern shore or banks), or, as it is more formally designated, the ‘Republic of the Uruguay;’ it is on the left bank of the River Plate, but, in part, is a seaport, the river being here above 120 miles across, although this capital is about 100 miles from the ocean. Yet even near Monte Video, after the prevalence of certain winds, the water is not too salt for drinking, in case of necessity; indeed, when off the port, were it not for this freshness, the stranger could hardly credit he is not still at sea, instead of in a river, so immense is it. Monte Video is most advantageously placed for commercial purposes. It is not enough to say that Buenos Ayres is the capital of the Argentine Provinces, and Monte Video that of the Banda Oriental—the extent of territory of which latter is small in comparison with the former—for these two places are not only the chief ports of entry through which, says Parish, the trade of these countries is carried on with foreign nations, but it will be found that at whichever of them the largest amount of foreign goods is landed, they are for the most part destined for the consumption of the people of the countries watered by the Rio de la Plata and its tributaries. The amount of foreign goods—so greatly out of proportion to its population—which, a few years back, was landed at Monte Video, is chiefly to be ascribed to the blockade of Buenos Ayres, which temporarily diverted the trade from its ordinary course. Whenever Buenos Ayres has the misfortune to be so attacked, the advantageous situation of Monte Video, as a central port, will always give it importance as an entrepot for goods destined for the provinces in the interior. This was the case in a remarkable degree during the late beleaguerment of Buenos Ayres, by Urquiza, until the admiral of his fleet, the North American adventurer Coe, went over to the authorities of the City. During the whole of this time, Monte Video, being the only open port, prospered immensely in the amount of shipping entering it. There is no doubt, also, that its situation offers facilities for the supply at all times by indirect means of the adjoining provinces of Brazil and of the Argentine Confederation, of which the Monte Videans will probably avail themselves, to the detriment of their neighbours’ interests, unless, in self-defence, the latter so regulate their customs duties as to countervail all temptations to avoid them. Now this the Buenos Ayreans are wisely doing; for before the close of the past year (1853) they effected an important modification in their tariff, which, coupled with the opening of the great internal streams, is sure to be productive of infinite advantage.[77] The harbour at Monte Video, except during certain winds and violent gales, is good, and the river basin well sheltered. But the vast body of fresh water of the River Plate brings with it, especially after floods, immense quantities of earth, sand, &c., forming continual deposits, gradually filling up this and other harbours in La Plata, and diminishing the depth of water in many places. For instance, in the harbour of Monte Video—the best in the river—formerly large vessels of war, then called frigates (during the Spanish colonial government), used to lie quite close to the wharves in the inner part of the harbour, where none but merchant vessels, and those not of the largest size, now find sufficient depth. This gradual accumulation of alluvial deposit might easily be prevented in the harbour by the use of excavating and dredging machines. They were, in fact, successfully tried some years ago, but the invasion of the country and the late siege of its capital, which lasted above nine years, forced the government to employ all its resources in self-defence, and this, like many other useful measures, was suspended, but will be again resumed speedily, as also many other essential improvements prosecuted with vigour, now that the prospects of peace are assured, from the determination of the whole bulk of the population to abstain from siding with any of the disturbers of tranquillity. Lighthouses have been erected at the entrance of the river; its most dangerous parts are buoyed, and licensed pilots ply off its mouth to take vessels either into the harbour of Monte Video, or up to Buenos Ayres. With their help, and the excellent charts and sailing directions that have been published, the navigation, which would otherwise be difficult, on account of sand-banks, is made tolerably safe for the vast number of merchant vessels which are continually on their passage up and down the river.

The impression on landing here is unfavourable, or at least, was so when I visited it, though such is the rapidity of change in South American regions, that, I believe, matters have put on a very much improved aspect within the short period that has since elapsed. At that time, at all events, the place was very dirty, from rainy weather; ill-paved streets; great confusion with carts and horses; all kinds of queer-looking beings about; and a medley of nations, remarkable even in this focus of motley emigration. Things looked in a rough, unfinished state, such as you would hardly expect to find in the second important city of the La Plata; and the reality contrasted sadly with the gay houses, their fantastic turrets and look-outs, which present such a picturesque appearance from the sea. The poverty the place displays is too fully accounted for by the many years of siege, blockade, civil war, and disaster it has gone through, rendering it almost miraculous that so much should still exist in the shape of a city. You land at the ponte, or custom-house wharf, built out a short distance into the bay, whilst the custom-house itself is in a street some little distance off. On the right, near the entrance of the harbour, is the new custom-house, an immense pile, which, when finished, must prove a great convenience to commerce, so long as the latter is made to go through the ordeal of fiscal duties, which here comprise nearly the entire revenue of the state. Close to the new custom-house is a light-looking jetty, made chiefly of iron, with a good landing-place, and rails running along the wharf to bonded warehouses on shore. This wharf or pier was the work of an enterprising Englishman, who had more public spirit than prudence, and was unsuccessful in his views, owing partly to there not being sufficient water to enable vessels to come alongside the structure. The city of Monte Video is erected on a kind of promontory, running out into the sea, which washes one side, and the bay the other. Like most Spanish towns in South America, it is built in squares, with parallel streets, the houses all shapes and sizes, with square courts, from which you enter the different suites of rooms, many very handsomely arranged and furnished, the area of the court being adorned with plants and flowers. Since the siege was raised, parts of the old fortifications have been pulled down, and new streets are in process of building, as also a new theatre; so that with a continuance of peace, Monte Video would soon assume more importance, and many of its civic defects be remedied. Some spirited individuals have got up a gas company, and the town is now excellently lighted from a local commodity called mares’ grease, and certainly a clearer or better light I never saw anywhere. Country houses are also springing up since the desolation in which the outskirts were left by the nine years’ siege at the hands of Rosas and his creatures, of which it still bears the traces in all directions, particularly at that memorable point between the city and General Oribe’s camp at Cerrito, where every house was riddled or destroyed with cannon-shot, and the very ground ploughed up by the same unproductive metal. In a large square, at the extremity of the town, stands the cathedral, a huge unfinished building, which towers above everything else, and is emblematic of the old Spanish taste in churches. This square will be an acquisition when finished and put in order, planted with trees, &c., towards which there is already some movement; but the majority of the streets are scarcely passable in a conveyance, many being without any pavement at all, a few rough stones being here and there visible; the rest is a compound of mud and filth, and with holes that would astonish any well-educated European animal, however profound his gravity or elongated his ears, but apparently quite natural to the horses and mules of this country, and regarded by them with an exemplary equanimity which bipeds of philosophic pretensions in vain endeavour to emulate.

The difference of race between the inhabitants of Brazil and the River Plate is very remarkable, indicating at once the great change in climate, and those other physiological influences that contribute to determine variety of character among people. At the same time it must be observed that South America furnishes many almost irreconcilable anomalies of this kind; for instance, a feeble and peaceful people dwelt on the cold mountains of Peru; a hardy and warlike race wandered under the burning sun of Brazil. The Uruguayans partake largely of the attributes of the latter. The natives are generally athletic-looking men, mounted on horses that appear part and parcel of themselves; seemingly centaur-like, ‘demi-encorpsed with the brave beast;’ and dressed in a fashion savouring strongly of the Turk—minus the turban.

And tall, and strong, and swift of foot are they,

Beyond the dwarfing city’s pale abortions.

EL LAZO—THROWING THE LASSO.

LA VACA ESTRAVIADA—THE STRAY COW.

The Plata is indeed the land of the horse, par excellence, as will be inferred from the fact of this, the first town of importance on its banks, being lighted with mares’-grease gas. The animals are, generally speaking, described by connoisseurs as not exactly equalling the splendid Spanish parent stock they are descended from, and the first appearance of which in the country where they are now counted by millions, and are part almost of the very being of the natives, was regarded with an awe and astonishment that well nigh paralysed resistance to the invader. Those that swarm along the plains are rather more useful than handsome; heads not clumsy, though not elegantly shaped; body tolerably round, though croup often low; legs, though light, firm and well placed. They are caught with the lasso, in the use of which, as likewise of course in the bolas, the Uruguayan Guacho is fully equal, and is deemed by many even superior, if possible, to his brother of the Buenos Ayrean pampas, with which the European idea of the exercise of these captivating implements is chiefly associated; for the Banda Oriental being much intersected with streams, and trees, and hills, a greater degree of address is perhaps required in managing a herd of wild horses or oxen than in the vast table-land stretching, for hundreds upon hundreds of miles, in an almost unvaried flat, on the opposite bank of the river. But if the Plate be the land of horses, doubly is it the land of cows: the whole region may be said to be one vast horn-and-hoof fair; and the predominant bovine element in the air, the street, the field, proclaims itself overpoweringly to every sense. This, of course, strikes one more forcibly, because of its novelty, on landing at Monte Video, than subsequently at Buenos Ayres, and in the interior; for it is extraordinary how quickly one loses his fastidiousness, and looks with indifference upon sights, and inhales odours, that appear insufferably revolting at the outset of one’s noviciate. The trade carried on by the Uruguayans in the flesh, and hides, and tallow, of cattle, and the skins of horses, is very great,[78] considering the extent of territory and population, and bearing in mind the many impediments of which we have already spoken, and to which we shall have further to advert presently. Latterly, a profitable trade is springing up in the article of mules for Australia; those animals being reared in great perfection in the fine pastures of the Banda Oriental, and being of infinite use in the gold fields, owing to their hardy constitution, strength, and docility. Passengers from Australia, calling at Monte Video, declare the neighbourhood greatly to resemble the vicinage of Melbourne; and there is little doubt that judicious explorations would reveal the presence of large quantities of gold, some having already been found. That the whole state abounds in metalliferous riches is the conviction of many competent judges; and, probably, in no part of the civilised world might small mining capitals be invested with greater certainty of success, or small ‘captains’ commence operations on their own account with stronger assurance of reward, especially as the climate, a most important consideration, admits of Englishmen pursuing their labours without the enervation experienced from the greater heat and drying winds that prevail on the opposite side of the river.

TAMBO A REAL EL VASO—MILK AT A RIAL A GLASS.

To judge from the number of vessels and small craft laying in the harbour, you would conclude a large trade was carried on; but such is not exactly the case, although matters are fast improving; the custom-house revenue, from being down to 700,000 dollars, is now doubled, or 1,400,000 dollars, against 3½ millions of dollars which it returned in 1842, previous to the siege. The work of destruction was industriously pursued during that disastrous period, and for hundreds of miles the Banda Oriental was not only shorn of its cattle but of its population. The land, in fact, was rendered a desert waste, and made only subservient to the wants of Oribe’s army. Future annalists will hardly believe it possible that the history of a second Troy could be illustrated in the duration of the aggression it was subjected to, under the protective cannon of the two most powerful nations of Europe, France and England; but such, alas! was the fact; and the recent melancholy position of Monte Video is the fruit of an intervention that was not rendered effective, as it might have been, if vigorously followed up in conformity with the judicious advice of the resident English minister during a great part of the troubles, and whose wise suggestions are now reverted to with regretful but admiring respect, by all dispassionate men in Europe or America who have read the then requirements of the Plate by the light of subsequent experience.[79] Indeed, that this feeling has at length prevailed is shown by acts, more of justice than of favour, on the part of succeeding governments that, though tardy, are not the less honourable to those concerned. It will require many years of peaceful industry to restore this district to what it was in 1842, rich as the soil undoubtedly is, and reproductive as its affluence in cattle may be. In the meantime, a good deal of produce is brought hither from the neighbouring ports and down the rivers, in small craft, which occupy a long time on the voyage; and some idea may be formed of the number of these conveyances, when I mention having seen one as high as No. 1,200 at Buenos Ayres, where they are all numbered, and, it is to be presumed, at Monte Video likewise. It is hardly necessary to say that there is a strong rivalry between the two ports for this kind of trade, and also in numerous other respects; but Monte Video has immeasurably the advantage as a harbour, and it might be rendered as commodious as any in the world by a little energy and judicious outlay. It is much to be regretted that this peaceful rivalry should not be the predominant incentive to mercantile action, instead of each country wasting its strength and energies in interminable political squabbles. But both have paid so bitterly for the indulgence of these internecine animosities, that they are at length beginning to learn charity and reciprocal indulgence of each other’s foibles; and there is a reasonable probability that this mutual comparative toleration is the precursor of joint stability of institutions, and of that solid and progressive prosperity of which each is so eminently capable. A most remarkable evidence of the growth of this better spirit was afforded on the occasion of some disturbances in the Banda Oriental, at the close of last year, when the authorities at Buenos Ayres actually offered to place their vessels of war at the disposal of the Uruguayan authorities, for the maintenance of peace and order. This the latter were fortunately able to preserve without extraneous aid; the proffer of which, from such a quarter, augurs the advent of an era when peace as well as plenty shall take up its abiding place in these luxuriant regions, from which it seems to have fled from the hour the white man set foot upon the soil. But the good time, so ardently desiderated, is not yet exactly arrived; for such is the fluctuating condition of things in these countries, that almost every alternate mail brings accounts that upset all one’s previous calculations, and hardly is the ink dry with which we record our felicitations on the seeming solidity of peace, when tidings of civil broils once more open the door of incertitude as to the present, and the worst apprehensions as to the future. But Brazil is now the great peace-maker, and, as long as she is so, outrage at least is impossible.

One of the old defences of Monte Video is a Spanish wall, of which only a portion remains, with a Moorish-looking gateway, which has a very picturesque air about it, contrasting with the modern appearance of the houses near it. Through the gateway is visible a large quadrangular building, apparently used as a barrack in former times, but now appropriated to a much more useful purpose, that of a public market; and early in the morning may be seen dozens of people going to and fro with their purchases for the day—meat, fish, and fine vegetables. The latter appear to be in profusion; and some cauliflowers were far the largest I ever saw. Things of this sort are dear, owing to the limited cultivation, which is carried on chiefly by the Basque population, whilst the boatmen who ply for hire about the port are Italians to a man.[80] Some idea may be formed of the scarcity of labourers, when the commonest cannot be got on board ship for less than 2 dollars each (eight shillings) per day, and this must be a great drawback to the progress of the place; otherwise, what may be seen of the soil, even close to the walls of Monte Video, proves that anything could be grown there under proper cultivation. Hedges of immense aloes, cactus, clover, and other spontaneous vegetation, are everywhere visible; whilst near the edge of the bay there is splendid granite rock, in any quantity, for building purposes and paving the streets. True, you see no trees about, as they were all levelled for firewood, &c.; but that the soil close to the town can grow thousands of them, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt, and the territory of the Uruguay itself, in many parts, is famous for its timbered affluence. The citizens are now planting some trees, and with peace for a few years, the outskirts of Monte Video would present a very different appearance indeed to what they do at present. The walls of the English burial-ground were also levelled during the siege; and there is now only a hedge of aloes, which does not hide even the tombstones. Owing to that and other circumstances, there is some talk of the site being removed. Before our arrival, a revolution, attended with some bloodshed, had again broken out, and things appeared in a very unsettled state, finally coming to a head by a total upset of the then existing president, Giro, and his foreign minister, Berro, who took refuge in a French vessel of war.[81] A provisional government was soon formed, which certainly seemed to carry with it the sympathies of the people, who, it is to be hoped, will settle down again quietly—a consummation to which everything that has happened, as far as is known in Europe, since our departure, would seem to be steadily tending. Hitherto, as is notorious to every one, the great curse of these countries is personal ambition; for no man considers it necessary to consult the interests of his fellow-citizens beyond what will serve his own purpose. Such a principle as that of true patriotism, or dispensing legislation for the good of the many, was a mere chimera, and no wonder the masses should at length kick against a system by which they are always sufferers.

Fortunately, however, a most marked change in this respect has recently occurred. The love of anarchic excitement has well nigh subsided, even amongst the most volatile and hitherto inflammable portion of the population; while the sentiment conveyed in the Shakspearean malison, ‘A plague on both your houses,’ is that uppermost in the mouths of the really intelligent and respectable classes of every way of thinking, when appealed to by contending chiefs, panting for public embroilment for the sake of personal aggrandisement. A most striking, and, it is to be hoped, conclusive, evidence of this was furnished in the case of the recent ejection of the President Giro, or, rather, his own renunciation of office and attempted exercise of its functions afterwards; for, rather than join any standard, at least any that involved the disruption of the public peace, certain classes, who had hitherto been at the beck of every incendiary in turn, actually fled into the country and hid themselves, for fear of being compelled to participate in scenes they had previously so often rejoiced to riot in. The adherents of the Giro government have since made an attempt to seize upon the power they have so capriciously abandoned, and succeeded in producing some confusion for a while, especially at Colonia, whence the authorities had to fly in a whale-boat to Buenos Ayres; but the provisional executive, strong in the pacific disposition of the whole people, as already adverted to, quickly succeeded in restoring order, and maintained it with firmness and temper, till Brazil has insured enduring peace.

In speaking of the overthrow or dissolution of the recent government of President Giro, it may be necessary to state, in justice to a deserving and distinguished public servant, Sen. Don F. Castellanos, that he had no hand whatever in the circumstances which led to that occurrence, having many months before resigned the office of Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the duties of which he discharged with exemplary assiduity, ability, and success, under the exceedingly difficult obligations imposed upon the State of the Uruguay, subsequent to the siege being suddenly raised by the defeat and flight of Rosas. M. Castellanos, whose personal acquaintance I had the honour of making, is a gentleman of European as well as American repute, being well versed in the constitutional laws of the New World, and familiar with the institutions and literature of the old, speaking French and English with facility and correctness. During his administration everything possible was done to supply that great desideratum of the Uruguay and of all the South American states—immigration from Europe. To this end Senr. Castellanos, shortly after he accepted office, addressed a despatch to the Consul-General for the Republic of the Uruguay in London, commanding him to make known to all whom it might concern, that the whole of the fertile territory of the Banda Oriental was in a condition of perfect tranquillity, in which it has virtually since remained, notwithstanding the sudden cessation since of the government of which he was at the time the Foreign Minister. He stated that the authorities were anxious to receive any number of peaceable, well-disposed European emigrants, to whose industry they were prepared to guarantee all the protection extended to native citizens, together with peculiar exemptions because of their introduction of skill and capital. Complete toleration in all matters of religious observance was insured; and, in a word, every inducement held out to the redundant population of the Old World to avail itself of the fruitful soil and genial climate of a constitutionally governed country, admirably adapted in every respect to Europeans of the Saxon and German stock, the climate being temperate and healthy in an eminent degree, and its numerous rivers, extensive sea-coast, and noble harbours, affording every facility for commerce. In the present condition of our Russian trade in tallow, for whose production this region has unlimited capabilities, as it has for another staple—cotton—whose supply is by no means encouragingly ‘looming in the future,’ the announcement here made is likely to have the effect of directing towards the La Plata a considerable stream of emigration, which circumstances of various kinds—moral, sanative, and social—may repel from quarters more alluring to the inconsiderate millions. Indeed, we understand that a formidable ‘exodus,’ as the phrase is, may be looked for shortly from the Rhenish provinces on the Swiss border, to the Banda Oriental; and that an organization on a very large scale is being matured for colonizing with Germans several hundred thousand acres of the beautiful undulating tract on the borders of the Rivers Arapey Grande, Arapey Chico, and the Curaeim. There is no doubt that the causes which attract the industry and energy of the prudent Germans in this marked manner will also draw a great number of English agricultural settlers to the neighbourhood of a city in which so much English capital and enterprise are being commercially employed as in Monte Video; and a very potent stimulus to the wishes of the Uruguayan government in this respect must be afforded by the new Liverpool line of steamers, running monthly to Brazil and the Plata, under circumstances very different from those that formerly characterised the Anglo steam communication with that part of South America.

Some twelve years since, slavery was abolished in the territory of the Republic. Many hands, then obliged to devote themselves to tillage, abandoned it in order to occupy themselves in some other branches of industry which appeared to them more lucrative. Agriculture, which even then was not engaged in to any great extent, felt the blow; but what appeared fatal to it was converted into a benefit. For slaves was substituted free labour, because the government at once comprehended the necessity of favouring, by all possible means, the principal branch of industry which supports states; and agriculture, instead of dwindling away, comparatively flourished. The abandonment of the most fertile plains, and the prices of their produce, encouraged strangers to come to cultivate them; and not only did agriculture gain in extent, but the soil likewise in production, which was doubled by industry. Attracted by the certainty of profit, and encouraged by the government, the emigration to the Uruguay was daily increased, and vessels, loaded with 200 to 300 emigrants, continually arrived at Monte Video. More than one company has been formed, in order, in conjunction with the government, to promote emigration to the interior of the country and its colonization. One, under the name of ‘Pastoral and Agricultural Company of Merinos,’ (Sociedade Agricola Pastoral de Merinos) is establishing a colony near the village of Carmelo, to which it destines a large tract of land. In its centre will be formed a city, under the name of Pueblo de la Estrella; and the same colony will have a normal school of agriculture, and a garden of acclimatization and practical essays of this science. On the banks of the Uruguay, an agricultural colony of European families of the same class is also being established. In the same manner a town will be constructed there, the plan of which is being formed. Another agricultural society of the colony has promoted an association among the inhabitants of the city of Colonia, for the colonization of the country. Some time ago it issued the greater portion of its shares, and, as I learned, intended to import from the Canary Islands 50 agricultural families, of four persons each, to whom to distribute lands, seeds, instruments, &c. In the department of Soriano, other societies intend to introduce 800 to 1,000 European families, who are to devote themselves to agriculture; lastly, the necessity for the encouragement of colonization is everywhere recognized, and its promotion is sought in every possible way.

These and many other schemes of a somewhat similar kind are yet a very long way indeed from fruition; and some considerable time must elapse before they can be anything but dreams. Doubtless the disturbed state of Europe will lend a great impetus to the immigration we have spoken of, and the mere talk of the improvements we adverted to bespeaks a yearning after social good that must ultimately realize its own object. For one who knows the people well, says:—

Of natural or unschooled talent there is a great deal there. A vivacious imagination is almost universal in the inhabitants; and in the fine language which they possess, they express themselves with a fluency, if not an eloquence, at which we seldom aim, and to which we much seldomer attain. This facility has grown out of their tertulia, or conversazione habits. Among the lawyers, the constant practice of dictating to an amanuensis, the definitions, reasonings, and refutations in the various cases in which they are retained, enable them often to write, and to write with fluency and elegance, upon subjects, the theory and bearing of which they study for the occasion. Of course all such writings are more plausible than profound, more replete with declamation than sound reasoning. The imagination of the South American is constantly at work; and unconsciously, perhaps, he is ever showing forth, among his countrymen, things as they ought to be, not as they are. When we hear him descant, in glowing and eloquent terms on civil liberty, freedom of the press, liberal education, privileges of the constitution, we fancy there must be a tolerably good foundation laid of all these blessings before so much could be said about them.

This naturally leads me to speak of social life in Monte Video, which, as far as I had an opportunity of judging, is frank, cordial, and agreeable, there being a much greater admixture of the citizens with foreigners, and especially with English, than I observed at Lisbon, and than I know exists in Brazil. English society in itself is also much more extensive than I could have well believed, and is of a very superior order—refined, intelligent, and hospitable. There is full freedom for religious worship of every kind; and Mr. Samuel Lafone, of the firm of Lafone Brothers, of Monte Video and Liverpool—a name preëminent in British trade with the Plate—having, at the expense of several thousand pounds, constructed a handsome and commodious church for the use of his Protestant fellow-countrymen, presented it, and the ground on which it stands (convenient to the anchorage for men-of-war), to them in perpetuity, without the slightest reserve or expectancy of remuneration, save the reward conveyed by the consciousness of having done a noble act, for the best of purposes, and with the purest motives. There are also considerable numbers of British mechanics in Monte Video, and agriculturists and shepherds in the Republic, the climate being humid, temperate, and bracing, like our own. The Uruguay adjoins that fine healthy province of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, to which some hundreds of Irish emigrants, more especially from the Barony Forth, in the county of Wexford—admirable specimens indeed of ‘the finest peasantry in the world’—have proceeded, within the last few years, from Liverpool, under the auspices of Admiral Grenfell, the Brazilian Consul-General at that port; and all the accounts they have hitherto sent home, whether by themselves, or the pastor who accompanied them, the Rev. R. Walsh, represent their circumstances and situation as prosperous and happy, an admirable loamy land being obtainable, in an unlimited quantity, at a dollar an acre. Some Anglo-South American houses also have a good many Welch on their properties in the same province, and their reports are all to the like effect. At still cheaper rates may yet finer land, and in a still better climate, be obtained in the Uruguay; and from all I have been able to see, hear, or read, I am inclined to believe that there is no more eligible spot in the world for an intending emigrant than the Banda Oriental, whether capitalist or labourer, whether an agriculturist, a grazier, a wool grower, or even a cotton grower, a horse or cattle breeder, or one skilled in the preparation of hides, horns, or tallow for the home market; or whether he be a rural mechanic or farm servant, or small yeoman desirous of bringing up a family in any or every branch of husbandry. On all subjects connected with agricultural pursuits in this region of the world, but more especially as regards the breeding of horses, cattle, and sheep, and their preparation for the several markets they are suited to, the excellent work of Mr. M’Cann (‘Two Thousand Miles’ Ride through the Argentine Provinces’), may with great confidence be recommended, as furnishing on these points a mass of information nowhere else to be found, and valuable especially as being the result of the author’s actual experience. My own observations were naturally confined to the capital and its immediate vicinity; and my opinion, therefore, on such extensive matters as those embraced by Mr M’Cann would be of about the same value as those of a Cockney who should pronounce on the territorial condition of England from a Sunday afternoon’s contemplation of a suburban tea-garden. And, speaking somewhat in the latter sense, I should say that the neighbourhood of Monte Video would be pronounced by the sentimental gentleman in Pickwick to be the very paradise of market gardeners, with or without gazelles, as the case might be.

The mention of gazelles is naturally suggestive of some remarks about certain other and biped proprietors of beaux yeux; but we must reserve such matters for the next chapter, merely premising that the observations therein offered are in every respect perfectly applicable to the fair Monte-Videans, who are, indeed, even fairer, or at least less embrowned, than the Buenos Ayrean belles, being, if possible, more distinctive types of Spanish beauty, or what used to be such; for according to the recent[82] pronunciamento of a most competent and accomplished critic, the syrens of Southern Europe are no such great charmers after all—an assurance that must be consolatory to the British mammas of young Hopefuls quartered at Gibraltar. But, be that as it may, few of the worser half of humanity will question the right of the Transatlantic descendants of Castillian dames to the suzerainty of all beholders, especially when to the Moresque complexion is added that distinctive optic attribute of the Goth which the Celts so much admire, as shown in the familiar Portuguese ditty:—

Olhos pardos e negros

Sao os commues;

Mais os do minha amante

Deos fez azues.

Black eyes and brown

You may every day see;

But blue like my lover’s

The gods made for me.

I am happy to be able to fortify my own opinion of the attractions and conveniences of Monte Video by the very competent authority of Mr. L. Hugh de Bonelli, secretary to Her Britannic Majesty’s legation in Bolivia, who, in a very interesting couple of volumes, published by Messrs. Hurst and Blackett, in the course of last month, (February, 1854,) entitled ‘Travels in Bolivia, with a Tour across the Pampas to Buenos Ayres, &c.,’ expresses himself infinitely pleased with the place; and his description is so felicitous that I venture to append it in a note.[83]

IDA A MISA—GOING TO MASS.

Since these remarks were written, the news from the Uruguay continues to be of so conclusive a character as to give every assurance that this fine country has really at last entered upon the prosperous destiny its great natural advantages so clearly point to, provided only peace were ensured. That peace will henceforth be preserved is now certain, and consequently we may calculate on ordinary events following ordinary causes, as in all other parts of the world. By the common consent of the moderate and intelligent of all classes in the Banda Oriental, Brazil has been solicited to assume the protectorate of the Republic. This high and responsible trust she has undertaken in the spirit of magnanimity and disinterestedness that will be inferred from the perusal of our observations towards the close of the chapter on Rio Janeiro. As there stated, Brazil has no acquisitive designs on Uruguayan territory; but she has a design and determination to keep peace in that state for the sake of having a quiet neighbour on her own important southern frontier, irrespective of her natural anxiety for the advancement of so important a portion of the South American east coast as has Monte Video for its capital. She has not interfered, nor does she intend to interfere, with the internal or domestic affairs of the Republic in any way, further than securing the inhabitants the exercise of the right to elect their own rulers, and securing to those so elected the right of peaceably discharging their functions without the perpetual molestations which the armed violence of military adventurers have for so many years entailed upon all administrations in succession. As the most essential preliminary to quietude, Brazil has undertaken to remove one source of ever-irritating provocation and confusion from the Uruguay, by subsidizing the government to pay what is necessary to carry on its affairs properly and efficiently, without those pecuniary impediments that have so frequently paralysed every administration in turn; but Brazil has insisted that the fiscal resources of the Republic shall not be squandered in the mere process of collection, as has been the case hitherto. Brazil, in fact, occupies the position of a police, who has only the one object to prevent outrage, compel the observance of honesty, and ensure obedience not to her arbitrary edicts or capricious ordinances, but to the recognized laws of the country itself. It is needless to say that if the native Orientals are delighted at this stable state of things following on the anarchy that had become almost chronic, still more so are the foreigners, who constitute so large a portion of the wealthy and influential trading inhabitants of the capital, and of the landed proprietary. Some suspicions have been expressed that Brazil would convert her present position to the frustration of the liberal commercial policy lately established between some of the adjoining South American states and Europe, and that Paraguay may be relegated to her former isolation once more in consequence. But nothing can be more unfounded than such apprehension; for, apart from its being the obvious interest of Brazil to bring all portions of the continent of which she forms so important a section into commercial contiguity with the old world, the former treaties between the Banda Oriental and England and France and Sardinia, and the new ones between those latter countries and Paraguay would necessarily demand an intervention from which Brazil would intuitively shrink; and, moreover, the United States of North America would immediately resent any obstructions that should impede the course of events which she evidently contemplates by despatching a diplomatic and consular representative to Paraguay. Altogether, then, there is every reason to believe that the good offices of Brazil will prove of inestimable benefit to the Uruguay, and that that Republic and England will alike find in such offices the best auxiliary to the mutually beneficial interests between the two countries.[84]

In Monte Video, accommodation for travellers is naturally very limited, principally owing to the disorganized state of the city for so many years. Still, there are some tolerably good hotels, and a fair number of cafés and restaurants. At Buenos Ayres hotels are numerous, and so far as my experience extended, the charges are by no means extravagant, as will be sufficiently proved by a perusal of my bill of costs presented to me on leaving the Hotel de Paris, where I remained some ten days, retaining my apartments, though absent up the river nearly half the time:—

	Paper dollars.
Bedroom and sitting-room	210
Breakfasts	20
Dinners and wine	130
Lights	11
	370
Waiters and chambermaid	50
	420
Or about 5 guineas.

There are also plenty of good lodging and boarding-houses, several of them kept by English and other foreign residents; and the increase to this kind of accommodation appears to be only limited by the demand.

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CHAPTER XII.
BUENOS AYRES.

Departure from Monte Video.—Moonlight on the La Plata.—Deficiency of landing accommodation at Buenos Ayres.—Streets and buildings of the Argentine capital.—The climate and the people.—Prohibition of the slave trade.—General Whitelock, the Calle de Defensa, and Colonel Thompson.—Expedition against Monte Video.—Palermo, the country residence of General Rosas.—Characters of the dictator and his successor, Urquiza.—Donna Manueleta.—Argentine confederation.—Government of General Rosas.—War on the Plata and the Parana.—Foreign intervention and capture of Rosas’ fleet.—Blockade of Buenos Ayres and ascent of the Parana.—The pass of Obligado.—Intervention of Brazil, and passage of the Uruguay by Urquiza.—Capitulation of General Oribe.—Battle of Moron, and fall of Rosas.—Fluvial obstructions to trade and navigation.—Buenos Ayrean washerwomen.—English residents, their churches and newspaper, hotels and boarding-houses.—Anglo intermarriages.—Railway projects.—A word on the Buenos Ayrean constitution.—A South American debate.—Society in Buenos Ayres.—The Opera-house, and its galaxy of beauty.—Foreign shopkeepers and Irish servants.—General Paz.

BUENOS AYRES FROM THE AÇOTEA OR, TERRACE OF THE QUINTA.

Note to the Illustrations.—The view preceding this chapter is a reduced fac simile of the drawing of the city, taken by Sir W. G. Ouseley, from the house, or quinta, occupied by him during the period he was Minister here, it having formerly been the residence of the two diplomatists who preceded him, Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Mandeville. Sir William says the dwelling is situated in the suburb of the city, and stands in a pretty garden and pleasure grounds, occupying above nine acres. The sketch was taken while a squall was coming on, the precursor of one of the hurricanes called Pamperos, but which are not quite peculiar to the Pampas, inasmuch as something of the same kind will be found to be of occasional occurrence in Brazil, as specified in the note to the illustration of Rio Janeiro, at page 150. Vessels in the Plate, and along the coast, often suffer severely from the Pamperos, or gales blowing over plains that stretch out to the foot of the Andes. These storms come on very suddenly, so that not unfrequently, while one part of the landscape is still basking in calm sunshine, the rest is shrouded in a dark veil, almost intercepting the light of day, while black clouds are impetuously swept onwards by the advancing gale, discharging in their course torrents of rain, until in a short time the whole of the horizon is alike inducted by the Pamperos, generally lasting for three days. Even experienced pilots and mariners have but short warning of their approach; and at certain seasons of the year particularly great vigilance is highly necessary to guard against their sudden violence. Buenos Ayres, like Monte Video and nearly all the towns in these provinces, is built on the rectangular system prescribed by the laws of the Indies, the streets intersecting each other at right angles every 150 yards, forming what the Americans call regular squares or blocks. It does not follow, however, that this regularity contributes in reality either to the beauty or convenience of a town. It is monotonous, and the uniformity is certainly far less picturesque than the sort of irregularity that gives so pleasing an effect to the Boulevards of Paris, and to many parts of the older capitals of Europe. Here the more handsome buildings, as usual in Spanish and Portuguese America, are mostly of an ecclesiastical character—churches, convents, &c. At a distance, or softened by the shades of evening, they have an imposing appearance; but a nearer approach and bright daylight show, as in Eastern towns, that the ravages of time have never been checked by proper care; that few have ever been completely finished or repaired; and many bear marks of utter neglect and decay. This is especially the case with edifices constructed for charitable purposes and public buildings. Hospitals, schools, lunatic asylums, &c., were until lately going to ruin, and whatever funds or estates may have originally been granted by private or public benefactors for the support of these institutions, they had not been employed by recent governments, more especially that of Rosas, for their maintenance, as intended by the donors. Several of the streets are paved with granite, brought from the islands above Buenos Ayres—chiefly from Martin Garcia; but being on a bad principle, as the stones are neither of equal size, nor properly cut, they, therefore, soon become uneven and very trying for carriages. The unpaved ones are actually dangerous or impassable for vehicles with springs and horses, especially after heavy rains; for, there being no stones, while the soil is fine and of great depth, deep holes, quagmires, and pools of water, form in parts of them.

Leaving Monte Video for a time, let us now ascend the La Plata, and take a peep at this far-famed Lion’s Den, where for so many years the despotic Rosas pursued his iniquitous course with impunity. We got up steam, and left just before dark, with a fair number of passengers for a first trip, and any quantity of luggage belonging to them. It was a magnificent moonlight as we glided over the great waters, for such they may truly be called; scarcely a breath of wind, but a cold, rarified air, that made many resort to their coats, cloaks, and any other available covering. Our only difficulty was in making the vessel go slow enough, and even so we arrived off the outer roads long before daylight, after which we made our way through a fleet of shipping, and the city of Buenos Ayres was spread before us, rising, as it were, out of the water, tall churches and domes standing forth in strong relief against a glittering sun; but in other respects, appearances were not very inviting. After two hours consumed in waiting for the officer to board us, we were enabled to land—and such landing! worse even than what met the Spaniards on their first visit; for since that time heaps of petrified mud have accumulated on the shore, which thus looks like rock, and boats are obliged literally to grope their way through it, going as near as they can to the land; but the usual process is for visitors to be bundled out of the boat into an open cart, drawn by two horses, like so many pigs or sheep, often at the risk of being drenched. Indeed, nothing can be more wretched than this landing at one of the finest cities of South America, which does not possess a single jetty, wharf, pier, or accommodation of any kind in this way, although there is a fine walk built along the margin of the river, serving as a public promenade, but yet very little frequented. The only redeeming point in this landing is the singularity of the turn out, the picturesque dress and character of the drivers being again much of the Turk, only a finer and more athletic race, with any degree of personal activity, and no touch of pity in them towards the unfortunate animals they ride; for there is no driving here, all done en postilion, and I believe they even fish on horseback, to say nothing of begging. The position of the roadstead is bad enough, the outer roads being five to six miles from shore, and the inner roads from one to two miles, (according to the position taken up,) without being subjected to such inconvenience when you do reach the land; but on this point we shall have some further remarks to make when reviewing the commercial character of the place.

BUENOS AYRES—QUINTA, FORMERLY THE SEAT OF THE BRITISH LEGATION.

The unfavourable sensation produced by the vile landing and unfinished look of the churches and buildings from the river vanishes when fairly in the heart of the city. You are struck with astonishment at its vast size, many well-paved streets, public buildings, and houses redolent of luxurious comfort. Nor does a closer inspection quite remove this impression; on the contrary, the more you examine and penetrate, the greater the surprise that after so long a period of civil and foreign warfare, there should still exist so much vitality. The conviction at once forces itself upon you that there must be wealth, and no small amount of it, somewhere.

Any lengthened description of Buenos Ayres, beyond what is supplied in the note below,[85] and that on the illustration, would be superfluous, so many thousand English having visited and recorded their experiences of it; but it is very questionable whether the public generally have any adequate idea of the magnitude of the city, the extent of its inland territory, or the leading characteristics of both. At all events, very few works have been published from which accurate information of this kind can be derived; the recent and most valuable one of Sir Woodbine Parish being as yet only partially known, in consequence of its being but a second edition of one published several years ago; and even since the second edition appeared, scarcely two years back, there is necessity for further information, so unstable is the condition of things, and so rapid the mutation of momentous events in these regions. Certainly there is ample scope for dissertation in all that comes under one’s notice here, look with what indifference or contempt we may upon the individuals and parties by whom political occurrences are influenced. First, as regards the climate and people: the difference in temperature between Buenos Ayres and Rio Janeiro at this season of the year is from 20 to 30 deg., and after four or five days’ sailing, you find yourself obliged to change the lightest possible clothing for English tweeds and stout broad-cloth, which, mindful of such vicissitude, and therein being much more provident than some of my fellow voyagers, I had fortunately with me. It is a precaution I would recommend all voyagers in the Plate to adopt, as it is one that will not only save them much inconvenience at the outset, but probably obviate a material cause of subsequent illness, consequent upon exposure to such rapid transitions as are here experienced, especially until the traveller becomes somewhat acclimated.

The mornings and evenings are positively cold, even according to our English acceptation of the word; and most houses had fires in their sitting rooms. In the day time the sun is warm and pleasant; the air of that bracing kind which is calculated to raise the animal spirits, and give a tone and energy to the mind. The difference, too, in the people between this place and Brazil is remarkable:—strong, healthy-looking men, clear complexioned, bright-eyed women, many of whom have as much bloom on their cheeks as would become an English dairy-maid. Of course, there is a considerable mixture of races; but the true native Buenos Ayreans can be easily distinguished by their rather dark but clear complexion, dark eyes, and dark hair, strongly-marked sharp features, and somewhat aquiline nose; whilst the Guachos, or horsemen of the Pampas, the South American Bedouins, combining the attributes of their Hispaniolan forefathers with the later ‘blood of the desert,’ are the most picturesque-looking objects in the world, being dressed in fancy-coloured ponchos, with much ornamental work about them, and long, embroidered white trousers, galloping about on equally grotesque-looking steeds. They remind one immediately of Arab sketches, or, still more vividly, of real Arabs, if you have been fortunate enough to have made the overland trip, and beheld the followers of the Prophet in the land of dates, palm-trees, and dromedaries; many of these Guachos being, also, immensely muscular, fine-looking men. Numerous black faces are also to be seen here, the owners thereof being all free, and mostly occupied as regular soldiers, as likewise at Monte Video.

VENDEDOR DE PTALCES—SWEETMEAT-SELLER.

Buenos Ayres literally forms a regular chess-board, as the plans of the city show. It is about four miles square, and supposed to contain nearly 100,000 inhabitants; but as no census has ever been taken, this is only conjecture: some asserting that there are 120,000, others, not 80,000; and others again, as low as 50,000.[86] At all events, the mass of the houses being well occupied, rents are very high, paying the owners from 12 to 20 per cent. per annum; so there would appear to be plenty of occupants, and great encouragement to go on building. The same remark as to the description, extent, and elegance, of private houses, applies here precisely as in the capital of the Uruguay, only that they are ten to one in number, more costly and elegant; indeed, the city itself, compared with Monte Video, is as London to Liverpool, the great maritime and commercial advantages and facilities of the one being regarded as an equivalent, and perhaps more than an equivalent, to the architectural and general urban superiority of the other. The size of the (fifteen) Buenos Ayrean churches is something marvellous; and it is impossible to enter them without admiring these monuments of the power and wealth exercised by the Jesuits, as well as of that undaunted tenacity of Spanish character which could erect such huge piles in a country where there are neither bricks, mortar, nor stones on the spot, all having to come from a distance. But, as we have said, the brick-work in many of them has never been completed; and they look very bad when contrasted with the glaring white of other parts of the building, covered with large patches of grass and rubbish. The cathedral is the crowning point of Buenos Ayrean attractions, only more modern, and the exterior is in the same unfinished state as much older edifices; the interior being gorgeously ‘fitted up’ with numerous side altars and oratories, well cleaned, lighted, and ventilated, with numerous glass chandeliers down the nave. There is less tinsel and glare than in many Roman Catholic churches in Europe, but more solidity and pleasing effect; nor can a stranger help expressing surprise on entering so fine a building, whose architectural merit is enhanced by its situation in so handsome a square, the other sides being occupied by the Cabilda, or police-office, and good shops and dwelling-houses, with striking piazzas. There is also an ornamental archway on the side facing the sea, looking towards the old fort and government house, together with a pillar in the centre of the square, to commemorate the independence of the country. This square has been the scene of many important political changes: it was here that our brave soldiers under General Whitelock forced their way, and from the Square Manzo, what is now styled Calle de Defensa (Defence-street), by which the troops entered the town, and were shot down from the flat tops of the houses,[87] without the power or means of defending themselves. It does not require a military eye to see the error and folly of the tactics pursued in this melancholy business, nor to be satisfied with how little trouble and loss of life such an army as the British, so circumstanced, could have reduced a city like Buenos Ayres, even supposing they had preferred a more summary process to that of starving out the enemy. There was an infatuation about the whole affair for which it is difficult to account, especially when coupled with the gratuitous surrender of Monte Video, under the same terms as those which ensured the capitulation of Whitelock, a clause inserted by the Spanish general, Liniers, without the least idea that it would be acceded to. But, at that period, imbecility and absurdity the most incredible seemed to preside at our military councils, leading to the same futile and mortifying results as had characterized our operations in Walcheren and elsewhere in Europe, some few years before. With Monte Video and Buenos Ayres under our flag, it is difficult to conjecture what might not have been the fate of a country traversed by boundless rivers, and in every way so admirably adapted to the agricultural pursuits of Englishmen. The tide of emigration from our own shores would then, in all probability, have flowed freely towards this part of the world, and the United States of North America have taken considerably more time to develope themselves, and to have attained their present position, which, of course, has been reached mainly in consequence of the enormous influx of the redundant bone, sinew, and brain of Europe. On such slight threads and events does the destiny of nations often hang. But it is time that we leave speculation for fact.

The name of Rosas has been so long identified with Buenos Ayres, that you no sooner find yourself within the recent sphere of his undisputed and unquestioned domination than you naturally ask, where exist the monuments of his activity, and the proofs of his successful promotion of the interests of this his dependent capital? Beyond a large town residence, which he built for government purposes, a country residence, called Palermo, and a mole constructed in front of the sea, there is nothing to mark the reign of a man desirous of elevating the character of his countrymen in the scale of civilized nations, or of contributing to their commercial prosperity. In spite of civil wars and bad government, the city of Buenos Ayres has contrived to extend itself, although the country round it is, more or less, in a state of desolation; but he has failed to leave any enduring personal impress, either outside or inside, of those walls where for many years he ruled lord of life and means, and almost of thought, so comprehensive and exhaustive was his despotism. The town residence alluded to is now occupied by the executive for public purposes, and the private one at Palermo will soon go to ruin and decay. This latter characteristic evidence of selfish gratification, without either taste, utility, or architectural design, has cost endless sums of money; but the approximate extent of the outlay will never be known. Palermo is built on a swampy bank of the river, with only a ground floor, at times several feet under water, which must be a prolific source of fever and ague. It is reported of Rosas, that on one occasion the water was so high, that the cook sent him word he could not dress his dinner; but on ascertaining that the kitchen-fires were not out, the command was to prepare the meal forthwith. The unfortunate subterranean ruler of the roast did so at once, congratulating himself that he only suffered the penalty of a severe attack of rheumatism, instead of the more summary visitation wherewith the dictator generally followed up the slightest implied opposition to his wishes, even in so trumpery a matter as the one we speak of.

PALERMO—FORMERLY THE RESIDENCE OF ROSAS.

A good level road has been carried from the city to Palermo, at considerable expense, the approach being ‘through an avenue of willows,’ made to look as park-like as possible. About the house, or palace, as it might have been called in the days of its glory, are numerous out-buildings and barracks for cavalry, of which Rosas always kept a strong body-guard, as might naturally have been expected from his antecedents, he having principally risen to power in the first instance among his fellow guachos by the superior daring and dexterity of his horsemanship; added, of course, to his extreme adroitness in turning to his own account the dissentions of his rivals in the race for power. Passing the house, down another long avenue towards the river, you are surprised at seeing a large vessel, evidently fitted up for some special purpose. It appears she was driven ashore there in some heavy gale; and Rosas had her converted into a pleasure house, where balls and parties were held—another toy or plaything suited to the character of the man. Nature being found rather stubborn in yielding to the wishes of the owner of Palermo, immense sums were expended in planting orange trees, ever-greens, and exotics, of one kind or another, which were brushed and combed daily, and coaxed into a sickly existence; but it would not do. Nothing but willows flourish, or will continue to flourish, over the dilapidated abode from which issued many a bloody decree of this Borgia of the Pampas.

I have no wish to say anything unnecessarily harsh of Rosas: on the contrary, knowing, as I do, what was the state of parties in this portion of South America, I am quite willing to admit the extreme exigency of his position in the first instance, as one who must put down, with an iron, and even a remorseless, hand, that universal anarchy and violence in the midst of which he attained the eminence of being the most daring and sanguinary member of a community of semi-civilized brigands. But what should silence, or rather should have silenced, for they are all mute enough now, his well-paid eulogists and defenders, is the continuance of mean and miserable cruelties, long after the faintest pretext for their perpetration on political grounds had passed away. I will not shock the reader by a revival of stories at which one’s blood runs cold. He is gone; fled as ignominiously as he had lived detestably; and, notwithstanding his gangs of gorged assassin friends, who would profit by his return, he has left none behind who bless his memory. If any proof were wanted, this would be conclusive, as to the purely selfish career of the man; for even a comity of crime evokes no benison on the head of the expelled despot, who never thought of anything but the aggrandisement of himself and family, at the expense of the national treasury. The revulsion of popular feeling towards him is only what might have been anticipated, though hardly, perhaps, to the extent that has actually taken place, considering the length of time he ruled, and the immense number of personal retainers one would have thought he might have contrived to attach to him. Some of these remained faithful after his fall, to the length of employing a portion of the ample funds left behind him to endeavour to promote his recall.

There has been an end of this for some time, and, consequently, a cessation of the intrigues arising from it. Urquiza, his sometime successor in the dictatorship, and the present President of the Argentine Confederation, (though long since repudiated by the principal state of the confederacy, Buenos Ayres, itself), extended to Rosas the almost unheard-of generosity of sparing his so-called private property—property which he wrung from the state, and which, on his departure, was employed by his myrmidons to effect the expulsion of Urquiza, and bring about the restoration of the elder tyrant. The former object it undoubtedly greatly helped to accomplish; in the latter it entirely failed; for, though Urquiza certainly entered upon unwise courses, was too precipitate and sweeping in his changes, and mistook violence for vigour, in many instances, as was not unnatural in a soldier fresh from another country, for the province of which he was president, Entre Rios, may be called so, still, from all I could learn among dispassionate critics, it would seem that he and the citizens, friends of order, would soon have become reconciled to each other, and there would have been a mutual softening of acerbities, were it not for the emissaries of Rosas being enabled, by the means just mentioned, to foment those antagonist feelings which eventually led to the siege and blockade, by Urquiza, of the very place he had so lately freed from the presence of the despot. Whatever may have been the faults of Urquiza, and they certainly find no apologist in me, his brief tenure of supreme power was sufficiently long to prove that he was altogether a man of superior stamp to Rosas, whose selfishness lacked even the ambition to make his tyranny respectable, in the sense that the most narrow-minded of oppressors have endeavoured to do elsewhere. Francia, whilst isolating Paraguay from all the world, contrived to make the Paraguayans proud of their country, and to cause others to believe that that pride was not altogether unfounded. Not so with Rosas: short-sighted as Francia, he had not a particle of the lofty feeling which influenced that gloomy bigot; for, while endeavouring to render Buenos Ayres powerful, it was all for himself individually; and he cared not to give the Buenos Ayreans an interest in saying that the tyrant who ground them was otherwise than simply hateful, and that what he achieved for them in the eyes of foreigners was purely contemptible. Saying nothing of the total absence, under his regime, of any commercial convenience, as already pointed out, not a single thing was done during his sway that had for its object real internal improvement. No newspapers were allowed to appear, except those under his sanction, in the same way as the one St. Petersburgh journal under the Czar’s surveillance. Not a single literary, historical, descriptive, or local work was allowed to be published or sold in Buenos Ayres, and barely a common-place almanack could be procured; so that to the present day you cannot find such a thing in the city as the slightest evidence that the mind of the whole population was otherwise than embruted to the level of helots, which indeed was virtually the case all the time his blighting influence was in the ascendant. The answer to any inquiry at the shops for works of information about either the city or provinces, during that period, is invariably the same, ‘Rosas did not permit their publication!’ The consequence is, you are obliged to grope your way along, and glean what you can from those you meet.

The rationale of this argument is altogether incomprehensible; for how are we to understand what could be his motive for such conduct at home, when we know that he was particularly assiduous, by means of the French, English, and even German press, and through every instrument of publicity he could influence, whether on stock exchanges, in diplomatic circles, or in fashionable coteries, to disseminate through Europe the belief that his capital was the abode of luxurious and intellectual enjoyment of every kind, its inhabitants delighted with his paternal sway, and that any interference on behalf of the unfortunate Uruguayans or others of his victims, external or domestic, was to be deprecated as the most irremediable of calamities, not merely to Buenos Ayres itself, but the whole of South America? That he succeeded in propagating this belief in some of the best informed quarters of Europe, particularly in England, is but too well known; and it is not a little curious that almost simultaneously with his arrival here, there appeared in certain organs, influenced by him, loud praises of a Hamburgh publication devoted to the exposition of the wisdom of his commercial policy, and ridiculing the notion of the affluents of the Plata ever being opened to European trade. But he and his system have passed away, and the memory of them is fast departing too in the coming of that better time which is believed to be at hand. His brother arrived in Europe in January last, despairing of any restoration of the family fortunes whatever; so I take leave of a topic that has become as obsolete as it would have been disagreeable to pursue it; and shall make no apology for the omission in these pages of anecdotic scandals,[88] for which readers at one time looked, as a matter of course, in every book professing to treat of the terrible Dictator, and eke of his famous daughter, the Donna Manueleta, who has been married (to a South American) since her father’s arrival in England, and now lives, I believe, in the neighbourhood of Southampton. Unwilling to dwell on the political complications in the Plate, and, at the same time, fearing it would be a contradiction of the desire expressed in the preface, to render this volume as informing as possible, especially to readers who may draw from it for the first time their knowledge of South American matters, I append, in a note, from the excellent geographical work of Mr. Charles Knight, now (1854) in course of publication[89] by Messrs. Bradbury and Evans, a brief, but comprehensive and dispassionate statement of recent incidents in the Argentine Confederation, and have added a few particulars, which, together, will, it is hoped, bring the narrative of occurrences necessary to be known down to the period of going to press, without the occupation of much space, or tediously encumbering the text with minutiæ of proper names, dates, and places, for these are really of little value to the general reader save for purposes of reference.

The view of the port of Buenos Ayres (if it can be called a port) from the flats of the houses is picturesque, vessels lying at anchor as far as the eye can reach. On the left, towards Palermo, is some high ground, with numerous pretty-looking villa residences; on the right, is the old fort, afterwards the custom-house, warehouses, and depôts of various kinds; further on, what is called the Boca, or Mouth, a small river, where large numbers of minor craft discharge and load in safety; but, at times, it is difficult even for them to get out, owing to an accumulation of sand at the river’s mouth which Rosas might have kept open, but made a really effectual effort to close it. Looking seaward, swarms of carts are visible going to and from lighters or small vessels at anchor in the inner road, the only means by which shipping can be discharged or loaded, the merchandise exposed of course to damage from being wet, as the horses are often up to their chests, and the cart itself even higher, in the water, through which it has to be dragged for a mile and upwards. The wonder is how any trade whatever can be carried on under such disadvantages. Another singular feature in the vicinage of the landing place is to see the shore covered with garments of cotton and linen undergoing every stage of the ablutionary process, the Buenos Ayrean naiads of the oceanic wash-tub converting the Atlantic to a purpose undreamed of by the Mesdames Partington of the elder world. As far as the eye can reach the detergent sisterhood may be seen of an afternoon, like the laundry-maid in the fable, ‘spreading out their clothes;’ and their gesticulations, and the chattering they keep up, especially if there is a squall blowing, and one can hear their shrill treble piping fitfully above the blast at intervals, recalls a recollection of the Witches’ Dance as played by Paganini, if you ever happen to have heard that weird fantasia on one string; or, if not, perhaps you will be inclined to account for what must have been the sensation of Columbus and his companions, on nearing the shores of the new world, when, according to Rogers,

The sound of harpy wings they heard

And shrieks, not of men, were mingling in the blast.

LAS LABANDERAS—THE LAUNDRESSES.

PLAZA DE LA VICTORIA.

BOTICA—CHEMIST’S SHOP.

We have said there is a large foreign population, some say 50,000; but though that must be a great exaggeration, there are at all events some 5000 English of all denominations, many being small tradesmen, and not a few owners of cattle and cultivators of the soil in the province; the Anglo Buenos Ayrean community mustering altogether in sufficient strength to support liberally a well-conducted though not always impartial local organ of their own, in their own language, called the British Packet, which holds somewhat the same rank among the family of John Bull on the East coast of South America that Galignani does in Paris—saving the political neutrality of the latter. There is a tolerably handsome well-frequented English, and several other protestant churches, nearly all of which have good schools in connection with them; as have also the places of worship belonging to the Germans, who muster to the number of about 900, or nearly equal to the Scotch; but the governmental influence exercised over these schools renders them less satisfactory to the parents of the children than could be desired. It is to be hoped that now there is a stable form of administration established, there will be a reformation in this respect; for, from the circumstance of Buenos Ayres possessing many institutions for the promotion of science, for painting and drawing, and some excellent libraries, not saying anything of several good newspapers, which, though in Spanish, are very useful to the foreign inhabitants, the city is perhaps one of the best for educational purposes in South America. Indeed, there is a very English aspect in many features of Buenos Ayres, not the least prominent of which are perhaps the hotels and boarding-houses, several of these establishments being conducted by English people, and by natives of the United States. Anglo intermarriages with the natives are frequent, and a few years of peace and tranquillity here, as at Monte Video, would give a wonderful impetus to population, and to the trade of the place. Some railway projects were being talked of when I was there, and still more sanguinely since I left. These, if undertaken by joint stock companies on the spot, may be carried out with remunerative success; but the government are totally helpless in the present state of their finances. One railway scheme, from the mole round to the custom-house along the margin of the river, would be a great public convenience, and easily made. Railways and steam navigation must be established, to drive these countries a-head, or they will recede into a state of semi-barbarism. They cannot stand still, or remain in their present normal condition; and it is to be hoped they will take heart of grace from the position and example of Brazil, which shows that it is not climate, race, geographical position, nor fertility of soil, that gives prosperity to a country; but 1st, peace, and, above all, internal peace; and, 2ndly, a determination to avail of the advantages which peace alone permits of, when it is a peace secured, not by the leaden despotism of a Paraguayan Francia or a Muscovite Nicholas, but by a constitutional government, rendering every man equal in the eye of the law, and rendering the law equally applicable to every man’s case, from the President or Emperor, to the humblest citizen, whatever his creed, colour, or profession. In reference to the system of government prevailing in Buenos Ayres, it is only necessary to say that, like all the South American republics, nominal freedom is maintained on the widest basis. Forty-four deputies, one-half of whom are elected every year by the people, compose the junta, or legislative assembly, by whom the governor,[90] or captain-general, is chosen for three years, he being altogether unfettered in his choice of ministry, but their policy must of course be acceptable to the junta to be rendered effective, as in the case of the British Cabinet and House of Commons. The provisional governor now in office is Don Manuel Pinto; and from all I could hear, his conduct, and that of his ministers, is regarded with as much general favour as could be reasonably expected, considering his and their exceedingly anomalous position. For it is to be remembered that Buenos Ayres is, de jure, a province of the Argentine Confederation, and yet de facto, separated from it, the difficulty being to determine how far either condition is acceptable, or the contrary, whether to the Buenos Ayreans themselves, or to any, and how many, of the other provinces, whose constancy to any one view, whether as affecting their individual or federative status, cannot be counted upon for a month together. I had not an opportunity of attending the Buenos Ayrean Assembly, but believe that the description given of that at Rio is tolerably applicable to it, and that both, and indeed those of all the states of the continent, were very accurately pourtrayed by Mr. Robinson several years ago, nothing whatever having occurred since to qualify his sketch, viz.,—

VISTA DE UNA CASA SOBRE EL RIO—VIEW OF A HOUSE ON THE RIVER.

The form of South American debates is this: members take their seats, having previously assembled in an ante-room, till a sufficient number is collected to constitute what is called a ‘sala,’ and by us, ‘a house.’ The government secretaries or ministers have their respective places, but no vote in the house. The president (or speaker) sits at a table on a platform raised above the level of the room. There is a bell at his right-hand, with which he tinkles to order. He has a secretary on either side of him; and one or two reporters are seated immediately under him. In some places, the members speak in a sitting position, which, to an Englishman, has an awkward effect. In other places they mount up into a ‘tribuno,’ or rostrum. By the former position the graces and vehemence of action are precluded; and by the latter, not only does action become a mere studied display, but the notion of business is superseded by the expectancy of a formal oration. We cannot reconcile it to ourselves in the one case, to see a man sitting and taking his snuff-box out, during the heat of debate (himself being at once the snuffer and the speaker), any more than in the other we can feel ourselves warmed by the over-wrought rapidity of action of a mercurial spirit, or the measured solemnity of a grave one, putting forth its ebullitions from a box, of which the sides are too high for elbow-room. South American members of parliament, in the exercise of a politeness not in use with ours, do not at once rise to speak, but preface all they have to say with a ‘pido la palabra,’ that is, ‘I desire leave to speak.’ The president nods assent. His eye has been caught; and the honourable member proceeds in a strain, that, in accordance, at first, with the modesty of his appeal, rises by degrees, into such rude charges, and round assertions against his opponents, as to draw from them, long before he has finished, loud and frequent interruptions, much denial of premises, and motioning of the hand and head, as if to say, ‘You shall have an answer.’ This impatience often proceeds so far, not on the part of the immediate opponent alone, of the speaking member, but of all who take a different view of the case, that the president is obliged to tinkle many times the bell by which he calls the members to order before he can procure it; and no sooner is it procured, than it is again interrupted. There are frequent calls, during the heat of debate, for the ‘quarto intermedio,’ or quarter of an hour’s rest; and few subjects, indeed, are ever deemed of interest enough to warrant a prolongation of the morning sitting, which ends at two o’clock P.M., or of the evening one, which closes at nine. In an early congress of Buenos Ayres, some point was discussed of such unusual importance, that at five o’clock in the afternoon the sitting had not come to a close. At this hour, a worthy but rather gastronomic member rose and said: ‘Gentlemen, I beg you to observe, that if we thus prolong our debates beyond our regular dinner-hour, these political discussions will at last land us in our graves.’ He was cheered by all the old doctors present; and more regular hours were thenceforth observed. Mr. Brotherton would be a well-supported member in the Buenos Ayres House of Commons.

IDA AL BAILE—GOING TO THE BALL.

The agremens of social life for natives, and, what is still more rare in South American cities, for foreigners, are numerous. Not only are there comfortable Club-Houses, to which they resort in considerable numbers, but there is the opera for lovers of music—an art, or rather a passion pursued here with even greater devotion than in the rival sister city of the Plate, of which we have spoken in the previous chapter; but here of course this passion is far more effectually administered to than at Monte Video, because of the presence of a well-supported and very effective lyric corps. As with ourselves at home, to be sure, the opera-house is resorted to not exclusively because of its chromatic or choreographic allurements, but for the fashion of the thing, and, on the part of the male sex, for the sake of the opportunity of witnessing the Buenos Ayrean belles, who, on such occasion, are seen to infinite advantage, probably even more so than on the Prado, in all the magic of mantilla, and that peculiarly bewitching gait they derive from their Andalusian mammas. Much as I had heard before-hand of what Lord Palmerston, in describing aldermen’s wives at Lord Mayors’ dinners, calls the ‘galaxy of beauty’ which assembles in the Buenos Ayrean Opera-House, I was altogether unprepared for the reality; and certainly I never saw so many charming looking women collected together, especially in a part of the theatre corresponding to our upper boxes, but here nicknamed the Hen-Coop, into which sanctum none of the worser half of humanity is admitted any more than is the better half in the Omnibus Box in Covent Garden, or what used to be such when there was a place once known as Her Majesty’s Theatre. Unlike our Omnibus Box, however, the Hen-Coop admits of its occupants being seen by the whole house, and the privilege is apparently no less gratifying to those who dispense than those who participate in it. In the regular dress boxes, ladies and gentlemen mingle as with us; and whether in mien, physiognomy, or manners, may challenge comparison with any audience I have ever seen anywhere. The Buenos Ayrean ladies are social and unreserved, without the least degree of boldness or effrontery; they mix freely with foreigners, and go about out of doors without either duenna or cavalier servente. The peculiar custom of seeming exclusiveness at the theatre just alluded to, arises from a wish to go unattended whenever they feel disposed, in their regular sitting or house dresses, which evince great natural taste and simplicity, and not from any wish to avoid the company of the other sex. Coming out of the theatre, they are met by their brothers, parents, or husbands, and walk home as unceremoniously as they go. Among their other accomplishments should be included a peculiarly graceful equestrianism, which invariably excites the admiration of all Europeans in a marked degree, and not the least so of the English, who pursue the sports of the turf with the ardour which our countrymen carry with them for that pastime wherever they go. The Buenos Ayrean races are very popular with the inhabitants; and in return their fetes and festivals find considerable favour in British eyes.[91]

PIESTAS MAYAS.—MAY-DAY IN BUENOS AYRES.

Since the restoration of peace, consequent upon the raising of the blockade by Urquiza, the trade of Buenos Ayres has wonderfully improved, and not only as regards the exports of the staples of the Plate of which we have already spoken, but in the imports of all manner of European luxuries;[92] and the letters that continue to be received here by every mail represent the animation in commercial circles as most buoyant.[93] There is now the greatest reason to believe that this state of things will long continue, or at least not be terminated by civil war, notwithstanding the fact of Urquiza having been re-appointed President of all the provinces of the Confederation, with the exception of that of Buenos Ayres. Brazil, having effected the tranquillization of the Banda Oriental, must of course be equally solicitous for the peace of the whole region on either side of the Plate; and now that the Uruguay is thus effectually closed against the machinations of any of the agitators of the Confederation, it is to be presumed that the object for which this country[94] made such costly but abortive efforts will at length be accomplished, and in a great degree by the instrumentality that would have been employed there had judicious advice been followed, viz. by the firm mediation of Brazil.

While these pages were going through the press, there have occurred, or rather the recollection has been revived, of some circumstances that induce me to supply a few details I did not originally contemplate.

URQUIZA AND ROSAS.

Though on a small scale, the preceding sketches of these remarkable men are excellent likenesses, in either of which the physiognomist and phrenologist may find it difficult to decipher attributes that should reconcile the requirements of science with the characteristics of the individual. First, as regards the elder of the two. Not only did Rosas incur unexampled odium by his cruelties in a sphere where what would be regarded as barbarity elsewhere is looked upon as laudable firmness of disposition, but he enjoyed a reputation for a caustic pleasantry and wit, such indeed as pertained to many of the most remarkable tyrants of all ages, in all parts of the world; though, perhaps, less so to those of Spanish idiosyncrasy than any others. As he has now been expelled, beyond the possibility of restoration, from the scene of his prolonged enormities, I should not seek to revive the recollection of them, or to disturb the quietude of his declining years in his retreat in this country by now adverting to them, were it not that some of the most singular, and, as it was alleged by many of his salaried partizans in Europe at the time, some of the most apocryphal, have suddenly been rehabilitated with indisputable truth, and surrounded with a degree of interest not unworthy of one of M. Dumas’ romances, under the circumstances named in the annexed paragraph, which appeared in the leading English journal while these pages were being prepared for the press, viz.:—

Two more of the ‘mashorqueros’ have been condemned and shot—a fate they so richly merited. One of them, it is said, confessed to having assassinated no less than 21 persons by the orders of Rosas, and 19 on his own account. It is said the Government is in possession of undoubted proof of the murder of the English family (Kidd), when Mr. Ouseley was in Buenos Ayres in 1845, by the orders of Rosas; and that it is their intention to place these proofs before the British Government. This, however, may be a work of supererogation, as it is believed here that Mr. Ouseley sent home ample proofs of the facts many years ago, as well as proofs of the deliberate murder of the midshipman Ross some time after.

In order to understand the meaning of the strange term used in the first line of the preceding quotation, it may be necessary for the information of the younger reader,—for during Rosas’ sway the phrase occurred too frequently to need explanation to any one who perused the revolting reports from the Plate—to supply an elucidation. This cannot be better done than in the words addressed by the Uruguayan Agent in this country, General O’Brien, to the then Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and present Prime Minister of England, in 1844, when seeking British assistance against the Buenos Ayrean oppressor of the Banda Oriental. The General said:—

The Masorcas, or secret affiliation, in support of Rosas’s government, derives its name from the inward stalk of the maize, when deprived of its grain, and has been used by the members of the clubs as an instrument of torture, of which your Lordship may form some idea when calling to mind the agonizing death inflicted upon Edward II. By the members of this club, assassination of those indisposed to the rule of Rosas was, audaciously in some instances, covertly in more, constantly exercised. Amongst the victims was Maya, the first benefactor of Rosas. The estates of all who fell by the hands of the band of Rosas, as well as of those who fled from his vengeance, were seized by him. His absolute command of Buenos Ayres, and his possession of the bank, enabled him to manage the finances of the country, and in 1842 gave to him an army of 10,000 men. Many were collected by fear, from the positive knowledge that, if they did not obey his summons, their fate would be similar to that of men who, having refused to join his troops, were dragged out of their beds at night by members of the Masorca Club, and in the very presence of their wives and children brutally put to death! Like as it happened with the early revolutionary armies of France, which had commissioners from the Convention, the soldiers of Rosas were accompanied by individuals of the Masorca Club, and they but too faithfully executed the commission confided to them, depriving the victims of Rosas’s vengeance or suspicion of life, amid tortures and cruelties that shock humanity but to hear of them. My Lord, I know of these tortures being inflicted. At the time that Oribe invaded the Banda Oriental, with the army and the Masorca commissioners of Rosas, I was residing on my estate in the country. I am aware of wretches being staked into the ground forty-eight hours before their heads were sawed, not cut, off;—of the lasso being flung over persons’ necks, and then drawn by a horse at full speed until life became extinct;—of spikes being driven into the mouths of human beings, and they, whilst living, thus nailed to trees.

Of the way in which such machinery was capable of being used by such a man as Rosas, we may form an idea from General O’Brien’s description of his antecedents:—

Rosas is known to me for five-and-twenty years. For his early education he was indebted to Maza, afterwards president of the Buenos Ayres congress. His calling in life was that of a ‘Capataz,’—or care-taker of the property of his relatives, the Anchorenas, and this brought him into constant intercourse with the wild Indian tribes of the Pampas. He ingratiated himself greatly with these tribes, for he not only conformed himself to their habits, but he also won the favour of their Caciques by presents, judiciously distributed amongst them. This was his state of life until 1820, when the influence of his kinsmen, the Anchorenas, obtained for him the lieutenant-colonelcy of the militia of the frontiers of the Indian territory. It was then, and not till then, that he appeared as a soldier. It was to aid Martin Rodriguez in a successful revolution; but once the victory of his friend had been secured, he again retired to the Pampas, put himself in contact with the Patagonian and Pampa Indians, and thus added to his popularity and his influence amongst that savage race of men. Rosas maintained his friendly relations with the Indians until the civil war, in 1829, in Buenos Ayres. In that war the President Dorrego was shot by Lavalle, and Rosas at once became the head of the party of Dorrego. With the death of Dorrego commence the calamities of that part of the world. The conduct, the bearing, and the demeanour of Rosas, were such as to obtain for him universal approbation. He gained in his favour the opinions of the good, whilst he was concocting schemes for winning the bad. He left the society of civilized men, and again repaired to the Indians. It was under his auspices, it has since been discovered, that the Indians were incited to attack the property of those who were civilized; and their hostility was especially directed by Rosas against all whom he believed would be capable or disposed to resist his attempts at possessing himself of despotic power. He established a camp, which had all the privileges of a sanctuary for every malefactor of every district, from Buenos Ayres to Upper Peru and the Cordilleras of the Andes. His protectorate of crime was not avowed, but it was actively exercised. It shielded the criminal from the punishment of man, and it won impunity by the perpetration of new atrocities upon all who were suspected by Rosas. Between 1829 and 1833, Rosas laid the foundation for that despotism which he has since exercised. The means he employed were worse even than the object itself, for they consisted in ‘the organization of a band of assassins.’ I assure your lordship there is not the slightest exaggeration in the phrase.

A French writer whom we shall again have occasion to quote at the conclusion of this chapter, in explanation of the causes which lead to that indifference to the lives of others which distinguishes the guachos, describes a characteristic trait of Rosas, which it is necessary to understand, viz.—

Every one who has visited the provinces of La Plata, and has written about General Rosas, has spoken of his energy, his patience, his cleverness, and his cruelty; but there is that in him which is paramount to all his other qualities, and which may be said to be the most prominent trait of his character, and that is his science in mendacity, his skill in working out, even to a most perfect system—a gigantic scheme of lying. It is an accomplishment in which he never has been equalled, and never can be surpassed. It would be difficult to convey an idea of the degree to which this faculty has been developed in the dictator of Buenos Ayres. The only explanation of his being permitted to exercise power for such a length of time, is to be found in this instrument of action, and which he has employed at all times and in all places with a perseverance that cannot but excite our wonder. Are the acts of his government denounced to the indignation of Europe, he audaciously denies them even to the very face of those who have been eye-witnesses to them. Is an accusation preferred against himself, he instantly turns it against his adversaries, and unceasingly pursues them with it before the entire world; and this he does by means of his journal printed in three languages, with which he inundates the American continent, and which his agents sedulously circulate in every part of Europe. Sustained by a dogged obstinacy which defies all obstacles, nothing can make him deviate from the course he has marked out for himself, and unscrupulous as to the means, he knows that time and patience will effect for him all that he desires. In this respect Rosas has been perfectly consistent. At the moment in which he consecrated in his own person a government essentially Unitarian, by effacing even the last traces of a federation, he compelled the population, upon pain of death, to cry out, ‘Long live the Federation!’ The same day, on which he substituted his own will for all the codes of the republic, he caused himself to be saluted with the title of ‘restorer of the laws!’ Whilst his portrait was publicly incensed in the churches, and received, by his order, divine honours, he invoked the vengeance of heaven upon the impious Unitarians who daily offend the Almighty. When, in fine, he let loose, in the broad day, into the streets of Buenos Ayres, bands of assassins, who massacred the population, he could not find tears enough to deplore ‘this unhappy popular ebullition, which made his paternal heart bleed!’ We do not believe that hypocrisy and audacity ever reached to such an extreme degree of shameless impudence. It was thus that Europe was misled as to the real character of the events that occurred, and that it accustomed itself to consider as the representative of peace, and as the protector of order, commerce, and civilization, the man who has never ceased for eighteen years to be on the banks of La Plata, the element of sanguinary wars, of crimes, and of violence of every kind.

Reverting to the case of the Kidd Family, their murder was one of the most atrocious on record in any age or any country, considering, first, the number, ages, and utter inoffensiveness of the victims; secondly, the rank, motive, and perfidiousness of the assassin; and, thirdly, the want of public virtue or spirit to resent it among the community in the midst of whom it was perpetrated, but who had been so subdued by such deeds amongst themselves as actually to affect indignation that strangers should name the culprit. The object of Rosas was, under the pretext of popular hatred of foreigners, on account of the policy that was being pursued by the British Government, to strike terror into the English residents in the province and city of Buenos Ayres; so that this terror, reacting on the diplomatist, or at least upon the English cabinet, which it is now notorious that it unfortunately did, might lead to a change in the course so obnoxious to the Dictator, because so fatal to his power of desolating the Uruguay. The Kidds were a highly respectable English, or rather Scotch, family who resided on an estancia a short distance from the city of Buenos Ayres, engaged, as they had been for several years, in the rearing of cattle, and neither interfering, nor being accused of interfering, in the political disputes of the country in the smallest possible degree. They were nine in number—from the aged grandfather, to the infant in arms. These were found one morning with their throats cut in the most barbarous and revolting, yet deliberate, manner; their bodies ranged along the floor; and, in the case of two young girls about fifteen or sixteen, and remarkable for the luxuriance of their hair, their tresses were brought round the head, and tied in fantastic knots in the gashes in their throats. That the object of this bloody business was not plunder was obvious from the circumstance of there not being a particle of property removed, or the least disturbance of the furniture, and also from the ferocious mockery of decency exhibited in the orderly adjustment of the bodies. Of course it made a vast sensation, and it was intended that it should do so.

But Rosas little calculated how completely the tables were about to be turned upon him, and how the engineer would be hoisted with his own petard. Every man, woman, and child in Buenos Ayres knew that the deed had been done by Rosas’ directions, and his ‘Mashorqueros’ brigands boasted of it as the crowning audacity of their master, and one that would soon bring the English minister to his senses. The blow, however, had hardly been struck when it recoiled upon the author. Sir W. G. Ouseley immediately offered the sum of ten thousand dollars for the detection of the murderers; and, inviting the coöperation of all who abhorred the crime to aid in augmenting the reward for the discovery of its perpetrators, carried the list to Rosas himself, and demanded that he and his daughter, Donna Manueleta, should head it! Of course refusal was impossible, without an open avowal of his guilt, about which no one entertained, or could entertain, a doubt. Accordingly, forth there came, the following morning, and daily for a long time afterwards, the names of Rosas and the British minister, and of many British inhabitants, stigmatising the outrage, and invoking vengeance on the monsters who had effected it. But mark the result. Not only was there no detection, but not a single Buenos Ayrean citizen, or a single person in any way amenable to the power of Rosas, put down his name for a solitary rial, or was heard to whisper a syllable of desire that the assassins should be brought to justice. But there was no hope of anything of the kind, nor would there ever have been as long as Rosas remained in the position he was at the time of that villany, as well as the subsequent one alluded to in the extract, and which was more the prompting of baffled spite against the British minister, than with the least idea it could have had any effect of the kind intended in the direction where the Kidd massacre had so signally failed. But ‘murder, though it hath no tongue, will speak with most miraculous organs;’ and certainly a more strange one could hardly be than that of a ‘mashorquero’ implicating Rosas in one of the greatest enormities of this age, and while yet there is proof sufficient to make its truth apparent even to those whom the Dictator had persuaded he was the victim of foreign calumny. He tried this sanguinary strategy with considerable success, on the occasion of the French intervention in Buenos Ayrean affairs, in 1842, and likewise practised it against some British subjects, as in the case of the midshipman alluded to in the extract from the Times, and also in the still more ferocious one of the murder of Lieut. Wardlaw, the depositions of the boat’s crew, who saw him foully butchered, when landing on the Rosista territory under a flag of truce, having been published in full detail in the English papers soon afterwards.

But enough, and more than enough, of Rosas. Turning now to his former friend and sometime successor, General Urquiza. Although he has been expelled from Buenos Ayres, yet, in consequence of his having been again rechosen as President of the Confederation by all the other provinces, as well also as continuing in the position he had filled for many years as President of his native province of Entre Rios, there is little doubt that he is destined to play again a conspicuous part on the stage of South American politics, especially should there be a separation of the states into distinct and independent governments, or minor confederacies, as has frequently been proposed, and to which the position and vast extent of these regions point as a prudent course, particularly now that Buenos Ayres may be regarded as having virtually and practically ceased to be a component part of the Argentine republic. I have thought it may not be uninteresting to the English reader to furnish some particulars of this remarkable man, and for that purpose have subjoined a condensed translation of a little work that has attained a great circulation in South America. It is entitled ‘Seis Dias con el General Urquiza, que comprenden Muchas Noticias Sobre su Persona. El esclarcie miento de hechos importantes. Y Algunos Datos Sobre la Situacion Actual de la Provincia de Entre-Rios.’ It will be seen that it is the production of a great admirer of Urquiza, and on that score will be received with due qualification, which must be further extended to the style of the writer, whose grandiloquent idiom has been preserved with some closeness in the translation. The principal reason, however, for giving the annexed data is because of the picture afforded of the private life of a South American chief, and, incidentally, of society in portions of that country hitherto undescribed by English travellers. I will only preface these memoranda by saying that Urquiza is now about 54 years of age, abstains from wine and tobacco, and though a great admirer of beauty is still a bachelor. Since 1840 he has been president of Entre Rios, and sided with Rosas during the civil war of Lavellé and Rivera, the latter of whom he routed at the battle of Inda Muerta, in 1846. At last perceiving that the interest of his own state was highly prejudiced by the conduct of Rosas in excluding it from all access to the ocean, he seized the opportunity when Rosas annually resigned the presidency of the Confederation to accept such resignation, thereby depriving the dictator of the legal authority longer to represent and conduct the foreign relations of the Confederation. He then joined Brazil in driving Rosas and Oribe out of the Uruguay, and subsequently out of Buenos Ayres, of which he became president, and was himself in turn ejected from that city and state, under the circumstances already detailed. In the translation the use of the first personal pronoun has been retained:

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