It is a fact of considerable historic interest that bull-fights are now confined to the Spaniards and to their coloured descendants, in the various regions of the globe whither her dominion has extended, and it seems but a fit pendent, that the laws of the same nation should, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, condemn to the galleys Roman Catholics who venture to embrace Protestantism.
We wish here to add one single remark of our own on a feature of the entertainment which we have not seen mentioned elsewhere, viz. what becomes of the flesh of the animals thus killed. It is forthwith cut up in quarters quite close to the arena, and sold at a reduced price to the populace, although it is a well-known physiological fact, that the meat of any animal killed in a state of rabid agony cannot be eaten without prejudice to the health. The negroes, however, erroneously maintain that meat thus killed is far more tender than that of cattle slaughtered in the ordinary
mode, and the Government of Republican Peru finds it best to leave each to decide the physiology of the question by his own digestive powers.
Of the state of society in Lima I have little to say. A stranger finds it difficult to obtain a footing among the better families, especially if his stay be as limited as mine necessarily was. The high-pressure existence of the capital has of late years obliterated much of its former originality and poetry. He who saw Lima twenty years ago would hardly recognize it now-a-days. The "Saya" and the "Manto," those singular but in Lima once indispensable articles of apparel of the Limañas, which enabled them like masks to attend church or market, to join processions, in short, never left their face in the street or at the promenade, have entirely disappeared, and with them have necessarily gone many other peculiar habits and customs. Formerly no lady durst venture into the street without a "Saya" or "Manto;" now, on the contrary, she would run the risk of being insulted, or at least stared at, should she appear in public in this peculiar mask-like disguise. The ancient usages peculiar to the country must give way to French manners; the Saya, the close-fitting, usually black or cinnamon-coloured upper garment, which once was the customary attire, and consequently rendered a more careful toilette unnecessary, has made way for the voluminous crinolined silk dress, while the Manto, that heavy veil of a thick black silken material, which was thrown over the back, shoulders,
and head, and drawn so close that there was only a small triangular space left through which peeped one eye, has been displaced by the long black head-dress which the Spanish women are accustomed to wear.
The ladies of Lima are usually of elegant, slight, graceful appearance, their chief attractions being brilliant complexion, large dark gleaming eyes, dazzling white teeth, rich black hair, and very neat little feet. They greatly reminded me of the Havana ladies, with whom they have much in common so far as regards the passion for personal adornment, while in figure and intelligent expression of face both lag far behind the ladies of Chile.
The gentlemen of Lima, by which term I allude chiefly to the white Creoles or pure descendants of the Spaniards, who constitute about one-third of the population,[139] do not leave that impression of a splendid future resulting from a prosperous development of the resources of the country, which might be reasonably expected if there were more intellectual movement, and more industrial and commercial activity apparent among their number. The state of affairs in Peru since its separation from Spain in 1822, the constant squabbles and civil wars, as also the fact that a mere mestizo, like Ramon Castilla, devoid of intellectual or moral pre-eminence,
should have succeeded in getting himself declared President for life of the Republic,[140] are the best proofs of the political and moral degradation of the Republic of Peru. All the splendid territories from Peru to Mexico have, after three centuries of Spanish rule, sunk into a state of demoralization and degeneracy, owing to the listless, labour-hating, sluggish mestizo races that inhabit it, such as only the immigration of one of the hardy northern races can ever adequately remedy. In a previous visit to Central America, I have wandered through its rich scenery, clad in the hues of perpetual summer, and smiling in exuberance of fertility, and everywhere the same impression was made upon me. Almost the only effect this wealth of nature seems to exercise upon the Indian or negro mestizo is to incapacitate him from mastering by any effort of his own the lethargy that preys upon him. Where a few rare exceptions occur, as, for instance, in Costa Rica,
in which a sounder policy is preserved, it is invariably found that they are of purer Spanish descent than their sister republics in tropical South America.[141]
Owing to their political organization, these various states can scarcely fail to be powerfully affected by the impulses of our time. They have no other prospect than that of becoming either an integral portion of the immense North American Federation, or of once more being consolidated into a monarchy under the sceptre of some scion of a European royal family. In all probability, whether they be North Americans, or English, or Germans, they will always be children of some of a more powerful race, who must ultimately subvert the races of the Southern type, awaken a new spirit of energy, and so carry out that which the lazy mixed races of the present time have neither the power nor the inclination to effect. An immigration of stilled Northerners can alone raise these countries politically and commercially, develope their natural resources, and restore them to the grade of civilized states.