In another place Mr. Temple observes, “I felt no apprehension of losing a single article of my baggage; it had been entrusted to the Indians, and in their charge required neither guards, nor swords, nor pistols, to protect it, or to insure its safe delivery.
“On the whole, I believe I am not singular in the opinion that the worst qualities of the Peruvian Indians have been imported, and that their virtues are their own. They possess a peaceable, unoffending spirit, free from even an accusation of those great moral crimes which disgrace civilized nations.
“The dress of the men, excepting the hat, which is precisely the shape of Don Quixote’s helmet without the niche in it, reminded me of that of the peasantry of Connaught. They wear coarse brown frieze cloth breeches, with the waistband very low, and always open at the knees, the buttons being for ornament, not for use. Shirts are seldom worn; the legs are bare, with the exception of pieces of hide under the soles of the feet, tied sandal-fashion round the instep and toes.
“The dress of the female Indians consists of a petticoat, worn much shorter by the unmarried than by those that are married, and a scarf of sundry colors round the shoulders, which is pinned on one side of the chest with a topa, a large silver pin; but sometimes they use a spoon, the handle of which being pointed serves as a pin.
“Cholas, those descended from Spanish and Indian parents, are very fond of dress. I have seen them with topas of gold, set with pearls and precious stones of considerable value.”
[1] The patron saint of robbers.
Charles and his Mother.
A DIALOGUE.
Charles. Mother, may I play with the baby a little while before I go to school?
Mother. She is asleep now, my son; but you may go softly and look at her.