362 LOVE ADVENTURE OF smiths work, and therefore the twenty-five sets of shoes were furnished, as they were required, in pure silver.* The cavalcade being duly prepared, the Marquis with considerable splendour entered the voluptuous capital of Peru, and, after parading proudly through the streets, in order to proclaim his arrival to the world at large, he took up his abode at a mansion prepared for his reception, where a succession of sumptuous entertainments sufficiently testified the wealth and magnificence of the noble house of Yavi, and proved it worthy of aspiring to an alliance with any family in the land. Among the entertainments given, solely to gratify some wish that might have been casually expressed, or in compliment to any slight observation that might have been made, by the attractive object of his visit to Lima, the Mar * I cannot recollect where I read or heard of one of the Dukes of Medina Celi, who had been sent Ambassador from Spain to Constantinople, and who, previously to entering that city, had the horse on which he rode shod with shoes of gold, and those of his escort with silver. But the conceit did not end here; for it is farther related, that the Duke caused the shoes to be so loosely put on, that, in prancing, the horses might occasionally cast one of them among the crowd, who were thus to be inspired with awe and wonder at the power and consequence of the potentate, whose representative could afford to lavish so much wealth. THE MARQUIS OF YAVI. 363 quis gave a grand bull-fight in the great square, which was fitted up as an amphitheatre capable of containing many thousand spectators, who were served during the exhibition, by slaves dressed in splendid liveries, with liqueurs, fruits, and sweetmeats, in abundance. When the lady expressed a desire to see a favourite play, it was immediately commanded by the Marquis, who, taking the whole house at his own expense, distributed the tickets among the fashionable world, and had the theatre supplied with refreshments of every kind as at a private party. I did not hear how many balls and suppers he gave, but I ascertained that one alone cost twenty-five thousand dollars. Three months were passed in the capital, in feasting, regaling, and entertaining, in honour of the lady to whose hand and heart he pretended, and, after contracting debts to the amount of a quarter of a million of dollars, (of which, however, there was neither doubt nor difficulty as to the payment) the Marquis of Toxo departed from Lima, having received from the lady, in return for all his gallantry, a direct refusal to that very particular and personal request which he had gone so far to make. 364 MARQUIS OF YAVI. A few years after this adventure the revolution broke out, and the Marquis, having taken a conspicuous part in the cause of independence, had the misfortune to be taken by the Spaniards, and sent prisoner, it is supposed, to Madrid; but, no authentic account having ever afterwards been heard of him, it is generally believed that he was put to death. AN EXCURSION. 365 CHAPTER XII. An excursion to the Mission of Salinas.-A peep into a tent.-Reception at the village of San Luis.-A pasanga. -A secluded beauty.-Arrival at the Convent of Salinas. -Chiriguano Indians.-Province of Tarija, its climate and fertility.—Apology of an unsatisfactory writer.—An address, proclamation, and invitation.-Discovery of a skeleton.-Carnivorous elephant. MAY 19th. Superabundant preparations being made for an excursion to the ancient Jesuit mission of Salinas, about forty-five leagues distant, we this day set out, accompanied by a large party of ladies and gentlemen, all relatives of the bride of our Commandant-general. Among the ladies was one not less distinguished for superior personal attraction, than for her vivacity and good-humour; she had just completed the age of twenty-two years, had been five years married, and yet was five years a widow. It 366 HORSEMANSHIP OF the Ladies. was impossible not to feel both pride and pleasure in paying her all those little attentions which ladies like to receive in tributary homage from men; though, in tendering my assistance at the periods of mounting and dismounting her fine cream-coloured mule, my assiduities were sometimes useless, so lightly and actively did she spring of her own accord off and on her saddle. The ladies of Tarija are celebrated for their horsemanship, and frequently distinguish themselves at public races, which are here a very favourite amusement among all classes, and on those occasions, difficult as it may appear, the jockeys, male or female, ride bare-backed. The usual seat of the ladies is the same as that of the English, but their saddles have no crutch, nor support of any kind, being precisely of the make of a man's common saddle in England, only much smaller, and over it is thrown a pellon (a worsted saddlecloth of fancy-colours), on which they sit with ease and confidence. Sometimes females may be seen sitting en croupe behind the horsemen, and once or twice I observed them get into that seat by means which proved at least the gentleness of the animal. A knot was tied in the horse's tail, into which the lady introduced her foot as into a stirrup; then, giving one hand |