MAIN CORRIDOR OF THE NATIONAL CLUB, LIMA.
While the descendants of the Spaniards in Peru have been the directing power in the affairs of the republic, as they were in the viceroyalty, yet the mestizo and the Indian have not remained ciphers in the social development of the nation. The descendants of the Inca princes were educated in colonial days in colleges especially established for that purpose, and under the republic all classes of Indians have received the benefits of instruction; but it is not to be expected that the descendants of the Inca’s humble subjects can show the same degree of progress as those whose ancestors were of the family of Manco-Ccapac, and had the mental training of royal princes for long generations. The latter are intelligent, very proud, and have shown themselves worthy of the white man’s admiration on many occasions. General Andrés Santa Cruz was of the Inca’s race, as were many others who contributed to the triumph of republican principles in the great war of independence. In the sierra, many families of Inca descent, whose sons have filled posts of importance in the republic, have comfortable homes and broad acres rich in harvests. The race, as a whole, however, shows no more initiative to-day than at the time of the conquest; under the present government, the Indian is generally contented and obedient, peacefully cultivating the fields as he did under the Inca’s rule. His songs, called tristes by his Spanish compatriots, are most melancholy and seem to express the sadness of ages. Indeed, the Indian himself looks like a survival of antiquity, out of place in a modern world. The mestizos are apparently a much happier people than the Indians; they are good artisans and are successful in trade. They attend faithfully to religious duties, and throng the processions of the Virgin, and other feasts in celebration of the saints. These processions take place in every city and town of the republic, and though they have lost much of the sumptuous magnificence that characterized all religious festivals under the viceroyalty, they are still conducted with great ceremony.
ANNUAL PROCESSION IN HONOR OF SAINT ROSE OF LIMA.
Both the religious and the educational institutions of the country have contributed to impress on the social culture of the Peruvians a distinct individuality; added to these influences, within recent years an independent factor has been introduced, in the form of clubs and societies of a literary and scientific character, which encourage the development of independent thought among the people. Associations of professional men meet to discuss the latest discoveries in the science with which their labor is identified, and delegates are sent to the principal gatherings of a scientific character which are held annually in all parts of the world. The artisans also have their clubs and take an increasing interest in the progress of industrial labor in their own and other countries. In some of these clubs classes are held for the purpose of education.
In order to know and appreciate the social life of a nation it is necessary to become acquainted with its various public institutions, not only the clubs and societies that represent the ambitions of a few intellectual citizens, but its libraries and schools, the productions in literature and art effected by its people, and the popular sentiment as interpreted through the press. In the literature and the art of a nation are expressed its deepest feeling and highest aspirations.
ROAD TO THE BEACH, CHORILLOS.
PORTRAIT. BY ALBERT LYNCH.