taire and Raynal, had rendered the subject attractive to their countrymen, the one by the lively and epigrammatic manner in which, in a few forcible remarks, he condensed the philosophy of history,-the other by bringing to bear on the familiar subjects of former history the new lights of modern science, the more extended views of society, more correct deductions of philosophy, and larger experience in the laws of commerce and legislation. Still there was room left for a successor who should avail himself of what time has disclosed of its historical treasures, and of what the research and observation of travellers has elicited among the remains of the conquered country, and who should gratify the increasing curiosity and intelligence of the public by a picture painted on a broader scale, with greater variety of views, and a richer accumulation of particular objects. Yet, while Mr. Prescott's previous History of Mexico has been advantageous to him in respect of drawing immediate attention to the present, we think it also may tend somewhat to its prejudice by the necessary comparison that will be made between them. To those who have read the Conquest of Mexico by Cortez, that of Peru by Pizarro will appear something like an echo of the former, -a repetition of the same views and the same adventures, with the disadvantage of fainter colouring, less attractive adventures in the conquerors, and a weaker sympathy with the vanquished. Perhaps, too, the force of our emotions has been somewhat exhausted by previous excitement: we can foretell, from our knowledge of the characters, what will be the arrangement of the plot, and what the certainty of the catastrophe. The names of the characters indeed are changed; the whole drama is performed by meaner actors; the leader is cast in less heroic mould, and the sufferers have less command over our sympathies, displaying neither the same active valour nor passive fortitude, neither the exhaustless resources which made us doubtful of the struggle, nor the devoted patriotism which made us deplore their fall. Much, too, of the novelty of the scene had passed away;-the barbaric splendours that first opened on our eyes on the shores as it appeared of a new-born world; the wild magnificence of Nature spread out on a gigantic scale unknown before; cities of savage tribes that far surpassed all the fabled glories of the East; towns in an unknown country, built by an unknown people, glowing with gold and gems, such as neither Babylon nor Cairo in their proudest days had known; and roads of communication stretching hundreds of leagues alike over mountain and river and ravine, such as Rome herself had never either executed or conceived. There too was the spectacle for the first time presented of nations formed of what appeared the discordant elements of society,--anomalous junction of what belonged to various æras of time and different developments of civilization. There was at once the soft and effeminate luxury of an Asiatic court, and the bloody superstitions, the dark idolatries, and the loathsome cannibalism of the savage of the wilderness. These are striking scenes for the traveller to describe, and for the moralist and the philosopher to contemplate. But their first impression had gradually faded away, and when the historian again took up the pencil, however bright his colours, and however skilful in the various editions it has gone through. It would form as curious a history belongs to any book that we know. From whose pen-was it from Diderot's ?-proceeded the description of the femmes de Lima, which if a man reads he will not soon forget? It could not have been written by an ecclesiastic without supposing he more things than he ought,-REV. his pencil, he could not command the same eager expectation, or detain the restless curiosity of his readers. That which is repeated becomes weaker in its impression. If we listen to the striking of a distant clock, the first and perhaps second hours will come distinctly on the ear, and the remainder will invariably be lost, and, as it were, melt away into a faint admixture of low undistinguishable sounds. Perhaps the way to do justice to Mr. Prescott's history would be to present an outline of its contents, to follow him in his bright historic path, to point out to our readers at once the steadiness of his step and the rapidity of his stride, to pause over his animated and brilliant descriptions, to remark the graceful and natural transitions by which he conducts the thread of his narrative, to praise the knowledge by which he forms a correct estimate of motive and character, and to admire and applaud the humane and philanthropic language which he never fails to bring to soothe the wounded feelings of humanity, and draw a veil over the sufferings which he is reluctantly obliged to describe. This, however, is a task that we have no power of performing, not only requiring great circumspection and care, but larger limits than we can command; and the original work also is so alluring in its subject, so pleasing in its execution, and so moderate in its extent, as would never fatigue the attention, or make any undue demands on the time. What we propose to do, therefore, is to extract a few passages, which will give a sufficient specimen of Mr. Prescott's manner of treating his subject; while in the dissertation which is prefixed to the first volume, as a necessary introduction to the subsequent history, the reader will find some interesting observations on the period at which this singular and recent civilization of the Peruvians commenced-the supposed sources of it, whether foreign or such as grew out of the circumstances in which they were placed, of their institutions, arts, religion, laws, traditions, and language,-all subjects of great interest, many involved in much mystery for want of such existing monuments and relics as remain amidst the ruins of other departed nations, and all treated with learning, intelligence, and candour. We do not hold out Mr. Prescott's style as one that is to our taste without faults. In his descriptive parts we think it too exuberant, too much abounding in epithet, erring on the side of too great fulness. It is a great fault in a writer to pour out all his stores without reserve, to leave nothing to the reader to supply, no spot unoccupied which he can appropriate, no touch which he can add; and we think that this graceful and judicious reserve of power is a very distinguishing feature in the style of Robertson. Let us now pass on to the history that lies before us-the history of this strange crusade this singular conflict of opposing passions and interests, met from distant quarters of the globe in deadly and fatal strife: avarice, and fanaticism, and bigotry on the one hand,-on the other, ignorance, cruelty, tyranny, and hideous and bloody superstition. As our extracts must be few, it may be as well to take them from those portions of the narrative which are striking without being too familiar; and accordingly we must pass over the earlier stages of the invasion, and the very interesting chapters, with all their strong and vivid painting of the invader's bold march across the mountains to the interior of the country, till the Spaniards stood face to face with the Peruvian monarch. We must pass over his capture, his death, with the massacre attending it, and the subjugation of the people and dissolution of the native government, till we see the conquering banners of Castile displayed before the walls of the capital of the western empire. "It was late in the afternoon when the conquerors came in sight of Cuzco; the descending Sun was streaming his broad rays full on the imperial city, where many an altar was dedicated to his worship. The low ranges of buildings, shewing in his beams like so many lines of silvery light, filled up the bosom of the valley, and the lower slopes of the mountains, whose shadowy forms hung darkly over the fair city, as if to shield it from the menaced profanation. Pizarro prepared for his entrance into the Peruvian capital. The little army was formed into three divisions, of which the centre or battle as it was called was led by the general. The suburbs were thronged with a countless multitude of the natives, who had flocked from the city and the surrounding country to witness the showy and to them startling pageant. All looked with eager curiosity on the strangers, the fame of whose terrible exploits had spread to the remotest parts of the empire. They gazed with astonishment on their dazzling arms and fair complexions, which seemed to proclaim them the true Children of the Sun; and they listened with feelings of mysterious dread as the trumpet sent forth its prolonged notes through the streets of the capital, and the solid ground shook under the heavy tramp of the cavalry. The capital of the Incas, though falling short of the El Dorado which had engaged their credulous fancies, astonished the Spaniards by the beauty of its edifices, the length and regularity of its streets, and the good order and appearance of comfort, even luxury, visible in its numerous population. It far surpassed all they had yet seen in the New World. The population of the city is computed by one of the conquerors at two hundred thousand inhabitants, and that of the suburbs at as many more. This account is not confirmed as far as I have seen by any other writer; but, however it may be exaggerated, it is certain that Cuzco was the metropolis of a great empire, the residence of the court and the chief nobility, frequented by the most skilful mechanics and artisans of every description, who found a demand for their ingenuity in the royal precincts : while the place was garrisoned by a numerous soldiery, and was the resort finally of emigrants from the most distant pro vinces. The quarters whence this motley population came are indicated by their peculiar dress, and especially their head gear, so rarely found at all on the Ame. rican Indian, which, with its variegated colours, gave a picturesque effect to the groups and masses in the streets. The habitual order and decorum main. tained in this multifarious assembly, showed the excellent police of the capital, where the only sounds that disturbed the repose of the Spaniards were the noises of feasting and dancing, which the natives with happy insensibility constantly prolonged to a late hour of the night. The edifices of the better sort, and they were very numerous, were of stone or faced with stone. Among the principal were the royal residences; as each sovereign built a new palace for himself, covering, though low, a large extent of ground. The walls were sometimes stained or painted with gaudy tints, and the gates, we are assured, were sometimes of coloured marble. In the delicacy of the stone-work,' says another of the conquerors, the natives far excelled the Spaniards, though the roofs of their dwellings, instead of tiles, were only of thatch, but put together with the nicest art. The sunny climate of Cuzco did not require a very substantial material for defence against the weather. The most important building was the fortress, planted on a solid rock that rose boldly above the city. It was built of hewn stone, so finely wrought that it was impossible to detect the line of junction between the blocks, and the approaches to it were defended by three semicircular parapets composed of such heavy masses of rock that it bore resemblance to the kind of rock known to architects as the Cyclopian.* The fortress was raised to a height rare in Peruvian architecture: and from the summit of the tower the eye of the spectator ranged over a magnificent prospect, in which the wild features of the mountain scenery, rocks, woods, and waterfalls, were mingled with the rich verdure of the valley, and the shining city filling up the foreground,-all blended in sweet harmony under the deep azure of a tropical sky. The most sumptuous edifice in Cuzco in the time of the Incas was undoubtedly the great Temple dedicated to the Sun, which, studded with *For Cyclopian architecture, consult Dodwell's Views and Descriptions of Cyclopian or Pelasgic Remains in Greece and Italy, with constructions of a later period, folio, 1833, a supplement to the author's Tour in Greece. The work is scarce, unfortunately, as few were printed.—Rev. : cavern gold plates, as already noticed, was surrounded by convents and dormitories for the priests, with their gardens and broad parterres sparkling with gold. The exterior ornaments had been already removed by the conquerors-all but the frieze of gold, which, embedded in the stones, still encircled the principal building. It is probable that the tales of wealth so greedily circulated among the Spaniards greatly exceeded the truth. If they did not, the natives must have been very successful in concealing their treasures from the invaders. Yet much still remained, not only in the great House of the Sun; but in the inferior temples which swarmed in the capital. * * * In a near the city they found a number of vases of pure gold, richly embossed with the figures of serpents, locusts, and other animals. Among the spoil were four golden llamas, and ten or twelve statues of women, some of gold, others of silver, 'which merely to see,' says one of the conquerors, with some naïveté,' was truly a great satisfaction.' The gold was probably thin, for the figures were all as large as life, and several of them, being reserved for the royal fifth, were not recast, but sent in their original form to Spain. The magazines were stored with curious commodities richly tinted robes of cotton and feather work, gold sandals, and slippers of the same material, for the women, and dresses composed entirely of beads of gold. Yet the amount of treasure in the capital did not equal the sanguine expectations that had been formed by the Spaniards. But the deficiency was supplied by the plunder which they had collected at various places on their march. In one place, for example, they met with ten planks, or bars, of solid silver, each piece being twenty feet in length, one foot in breadth, and two or three inches thick; they were intended to decorate the dwelling of an Inca noble. The whole mass of treasure was brought into one common heap, as in Caxamalca, and after some of the finer specimens had been deducted for the crown the remainder was delivered to the Indian goldsmiths, to be melted down into ingots of an uniform standard. The division of the spoil was made on the same principle as before. There were four hundred and eighty soldiers, including the garrison of Xauxa, who were each to receive a share, that of the cavalry being double that of the infantry. The amount of booty is stated variously by those present at the division of it. According to some it considerably exceeded the ransom of Atabuallpa; others state it as less. Pedro Pizarro says that each horseman got six In For thousand pesos de oro, and each one of the infantry half that sum, though the same discrimination was made by Pizarro as before in respect to the rank of the parties, and their relative services. But Sancho, the royal notary, and secretary of the commander, estimates the whole amount as far less, not exceeding five hundred and eighty thousand and two hundred pesos de oro, and two hundred and fifteen thousand marks of silver. the absence of the official returns, it is impossible to determine which is correct. But Sancho's narrative is countersigned, it may be remembered, by Pizarro and the royal treasurer Riquelme, and doubtless, therefore, shews the actual amount for which the conquerors accounted to the crown. Whichever statement we receive, the sum, combined with that obtained at Caxamalca, might well have satisfied the cravings of the most avaricious. The sudden influx of so much wealth, and that too in so transferable a form, among a party of reckless adventurers little accustomed to the possession of money, had its natural effect. It supplied them with the means of gaming, so strong and common a passion with the Spaniards that it may be considered a national vice. tunes were lost and won in a single day, sufficient to render the proprietors independent for life; and many a desperate gamester, by an unlucky throw of the dice or turn of a card, saw himself stripped in a few hours of the fruits of years of toil, and obliged to begin over again the business of rapine. Among these one is mentioned in the cavalry service named Leguizano, who had received as his share of the booty the image of the Sun, which, raised on a plate of burnished gold, spread over the walls in a recess of the great temple, and which for some reason or other, perhaps because of its superior fineness, was not recast like the other ornaments. This rich prize the spendthrift lost in a single night; whence it came to be a proverb in Spain, Juega el Sol antes que amanezca, Play away the Sun before sunrise.' The effect of such a surfeit of the precious metals was instantly felt on prices. The most ordinary articles were only to be had for exorbitant sums. A quire of paper sold for ten pesos de oro; a bottle of wine for sixty; a sword for forty or fifty; a cloak for a hundred, sometimes for more; a pair of shoes cost thirty or forty pesos de oro; and a good horse could not be had for less than twenty-five hundred, some brought a still higher price. Every article rose in value as gold and silver, the representa tives of all, declined. Gold and silver, in short, seemed to be the only things in Cuzco 6 that were not wealth. Yet there were some few wise enough to return contented with their present gains to their native country. Here their riches brought them consideration and competence; and whilst they excited the envy of their countrymen stimulated them to seek their own fortunes in the like path of adventure." Our next extract will be from that portion of the narrative which gives so graphic an account of the rash and disastrous expedition to the river Amazon, filled as it is with tales of the most disastrous sufferings on the one hand, and the most dauntless courage and inflexible endurance on the other; but we will prefix to it a few words as introductory, and as explanatory of the spirit which dictated it. "It is not easy at this time to comprehend the impulse given to Europe by the discovery of America. It was not the gradual acquisition of some border territory, a province, or a kingdom that had now been gained, but a new world that was noW thrown open to Europeans. The races of animals, the mineral trea. sures, the vegetable forms, and the varied aspects of nature, man in the different phases of civilization, filled the mind with entirely new sets of ideas, that changed the habitual current of thought, and stimulated it to indefinite conjecture. The eagerness to explore the wonderful secrets of the new hemisphere became so active that the principal cities of Spain were in a manner depopulated, as emigrants thronged one after another to take their chance upon the deep. It was a world of romance that was thrown open for whatever might be the luck of the adventurer; his reports on his return were tinged with a colouring of romance that stimulated still higher the sensitive fancies of his countrymen, and nourished the chimerical sentiments of an age of chivalry. They listened with attentive ears to tales of Amazons, which seemed to realise the classic legends of antiquity, to stories of Patagonian giants, to flaming pictures of an El Dorado, where the sands sparkled with gems, and golden pebbles as large as birds' eggs were dragged in nets out of the rivers. Yet that the adventurers were no impostors, but too easy dupes of their own credulous fancies, is shewn by the extravagant character of their enterprises; by expeditions in search of the magical fountain of health, of the golden temple of Doboyba, of the golden sepulchres of Zenu, for gold was ever floating before their distempered vision, and the name of Castilla del Oro, Golden Castile, the most unhealthy and most unprofitable region of the Isthmus, held out a bright promise to the unfortunate settler, who too frequently instead of gold found there only his grave. In this realm of enchantment all the accessories served to maintain the illusion. The simple natives with their defenceless bodies and rude weapons were no match for the European warriors, armed to the teeth in mail. The odds were as great as those found in any legend of chivalry, where the lance of the good knight overturned hundreds at a touch. The perils that lay in the discoverer's path, and the sufferings he had to sustain, were scarcely inferior to those that beset the knight errant. Hunger, and thirst, and fatigue, the deadly effluvia of the morass, with its swarms of venomous insects, the cold of winter snows, and the scorching sun of the tropics; these were the lot of every cavalier who came to seek his fortune in the New World. It was the reality of romance. The life of the Spanish adventurer was one chapter more, and not the least remarkable, in the chronicles of knight errantry." Among the numerous bold adventures and enterprises that shed such a fierce and lurid colouring on the narratives of the historian there was none more remarkable either for the dangers and privations with which it was attended, or for the astonishing courage and resources with which it was met, than the wild expedition of Gonzalo Pizarro and his followers over the mountains toward the east, to find the fabled land of oriental spices, which had long captivated the imagination of the conquerors. Three hundred and fifty Spaniards, of whom about half were mounted, and four thousand Indians, accompanied him in a journey to regions untravelled and unknown; and, to evince at once the providence of the leader, the nature of the country he expected to find, and the mode which he pursued to sustain his followers, an immense drove of no less than four thousand swine GENT. MAG. VOL. XXVIII. C |