The Chinos are but little superior to the Zambos. Indeed, in physical formation they are inferior to them, for they are small and attenuated. Their countenances are hideously ugly. They have the Negro nose and mouth, and the Indian forehead, cheeks and eyes. Their hair is black, rough, but less frizzy than that of the Mulattos. They are deceitful, ill-tempered, and cruel. They never forget an offence, but brood over it till an opportunity, however distant, presents itself for wreaking their vengeance. They are very dangerous enemies.
Respecting the half-casts of fairer complexion, especially the Cuarterones and the Quinteros, there is but little to be said. Both physically and morally they approximate closely to the whites, among whom they almost rank themselves.
The majority of the foreigners in Lima, and indeed throughout the whole of Peru, are the families of the Spaniards from Europe, who emigrated to South America before the war of independence. Since the close of that struggle there has been but little emigration, as the circumstances of the country are not now very favorable to new settlers. The old Spanish families are for the most part landed proprietors or merchants. They are people of very temperate habits, but they are passionately fond of gaming, and in this respect they have bequeathed a dangerous inheritance to the Creoles. The pride and mercenary spirit which distinguished the Spaniards before the independence are now broken, if not entirely subdued. The intercourse between them and the natives, though still somewhat constrained, is every year becoming more and more friendly, as the privileges enjoyed by the Spaniards, which were a continued cause of hostile feeling, are now removed.
Next to the Spaniards, the most numerous class of foreigners are the Italians. These are chiefly Genoese, and the majority are run-away sailors and adventurers. They usually begin by setting up a Pulperia (a brandy shop), or a spice shop, and gradually extend their traffic until, in the course of a few years, they amass money enough to return to their native country. Some of them make good fortunes and possess extensive warehouses.
The French in Lima occupy the same positions as their countrymen in Valparaiso, viz., they are tailors and hair-dressers, dealers in jewellery and millinery.
The English and North Americans, who are much better liked by the natives than the French, are chiefly merchants. They are the heads of the principal commercial houses, as Gibbs, Grawley & Co., Alsop & Co., Templeman and Bergmann, Huth, Crüning & Co., &c. The enterprising spirit of the English and North Americans has led many of them into extensive mining speculations, which in some instances have proved very unfortunate.
The Germans in Lima are proportionally few. They are distinguished by their aptitude for business, and many of them fill high stations in the great English commercial houses. They are held in high esteem by the natives. The general gravity of their manners has given rise, among the Limeños, to the saying, "Serio como un Aleman"—Serious as a German.
Settlers from the other American republics have of late years considerably increased in Lima. After the Chilian expedition, many Chilenos established themselves in Peru, and numbers of Argentinos, escaping from the terrorism of Rosas in Buenos Ayres, have taken refuge in Lima.
Foreigners being in general more industrious and more steady than the Creoles, the Limeños readily form connexions with them. The ladies generally prefer marrying a Gringo[29] to a Paisanito.[30]
I may close this chapter on the inhabitants of Lima, with some remarks on the Spanish language as spoken in the capital of Peru. The old Spaniards, who brought their various dialects into the New World, retain them there unchanged. The Galician transposes the letters g and j; the Catalonian adds an s to the final syllables of words, and gives a peculiarly harsh sound to the letter j; the Andalusian rolls the r over his tongue, and imparts a melodious expression even to harsh-sounding words; the Biscayan mingles a variety of provincialisms with his own peculiar dialect. The Madrileño (native of Madrid) prides himself here, as well as in Europe, in being far superior to the rest of his countrymen in elegance of pronunciation. The Creoles, however, have gradually dropped the characteristic dialects of their progenitors, and have adopted new ones, varying one from another in the different South American provinces. The Spanish language, as spoken by the natives of Peru, differs widely from the correct and pure model of pronunciation. The inhabitants of the coast have too soft an accent, and they frequently confound, one with another, letters which have a mutual resemblance in sound. On the other hand, the people who dwell in the mountainous districts speak with a harsh accent, and very ungrammatically. As the Swiss force out their guttural tones from the lowest depth of their throats, and with the strongest possible aspiration, so do the Peruvians of the Cordillera. The inhabitants of the sand flats of North Germany, on the contrary, impart a ludicrously soft sound to the harsher consonants; and the same peculiarity is observable in the people who inhabit the coast of Peru.