The prejudices of ages is fast wearing away: the South-Americans, and, Spain herself, no longer view us as renegades, heretics, “God-abandoned.” Twenty years back, England and Englishmen were as little known or understood by the Buenos Ayreans, as is the interior of the Chinese empire now to the rest of the world. For centuries past, care was taken to inflame the passions of the Spaniards against us and our country; and it is not strange that a remnant of this animosity yet remains. Their best poets have stigmatised us: I recollect hearing, in Buenos Ayres, that part of Lope de Vegas’ popular ballad—
“My brother Don John to England’s gone,To kill the Drake, the Queen to take,And the heretics all to destroy;And he shall bring you a Protestant maidTo be your slave, &c.”
“My brother Don John to England’s gone,To kill the Drake, the Queen to take,And the heretics all to destroy;And he shall bring you a Protestant maidTo be your slave, &c.”
It is gratifying to observe, that those Creolians who have been in England evince the greatest attachment to us.
In the college of Stonyhurst, near Liverpool, are several Buenos Ayrean youths, who have been sent thither to be educated. The British government deserves praise for the countenance given to this establishment; silencing at once the complaints of our own Catholics, in not having a proper place to educate their sons, and bringing the youth of foreign nations in contact with our’s, from whence it is natural to expect they will feel an attachment to a country where they have received almost their first impressions. So far from its infecting our population with Catholicism,[27]the reverse would seem more probable. It will give strangers an opportunity of judging, from actual observation, of the institutions of our country, and the advantages arising from a liberal system of government.
The education bestowed upon females is far from being solid: reading, writing, music, and dancing, are all that is thought necessary. In the two last they are enthusiasts, and some of the proficients; the study of languages, or deep reading, is not thought of consequence. Spanish husbands, they say, have an antipathy to blue-stocking wives: from the natural talent of the females, they would soon be adepts in more abstruse studies.
If the Buenos Ayrean ladies do not possess the higher branches of learning, they have an indescribable sweetness of manners, free from affectation, at once giving confidence to the timid stranger, and delightful to all whohave the happiness to know them. They seldom address a person but with a smile, listen attentively to conversation, without that listless indifference, and answering with the monosyllables ofyesandno, that I have witnessed in some societies.
The time may arrive, when South America may have to boast her Madame de Staels and a host of female literati; and another Corinna may conduct her lover over Southern scenery, the snow-topt Andes, and Imperial Cusco, with as much soft enthusiasm as belongs to her Italian rival. At present, however, their natural talent is thrown into the shade, for want of cultivation.
The letter-writing between female friends is very energetic: I caught a glimpse of one, which ran thus—“Farewell, my idolized and beloved friend! receive the heart of your devoted, constant, faithful, &c.” Notwithstanding this fervour, we never hear of those fatal love attachments that end so tragically with us: is it that, south of the line, the female heart is so tenderly moulded, they will not bid the despairing lover die? or, are they convinced, “that men have died, and worms have eaten them, but not for love,” and therefore doubt the truth of man’s protestations? Alas! I fear that, in this love-inspiring city of Buenos Ayres, it is possible to find Violas and Rosalinds, but not many Juliets, and of the other sex still fewer Werters.
The Spanish language is certainly delightful; its very sounds bring to recollection the Don Guzmans and Don Antonios of chivalric days. I wish they would make it the fashionable study in England, as in good queen Elizabeth’s reign, instead of the trifling French. From the great changes in the Spanish world, and our South-American connections, it must ever be an object of importance.
A work published in London, by Mr. Ackerman, in the Spanish language, with plates, calledVariedades et Mensagero de Londres, has numerous purchasers here. It ispublished quarterly, and reflects great credit on its author. This publication will afford to the South Americans an excellent idea of Great Britain and Europe generally;[28]it contains selections from our best authors.
TheNEWSPAPERSpublished in Buenos Ayres are, theArgus,Teatro del Opinion,Republicano, andState Register. There was, likewise, a Sunday paper, called theCentinella, which has been discontinued—for what reason I know not, for it was managed with ability. The freedom of the press may be said to exist in a degree here; to the same extent as in England, would be dangerous at present.
TheMercantile Gazette, edited by Mr. Hallet, a North-American gentleman, is very useful; it has every sort of commercial information. A newspaper of the same description, theDiario, carried on by a Portuguese, failed for want of requisite attention.
A number of ephemeral productions appear from time to time, “to fret and strut their hour upon the stage, and then are heard no more.”
In the almanack of 1824, there is a selection of English puns and Joe Miller’s jests, to amuse the Buenos Ayreans, and give them a specimen of English low wit.
ThePRINTING-OFFICESare spacious, and furnished with every requisite, from London. An English printer, Mr. Cook, is employed in one of the offices, and report states his professional talents to be of the first order.
Religion.—Previous to the late treaty with Great Britain, no other place of public worship was allowed in Buenos Ayres, except those of the Romish church; and it was only after much discussion, that the article allowing religious toleration was obtained.
The Catholic faith has been denominated a religion of the fancy; the Protestant, one of the mind. A book I have lately read, Blunt’sItaly, ingeniously endeavours to prove that most of the Catholic ceremonies are remnants of Paganism; and the author illustrates his arguments by comparing the Roman with the Popish festivals. The great similarity would certainly incline one to give credence to the assertion. The reformed church, however, has its incongruities likewise. In Buenos Ayres I have not witnessed any thing like the superstition that reigns in Belgium; bigots there are, but not more than in some of our sects at home. The rising generation of Buenos Ayres have gone from one extreme to another, and are quite Voltairians: at the theatre, during a portrait exhibition of different public characters, that of Voltaire ran away with all the applause.
In January, 1824, an archbishop, named Don Juan Muzi, arrived from Rome with a large suite, in a Sardinian brig, which hoisted the Papal flag in addition to her own, and fired a salute. Some time ago, such an event would have put the whole town in commotion; as it was, few attended to see him land, and his reception by the government was any thing but cordial: he shortly after departed for Chili. During his abode, he lodged at Faunch’s Hotel, and there gave his benedictions to the crowds that visited him, who were mostly females, attracted, I thought, more from curiosity than from any other motive. The manifest of the archbishop’s effects raised a smile:—there were beads, crosses, and every trifling appendage of the church. The archbishop himself, from his venerable aspect and mild manners, engaged the esteem of all; but the Papal poweris on the wane here now, whatever it might have been in other times. The Catholic church, however, under the care of a liberal priesthood, and shorn of its superstitions, will insure the respect of all countries.
A church, in Catholic countries, ever possesses something to strike the eye, though there may not be service going on. There are generally to be seen numbers of poor old women, before their saint, counting their beads, the low murmurings of their prayers alone breathing the silence of the place: many times have I advanced with cautious steps, fearing to interrupt their devotions. The absence of a congregation gives one, likewise, an opportunity of a closer inspection of the glittering altars, virgins, saints, and Madonas. No fear exists that sacrilegious hands would dare purloin any thing from the sacred walls; alas! in England, our thieves would not be so scrupulous.
The churches, on a Sunday, or feast day, are worthy a stranger’s attention; and he must be cold indeed, that can view such an assemblage of beauty unmoved: the dress, the veil, and prostrate persons; indeed, we might picture other Lauras besides Petrarch’s: it is almost enough to make one turn renegade, forsake the religion of our fathers, and rush into the bosom of a church so enchanting.
Public worship takes place at various hours: one mass, as early as six in the morning, and the sweet girls and their mothers are seen hurrying to church at that early hour.
Families going to mass are attended by slaves and servants carrying the carpeting upon which they kneel. Of books they have few enough; and would, I dare say, stare to see our London footmen, in gorgeous liveries, looking like Austrian field-marshals, walking behind their mistresses, with a load of books, to church, and the host of carriages that attend a fashionable chapel.
Upon entering or leaving a church, many of the congregation are content to receive the holy water at second hand; that is to say, one who is near the vessel which contains itwill dip his fingers in, and furnish to three or four other persons drops of the sacred element, to make the sign of the cross. The ladies often condescend to mark with this water the foreheads of their female slaves and attendants.
At “oration time,” in the dusk of evening, a small bell tingles from the churches, when, it is presumed, every true Catholic whispers a prayer. In Buenos Ayres, I am afraid, this is not always the case.
Some of the music sung in the masses is very pretty: friars and boys are the vocalists, selected from the best voices. Friar Juan, at the Cathedral, has a fine bass voice. The Portuguese hymn they sing with science; but, as I had heard this hymn at the Portuguese Ambassador’s Chapel in London, in which several of the first-rates of the Opera took parts, the effect here was diminished: they select, too, from profane music, and I applaud them for it, following the remark attributed to our Rev. Rowland Hill, on the introduction of “Rule Britannia,” and “Hearts of Oak,” into his chapel—“It is really a great shame the devil should have all the pretty tunes to himself.” If music be the “food of love,” it is equally so of religion, insensibly leading the mind to an enthusiasm, and that softness, that compensates for “a dull age of pain.” I wish they would reform the dismal hum-drum music of our English churches. I do not wish the lively dance; but something a little less gloomy than the present mode. My English friends will be shocked to hear that in a Buenos Ayres church they have played and sung to the charming air that opens our petit opera ofPaul and Virginia, “See from ocean rising.” At Monte Video, I heard the Tyrolean war song, or our “Merrily O,” upon the organ, in a church. Music and religion have, and will, raise these people to war and desperation; other causes must combine to have the same effect upon Englishmen.
Persons of both sexes go to confession very young—even at the early age of ten years. At church confessions, thepriest is seated in the box, to which there is an iron-grating on one side, and through this he hears the confession of the parties upon their knees outside. I have seen several women confess;—somehow or other the sex have more devotion than us men. Doubtless, it is a relief to the overcharged heart to unbosom itself, and receive the consolations of religion; and I can fancy the happiness experienced from the gentle expostulations of an amiable priest, who, in censuring the errors, bids the sinner not despair of mercy. We, of Protestant creed, appeal to God alone, disdaining earthly interference. This system of divulging our inmost thoughts has, at all times, been an argument with the opponents of the Romish church, who instance, that the peace of families or nations are at the mercy of a mortal man; and if breaches of confidence are rare, still some villain might betray his trust, and ruin his unsuspecting victims. To the honour of the Catholic priesthood, such probabilities are very remote. I am afraid that I should make a sad father confessor: loveliness upon the bended knee before me would destroy all my philosophy; I should at once accord them absolution, remission, and every thing else; and, forgetful of my oaths and sacred calling, turn suppliant at the feet of those who came to me as their pastor and guide.
Females are at times seen in the streets habited as nuns, in flannel vestments, crosses, beads, &c. the effect of a vow made during sickness or penance. The sins of some of these young creatures cannot have been very flagrant: I should have pardoned them for the pleasure of receiving their confessions again. There is likewise a house in which females pass weeks in penitence and prayer.
It is observed of the Spanish female, that she will give herself up to all the voluptuousness of pleasure, haste to the church, and, prostrating herself before her favourite saint, return to sin again. I will not venture to be so severe a censurer as to hazard an opinion upon this: but,as my eye wandered over the countenances of many a fair creature of Buenos Ayres, kneeling in graceful beauty before the inanimate saint, I fancied all and more than books had ever told me; for, “with faces that seemed as if they had just looked in Paradise, and caught its early beauty,” I fancied that many of earthly mould shared in those contemplations so seemingly devoted to heaven.
Small figures of the Virgin Mary, in glass cases, are kept in the apartments of various homes. In apothecaries’ shops I have particularly noticed them, to bespeak a blessing, doubtless, upon their physic. In the mansions of the poorer class they are more frequently seen; the costly saint and miserable dirty furniture of the rooms contrasted. A full-length figure of a saint, in a wire cage, with lamps on each side, is in the street of Le Cuyo, placed in accordance with a vow made in a period of danger; but, in general, there are less externals of the church in the public streets and roads than might be expected.
On passing a church, it was a constant custom to take off the hat; but few do it now. The beggars about these holy edifices clamour for charity, for the love of God and St. Rosario, or any other apostle favourite. These beggars are great thieves; I have lost several articles by their professional visits to my lodgings. They do not shoulder crutches and wooden legs, either to fight or run, as their London brethren, upon the approach of the police. One of my friends told me of an old woman, in Buenos Ayres, that spits upon every person she supposes to be an Englishman. Not having had the fortune to receive this lady’s favours, I cannot vouch for the truth of the story.
The priesthood are not so illiberal as report makes them out; they are painted to us as having a fixed hatred to Protestants, conceiving them to be the authors of all the obloquy the Catholics have endured from time to time. It must be recollected, that we have our errors on the score of prejudice likewise.
The friars of Buenos Ayres have amongst their body men of considerable learning; and, whatever hostility exists towards the system, they, as individuals, do not generally share in it. There may be one or two black sheep in the flock; and scandal takes care to blazen forth their deeds, particularly all that relates to their amours, but the common frailty of our nature should teach us to be merciful judges where love is concerned. The people have much respect for them; and, from what I have heard, they deserve it. Formerly, it is related, that on any offender being flogged in the public streets, the appearance of a priest calling for mercy would stop the infliction. If this was the case in England, our unflogged thieves would be bound to pray for them.
Four years since, two Englishmen having quarrelled, one of them ran into Le Merced church for protection from his opponent, who followed, and beat him under the very robes of the priest; a guard was called, and the offender taken into custody. Having an excellent character, he was liberated from prison on bail; and the affair ended in an expensive law suit. Some years back, he would have been severely punished for his inconsiderate conduct.
Some of the friars are handsome men: I have remarked one of them a counterpart of Young the actor. Their dress, shaven crown, and dark hair, added much to their appearance: the ugly attire they now wear, is a sad drawback. In my casual rencontres with them, I ever found them polite and attentive, effacing that diffidence which a stranger feels in venturing upon their hallowed precincts. The inquisition has never been established in Buenos Ayres; but I have often been cruel enough to fancy, that such and such a priest had a countenance like an inquisitor.
The suppression of the monasteries, in 1822, caused a great deal of discussion. There were those of the well-inclined who were not without apprehensions, and seemed disposed tolet the presumed evil continue, rather than risk a change. The government must have felt their own strength, when they determined to reform so influential a portion of the church, having to encounter the prejudices and fanaticism of those grown grey in the old order of things, who regarded meddling with the church as little short of heresy. The friars were, in a manner, domesticated with the first families of Buenos Ayres, and ever received as welcome guests. They must (at least, some of them) have felt great reluctance to quit the convents, in which they had expected to remain for life, and regret at parting with the attire of their order. Discontent was engendered, at times, almost amounting to threats, which found vent in a conspiracy, ending in the banishment of Taglé, its author; and another more serious one, of the 19th March, 1823. The result of these abortive attempts served to confirm the power and influence of the existing government. The majority of the people, I should conceive, thought an alteration necessary in the clergy: many of that majority had visited Europe, and became divested of the narrow policy the Spaniards had taught them.
Elderly ladies, of all countries, are allowed to be more pious than the rest of society. The friars in Buenos Ayres found them staunch advocates of their cause.
To counteract the strong feeling that existed for the friars, the press of the day had recourse to ridicule, as well as to argument: a publication called the “Llobera,” teemed with paragraphs and anecdotes, often so indecent that it injured the cause it proposed to serve. This print was soon laid aside. In the mean time, the suppression gradually went on; and all that now remains of the monasteries of Buenos Ayres are the Franciscans. The buildings will soon perhaps be converted to other uses. The ejected friars, throwing off their habit, assumed a clerical half-dress, very similar to that of our clergymen; and the Dominicans, Mercedites, &c. are now met in the streets,as simple citizens, no longer wearing the livery of the founders of those orders. Three years ago, groupes of friars were continually about the church doors, in coffee-houses, and the streets, segar smoking, apparently under no church restrictions: when a reform was agitated, they were more strict, and the convent gates were closed at a certain hour. The Franciscans, who yet keep together, are rarely to be seen abroad, except the messengers, or lay brothers, who are, in dress and figure, no bad copy of their prototype, inThe Duenna.
If the original rules of monastic institutions were put in full force, few claimants would be found for the honour of entering them. A suitable provision has been made for those who have left their convents; the government appropriating the lands attached for the benefit of the state. Time appears, in some measure, to have healed the wounds of the discontented, though there are some who pretend the flame is smothered, and not burnt out; “Give it vent,” they say, “and ’twill blaze again.”
There are two convents forNUNS, St. Juan and St. Catalina, each containing about thirty. The regulations of St. Juan’s are very rigid: they wear clothing of the coarsest nature, and the beds, and every other accommodation, are of the same description. No one is permitted to see them, except their nearest relations, and that very rarely. Heavens! how ardent must be that devotion, that can voluntarily embrace such a life! A female, on her first entrance, may leave at the end of a year; but, after that time, she is professed, and must conform to the rules. Very few, I believe, take advantage of this option. Such is the force of religious enthusiasm, that they gladly bid farewell to the world, wishing no father, mother, lover, friend, but their God and Saviour.
At St. Catalina’s they are not so strict, being allowed indulgences unknown to the self-immolated of St. Juan.
I have never seen any of the fair inhabitants of theseconvents; but when the nuns of Buenos Ayres have formed the subject of conversation, I have eagerly listened, expecting to hear something of disappointed love, or confidence betrayed. Alas it was in vain: the ladies of St. Juan and Catalina are nuns from the dull routine of religion, with one exception only, if my information is true; and advantage was not taken to quiz my avidity for nunnery news. The tale runs, that St. Juan’s convent does contain, a victim of “despised love.” Her lover, an officer, of course—for what men in trade ever think of love?—joined the army in Peru, and married another. At the age of seventeen, the fair, betrayed girl fearlessly took the veil, chiding her weeping mother for her cruelty, nay, sinfulness, at shewing such affliction for what constituted her daughter’s only happiness. An account of the ceremony was given me;—but who shall take the field in description, after the glowing details we have read in romances? and especially at second-hand.
The majority of the nuns in these two convents are aged, having received very few additions, lately, of the youthful class. Has man, false man, become more constant, no longer striving to break the heart of the doting fair one or, are the ladies less sensitive, preferring, at all hazards, this bustling world to the cloister’s gloom, exclaiming with Sheridan’sClara,
“Adieu, thou dreary pile, where never dies“The sullen echo of repentant sighs!”
“Adieu, thou dreary pile, where never dies“The sullen echo of repentant sighs!”
In the most minute affairs of the Romish church, there is a formula, which, having antiquity for its basis, imposes upon the mind of its followers; and, as regards a conventual life, the first dawn of such a wish, even before the parties quit their parents’ house, amounts to a ceremony. In the year 1822, my curiosity was gratified by an exhibition of this sort. I was invited to a house, in which a lady, about to become a nun, was receiving the last farewells of her friends. It was evening; and it was with difficultythat I gained admittance from the crowd outside. The lady was seated in thesala; arrayed in her best attire; her head and neck decorated with jewellery; such is the fashion, this being a contrast to the dress she was about to assume. Music was heard; and it seemed more like a party met for gaiety, than one in which the afterpiece was to be so serious—the taking from the world a fellow-creature. The lady—I was going to write, victim—was all smiles; no regrets were apparent in her bosom; she received the adieus of her friends with calm composure. A friar, attached perhaps to the convent, was in the room: in taking her final leave, she was escorted by him and her relatives. With a firm step, bowing to all around, she quitted the room. In passing our party (consisting of several Englishmen), I thought she eyed us particularly; we bowed to her; and the door closed upon us. That same night, I am informed, she was conducted to the gloomy walls of St. Juan, and has since taken the veil. The lady appeared about nineteen or twenty years of age; she was not handsome, but the occasion rendered her very interesting.
The firstRELIGIOUS PROCESSIONI had ever seen, was that of St. Rosario, in Buenos Ayres; and it is not possible I can forget the impression it made upon me. Those details which, when a school-boy, I dwelt upon with such delight, were now, in my manhood, brought full before my eyes, losing nothing of their interest; on the contrary, I found that imagination does not always come up to the reality. The churches of France and Belgium I had visited with far different emotions: Spain, and Spanish connexions, thought I, contain all that can fix the attention of the Protestant inquirer, who wishes to see the Catholic church the same in the nineteenth as in the fourteenth century. Spain clings to it; with its many imperfections, as a fond lover to an idolized mistress; else they would not have suffered foreigners to overrun their soil. What would the heroes of Roncevalles and Pavia have said to those events?
The figure of St. Rosario, full-robed, was carried by soldiers, on a stage. The Virgin, on another stage, followed, flanked by numbers of the faithful carrying large lighted candles; these were chiefly old men, and boys. The host, and attendant priests wafting incense towards this sacred emblem, formed a conspicuous part; with groups of friars chaunting their prayers, in which they are joined by the crowd. A huge cross, apparently of silver, and borne by friars, precedes the whole. A small band of violinists attend, and accompany the singing: they reminded me of our itinerant musicians, that serenade us of an evening in London. The military band has a better effect. A halt is made, at intervals, at the corners of streets, or opposite temporary altars, which the devotion of the pious has raised in front of their houses: they consist of tables, covered with white linen, with small images of Jesus, the Virgin, crosses, &c. &c. and a mirror, garnished with flowers and other decorations. Soldiers march in front and rear. They, as well as every one else near the procession, are uncovered; and when the ceremonies of the host are going on, all must kneel. The houses display silks, tapestry, and other finery, arranged in front, in the streets through which the cavalcade passes; and the balconies are filled with spectators. The saints and his dumb attendants (the images), are finally deposited at their head-quarters, the church. A great quantity of females are always to be seen at those exhibitions, fervently ejaculating their “Ave-Marias.”
These processions vary but very little, except that I thought there was more of preparation, banners, &c. in that of St. Nicholas, on the 6th December. The streets were profusely adorned, road and foot-path strewed with flowers, leaves, and boughs. Small cannon were placed on the pavement near the church, the firing of which, and the discharge of rockets and other fire-works, gave notice that the saint and his holy attendants were about to leavethe church. Gentlemen, both civil and military, of the first families, at times, bear banners in the procession. These days being kept as holidays, a vast concourse stroll about the decorated streets before the attraction of the day begins. The windows, house-tops, and benches ranged near the houses, are occupied by females, the lovely persons of some of whom might move an anchorite. A scene so new has almost upset my sober reasoning; and I have looked at the host, friars, crosses, music, and all the et ceteras, till I could nearly fancy that time had rolled back, and found me living when the Catholic church knew no rival.
The feast of St. Nicholas, in December, 1824, was but a mockery of its former splendour: however, the church of San Nicholas was illuminated, and looked very pretty; and we had some bonfires, music, and fire-works. A procession was to have taken place, but the government would not pay the expense, and the church, in its present reduced state, cannot afford it. The devotees muttered their Ave-Marias and maledictions; but, as St. Nicholas did not interfere in their behalf, all went off quietly.
The feast of Corpus Christi is another grand day. The whole body of friars, with banners and flags of their different orders, mustered on the occasion, and, before the suppression of the monasteries, they constituted a decent battalion. The dress of the friars differs in nothing to what we find represented in England,—the cowl and crown, with the small cross suspended. The processions, in the course of the year, used to be very numerous. Since the dispersion of the friars, they are somewhat shorn of their beams; and, by-and-by, the sight of a friar may be a curiosity. To decorate the churches on these occasions, the priests borrow candlesticks, silks, &c. of their neighbours.
During Lent, sermons are preached on an evening, in various churches. The congregations are numerous, and the females always kneel. The custom of allowing malesto be seated in church, while the other sex are upon their knees, appears strange.
As the theatre is situated opposite the Merced church, during the sermons of the Lent evenings, some of the congregation may be seen wandering from the church to the theatre.
In passion week, there are various masses and sermons.
The afternoon and evening of Holy Thursday bring forth all the world into the streets: every house appears deserted. The concourse is astonishing: the great proportion are females. A rule of Catholic creed enjoins them to visit seven churches on this day; and this they religiously perform, stopping but a few minutes in each church, just time enough to kneel, and utter a short prayer. The governor and his aides-de-camp, likewise, go to seven churches. A crowd of both sexes assemble round the doors, especially of the Cathedral, absolutely blocking up the road way, kneeling, counting beads, and in earnest prayer.
In 1821, I saw images and other insignia of the church at the corners of the principal streets; prisoners ironed, with their guards, soliciting charity; small tables, with virgins, Jesus, and crosses: but these customs have much fallen off. Near a church, those altars are still raised on Holy Thursday, and people press around, to kiss the garments of the “mother of God.” Near St. Juan’s church, in 1824, I observed a pretty design of this nature upon a small scale, and envied the kisses it received from some charming girls. On this night, too, the military bands muster in their best dresses, with drums muffled, and other marks of mourning. They advance across the Plaza, and through the streets, at a solemn pace, playing music even more melancholy than the Dead March in Saul, preceded by one of the soldiers carrying, on a pole, a balloon with transparencies, and a light inside, which makes them look a counterpart of those that paraded London streets, a few years ago, from the lotteryoffices. During this period of mourning, both sexes are clothed in black. This continual crowd in the streets, and the peculiar church attire, serve to attract one’s attention; it is so much the reverse of our English mode: we go to church in all the colours of the rainbow.
In addition to other observances of Holy Thursday the flags of vessels belonging to Catholic nations are half-masted, yards crossed, and at the Fort, likewise, they remain till near twelve o’clock on the Saturday, at which hour cannon are fired, yards squared, the flag run up, bells rung, and shops are opened, for the joyful resurrection. But the bells do not give us those inspiring peals that we hear from our churches of St. Martin’s, St. Clement’s, and from the far-famed Bow bells: here, they are an inharmonious jangle. Our churches, so superb in architectural splendour, would astonish those gentlemen who fancy an Englishman’s taste only leads him towards vending merchandize, and receiving the proceeds.
Good Friday passes as a solemn day of prayer and mourning.
The burning of Judas is a grotesque affair. Stuffed figures, like our old Guys, are suspended from ropes in the middle of the street, charged with combustibles and fire-works. On the night of Saturday, they are fired, and Mr. Judas is blown up, amidst the shouts of the multitude. This, like our Guy Fawkes, has much fallen off, and may soon drop altogether. The newspapers have designated it barbarism. I am not for meddling with the sports of the lower orders, if they do not offend decency. The quarrel with Captain O’Brien happened about Easter, 1821; and one of the Judases of that period was observed in something of the dress of a naval officer: report said, it was meant for Captain O’Brien. It was ordered to be taken down. The people took very little interest in that dispute. When it was at its height, the Captain passed through a crowd opposite the College church, and they treated himwith great respect, making way for the “English Commandant” to pass. “We may all suffer in this business,” said our captain to one of his countrymen; “but we shall, if extremes are resorted to, be gloriously revenged.”
The holy or passion week in 1825 passed off much as usual. On the Thursday evening the ladies crowded the churches and streets in their black attire; and being a fine moonlight night, the scene (to me at least) was very interesting; and although I did not follow the custom of visiting seven churches on this evening, I went to four. At the Cathedral I remained a considerable time, listening to the music of the vespers. The fine bass voice of Friar Juan was sadly missed. He was banished for being concerned in the conspiracy of the 19th March, 1823. Valentin Gomez, one of the canons of the church, sat in full pontifical robes. Some of the Spaniards were jesting, in the church, upon his portly appearance, so different from the figure he cut at nearly the same period last year, when shipwrecked upon the English bank in the river Plate. I felt much impressed with my visit to the Cathedral: every thing combined to make me so;—the music, lights, and glittering altars, with the prostrate females attended by their slaves and servants.
The sermons at the churches, on the evenings of Lent, were well attended. The friar who preached at the church of Le Merced always attracted great crowds. At the porch of this church was placed an image of Christ, as large as life, in the act of being scourged; many devout females kissed the ropes which tied the wrists of the image.
Till late in the evening of Holy Thursday, people were kneeling before the church doors, counting beads, and saying their Ave-Marias. At nine o’clock at night, three military bands of music, of the artillery, Caçadores, and Legion de la Patria, each preceded by the globe, or balloon, with transparencies, carried upon a pole, entered the Plaza withdrums muffled, and playing solemn airs. The artillery band was much admired; Masoni, and other professors, performed in it. I followed two of the bands to their barracks, at the Retiro. The night was lovely; and it was late ere I returned home, my thoughts entirely absorbed in the scenes of the day.
On the afternoon of Good Friday, the mass at the cathedral was well attended.
The custom of burning Judas has fallen off. On the Saturday, this year, the rain fell in torrents; but, a few nights after, Judas was burnt near the Victoria coffee-house, amidst fire-works and music.
Another great object of attention to us Protestants is the Holy Ghost proceeding through the streets, to administer the last offices of religion to those who are presumed to be in a dying state. The holy father, and one attendant, both richly attired, are seated in a coach drawn by white mules. They go at a walking pace, with a few soldiers for escort; negresses, boys, and others, carrying lighted lanterns, both by night and day. A bell warns passengers of its approach, when all within view must be uncovered, and, when they are near the carriage, kneel. This last operation, not being very agreeable in dirty weather, foreigners try to avoid his holiness altogether, by going up other streets. Equestrians descend from their horses, and kneel. At night, lights are placed in the windows of the houses they pass, and their inmates kneel. Why do you kneel? said I, to a slave boy, at a house in which I resided. “Because God is in the coach,” he replied. A brutal soldier, of the escort, once knocked an Englishman down, for not kneeling in time. The magistrates took cognizance of it; and, I hear, that strangers are not now obliged to kneel, though common respect will always teach them to be uncovered. In passing the guardhouses, the guards turn out, drums are beat, &c. They have now a large bell, the small one having been mistakenfor those belonging to the water carts:[29]a Londoner might mistake it for the bell of the six-o’clock-afternoon postman.
Great veneration is paid to all that concerns this ceremony of the Holy Ghost: the very mules, it is said, were formerly looked upon as sacred. In passing coffee-houses, billiard-players, and gamblers of all descriptions, leave their profane games, to kneel. At the theatre, the performance is stopped; actors and actresses kneel on the stage, and the audience upon their seats. I have several times been present at scenes of this sort, and regarded them with great curiosity; though I have been very angry with the holy father, and impious enough to wish he had taken another route. I recollect, during an opera, one evening, the cavalcade passed no less than three times, and interrupted a delightful duet between Rosquellas and Señora Tani.
The summer of 1824-5, judging from the frequent appearance of the Holy Ghost in the streets, must have been rather a sickly one. Great respect is still paid to this holy visitant, who generally selects the evening to pay his visits. A smile will now and then take place, when the procession suddenly appears in a crowded neighbourhood, forcing all to bend the knee. The contrast of such Catholic customs with those of our sober England often occurs to me.
I am informed that great preparations take place in the sick chamber, where the sacrament is to be given. I do not admire this. The patient, enfeebled by disease, concludes there is no hope left; and often yields to despair. In England, on such occasions, a clergyman comes without pomp or attendants: his attentions are more like those of a friend, and he insensibly prepares the mind of the sufferer for the purposes of his visit. But we have much to correctin the dismal funeral bell, closing shops and windows, usual with us at burials. Life hourly presents enough to remind us of death, without those auxiliaries.
Funeral Ceremonies.—The room in which a corpse is deposited is lighted; large candles are placed round the coffin; and the wainscoting, tables, &c. are covered with white furniture, crosses, &c. The windows are often thrown open, for passengers to view the scene of death, as a warning that “to this complexion we must come at last.” I remember my surprise on first seeing a spectacle of this sort. The corpse of a female about thirty lay shrouded in her coffin, the lid of which was taken off, with her hands folded over her breast, and a small cross placed between them. The gaudy coffin, and the lights around it, gave it the appearance of wax work; indeed, I had an impression that it was so, for some minutes, not being aware of the country’s fashion in this affair.
Deceased persons are interred twenty-four hours after their decease; a necessary precaution in a warm climate. From the crowded state of the church-yards, they are now taken to the New Burial-Ground, at the Recolator; and corpses were removed thither from the church-yards, after having been buried some time. Scenes of confusion, in consequence, took place; with various imprecations from near relations, as mothers, husbands, and wives, upon recognizing the bodies of those whom they never expected to have seen again in this world.
The hearses are modelled after the French fashion, and are not followed by mourners. The relatives of the deceased attend the burial-ground to receive the body, and the church ceremonies of mass, &c. take place some days after.
The death of a friar, or any priest, is announced by a particular tolling of the bell.
The masses for the repose of the soul are performed at various churches, according to the wish of the relatives,who issue printed notices, inviting the friends of the deceased. Any one is at liberty to attend. Those of respectability, who can afford to pay, have several masses: but it is rather an expensive affair. The ceremony lasts from one to two hours. An imitation coffin is placed near the altar, surrounded by lights. If it be for a military or public man, the sword and hat are placed on the coffin, and a company of soldiers fire a volley at the church door. Towards the end of the mass, candles are put into the hands of the male part of the congregation, and in a few minutes taken from them again, and extinguished. At the close, the priests and friars, headed by their superior, take their station, in two lines, near the door, and receive and return the obeisances of the congregation. The relations and particular friends adjourn to the dwelling-house (sometimes to the refectory of the church), where a repast is prepared, of cakes, fruit, wine, liqueurs, beer, &c. the room being lighted, and hung with black and white decorations. I have heard some charming music in these masses, and it is far from being an unimpressive scene: the holding a light at the requiem of those we loved, carries with it a pleasing idea. There is, however, more real feeling in the simple country church-yard funerals in England, than in all this appeal to the senses.
A fantastic ornamented hearse, for carrying the bodies of children to their last home, has lately come into use. It has plumes of white feathers streaming from the top, and is drawn by two mules; the rider, a boy, is clothed after the manner of Astley’s equestrians.
Until the year 1821, the Protestants had no allotted place of burial; and, to satisfy the jealousy of the church, various subterfuges were obliged to be resorted to, in order to obtain something like a christian funeral. The government gave permission, and a piece of ground was bought, near the Retiro, for a cemetery, which has been inclosed, and a small chapel, with a neat portico of the Doric order,erected. The expence amounted to 4800 dollars, which was defrayed by Protestants of all classes: the British, were, of course, the chief contributors. The number buried there, from January 1821, to June 1824, was 71; of which 60 were British subjects. The service is read by some of the parties present.
At the funerals in the Protestant Burial-Ground, I have seen many Buenos Ayreans, both male and female, attracted thither by curiosity; they paid great attention, and expressed their approbation of our method of making the graves so deep.
Before this ground was opened, Protestants were buried without any service being read, and the shallow ground was hastily filled up. It was a favour that their fellowman was allowed to take up his “everlasting rest” in holy Catholic earth. I saw an English sailor interred in the Cathedral church-yard: a police-man attended, to see that no unfair means had been used, and three or four friars were strolling about. The sailor mourners eyed them askance, declaring it was shameful that they did not offer to perform the funeral service: “But what can you expect,” they added, “in such an unchristianlike land?” Their resentment was increased by seeing the mutilated body of a dead black child, which, from the nature of their graves, had made its appearance above the surface.
Police, &c.—To every barrier or parish analcalde, or sitting magistrate, is appointed, who takes cognizance of the offences and disputes in his jurisdiction, and superintends the night-patrole. Every male is liable to be called out to act as watchman for the night; and he must attend, or provide a substitute, which costs six reals; and as this happens very often, strangers find it a tax. The patrole are armed with musquets and bayonets, and proceed through the streets at intervals during the night, visiting public houses, &c.
The most inferior officer connected with the police, or any public office, carries a rusty dragoon sword with him as his staff of office. The very messenger that delivers the summons for the nightly patrole comes thus armed, and upon the least provocation out goes the sword: this has been of late years a little corrected.
Buenos Ayres can boast of a well-disposed and orderly population. Robberies are sometimes committed, but nothing to the extent that might be supposed; many more are committed in an English city of the same magnitude, notwithstanding the expensive police. I have been out at all hours of the night, and have felt myself as secure as though I were in London, and perhaps more so.
The only time that I ever met with any thing like annoyance or interruption in the streets, was from a soldier on guard at the Cabildo, who made an attempt to push me from the pavement. I did not wish to notice the affair; but a Creole friend insisted that I should do so, stating, that in London he presumed Englishmen protected strangers when insulted. He went with me to the guard-house, alleged a complaint before an officer, and the soldier was confined: he appeared to be drunk.
The great blot of this country is, that amongst the lower orders, upon the least quarrel, knives are out; and what in England would vent itself in black eyes and bloody noses, here ends in murder; and until certain and speedy punishment follows these deeds, it will ever be so. The crime has decreased since the administration of Mr. Rivadavia, and the enactment of the law prohibiting the wearing of knives; still it continues in a degree. Justice is tardy, and the chance that the criminal may again be at liberty deters people from prosecuting, dreading his future vengeance. In England, where the law is strong, every one assists to apprehend an offender; but here a lukewarmness exists.
Several have, within these three years, suffered deathfor murder. I am inclined to think, that a law upon the plan of Lord Ellenborough’s act would do much to stop it. A Portuguese, some months since, stabbed to death the servant of Mr. Bevans, the Quaker engineer, in open day. The opponents of boxing, in England, should pause ere they so decidedly condemn it; its suppression might lead to more fatal results in deciding quarrels.
It was a common event, long after I arrived, to see bodies of persons who had been stabbed in some broil, exposed in the Plaza, to be recognized by their relatives or friends, with a saucer placed at their side to collect money to pay the expences of burying them.
These murders are confined to the very lowest orders of the people, and are generally the effect of a drunken quarrel. I must do them the justice to say, that I have not heard of any deliberate assassination, committed either upon a native or foreigner. Their annals are free from the refined murders of polished Europe, even, I regret to add, of our own England; we must not always cite the latter as an example, when we censure the abuses of other countries.
This stabbing system was thought so little of in Buenos Ayres, that no one cared to seize the murderer. If by chance he was apprehended, a short imprisonment sufficed, and he was then set at liberty to commit more crimes. Six or seven murders have been related to me, as known to have been committed by one man with apparent impunity; and that these things should be so, excites the astonishment of all strangers.
Foreigners newly arrived were accustomed to carry pistols about their persons at night; but this is very seldom the case now—they have more confidence.
The thieves, in some of their feats, may rank in ingenuity with the second-rate ones with us. One of their operations is hooking out clothes, linen, &c. from rooms, by means of a long pole with a hook at the end; and if the windows arenot fastened at night, a risk is run of being robbed, though the iron bars should prevent any one from entering. Some friends of mine, lodging at the American Hotel, were plundered by those pole gentlemen one night, although sleeping three in a room, and they knew not of their loss until the morning, when they missed coats, trowsers, &c.; a writing-desk had also been hauled towards the window, the valuables taken out, and the loose papers scattered about the street and room. The comparing notes in the morning of their losses, and cursing the marauders, was laughable enough. Another friend was awoke at break of day, and observed his waistcoat dangling in the middle of the room from the top of a pole, and a man’s arm extended through the iron bars of the window guiding it. My friend having a sword could with ease have cut off the thief’s arm, but his humanity prompted him rather to make an alarm; upon which the pole and waistcoat were dropped, and the vagabond made his escape. Very serious losses of papers have been sustained by this mode of robbery.
The boys about the theatre door begging for the return tickets, or “contre-signs,” were a great annoyance; they were perfect thieves, and very impudent. I have lost several pocket handkerchiefs by their talents. Having refused to give my pass-check one night, they secretly followed me, and when near the wall of the Merced church, to my great surprise, saluted me with a shower of stones and bricks: I pursued the young rascals, but it was without effect. The soldiers prevent occurrences of this sort now, and two or three that were caught in the fact have been punished.
The boys in the streets of Buenos Ayres are as saucy a set of ragamuffins as those of London, without that daring and instant battle of the English boys. Many of their juvenile sports are similar to our’s; as kite flying, pitch in the hole, &c. They have a system of managing their kites, which may be called privateering: a knife is affixed to thetail of the kite, with which they endeavour to entangle other kites, and cut the string; should they succeed, knife, kite, string—all become lawful prize. Cricket, trap-ball, hoops, tops, and skipping, they do not practise. Riding on the backs of sheep, harnessed as horses, is another amusement; and those mutton cavalry are very expert.
The boys of the upper class are exceedingly well-behaved, and have very pleasing manners: they excel our’s in this respect. The greatest care is bestowed upon them; and we do not meet with that roughness among them, which is observable in my young countryfolks. The Buenos Ayres boy addresses a stranger in the street hat in hand, and with the greatest respect.
Since my abode in Buenos Ayres, I have been lucky enough to keep clear of all law proceedings; and never, until lately, visited a judicial court, except from curiosity. I was, however, requested to appear, in order to speak to the character of an English sailor, who was imprisoned at the Cabildo for a row, on the beach. I visited the prison, and found poor Jack roaming about a spacious yard, with lots of other prisoners; he spoke highly of the kind treatment he had received in prison. The presiding judge, or magistrate (a most gentlemanly man), after hearing the depositions read, discharged the sailor, no witnesses appearing for the prosecution. Mr. Poussett, the vice-consul, attended upon this occasion, and received every attention from the judge.
The mode of punishment by death is shooting; many think that hanging would be more appropriate for murder, and that the soldier’s death ought to be reserved for a soldier: however, death cancels all crimes.
In a public whipping, the offender is placed on a horse or mule, with his back bared, and his hands tied, and at the corners of streets he receives his punishment: those disgusting scenes I always avoid, if I can. I came once in contact with one: the poor wretch did not seem to suffermuch; I fancied I had been as severely flogged at school. They appeared to strike him about a dozen quick blows at a time, with a piece of wood like a scrubbing-brush with some sharp substance attached.
Those ordered for imprisonment, are made to work in the streets, heavily ironed.
Sailors are punished by being put in the stocks; and for criminal offences, they are made to work in the streets in irons.
The close of the year 1824 witnessed a great increase of crime in Buenos Ayres. An atrocious murder was committed by two black fellows, upon a Genoese, who kept a tin shop near the College church. The murderers were apprehended, and shot at the Retiro, and their bodies afterwards suspended upon a gallows. A boy, accessary to the fact (having let the villains into the house), escaped capital punishment, being under the age regulated by law: he was, however, present at the execution. Two fellows broke into the house of Mr. Nelson, an English merchant, and stabbed his man-servant in several places; an alarm being given, they effected their escape. The servant recovered from his wounds. Numerous other robberies have taken place; amongst which, Mr. Parvin, an American clergyman, and three of his friends, were stripped of their clothes, a short distance from town.
The first execution in this country for forgery took place in February, 1825, upon the person of Marcelo Valdivia, who was shot at the Retiro. By the old Spanish law, a person convicted of forgery was condemned to lose his hand. This young man had been before sentenced to death for the same crime, but his punishment was commuted to exposure in the Plaza, imprisonment for eight years, and banishment for life. In July, 1824, he underwent the first part of his sentence, being seated in the Plaza for four hours, with the notes he had forged suspended from his breast. In prison, he committed other forgeries,including a forged order for his own release. The government have been highly applauded for their firmness in punishing this criminal. His friends applied to the British consul for his intercession, which was declined. Colonel Forbes, the American agent, was much censured for having, in 1821, interfered and saved a murderer from justice.
A black woman was shot, for attempting the life of her mistress. The execution of a female is a rare thing in this country.
Much as Buenos Ayres has improved in her jurisprudence, she has still a great deal to amend—that part which relates to committal before trial for civil offences particularly. The two following circumstances passed under my observation.
Upon the first issue of paper money, some forgeries were detected. An English captain, West, of the brigFortune, conversing on this subject at a tavern, remarked, that a forgery might easily be effected; and that the gentlemen in that line at home would not be long about such a thing. This was reported to the police; and he was sent to prison without examination, upon suspicion of knowing of the forged notes, and was not released for some days.
In another case, Captain Harrison, of the brigAsia, was imprisoned nearly a month, for bringing a false report of Monte Video being blockaded; which was indeed partly true, Brazilian schooners of war having been off there, and sailed for Colonia.
If such regulations were followed in England, we must build more prisons as well as churches, and I know not what would become of the gentlemen of the Stock Exchange.
The trial by jury, which alone is worth fighting for, may yet reach South America. Every abuse cannot at once be rectified; they have, already, done wonders in this country.
Law proceedings are as expensive and tardy here, as in other parts of the globe. What with depositions, answers,&c. the suit goes on for years to the great benefit of lawyers; but they have reformed a great deal of the old obnoxious Spanish laws, particularly as they related to foreigners and their property. By the old law, when a foreigner died, their property in the country went to the state.
To leave Buenos Ayres, if it is only for a neighbouring town, passports must be obtained, which cost two dollars to quit the country, and four reals for any neighbouring town. Surprise is expressed that we can manage without those ceremonies in England; some passengers arriving from thence were once asked by a visiting officer for their English passports.
Army.—The standing army of the province consists of from 2500 to 3000 men in six regiments,viz.three of infantry, and three of cavalry. Of the infantry, there is one regiment of artillery, one Caçadores, and one of the line. There are also two regiments of Civicas, or militia.
The troops have lately improved, both in appearance and discipline; and indeed, there was great need of it: at present, a great deal cannot be said in their praise. Their manœuvres are few, such as forming line, companies, &c. and some minor movements, as firing volleys, street firing, &c. sufficient, probably, for the warfare in which they are likely to be engaged. The sudden change of front, close column, solid squares, the quick deploying into line, close firing, and rapid bayonet charge, are not to be seen among the troops of Buenos Ayres. Against veterans they could make but a feeble resistance; but in defending the town, with the assistance of the inhabitants and their house fortifications, they would be invincible; and to this mode of fighting I would advise the Buenos Ayreans to trust, should their city ever again be attacked.
The artillery corps are better: they work the guns with smartness, and have a good train of artillery, of six, eight, and twelve pounders, taken from the Spaniards at MonteVideo and other places. Repeated exercise and firing take place with those great guns, early in a morning, on the beach.
The uniform coat of the soldiers is blue, with different facings of red, white, and green: they have caps like our infantry. The undress is a foraging cap, with a loop hanging on one side, trowsers of all colours, and some without shoes or stockings. The recruits are not immediately clothed in the soldier’s uniform, but drilled in all their dirt and native raggedness. The population will not admit of the mode of recruiting practised in Europe; they take every one they can: the equipments and material of their army are not, in consequence, very imposing.
If the men, in their attire, look sometimes like Sir John Falstaff’s famed regiment—not so the officers; they have fine showy uniforms, and cocked hats with the national cockade. The subaltern part are young men; the colonels make a good soldier-like appearance. Colonel Ramirez, in his blue coat and gold epaulets, always puts me in mind of a British naval officer; and Colonel Alvarez, who was wounded in our storming of Monte Video, reminds me of Raymond of Drury-Lane theatre.
There are some French and German officers in the service: the former, in blue coats and white facings, still look like the soldiers of Napoleon.
The only English officer at present in the military service of Buenos Ayres, is a gentleman named Charles Bowness; who, from having been nearly fifteen years in this country, is, in appearance, more like a Spaniard than an Englishman. He left England when very young, and has not heard of his family since his departure.
It was seldom that military officers were seen out of uniform; they wore it in the theatre, in the coffee-house, and in the assembly. But this fashion has changed; and when not on duty, the dress of the citizen is now preferred. On the continent of Europe, we are in constant contactwith the military, and as constantly reminded of military despotism.
The infantry soldier is armed with a musquet and bayonet: the musquets have the Tower of London mark, and, as well as the cavalry swords, would look all the better for cleaning. The sergeants of infantry do not carry halberts. The regular cavalry are few in number, and not quite so brilliant as the Marquis of Anglesea’s crack regiment, or the Tenth Hussars.
The punishment of flogging is resorted to: I have often heard the cries of the sufferers belonging to a black regiment, quartered near my abode. I fear it is impossible to keep discipline without it, or public opinion would, long ere this, have suppressed it in England.
The bands of music attached to the regiments have made great progress in their profession: three years ago they were hardly bearable. Unfortunately, now, the ruling military authorities will not give us much opportunity of judging of their talents. They were accustomed, on a fine evening, to leave the Fort, in the summer at nine, in the winter at eight o’clock, and crossing the Plaza, take their station in one of the streets adjoining, generally the street of Victoria, or, as we named it, Bond Street, from its being the fashionable one, and filled with shops: here they would entertain us for an hour or more, and I have been gratified in hearing many tunes that charmed me in Europe, such as the overture toLodoiska, &c. Another attraction was the number of girls that nightly attended: many a lover (“how silvery sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night”) has taken this opportunity to address his fair one. On a moonlight night, I have frequently viewed the countenances and elegant figures of the sweet creatures, no envious bonnet intercepting; and now some unmusical being has deprived me of this pleasure—I wish he would read Lorenzo’s observation in theMerchant of Veniceupon those who lack taste inmusic.
About four times in the week, however, at eight or nine in the evening, one of the military bands parade from the Fort to their barracks at the Retiro, and at times we have heard some good music. On a fine night much company attend. From constant practice, the regimental musical bands have become proficients in their art; they perform some fine pieces of music, including the overture toLodoiska, and thePolaccafrom the opera ofThe Cabinet. Braham ever occurs to my memory, when I hear the latter performed, and the enthusiasm with which a London audience always hail this song.
The dresses of the bands are of the Turkish costume, and though not so splendid as our third regiment of foot-guards, are equal to those of the line. They have instruments of English manufacture, all that constitutes a military band—triangle, cymbals, and bells, similar to our first regiment of Guards.
In 1820, some English shopkeepers and mechanics, in the excess of their zeal, determined to form a corps of cavalry, to act as body-guard to the governor. Twenty or thirty equipped themselves in a light blue jacket, and nondescript cap, and attended the procession as the life-guards of the state. The St. George assault, and vulgar exercise of the sword, made no part of their discipline. Now, whether Englishmen make but a poor figure when armed in the service of a foreign people, or that opinion is against it, from Coriolanus downwards, I know not; certain it is, that this regiment has decreased from its full complement to some five or six rank and file.
It was the custom until lately, to fire the fort guns on every 4th of July, the anniversary of our expedition under Whitelock. If they have discontinued it to spare us the mortification of being reminded of such an event, from my very soul I thank them;—it is a subject that makes the heart ache to think upon. No one can view the houses of Buenos Ayres without being struck with the impossibilityof taking a town by such a mode of attack as it was our fate to pursue, against an inflamed population who were, from the highest to the lowest, our enemies. Well-informed men know that 5 or 6000 troops, with an adequate artillery, might have taken the town without scarcely entering it, and, what is more, by proper precautions might have kept it. The Spaniards had no troops of any consequence to oppose us; and if all the population of the town had ventured out of their fastnesses to combat us, the issue would not have been for one moment doubtful; for, as the lamented General Ross observed, when inquiring of an American friend of mine, his prisoner, the force near Baltimore, “I ask you, sir, of the regulars; it may rain militia.”
Our wounded, they tell me, were treated with kindness, especially by the female part of the population, who had been amongst the most inveterate of our foes. The heretic Englishman is not looked upon with that horror now, as it was formerly the fashion to paint him.
In the Annual Almanack, the following paragraph is tacked to the fatal 4th of July:—“Service in St. Domingo church: thanks to our Señora and St. Rosario, for the triumph, under their protection, in the year 1807, in having vanquished 12,000 English who attacked us.” With Macbeth, I am ready to exclaim, “May that pernicious hour stand aye accursed in the calendar!”
That such unlooked-for success should have inflated their imaginations is to be expected; but, in justice to this kind people, I must mention, that in English company they never in any way allude to the affair. They are well aware of the disadvantages we had to encounter, and that our troops were exposed to an absolute massacre.
I could fill pages with the anecdotes that have been told me of Beresford, Pack, and other officers; but it is a theme I care not to dwell upon.
Government, and Public Events.—The government of Buenos Ayres is an attempt at republicanism, without its simplicity. However, if the people are contented, we must not quarrel about forms, or expect an Utopia. I am no particular friend to republics; I have seen and enjoyed so much real liberty and happiness under the limited monarchy of my own country, that I can fancy no other form of government better.
The present governor, Don Gregorio Heras, is a military man: he served in several campaigns against the Spaniards, and is reported to be a man of decided character. In his opening speech to the junta, he observed, that, “being determined to obey the laws himself, he expected every one else to do the same.” Señor Heras is tall and personable, about forty-five years of age, with rather an expressive countenance. His title is Governor and Captain-General of the Province of Buenos Ayres. His prerogatives are very limited.
The governor, when taking the air in his carriage, has an escort of two dragoons; when on horseback, he is generally accompanied by his aides-de-camp.
Every public officer is allowed a soldier, who acts both as guard and servant, and is called theOrdenanza. The French Engineer cuts a great figure, with his soldier riding behind him: our humble Quaker prefers walking.[30]
Señor Garcia fills the office of secretary of state, having succeeded Mr. Rivadavia.
The Junta, or senate, consists of forty-eight members, who are elected annually: Señor Don Manuel Pinto is the president. The last election brought in several of the radical party; one or two of whom are the Humes of the Buenos-Ayres House of Commons. Since the secession of Mr. Rivadavia, Señor Gomez leads the ministerial side.
Señor Dorrego, who now distinguishes himself as an opposition speaker, is a colonel. In 1820, when the town was threatened by some armed countrymen, called Monteneros, he, on the spur of the moment, collected porters and carmen, and drove the enemy away, proving himself a dashing soldier. For a short period he assumed the “imperial purple,” until Rodriguez and his Colorados, in October, 1820, displaced him.
On the evening of the day on which the election for the members of the Junta terminates, a military band, with the balloon, or globe, preceding it, and attended by a crowd of young men, parades through the streets. The band stops opposite the houses of the members, and performs an air or two; the mob—if there is such a thing as a mob in Buenos Ayres—all the time shouting, “Viva la Patria!” “The representatives of the people for ever!” &c. If the Buenos Ayreans were to see our last day of an election—the thousands of mobility and patriots, hoarse with bawling—the banners—the rough music of marrow-bones and cleavers, tuned from counter-tenor to double bass—the sight, I think, would astonish, if not frighten them.[31]
The 25th of May, 1810, is the æra of the independence of Buenos Ayres; the period when, the French armies having overrun Spain, the people of this city deposed the viceroy, and appointed a junta of nine as a provisional government. This event is annually commemorated by a festival of three days. It commences on the evening of the 24th, when the Plaza is illuminated, by means of a lofty circle, formed of wood-work, erected round it. At sunrise on the 25th, the national hymn is sung by boys, &c. opposite the pyramid in the Plaza: to hail the rising sun is a Peruvian custom. In the day-time, various sports take place: greased masts are erected, at the summit of which are shawls, watches, and purses of money; and whoever can reach the top, may take any one of the above prizes. An English sailor, in 1822, brought down all the stock in trade, wrapping the shawls about his body, and putting the watches, money, and other articles, in his pockets and mouth. On his descent, he was surrounded by soldiers, who took away his booty; and on Jack making a shew of resistance, they marched him to prison. The bystanders, however, were indignant at this, and he was soon released, and allowed to retain one of the prizes. These masts cause great diversion, as very few succeed in mounting them; and our sailor was highly applauded. There is also an ingenious machine, calledrompe cabeza, or break head, consisting of a pole placed lengthwise on pivots, elevated from the ground, with a cord on which to rest the feet. The difficulty is in getting along this pole;in doing which, hundreds are thrown off: the successful candidate obtains a piece of money. Military music plays at night in the galleries of the Cabildo; and fire-balloons and fire-works are let off, the latter emitting their balls of fire among the people. From the careless manner in which the fire-works are used by boys in the streets, I am surprised that no accidents happen.