PART OF WALL OF FORTRESS.
"The four great divisions of the empire were each governed by a viceroy, appointed by the central power at Cuzco; the inhabitants were divided into groups of ten thousand, under a native chief and an Inca governor, acting together, and these were again subdivided into groups of one thousand, one hundred, and ten, each having an official who was responsible to the one above him. Every man received an allotment of land for the support of himself and family, children were obliged to follow the occupations of their fathers, no one could change his residence without permission, idleness was severely punished, robbers were put to death, those who sinned against religion or the majesty of the Inca were burned or buried alive with their families, while their houses were destroyed and their fields devastated. When a province rebelled all the men and boys in it were put to death, and the remainder of the population was scattered.
PERUVIAN VASES.
"There; I've given you quite a lecture on the ancient Peruvians, and hope you've not found it dull. Of course I realize that a large part of our enthusiasm on the subject comes from our having seen the monuments of this wonderful people, and read and heard of the way they built their nation and extended its power."
"'History repeats itself,'" said Dr. Bronson, as our young friend read the account we have just quoted. "In the descent of the children of the sun we have a repetition of the story of divine origin which has existed in many countries and lands since the beginning of governments. Manco Capac bears an exceedingly close resemblance to the Egyptian Osiris, the Chinese Fohi, the Hindoo Buddha, and the Scandinavian Odin. The same idea is preserved to-day in the 'divine right of kings,' which is so often quoted, and in which millions of people have implicit faith."
"History is repeated, too, in another way," said Frank. "The system of colonization and government under the Incas reminds me of what we saw in Java, the most successful European colony in the eastern hemisphere. The government of the people by their own chiefs, supervised by an official of the ruling power, the punishment of idleness, and the distribution of land so that everybody can earn a living for himself and family, might almost have been borrowed from the ancient Peruvians by the Dutch possessors of Java and the islands of the Malay Archipelago."
"It is not very likely the Dutch troubled themselves about ancient Peru," replied the Doctor; "they probably formed their system to suit the character of the people they were to govern; and when we remember the natural shrewdness with which their nation is credited we need not wonder that they established such an excellent government. It has its features of severity, like that of the Incas, but it has been decidedly beneficial to the subject race."
"Is the tradition correct that the people were sunk in barbarism when Manco Capac came on earth?" Frank inquired.