BUENOS AYRES—QUINTA, FORMERLY THE SEAT OF THE BRITISH LEGATION.
The unfavourable sensation produced by the vile landing and unfinished look of the churches and buildings from the river vanishes when fairly in the heart of the city. You are struck with astonishment at its vast size, many well-paved streets, public buildings, and houses redolent of luxurious comfort. Nor does a closer inspection quite remove this impression; on the contrary, the more you examine and penetrate, the greater the surprise that after so long a period of civil and foreign warfare, there should still exist so much vitality. The conviction at once forces itself upon you that there must be wealth, and no small amount of it, somewhere.
Any lengthened description of Buenos Ayres, beyond what is supplied in the note below,[85] and that on the illustration, would be superfluous, so many thousand English having visited and recorded their experiences of it; but it is very questionable whether the public generally have any adequate idea of the magnitude of the city, the extent of its inland territory, or the leading characteristics of both. At all events, very few works have been published from which accurate information of this kind can be derived; the recent and most valuable one of Sir Woodbine Parish being as yet only partially known, in consequence of its being but a second edition of one published several years ago; and even since the second edition appeared, scarcely two years back, there is necessity for further information, so unstable is the condition of things, and so rapid the mutation of momentous events in these regions. Certainly there is ample scope for dissertation in all that comes under one’s notice here, look with what indifference or contempt we may upon the individuals and parties by whom political occurrences are influenced. First, as regards the climate and people: the difference in temperature between Buenos Ayres and Rio Janeiro at this season of the year is from 20 to 30 deg., and after four or five days’ sailing, you find yourself obliged to change the lightest possible clothing for English tweeds and stout broad-cloth, which, mindful of such vicissitude, and therein being much more provident than some of my fellow voyagers, I had fortunately with me. It is a precaution I would recommend all voyagers in the Plate to adopt, as it is one that will not only save them much inconvenience at the outset, but probably obviate a material cause of subsequent illness, consequent upon exposure to such rapid transitions as are here experienced, especially until the traveller becomes somewhat acclimated.
The mornings and evenings are positively cold, even according to our English acceptation of the word; and most houses had fires in their sitting rooms. In the day time the sun is warm and pleasant; the air of that bracing kind which is calculated to raise the animal spirits, and give a tone and energy to the mind. The difference, too, in the people between this place and Brazil is remarkable:—strong, healthy-looking men, clear complexioned, bright-eyed women, many of whom have as much bloom on their cheeks as would become an English dairy-maid. Of course, there is a considerable mixture of races; but the true native Buenos Ayreans can be easily distinguished by their rather dark but clear complexion, dark eyes, and dark hair, strongly-marked sharp features, and somewhat aquiline nose; whilst the Guachos, or horsemen of the Pampas, the South American Bedouins, combining the attributes of their Hispaniolan forefathers with the later ‘blood of the desert,’ are the most picturesque-looking objects in the world, being dressed in fancy-coloured ponchos, with much ornamental work about them, and long, embroidered white trousers, galloping about on equally grotesque-looking steeds. They remind one immediately of Arab sketches, or, still more vividly, of real Arabs, if you have been fortunate enough to have made the overland trip, and beheld the followers of the Prophet in the land of dates, palm-trees, and dromedaries; many of these Guachos being, also, immensely muscular, fine-looking men. Numerous black faces are also to be seen here, the owners thereof being all free, and mostly occupied as regular soldiers, as likewise at Monte Video.
VENDEDOR DE PTALCES—SWEETMEAT-SELLER.
Buenos Ayres literally forms a regular chess-board, as the plans of the city show. It is about four miles square, and supposed to contain nearly 100,000 inhabitants; but as no census has ever been taken, this is only conjecture: some asserting that there are 120,000, others, not 80,000; and others again, as low as 50,000.[86] At all events, the mass of the houses being well occupied, rents are very high, paying the owners from 12 to 20 per cent. per annum; so there would appear to be plenty of occupants, and great encouragement to go on building. The same remark as to the description, extent, and elegance, of private houses, applies here precisely as in the capital of the Uruguay, only that they are ten to one in number, more costly and elegant; indeed, the city itself, compared with Monte Video, is as London to Liverpool, the great maritime and commercial advantages and facilities of the one being regarded as an equivalent, and perhaps more than an equivalent, to the architectural and general urban superiority of the other. The size of the (fifteen) Buenos Ayrean churches is something marvellous; and it is impossible to enter them without admiring these monuments of the power and wealth exercised by the Jesuits, as well as of that undaunted tenacity of Spanish character which could erect such huge piles in a country where there are neither bricks, mortar, nor stones on the spot, all having to come from a distance. But, as we have said, the brick-work in many of them has never been completed; and they look very bad when contrasted with the glaring white of other parts of the building, covered with large patches of grass and rubbish. The cathedral is the crowning point of Buenos Ayrean attractions, only more modern, and the exterior is in the same unfinished state as much older edifices; the interior being gorgeously ‘fitted up’ with numerous side altars and oratories, well cleaned, lighted, and ventilated, with numerous glass chandeliers down the nave. There is less tinsel and glare than in many Roman Catholic churches in Europe, but more solidity and pleasing effect; nor can a stranger help expressing surprise on entering so fine a building, whose architectural merit is enhanced by its situation in so handsome a square, the other sides being occupied by the Cabilda, or police-office, and good shops and dwelling-houses, with striking piazzas. There is also an ornamental archway on the side facing the sea, looking towards the old fort and government house, together with a pillar in the centre of the square, to commemorate the independence of the country. This square has been the scene of many important political changes: it was here that our brave soldiers under General Whitelock forced their way, and from the Square Manzo, what is now styled Calle de Defensa (Defence-street), by which the troops entered the town, and were shot down from the flat tops of the houses,[87] without the power or means of defending themselves. It does not require a military eye to see the error and folly of the tactics pursued in this melancholy business, nor to be satisfied with how little trouble and loss of life such an army as the British, so circumstanced, could have reduced a city like Buenos Ayres, even supposing they had preferred a more summary process to that of starving out the enemy. There was an infatuation about the whole affair for which it is difficult to account, especially when coupled with the gratuitous surrender of Monte Video, under the same terms as those which ensured the capitulation of Whitelock, a clause inserted by the Spanish general, Liniers, without the least idea that it would be acceded to. But, at that period, imbecility and absurdity the most incredible seemed to preside at our military councils, leading to the same futile and mortifying results as had characterized our operations in Walcheren and elsewhere in Europe, some few years before. With Monte Video and Buenos Ayres under our flag, it is difficult to conjecture what might not have been the fate of a country traversed by boundless rivers, and in every way so admirably adapted to the agricultural pursuits of Englishmen. The tide of emigration from our own shores would then, in all probability, have flowed freely towards this part of the world, and the United States of North America have taken considerably more time to develope themselves, and to have attained their present position, which, of course, has been reached mainly in consequence of the enormous influx of the redundant bone, sinew, and brain of Europe. On such slight threads and events does the destiny of nations often hang. But it is time that we leave speculation for fact.
The name of Rosas has been so long identified with Buenos Ayres, that you no sooner find yourself within the recent sphere of his undisputed and unquestioned domination than you naturally ask, where exist the monuments of his activity, and the proofs of his successful promotion of the interests of this his dependent capital? Beyond a large town residence, which he built for government purposes, a country residence, called Palermo, and a mole constructed in front of the sea, there is nothing to mark the reign of a man desirous of elevating the character of his countrymen in the scale of civilized nations, or of contributing to their commercial prosperity. In spite of civil wars and bad government, the city of Buenos Ayres has contrived to extend itself, although the country round it is, more or less, in a state of desolation; but he has failed to leave any enduring personal impress, either outside or inside, of those walls where for many years he ruled lord of life and means, and almost of thought, so comprehensive and exhaustive was his despotism. The town residence alluded to is now occupied by the executive for public purposes, and the private one at Palermo will soon go to ruin and decay. This latter characteristic evidence of selfish gratification, without either taste, utility, or architectural design, has cost endless sums of money; but the approximate extent of the outlay will never be known. Palermo is built on a swampy bank of the river, with only a ground floor, at times several feet under water, which must be a prolific source of fever and ague. It is reported of Rosas, that on one occasion the water was so high, that the cook sent him word he could not dress his dinner; but on ascertaining that the kitchen-fires were not out, the command was to prepare the meal forthwith. The unfortunate subterranean ruler of the roast did so at once, congratulating himself that he only suffered the penalty of a severe attack of rheumatism, instead of the more summary visitation wherewith the dictator generally followed up the slightest implied opposition to his wishes, even in so trumpery a matter as the one we speak of.