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industry and economy which she pursued to the end of her life, and on account of which she has frequently incurred the unworthy reproach of avarice. It is true she worked incessantly, and saved every possible penny; but for what did she do this? For her own gratification? to enjoy the sordid pleasure of gloating over her increasing treasure? Was it for this she denied herself comforts, and sometimes even necessaries? No. Her exertions were all made, and her gains were all applied, for the relief of her aged and infirm relatives. Speaking of one of them in a letter to a friend, she thus expresses herself:-" Poor woman, she is now so infirm that she cannot walk a few paces without resting-her hair as white as snow, and her teeth are all gone." And again-" Many a time this winter, when I cried with cold, I said to myself, But, thank God, my sister has not to stir from her room; she has her fire lighted every morning, all her provision bought, and brought to her ready cooked: she would be less able to bear what I bear.' And how much more would I have to suffer, but from this reflection! It almost made me warm when I reflected that she felt no cold.""I say no, to all the vanities of the world, and perhaps soon shall have to say that I allow my poor infirm sister a hundred a year. I have raised my allowance to eighty, but, in the rapid stride of her wants, and my obligation as a Christian to make no selfish refusal to the poor, a few months, I foresee, must make the sum a hundred." For such objects as these did this noble-minded woman toil and save.

When she settled in London, she began to occupy her leisure hours in the composition of dramatic pieces; and though full halfa-dozen of the MSS., written in a vile cramped hand, on whiteybrown paper (for the sake of economy), and full of orthographical errors, had been rejected, still she persevered, and at length prevailed on Colman, the manager of the Haymarket Theatre, to read a farce called "The Mogul's Tale:" it was performed with great applause in 1784, and Mrs. Inchbald received a hundred guineas. Fortune now began to smile on her; the rejected plays were brought forward, and managers no longer took fright at the whitey brown paper. Mrs. Inchbald rapidly produced a variety of dramatic pieces, for which she received sums increasing in amount as her fame became better established: for the comedy of "I'll tell you What," produced in 1785, she received three hundred pounds, besides a considerable sum for copyright. She had begun her first novel, "The Simple Story," several years before, and had shown the sketch of it to John Kemble, in one of her provincial tours, soon after her return from France. She now drew forth the neglected MS., and completed the "Simple Story," which was published in 1791. Her second novel, "Nature and Art," did not appear until 1796. Besides producing these works and numerous dramatic pieces, she edited a very good collection of English plays, with short notices of each. This edition is still held in esteem.

Mrs. Inchbald did not depart, in the days of her prosperity, from the retirement and economy she had formerly practised. She strictly limited her expenses, which seldom exceeded thirty shillings a week, and to effect this submitted to many personal inconveniences. Although she seldom went into company, she kept up an acquaintance with many distinguished characters of the day, among whom the Kembles, Mrs. Siddons, Miss Edgeworth, Mrs. Opie, and several others, were numbered. An interesting anecdote is related of an interview between her and Madame de Staël, which had been contrived by Mrs. Opie. Madame de Staël, who greatly respected the authoress of "The Simple Story," begged her to explain her motives for shunning society. "Because," she replied, "I dread the loneliness that will follow." "What! will you feel your solitude more when you return from this than you did before you came hither?" "Yes." "I should think it would elevate your spirits: why will you feel your loneliness more?" "Because I have no one to tell that I have seen you, no one to describe your person to,-no one to whom I can repeat the many encomiums you have passed on mySimple Story,'- -no one to enjoy any of your praises, but myself." "Ah! ah! you have no children!" and she turned to an elegant young woman, her daughter, with pathetic tenderness. Mrs. Inchbald, however deeply she felt the pains of solitude, had reason soon to remember that it is not alone the possession of children that can ensure happiness. Two or three days after this interview, she called on Madame de Staël, but she could not see her: she was ill-sick of grief. Her son, a young man of nineteen, had fallen

in a duel.

company,

Mrs. Inchbald continued her life of honourable seclusion and virtuous self-denial till the year 1821, when she died at her residence, Kensington, in her sixty-ninth year.

THE PRESENT STATE AND FUTURE PROSPECTS OF PERU.*

NATIONS, like men, have their infantine period; and if freed from restraint before they attain to the age of discretion, they are pretty sure to play "fantastic freaks." Such has been the case with the Spanish and Portuguese American colonies. We have lately had occasion to notice Paraguay, where one man has monopolised the freaks of the whole nation, and in his own proper person has exhibited such a succession of enormities as to raise all voices against him. He has certainly succeeded in his professed object-the prevention of popular disturbances, but he has pur. chased a specious tranquillity at a fearful price. We now turn to Peru, where the people have had it their own way, but the result is only better inasmuch as there is still a possibility that the rising generation, born free, will have a better opportunity of learningand we hope of exercising-the rights of freemen than their fathers. But a long series of years must elapse, and probably exterior influence, or perhaps coercion, will be required, before they can enjoy the real blessings of rational liberty,--before they can be capable of appreciating the difference between the name and the thing, the shadow and the substance.

The volumes before us contain the results of many years' observation, during a protracted residence in various parts of Peru. The author, Dr. Archibald Smith, left England in 1825, and accompanied the ill-fated Pasco Peruvian Mining Expedition, in the capacity of medical officer. On the dissolution of the company, he for some time betook himself to agricultural pursuits, and resided for a considerable time in the delightful valley of Huanoco; but the disturbed state of the country rendering farming unprofitable, he gave up his “hacienda,” and pursued the practice of his profession in several parts of the country, but chiefly in Lima. Hence his opportunities of observation have been good, and the notes which he has now made public are well worth attention. We shall now proceed to glean from his pages some passages on the more interesting topics connected with the fine but disturbed, and consequently impoverished, country of which he treats. When the general disturbance in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies took place, Peru was at first tranquil, and showed no disposition to throw off the rule of the Spaniards, arbitrary as that was in principle; but it must be recollected that it was mild in practice, and well suited to the people ruled: the influence of the priests over the Indians was exceedingly beneficial, and was exercised in a benignant and almost paternal spirit. Slavery existed, but the chain was so light as to be considered more as a tie of affection than as the fetter of bondage. The personal character of the old Spaniards was of a high order, and their probity and uprightness in commerce was remarkable. Nothing, in fact, could have induced the natives to have revolted, either in Peru or the other Spanish colonies, except the vexatious restrictions on trade; and to these the Peruvians were very indifferent, until they were urged forward by their neighbours. Although as early as the year 1810 the Buenos Ayreans carried the insurgent flag into Upper Peru, yet Lower Peru, or that which is now called the Peruvian Republic, was slow in following their example. In Lima, where Spanish influence and loyalty were strongly concentrated, it was not till 1819, when Lord Cochrane appeared with a liberating squadron on the shores of Peru, that any movement was made; and the presence of St. Martin and his Buenos Ayrian troops was necessary before that became general. Nay, the assistance of a third benevolent neighbour was found necessary to complete the downfall of the Spaniards, and the "Liberator" Bolivar had the honour of putting the finishing hand to the work.

This happened in 1824, and since that time the prosperity of the country has been retrograde. Old establishments have broken down, and no care has been taken to supply their place. Ambition has made men aspire to stations for which they were totally unfit; the resources of the government have been exhausted in the support of troops required for the suppression of continual insurrections, and the most destructive and oppressive means are taken to extort extravagant taxes and imposts, to the utter ruin of trade and agriculture-especially the latter. "In short," says Dr. Smith, so great is the disorder in every department of the social and political system in Peru, that, to express the sentiments of a friend of ours, and a distinguished Peruvian statesman—' In Peru there cannot, for a long time to come, be any other than a military government: every state pretends to regulate itself by a moral * Peru as it is; by Archibald Smith, M.D. Two vols. 12mo.-Bentley. London, 1839.

government, but, as we have little or no morality in our land, the
bayonet must inevitably direct us. Here we have no industry,-
there is not more than one man in ten that labours for his bread;
and putting out of the question the "empleados," or those who
fill public stations under government, and who are supported at
the cost of the state, there is not one in thirty of those mannikins
who are daily seen loitering about the streets that live by their own
proper industry. Give to the Indian, in whose arm rests our
physical strength, an idea of his wants,―let him know the conve-
niences of civilised life,-in short, enlighten the mass of our people
so as to let them understand something at least of the nature and
end of government, and then we shall not have daily revolutions.
But, situated as we are at present, we have neither capital, indus-
try, nor private security. All is insecure,-all is loose and
common, unhinged, unprotected, and without order.
Good men
have nothing to hope for: the few individuals who have access to
our rulers are guided by none but the most sordid motives. It is
the ruin of my lacerated country that no man looks beyond his
personal interest, that no one attaches himself to the government
with sound intentions, or with any view except that of plunder.'
In the latter end of 1835, Lima itself became the seat of war.
Salaverry, a man of extraordinary energy, and possessing a sur-
prising influence over his countrymen, raised the standard of
revolt. The government was paralysed. "Don Jose Louis
Orbegoso, in his address to the Peruvians, dated Tarma, January
4th, 1836, and published in the Redactor of Lima on the 9th day
of the same month, solemnly affirmed and promulgated that the
very laws, dictated with the pure intention of securing happiness
to the commonwealth, had concentrated within themselves the
elements of her destruction. These laws had proved a safeguard
to the seditious, and had been the bulwarks of rebellion. Through
their operation the executive had been forced to feel the volcano at
its feet, though unable to prevent an eruption. Yes, under the
overseeing eye of the government, the revolutions had been hatched
and brought forth, reared and strengthened into maturity.'

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or pregonero would instantly give the alarm, which was conveyed by the vocal brotherhood with the rapidity of lightning— and Hay viene el negro Escobar y los ladrones l' (Here comes the negro Escobar and the robbers!) was soon ringing through all parts of the city-whereupon in every direction would follow the running tumult of Cierra puertas !'-Shut doors !—and then the creaking and heavy clash of massy doors, and the jarring of chains and bolts, as every street and area entrance were closed and barricaded. During these moments of self-imprisonment, suspense, and anxiety, the streets were entirely abandoned by the unarmed populace; and the noise from the pavement, caused by the gently progressive motion of an ambling hack, was exaggerated in fancy, so as to imitate the clang and tread of a hundred horses. It produced the same startling effect in the over-excited imagination of those within (who, to see what passed without, hardly ventured to peep through a key-hole, or from the corner of a latticed balcony), as the unwelcome rattling of a wheeled carriage or the dull Pantheon car, on the morning succeeding a desolating earthquake, never fails to produce on sensitive frames while under the still abiding influence of recent alarm. Under such circumstances of general consternation it was that the timely arrival of irregular troops, montonera,' under the command of a patriot general, Vidal, delivered Lima out of the hands of a formidable band of freebooters under the celebrated negro Escobar, who had already begun the work of depredation, and whose sanguinary disposition, if excited by drink or excess, threatened to realise the worst anticipations of the dismayed citizens. In this very condition of infuriated exultation and inebriety, being in the act of plundering a house in open day, he was surprised, and in less than an hour afterwards shot in the plaza; where, only the day before, he had showed off very proudly under the balconies of the archbishop's palace, mounted on a magnificent black steed, which he had taken by force from the prelate's own stable, But now in his last moments his only intelligible prayer was said to be that he might receive forgiveness from the archbishop, whose sacred dignity he had so recently insulted; and, probably, of all the unhappy Peruvians who are brought to suffer death at the 'banquillo,' there falls not one but shows some mysterious respect for the church; and the greatest criminal among them is never, perhaps, entirely forgetful of his tutelar saint. Whatever their career of life may have been, their faith, well or ill founded, yields them hope at the last hour; and it is allowed by those who witness their tragic end, that they generally die the death of the wicked with the compo sure of martyrs.

"This acknowledgment, from a president duly invested with extraordinary or dictatorial powers, renounced every rational idea of government, and virtually declared the incapacity of the supreme authority to protect the person, property, or rights of the citizen, or to sustain the necessary subordination of society. By this government, which so frankly declared its own imbecility, men either faithless or inept were, perhaps for want of better, appointed to fill offices of high trust and power; and in this way was kindled the train of that sanguinary revolution, which, in the year 1835, burst forth like the flaming combustibles and poisonous eructations of an overwhelming volcano; spreading consternation, outrage, and desolation, over the wide range of its fearful sweep. But, during the whole of this tumultuous period, the Limenian mob-made up, though it be, of mixed and most variegated castes -illustrated by their example how slow the mind is to cast off early and deeply-rooted habits; for, after the lapse of so many years of civil dissension, they showed that, as a whole, they still retained the feelings of public subjection (unfortunately not turned to account by any steady government) to which, in olden times, they were habituated under the jurisdiction of the Spaniards. For several days during this period there was no sort of police in the capital. The government and garrison had abandoned it, and shut themselves up within the fortress and castles of Callao; but yet instances of outrage and pillage committed in the streets were the populace showed a singular measure of forbearance, and the exceedingly foreign property in the capital was guarded by marines, English, French, and American, from their respective vessels of war on the station: but, for several months previously to these days of general the banditti and soldiery being engaged in ceaseless though irrepanic and dismay, the capital had been the theatre of daily broils; gular contest for the mastery both within and without the walls. The morbid susceptibility of impression, proceeding from the unsub- Callao. The assailants were led on by Solar the governor, and dued feeling of impending danger.

"A pillar of dust rising in the distance, or the smoke of burn.

"On the day that General Vidal, with his orderly montonera, entered at the invitation of the municipality cabildo, '-for the protection of the terrified city, it was interesting to observe the contrast presented by the negro Cimarones, when arrayed, in the cathedral square of the capital, by the side of the freemen of Huamantanga, and the poor but independent Indians of Yuyos, who, of all their tribe and fellow aborigines, are the least passive under political oppression. In the laughing negroes, the perpetual motion of their long and dangling limbs, never at rest in the saddle, betokened an exuberance and locomotive waste of nervous energy; while, on the other hand, the contemplative-looking and compact little' Indian, mounted on his hardy nag, just emerged from the solitary and rugged wilds of the mountains, though surrounded with the novelty and excitement of a great city in confusion, never for a moment lost the composure and serenity of his countenance and demeanour. These highland bands, together with a few other brave but undisciplined volunteers, inspired the lower order of the Limenians with that transient enthusiasm to which, on extraordinary occasions, they have more than once shown themselves capable of being raised; and simultaneously they rushed to arms as the bells from every spire, tolling the solemu

' llamada a fuego,' or the alarm of conflagration, summoned them to the defence of their beloved Lima, which was menaced, and

ultimately attacked, by a formidable sortie from the castles of

*"Ever since Europeans became acquainted with

possession has been noticed as one of their most is the Indian race, self

the anxious spectator in the city to the less harmless fire of mus-
ketry and skirmishers. On the appearance of any such sign, feature of character in the Inca family. Finding himself for a moment
netice was
playfalarcade of the bridge opposite the palace balconies. If a by a trooper, he called out in a commanding voice, Alza esa lanza y sigue
they boy was seen to the baby the trees of a commen invo, his presenes of mzad
the old Alameda, or suburbs of Malambo, then some mercachifle*

Atahualpa was unmoved in the midst of every danger; and Santa-Cruz (of
Cacique blood) has, in our own day, signally illustrated the same high

The mercachifle is a licensed pedlar, and the pregonero a news-crier.

his life; for the mysterious power of a superior mind triumphed over the hostile arm of the infuriated soldier; who now, as we are told, occupies a place in the body-guard of Santa-Cruz."

cousin to the spurious president Salaverry, whose illegitimate cause, now on the eve of being lost for ever, his less energetic relative but faintly sustained. It is worthy of remark, that, even on this momentous occasion, the spirit-stirring 6th of January, 1836, the patrician youth (los hijos de familia') took no active part. Educated with the utmost tenderness of indulgence, they are more inclined to love than arms. In short, the business of their life is pleasure.

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"Until the last memorable rally and sanguinary struggle at Socabaya, near Arequipa, under that Limenian lusus naturæ, General Felipe Santiago Salaverry, the military name of the patriot officers of Peru had been rapidly sinking into utter contempt. By far the greater number of their spirited and intelligent countrywomen decried the turncoat fraternity, and regretted that they themselves were not born to carry arms, that they might redeem the fallen honour of their country. These degenerate officers seemed to take pleasure in calling every now and then the attention of the public to their vile pronunciamientios,' or open abjuration of honourable allegiance to those placed in just authority over them. Such vain and faithless vaunters, whose proudest achievements were but to forsake their duty, bind their chiefs, and desolate their native land, became the objects of public scorn, and were despised even by the softer sex, as being fitter to wield the distaff than the sword. But Salaverry, a man of vast though ill-directed energy and reckless spirit, made the sky re-echo to his shout of War to the death!' And such complete ascendancy did he acquire over the minds of his countrymen, by his almost insane impetuosity and appalling executions,* that he not only constrained them to a state of awe and submission, but (what is more remark. able) inspired them, when he pleased, with martial ardour, and made them emulate the deeds of Zepita, Junin, and Ayacucho. During the gloomy reign of the black banner, and continuance of the revolution of Salaverry, the Limenian women, uneasy beneath the accumulating evils of political oppression, made their way into the ranks of the insurgents. Disguised in their mysterious' mantos,' they circulated patriotic proclamations, and whispered abroad the low and solemn murmur of public opinion,-until at length, on the famous 6th of January, 1836, when the populace rushed to the walls, it was shouted aloud from every mouth-ay, the cannon's mouth, to the confusion of rapacious upstarts struggling for ascendancy. And still the women played their part, as they raised the whirlwind, so they rode on it; for, without any metaphor, they were to be seen armed and on horseback amidst the

crowd.

"Two days after this display of popular feeling, so unusual in Lima, the provisional president made his entrance into the city amid loud rejoicings that nothing could exceed. A few weeks after this event, the eminently brave General Moran by a gallant assault forced the castles of Callao, then under the command of the insurgent Solar, to capitulate; and, on the 7th of February, General Salaverry lost the hard-contested battle of Socabaya, also called Altos de la Luna, or Heights of the Moon,-a name singularly in character with that high and lunatic excitement which hurried to his doom this enthusiastic child of ambition. He escaped from the field of action with many of his officers, and the remainder of his wearied troops; and, when nearly in sight of their shipping at Islay, they were taken prisoners by our countryman, General Miller, under circumstances which demanded on the part of this very distinguished officer the exercise of that active vigilance, coolness, intrepidity, and self-possession, for which he has been so remarkable throughout his honourable military

career.

"On Thursday, February 18, 1836, General Salaverry, and eight of his principal officers, were by sentence of court-martial condemned to death,-and accordingly were publicly shot in the great square of Arequipa. This event, though lamented by a few, was matter of rejoicing to the many, who now looked forwards to the re-organization of the political state of Peru, under the protection of General Santa-Cruz, the president of Bolivia."

In giving some particulars respecting the physical characteristics of this distracted country, we should naturally commence with a description of the mines of Pasco, had we not anticipated that subject in a very graphic description translated from the French,

** Only three weeks before he made his revolution, he had suppressed another in the castles of Callao, and shot every fifth man engaged in it. His own treason, while it succeeded, he called patriotism; but he was doomed to suffer the punishment of a rebel."

in our twelfth Number; and consequently we shall content ourselves with transcribing a passage descriptive of the effect of rapid transition from a maritime town to the upper regions of the Andes.

"We had not left Casacancha far behind, when one of our fellow-travellers experienced the most distressing headache: his face became turgid, the temporal arteries throbbed with violence, the respiration was difficult, and it seemed to him as if the chest was too narrow for its contents. The other gentleman complained less; it was only a vexatious headache that disturbed him, but his eyes were blood-shot. The writer was still differently affected from either of his fellow-travellers. His headache was moderate; but his extremities soon became quite cold as the sun declined; the skin shrank, and then came on a sense of sickness and oppression about the stomach and heart, with a short, hurried, and panting respiration. His kind associates on this occasion forgot their own ailments in attending to his more urgent wants. They had him carefully wrapped in warm sheep-skins, which formed the usual bedding of the poor Indian family within, and renovated his strength by a cordial basin of hot tea. In this manner, and immersed at the time in the pungent smoke that filled the whole hut, the natural warmth of the extremities and surface was soon restored, so that he became comparatively easy, and passed a better night than either of his two obliging friends.

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"The writer had frequent occasion afterwards to cross this same part of the Cordillera, and, profiting by his first lesson, he took care always to start early in the morning on his day's journey, so got refreshment, and turned into bed as soon as possible after his as to arrive early in the evening at his quarters for the night. He arrival; and took care that he slept warm and dry. By thus avoiding cold and wet, which check perspiration and overload the deep-seated blood-vessels, he ever after on this route avoided the Cordillera sickness.

"More than once we have witnessed the most affecting scenes of moaning and suffering, without the additional misery of the veta, when some wet and cold traveller arrived at Casacancha at a late hour, and threw down as his couch his already half-soaked pellon on a damp mud floor, or earthen bench, and covered him. self up for the night with his drenched ponchos. In the morning, a traveller so circumstanced may find his ponchos half-frozen over him; and when he arises, and looks out, he often sees the plain covered with snow which has locked up the herbage from the reach of the shivering cattle that stand fettered on the plain." frequently causes great distress for a long period, until the sufferer The highly rarefied state of the atmosphere in these high regions becomes acclimatised; but the very sudden change, both in the temperature and density of the air, must produce very deleterious The journey from Pasco to Lima generally occupies four days, but effects on the constitutions of those frequently subjected to it. it has been performed in fifty hours. So rapid an alternation of climates is sufficient to disorder the best-organised frame.

If the Limenians were frequently subjected to this trial, we should not be surprised at learning that they suffer much from indigestion and consumption; but, although Dr. Smith bears honourable testimony to many excellent qualities possessed by the Limenians, both of Spanish and mixed blood, yet he cannot conceal the fact, that they are generally, especially the pure Spaniards, indolent to an excess, and so absorbed by the pursuit of pleasure, as to render any attempt at the introduction, or at least the maintenance, of any regular system of education almost abortive. It is sufficient to say, that the children of the best families require to be coaxed and bribed before they will consent to go to school in the morning, to show the lamentable state of society, and the total want of that moral energy which alone renders a nation worthy to be free. And now the question naturally arises, how is it that such a people masters, and take upon themselves the weight of self-government. ever summoned up enough resolution to throw off their taskHere we must quote Malvolio-Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.' The latter was the case of the Peruvians: they were tranquil and happy under the rule of the Spaniards; grumbling occasionally at the restrictions under which they laboured, especially those which shut out all of mixed blood from participation in the honours of the state, and even from the exercise of all professions, except the medical, which, strange to say, was, and is, almost wholly in the hands of people of colour, men and women-the latter being especially esteemed. The Limenians are singularly delicate in

their constitutions, and are so fond of being doctored, that they are very seldom well: the advice of one physician is never enough, -they are fond of seeking the prescriptions of several, and, as the one knows not that the other is employed, the jumble of medicines and contrary systems of treatment pursued, must assuredly send many to their long-home, who might have lived and done well, did not this extraordinary mania possess them. They cannot even die with satisfaction unless they die according to rule-Morir en regla.

"This expression, which means to die according to rule, is one which all good Catholics are most solicitous to realize for themselves and friends; and the custom it refers to is deemed of the utmost importance in a religious and professional point of view. "When a physician visits a patient, and finds him in a doubtful or critical state, he must never omit to warn the patient or his friends of his real situation, with a view to enable them to call a medical consultation, and allow time for testamentary preparations and spiritual confession. The neglect of this precautionary mea. sure would, in the event of the disease terminating fatally, bring great blame on the physician; but, after he has notified what he considers to be the patient's real condition, then, whether the parties interested in such communication choose to act upon his advice or not, he has acquitted himself properly; and when the patient, previously confessed and sacramented, dies with the benefit of a consultation, or duly assisted by a medical junta, he is said to die according to rule, that is, morir en regla.

"The great medical juntas in Lima, by which we understand consultations where more than four or five doctors are met toge ther, are remarkable occasions of oratorical display. The warmest discussion frequently turns on the dose, composition, or medicinal operation of some common drug; and all the learning, method, and criticism, sometimes discovered at these solemn debates, terminate not unfrequently in the most simple practice, by which the nurse is enjoined to have recourse to the jeringa, and the patient told he must drink agua de pollo,' or chicken-tea, until the return of the junta. In former times such consultations were called oftener than necessary, because a great junta became a sort of ostentatious exhibition, in which all who could afford to cite a group of doctors desired to imitate the great and the wealthy. "A sample, on a little scale, of such fashionable follies, is familiar to the Limenian in the well-known local story of the two doctors, who, for a month or more, daily met in consultation at the house of a family in town, where, as they retired to the supposed privacy of a consulting-room, the one would clear his throat, and ask the other, Come el enfermo hoy?'-May the patient eat to-day ?-to which the second doctor would reply, Como no? si, comera.'-Why not? yes, he shall eat. Thus, day after day, began and ended the consultation, as far at least as its topics of discussion concerned the patient; while the good old doctors spun out a regular allowance of time before they rejoined the patient, or his attendants, serenely to announce the well-matured result of their conference. A man of nous, accustomed to listen behind the scenes, at length broke in upon their consultation; and dismissed them one day by paying to each his usual fee, and telling them both how happy he was to find that he now knew as much as themselves, for that he could repeat as well as anybody, Come el enfermo hoy?-Como no? is, comera.'

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"A medical junta in Lina is commonly continued morning and evening, and from day to day, till the patient is pronounced to be out of danger. As the junta breaks up after each separate meeting, it is customary for the president of the meeting, or one of the physicians, to say, as he leaves his seat, Vamos a consolar al enfermo,'-Let us go to console the patient; and then all the doctors present re-enter the patient's apartment to soothe and to console him; and after this one of the number steps forward to lay down the regimen-' a dar el regimen'-agreed upon in consultation, and which one or more nurses and attendants are now ready to receive from the mouth of the physician. After the formality of a junta is thought no longer necessary, it often happens that, by wish of the patient or his relatives, two or more of the medical advisers return at separate hours, but by mutual agreement, for several days, by way of further security to the sick, or as a source of satisfaction to his family.

"After all the care possible bestowed on the part of doctors, it often happens that, when the patient recovers, San Antonio, or any other saint after whom the individual is named, has all the credit of the cure; but, when the case is unprosperous, then all the evil is ascribed to human agency.

"In Lima, as elsewhere, it will readily enough be admitted in general terms that all must die; but regarding this proposition, when death strikes any one in particular, difficulties at once suggest themselves; for the surviving friends are ever ready to assign many reasons why they are quite sure the deceased might have escaped, had it not been for this or that physician that misunderstood his malady. Hence it may be said that it is only in wellregulated juntas, and in public hospitals, that the people of Lima are supposed to glide to their latter end by fair and natural means. Upon this subject we heard it remarked by a sagacious native, 'Should a gambler lose at a cock-fight, he does not attribute the loss to any fault in the cock, but to some trick done to him; if a horse lose in a race, his owner never acknowledges the cause of the failure to be in the animal, but assigns it to some accident paratively trivial occasions men thus talk and think, it is but thrown in his way: and surely, when we know that on such comnatural for them, in an affair of such moment and interest as life itself, never to believe that a friend or relative loses his existence rather that his demise should be charged, as we see it is, though from any fault of his own, or any defect in his organization, but often unjustly, on the blind and stumbling ignorance, or unpardonable carelessness and indifference, of the physicians.'

"One common consequence of this mode of thinking is, that, by a single fatal case in practice, all the former success of the practitioner is overlooked, at least for a time; from which it fol. lows that various medical advisers are sure to replace one another often in those families where death is a frequent visitor.

"We seldom meet in families that shyness or reserve in divulging bodily ailments which can render them reluctant to change their family physician; and no physician, though specially intrusted with a patient, can be sure that others of the profession do not, at secret interviews, tamper with his peculiar treatment. This baneful custom leads to professional jealousies and mutual distrust. We believe many families countenance it from motives of consideration for the doctor ostensibly in trust, whose self-love they propose to spare by this clandestine practice, where they think a more open manner of proceeding would be repulsive to his feelings. There is, however, another very obvious reason which lends its influence to this furtive system of visiting the sick; and it is, that by this means the opinion of several advisers may be had at comparatively little expense. Should only two individuals be called to meet at the bedside of the patient at an appointed hour to consult on his case, the meeting is a bond-fide junta, and each member of it is entitled to his four or four-and-a-half dollars; whereas the single visits are only valued at one dollar each, and such detached visits are in many instances not paid by the sick, but by the friends at whose request the professional calls are made. Here then is great economy; eight opinions (and if the patient be poor, so that he is only expected to pay a half-dollar fee for a detached visit, sixteen opinions) may be procured for the standard price of two when given in consultation; and custom, as well as reason and prudence, require that several opinions should be taken in cases of hazard and difficulty.

"Owing in a considerable degree to the comparative poverty of the present times, medical juntas are by no means so frequent as they used to be; but yet it is a common saying on serious occa sions, where the assistance of more than one medical adviser is thought necessary, that more is seen by four eyes than by two.Mas se ve con cuatro ojos que con dos.' By multiplying skill according to this rule, a score of eyes may be assembled in one junta to search into the patient's obscure malady, so as to point out the cause and the remedy; or, if there should be no other alternative, let him die according to rule."

We must here conclude, although we have been obliged, from want of space, to omit the mention of many topics to which we should have been glad to allude. Peru has once more been disturbed by an invading swarm of Chilians, who took possession of Lima, plundered the country, and ill-treated the people. The latest intelligence is, however, that Santa-Cruz had all but destroyed the invaders. We earnestly hope that Dr. Smith's anticipations will be realised, and that, under the protection of Santa-Cruz, Peru will enjoy tranquillity, and the blessings of a settled and energetic government, acting with wise and liberal views. This alone we believe to be necessary to call forth the dormant resources of the country, to revive her fainting commerce, to restore her ruined agriculture, and improve her illmanaged mines. Whilst the rest of the world is marching onward, let us hope that Peru will no longer continue to lag behind.

I

PADDY AND THE BEAR; OR, HOW TO TELL A STORY.* Or all story-tellers, commend me to an Irishman! There is a roundness and a fulness in his brogue, a twinkling humour in his eye, a richness and a raciness in every word he utters, which renders him the glory of a social circle-the very heart-strings and life-blood of merriment! I presume all your readers have seen the caricature of the Scotchman, the Englishman, and the Irishman, admiring the pretty girl in the mercer's shop, and all anxious to have a chat with her. They must also have read the humorous anecdote of the experiment being tried which of the representatives of the three nations would give the best answer to the proposition to stand all night naked, during a storm, on the top of a steeple. John's ideas of the thing centred in his belly,-give him bread, cheese, and ale, and a certain sum, and he would "try the job." Sandy, with his usual caution, looked over his shoulder, and, instead of saying what he would take, inquired, "What will ye gi'e us?" But Paddy, ready-witted Paddy, replies, "Take! take! what would I take, is it? Arrah, I'd take a very great could." Sitting one night, lately, in company with Scotchmen, Englishmen, and Irishmen, a dispute arose whether the Irish brogue or Scotch patois was best adapted for telling a story. This, of course, led to a very animated introductory discussion, in which it was admitted that the Doric dialect of the Scotch had been rendered classical by the great writers who have introduced it into their works, or made it the vehicle of conveying their ideas; and, of course, Burns, Galt, the Ettrick Shepherd, and Sir Walter Scott, were duly honoured. But the pride of an Englishman was roused; he volunteered to tell a story of his own as humorous as any an Irishman or a Scotchman could tell, and he thus began:

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'Why," says he, " one dark and stormy night I found myself in the town of Paisley, the region of shawls and pullicates, and

other woven commodities. The house of 'entertainment for man and beast,' into which I had the honour of being received, was graced by the presence of a little red-haired fellow, who from being weaver had turned waiter, and certainly there was more of the loom than of the bar about him. 'Hallo, waiter,' says I, 'what have you got in this here house?' 'What's your wull, sir?' 'Wool, wool! Zounds, sirrah, do you take me for a woolseller, a sheep, or a negro?' 'I was just speering, sir, what your wull was,' replied little carrotty, with all due humility. What's my will! Why, what's that to you-do you want a legacy ? Come, get supper, sirrah,' says I; and seeing as how he was an ignorant Scotch lump of a fellar, and didn't know nothing, I determined to have a little sport with him. So when he came in again, says I, 'Pray, my little fellow, what's o'clock ?' It will

be half ten, sir,' he replied. Half ten, sirrah; is it but five ?' 'No, sir, it's half an hour from ten.' 'And what is half an hour from ten? Is it half an hour after nine, or half an hour past ten?' 'I only meant to say it will be half an hour after nine.'"'

"Aisy, my darling," said an Irishman in company, "maybe your thravels have been printed afore, or you've helped yourself to a leaf from Captain Grose." "'Pon my honour, this here adventure did happen to me; and if it didn't, may I never stir no more from this here spot." "Never mind it, my dear; but take an Irishman's advice. When you tell a story, invint, but never borrow. When you write, let your pen be a diamond, and use the sun for an ink-bottle. Och, my jewel, invintion is the thing! I'll tell you a story that will just give you a bit of an idea of what I mean.

"Once upon a time," said Paddy, and his face was lightened with a smile, " once upon a time, my darlings, and it's not very long ago, an Irishman, and a friend of my own, took it into his head that he would leave his master dear, and try a better country I do not mean to say that a better country there is under the whole face of heaven; but times are bad, and many a dacent man thinks he might get a better bit and sup by emigration than he

This little sketch, by one of our regular contributors, has already

appeared in print.

can get in his own dear country. His master sent for him, and he says, mighty sharp, 'Well, Thady, what's this I hear about you?' "Och, my jewel, you can hear nothing about me but myself, and I'm not speaking.'

"But you are going away, Thady,—you are going away, they say.'

"You may say that, sir, for I'm two stone lighter than when I came to you.'

"But what's taking you away, Thady?'

"Just my own feet and legs, dear!'

"You are very short with me this morning, Thady.'

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'Why, then, I think I'm as long as I was yesterday. But, master dear, I'm going to Amerikay, to get a bit o' land for myself and Judy, and where we'll get praties for the childer just for the digging, and have a sweet little cabin of our own, far in the woods, and the never a morsel o' rint to pay!' "But, Thady, are you not afraid of the blackamoor wild Indians that live in the woods? They will come down some dark night, and tomahawk you!' "Afraid! is it an Irishman afraid? They tummayhawk me! There's not a man among them all could play long bullets with my brother Phelemy, and show me one o' them could touch me at the first fisteen! But sure, master dear, I would not know one o' them from Adam when I seen them.'

"Oh, Thady, they are wild-looking black rascals, and you had better stay at home than venture among them.'

"Stay at home, is it? Arrah, my dear, poor Thady has no home to go to; for the landlord put poor Judy out for three and sixpence, and now I'll stay no longer here. Och! sweet Mulligan, sweet Mulligan, and the days o' my youth, when I was fed like a fighting-cock, and Judy was my darling, and the world was light and easy on us! It was then that we had the great big noggins o' broth for dinner, instead o' the crabbed, pock-marked praties that the pigs in Mullingar wouldn't eat, and butter-milk as thin and sour as crame o' thartar! Farewell, master dear, and may God Almighty be wid yees all!'

had been on the rowling ocean before, now saw nothing at all at all "So over the salt seas poor Thady went, and Judy, that never for weeks but the green sea and blue sky. Och, but it's myself could discourse about the sea and the sky!-how the whales, and the dolphins, and the sharks, rowle in the water; and the pretty stars, and the moon, and the sun, look down upon the coral beds at the bottom o' the sea; and when the wind begins to blow like mad, and the waves go up and then go down, and the sails are torn into shreds with a noise like thunder, and the masts go by the board, and there's ten feet water in the hold, and the ship is sucked down into the bubbling sea; and, just before it goes down, men, women, and children send up one dreadful scream, that rises above the blast, and pierces the very gate of heaven! There's description for you!

"But Thady arrived safe in Quebec, with Judy and the children, and then off they trudged into the woods, to try and get a bit of land to settle on. Some Irish neighbours helped him to get up a cabin to shelter the family, and he says to one of them, 'Where do thim blackamoor negur Indians live, that I heerd about in our own country?'

"Och, beyant there in the woods.'

"And Corny, tell me, have you ever seen any o' them?' "Seen them! To be sure I have, there's scores o' them in the woods, black, ugly devils they are!'

“And what makes them black, Corny? Sure, couldn't the dirty cratures keep themselves Christian white?"

doesn't know. Something they rub on them when they are "It's the climate, they say; but what the climate is, myself young.'

plenty among them-I wish we had some of it, and I would rub "The dirty heathen brutes! But sure they must have the stuff little Barney with it, for an experiment.'

"From that day forward, Thady was very eager to see a blacka

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