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fi^-V^rH.'Mfc. //.igJ? "Vlt'/C^
"LI E) RA FlY
OF THE
U N I VERSITY
or I LLI NOIS
ADA R E I S,
A TALE.
TO<«UTO fx\v TTcpi TOl/Tft)!/ eTTXt^SV, a/xix ffTTOV^X^atV,
Xenophon. Memorabilia, lib. i. cap. iii. s. 7.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.
^;^5
ty^iiu
^^:L
ADA
RF,IS
CHAPTER I.
It is not the city of Lima, as it now
is, that Ada Reis describes ; he speaks
of the wonder of South America, the
city of the kings, as Lima was called
in the days of her glory ; and not of
her in her fallen state. He tells of
times gone by, when magnificence
and opulence were displayed in her
feasts ; and knights, and scholars, and
fair ladies, adorned the capital of so
large a portion of the western world.
He tells of her vast riches, of her
splendid buildings, her v/ealthy citi-
zens, and the gay brilliancy of their as-
VOL. II. B
£ ADA REIS.
semblies; her processions and tlicatrcs;
her bull-figlits, hunting-matches, and
revelings ; her steeds, unmatched for
strength and dexterity ^ : much, too, lie
dwells upon the beauty of the surround-
ing country, abundant in wine, grain,
fruit, and flowers, wool, cotton, and
silks, and rich perfumes ; he speaks
of her mines of precious ore and
jewelleries ; her seas abounding in
pearls ; and her great rivers, which
water the rich country around.
The city of Lima was founded by
Don Francisco Pizarro, on the feast
of Epiphany, 153.5. It is situated in
the spacious and delightful valley of
Rimac — Rimac being the name of
an idol to which the native Indians
used to offer sacrifice under theincas :
and as this idol was supposed to return
answers to the prayers addressed to it,
it w\as called Rimac, from an Indian
ADA RETS.
word, meaning properly, lie who
speaks.
Lima, once the capital of Peru, com-
mands the prospect of a country diver-
sified by rivers and mountains, adorned
by forests and groves of olives, orange
and lemon trees. Northward, though
at a considerable distance, runs the
Cordillera, or chain of the Andes, from
whence some of the hills project into
the valley, the nearest of which are
those of St. Christopher and the Aman-
caes. The river in its course approaches
the very walls of the city : a superb
stone bridge is built over it; at one
end of which a gate, remarkable for its
architecture, forms the principal en-
trance into the town, and leads to
the great square. In the centre of
the square is a fountain, from which
the purest water is thrown up by the
trumpet of a bronze statue of Fame,
B 2
4« ADA REIS.
and is also poured from the mouths of
eight lions which surround it. Here
every morning, Ada Reis informs us,
flower girls and market-women, with
their mules, and runa Llamas^, sta-
tioned themselves with baskets filled
with vegetables, fresh flowers, and
fruit, whilst singers and dancers en-
livened the scene. The young, the
rich, and the fair, in their carriages, or
on horseback, assembled thither before
their morning and evening drives, to
purchase flowers. The east side of
the square is filled with noble build-
ings : there stand the archiepiscopal
palace ; the cathedral, a massive struc-
ture without, and within adorned
with paintings, sculpture, and magni-
ficent altars : there also is the palace
of the viceroy, in which arc the several
courts of justice, together with the
offices of revenue ; wliilst on the west.
y\DA REIS. O
the council-house and city prison face
the cathedral. The south is reserved
for private houses, erected upon an
uniform plan beneath regular colon-
nades.
The government of the viceroy is
triennial; but at the expiration of that
term, the sovereign has power to pro-
long it. The office is of the highest
dignity and importance ; he who holds
it enjoys all the privileges of royalty ;
he is absolute in all things, civil,
military, or fiscal ; to him are subor-
dinate all the tribunals for executing
the several functions of government :
so that the power of this employment
is equal to the dignity of the title ;
and the pride, and pomp, and expen-
diture of the viceroys of Peru were
in those days proverbial.
Ada Reis alone exceeded these tem-
porary sovereigns in profusion and
ADA IlEIS.
inagnificeiice, and was wont to say
carelessly, that were the appointment
offered to liim he would disdain it.
He had, indeed, assumed the symbols
of royalty ; his slaves were dressed in
superb Eastern dresses, and he had
hampers to guard his palace, such as
are employed in the service of the
Pasha of Tripoly : he had, besides,
other adherents from different coun-
tries, so as to form a considerable re-
tinue. Notwithstanding which, it was
sometimes his pleasure to ride about
the city or into the neighbouring coun-
try alone and unattended. His daugh-
ter was seldom seen, and never went
into public, except closely veiled.
But, as it may be supposed, this
concealment only increased the report
of her extraordinary beauty, so that
little was talked of in Lima but Fior-
monda. She was called at times the
ADA REIS. 7
Kebbiera^ of Tripoly (the greatest of
princesses), and at others, the beautiful
Calabrian.
Suitors were on all points vying for
the acknowledged and only heiress of
all Ada Reis's immense wealth. Don
Antonio de la Cerda, and the Marquis
de Santa Spina, were ever on the watch
to seize the first occasion of urging their
pretensions — all persons of the highest
rank, whose homage any other lady in
Lima would have received with glad-
ness, paid obeisance for Fiormonda's
sake to Ada Reis ; and amongst the
many who, morning after morning,
watched impatiently in the pub he
square for the chance of a moment's
interview, the most distinguished of all
her suitors was Alphonso, Duke of
Montevallos. He never had spoken,
but she was well aware of his feelings
— Love needs not the intervention of
8 ADA RE IS.
Janguage ; a single glance can commu-
nicate the sentiment of the heart as
fully and more forcibly than words.
Fiormonda knew his passion ; and with
that passion it is not in the nature of
woman, however innocent, however
modest, or however preoccupied, to be
offended or displeased.
The Duke of Montevallos, though
not so rich as many of those who were
anxious to offer themselves to the no-
tice of Fiormonda, was absorbed in
family pride ; he was connected with
the royal family of. Spain ; he had fifty
titles. His ancestors had risen from
their tombs in horror, could they have
now heard and credited that he enter-
tained even an idea of lowering his
Castilian blood by uniting it with that
of the illegitimate daughter of an Alge-
rine merchant ; yet was he seen wan-
dering at early dawn and of an even-
ADA REIS. 9
ing late in the public walk called the
Ala Mode, between the rows of orange
and lemon-trees, or strolling along the
banks of the river, whither the calashes
conveyed all the youth and beauty of
Lima, to enjoy at that hour the balmy
and refreshing air, and eagerly did he
watch there, in the hope of catching a
single glimpse of Fiormonda's form as
she passed.
If by chance she appeared in the
great square, where the ladies assemble
to purchase, almost at any price, the
most valued and precious of plants,
the chirimoya, for which there is much
rivalship, the largest sums being given
for a single blossom, to her the fairest
and most fragrant were instantly pre-
sented by the young Duke ; and envy
itself durst hardly murmur at the pre-
ference he showed her, so cautiously and
coldly did she receive his proffered gifts.
10 ADA UEIS.
Yet, although she frequented so little
the public places of meeting, she drove
often into the country, beyond the ex-
tensive gardens which for miles around
adorn the environs of Lima, as far even
as the golden hills of the Amancaes, to
gather the yellow flowers which first
gave them their name.
By some it was, however, suspected,
that neither the flowers nor the beauty
of the country were the objects which
led her to such a distance : it was ru-
moured, that notwithstanding the ge-
neral reserve and even pride of her de-
meanour to the Duke and to her
other admirers, these excursions gave
her the opportunity of meeting and
conversing with Condulmar.
The young Duke was perfectly igno-
rant that he even had a rival ; he hesi-
tated to declare his passion for Fior-
monda to Ada lleis simply upon the
ADA REIS. 11
knowledge that such an alliance would
never be suffered by his friends. He
was to have returned with the last en-
voy to his native country, where his
mother eagerly awaited his being of
age, to unite his hand in marriage with
a kinswoman of her own noble parent-
age and fortune. He hesitated, he de-
layed: at length he resolved to wait
one month longer at Lima, upon the
pretext of witnessing the entry of the
new viceroy into the city ; at which
time he was informed Fiormonda would
be presented to the public, and allowed
to mingle in the gaieties which take
place at that period. The Duke of
Montevallos was well known to the
new viceroy ; he had visited him twice
at Chili since his residence in America,
and his mother had in some measure
placed him under his care.
12 ADA REIS.
CHAPTER II.
Of all the solemnities observed in
America, the public entry of the vice-
roy into the city of Lima was con-
sidered as the most splendid. Nothing
was to be seen in the days to which we
have gone back, on this occasion, but
gilded carriages, the greatest pomp of
retinue, the most laboured magni-
ficence of apparel, in each of which the
families of old Spain and the native
nobility vied with the most profuse and
eager emulation, and every thing was
now preparing for the celebration of
this day. For at this period, Don
Joseph Manso de Velasco, Count of
Superunda, knight of the order of San-
tiago, and late governor of Chili, had
arrived to assume the viccroyalty of
ADA REIS. 13
Peru, to which he had been appomtecl
on the 12th of July, 1745. According
to custom, he remained at the fort of
Callao until the day fixed upon for his
grand entrance into the city of Lima.
Here he was waited upon by all the
Spanish and native grandees, and here
he inquired of one of the officers of
his predecessor's suite, who it was
whose superb state liveries and richly
caparisoned steeds had attracted his
attention. " The arms in particular,'*
said Don Joseph, " are singular ; for,
I being somewhat read in heraldry,
know them to be the sigil of Mel-
chior, one of the three Magi kings."
*' It is Ada Reis," replied the Mar-
quis de Santa Spina, '* a merchant of
Tripoli, or, as some say, an Algerine
Reis — a singular personage, who has
made millions. He has been resident in
America these three years past. He is
14 ADA REIS.
supposed to be the ricliest sii])ject in
Lima. He is of great use in the consu-
lado, to which he has at times advanced
considerable sums of money. He has
agents at Quito, Carthagena, Porto
Bello, and indeed in every province
and city belonging to his most Catho-
lic Majesty; and these agents purchase
the first of every thing at the greatest
price, which gives a life and spirit to
commerce, of late much needed."
The result of this information was
the highly respectful and gracious re-
ception with which the new viceroy
greeted Ada Reis upon his first pre-
sentation. Nor was he less struck witli
his conversation and manner, than he
had been before with his magnificence,
insomuch that he insisted upon his ac-
companying him that evening to the
theatre'*, where the ladies, all veiled in
their usual dress, wTre admitted, ac-
ADA REIS. 15
cording to custom, in order that they
might have an opportunity of seeing
the new viceroy. He had, however,
brought with him a formidable rival,
who withdrew from him much of the
public attention, for all female eyes,
in particular, were fixed upon the won-
derful, the beautiful, the magnificent
Ada Reis, who but seldom appeared in
public, and had only once before visit-
ed Callao. A young man, who some
said was his son, and others a noble
Venetian, stood near him : his coun-
tenance was peculiar ; the expression
varied every moment, as if his thoughts
were painted in their passage across
his dark intellectual brow. Don Joseph
Manso eagerly inquired who he was^
He had accompanied Ada Reis, it was
believed, from his own country ; he
inhabited his present residence atLima^
was ever with him, and was supposed
1() ADA REIS.
to be the intended husband of the
beautiful Fiormonda. "And liis name?"
said the viceroy.
" It is Condulmar."
** And Fiormonda?"
** She never appears in public."
The ensuing day being appointed for
the viceroy's public entry into Lima,
the streets of the city were cleared,
and hung with tapestry ; and triumphal
arches were erected at proper di-
stances. At two in the afternoon, the
viceroy went to hear mass, and meet
his predecessor, at the church belong-
ing to the monastery of Montserrat^
which was separated, by a triumphal
gate, from the street, where the caval-
cade was to begin.
As soon as all who were to assist in
the procession had assembled, the vice-
roy and his retinue set forth, and the
gates being thrown open, tlie proces-
ADA REIS. 17
sion began in the following order: the
militia, the colleges, the university,
with the professors in their proper ha-
bits ; the chamber of accompts ; the
chamber of the audience, on horses
with trappings; the magistracy, in crim-
son velvet robes, lined with brocade of
the same colour, and a particular form
of cap upon their heads, used only upon
this occasion ; the courts of inquisition
in full dress, according to order, attend-
ed by a number of noblemen ; whilst
some members of the corporation, who
walked on foot, supported the canopy
over the viceroy, and the two ordinary
alcaldes, who acted as esquires, held
the bridle of his horse, a magnificent
steed from Chili. The procession w^as
of considerable length, but not so long
as the description of it given by Ada
Reis. They passed through all the prin-
cipal streets till they came to the great
VOL. II. c
18 ADA REIS.
square, in which the whole company
drew up facing the cathedral ; then
the viceroy aHghted, and made a ge-
neral obeisance, whilst the archbishop
and chapter advanced to receive him.
The whole of the immense assembled
multitude were silent as the grave.
At this moment burst upon the ear the
solemn hymn of Te Deiim laudamus,
chanted by the most melodious voices,
and accompanied by the greatest power
of instrumental music.
The recollections of the greatness of
the Spanish monarchy, the thought of
the vast territories of which the new
viceroy was, as it were, taking posses-
sion, the immense display of wealth,
and the gorgeous magnificence of the
Roman Catholic religion, continued at
once to subjugate and overpower the
minds of all who witnessed the in-
spiring spectacle.
ADA IlEIS. 19
At that moment, when even the very
soul of vanity and pride must have
been touched and gratified, when man,
vain man, drest in a little brief au-
thority, must have felt something like
piety and enthusiasm, the viceroy's
eyes were attracted by Ada Reis and
his daughter. Ada Reis, whose ob-
ject at all times was distinction, and
who sought it by deviating from every
general rule, appeared on this occa-
sion in plain but becoming attire : he
seemed to make one in a mere show;
to be a subordinate character in the
drama that was performing : he liked
nor viceroy, nor pageant, which could
rival or even approach himself in mag-
nificence. He attended, therefore, the
ceremony as a common observer, whom
curiosity alone drew to be present at
it. But the observation, which this
peculiarity of dress and manner would
c 2
20 ADA REIS.
otherwise have attracted, was now en-
tirely lost in the deeper interest excited
by the appearance of his daughter,
who, trembling and agitated, sup-
ported herself upon her father ; so
deeply was she affected by the sublime
choir of voices, and the solemnity of
those religious rites, of the effect of
which she had hitherto known so little.
First she knelt in enthusiasm, and now
she wept upon her father's bosom.
When sudden hope springs up in the
mind, or when we are moved with un-
expected pleasure — when we meet with
those whom we love — we shed tears ;
and these are the tears which spring
from the fullness of joy. We shed
tears, too, w^hen we part from what we
love, whether it be friend or country,
or, still dearer, a parent : but they are
tears of bitterness and regret. There
are tears, too, which flow less freely,
ADA REIS. 21
and these are for the dead ; such tears
save the heart from breaking. But
the tears which Fiormonda shed were
of none of these -, they partook of the
anguish of all of them, without afford-
ing any of their relief. They were as
if a lost soul had heard the prayers of
saints, the hymn of angels ; yet could
not, might not, join in the hallowed
strain and pious supplication. They
were as if the heart dropped blood, for
her agony was great and real. When
the pealing organ rolled through the
vaulted nave the fullness of its note,
when the whole choir swelled at once
through that vast edifice the song of
devotion and praise ; the strain came
upon her with the memory of past and
better times, like the voice of those who
were no more, of those who had left
her for ever. Virtue, honour, early
piety, and sacred faith were ia those
22 ADA RKIS.
blessed sounds. She remembered her
youth, when she also had knelt and
prayed, when her guardian spirit had
borne her hymn and orisons upward to
her Creator. But now she never prayed.
She was conscious that she was present
at this solemnity, as at a mere spectacle
and vain pageant, deprived of all its
essence and meaning, without belief,
hope, or comfort ; with the greater
mortification of witnessing in others
those feelings and those aspirations of
better things, which she had herself
abandoned and relinquished. Her fa-
ther reproved her for betraying so
much emotion, and one dearer than her
father chided her for her weakness and
superstition. Condulmar smiled with
scorn upon a scene which appeared to
him either vanity and folly, or fana-
ticism and imposture.
" It is the only daughter of Ada
ADA REIS. 23
Reis/' whispered the Duke of Monte-
vallos, in answer to the viceroy's in-
quiring look. The maiden was veiled,
— no feature was exhibited, — he could
only contemplate the grace and sym-
metry of her form. She never cast her
eyes upon the assembled company, nor
upon any part of the pageant, but ap-
peared entirely absorbed in the emo-
tions of her own mind.
After the ceremony, the viceroy pro-
ceeded to the palace gates, where he
was received by the audiencia, and
conducted to the banquet which await-
ed him. "Is Ada Reis served?" said
Don Joseph de Velasco to his attend-
ants; " if not, send to desire that he
and his daughter may sit at my table."
Ada Reis had returned to his own
house ; and when the message from the
viceroy was delived to him there, he
politely declined the honour intended
24 ADA IlEIS.
liim for himself, and said his daughter
could not appear in public until she
had formally been presented to the
Spanish governor, which could only
take place after the whole of these so-
lemnities had concluded.
Suppers and public assemblies, and
moonlight dances, and bull-feasts, fol-
lowed in long succession, as w^as the
custom of the country ; but during
almost the whole continuance of the
festivities the viceroy saw not again
either Ada Reis or his daughter ; forthe
former was too proud to appear often
in places w^here there w^as a greater
than himself. At length, on the last
day of the bull-fight, as the viceroy was
passing on horseback to the crowded
scene, the royal arms again attracted
his attention, and he eagerly watched
the calash, ornamented wdth gold, and
containing wdthin it two females, as it
ADA REIS. 25
passed him. The beautiful girl he in-
stantly recognised to be Fiormonda ;
and she appeared to be entreating and
imploring an inexorable old woman to
permit her to stop and see the specta-
cle. The cross gouvernante, with a
tone of voice at once querulous and
resolved, was commanding the driver
to turn about. The viceroy imme-
diately approached the calash, and
was silent for some moments as he
took a nearer view of the young Fior-
monda, who stood up all unveiled, her
countenance animated, and her eyes,
naturally gentle and timid, now bril-
liant with eagerness : a cavalcade of
gentlemen surrounded the calash, and
the viceroy himself now requested the
duenna to permit her lovely charge to
indulge her inclination. But ShafFou
Paca, in a language strangely formed of
a combination of almost every tongue,
26 ADA REIS.
loudly remonstrated against any such
intention. A grandee present reminded
her that it was to the viceroy himself
she had the honour to speak. She cared
not, she said, to what or to whom she
addressed herself; she had her master's
commands, and, whatever might be
said, the Lilla Fiormonda should not
see any thing, or be seen of any one.
During this altercation, Fiormonda,
with great sweetness and dignity, stood
up in the calash, silent, but casting a
contemptuous glance upon ShafFou
Paca, whose tongue, being once set
in motion, continued a sharp and un-
ceasing alarum. Don Joseph Manso
de Velasco in a moment understood
the proud contempt indicated by her
silence, and the indignant feelings she
repressed: he also saw a little smile
and assumed tranquillity curling upon
her lips, as she listened to her govcr-
ADA REIS. 27
iiess's haiaiigue. He seized the op-
portunity of breaking forth into ex-
pressions of unbounded admiration ;
he gently took her hand, and raised it
to his lips ; she received the honour as
she might have done a courtesy from a
slave, with politeness, but with marked
indifference.
At this moment Condulmar rode up ;
his pale sallow complexion, dark hair^
and deep intelligence of countenance,
had already attracted, it may be re-
membered, the attention of Don Jo-
seph the first time he had seen him at
the theatre ; he recognised him im-
mediately, and slightly bowed — the
young Venetian, without parade, re-
turned the salute, and with an air of
easy familiarity, said to Fiormonda
these words : " And does my lovely
mistress wish to see a festival, which
ladies more timid and gentle fear? and
28 ADA REIS.
;>
does Shaffou Paca dare to oppose her
Follow thy desires; indulge freely thy
pleasure or thy curiosity, and I will
remain the while and teach thy gou-
vernante somewhat of more compli-
ance ; for thou wert born to command ;
thy least wish should be a law to all."
Fiormonda hesitated, — but Condul-
mar, dismounting, handed her from the
calash. The viceroy now also dis-
mounted, offering to lead Fiormonda
to a seat, where some of the ladies of
his own family were already stationed ;
he said they would be delighted to have
this opportunity of making acquaint-
ance with one of whom they had heard
so much. He asked her, however,
more than once, as they proceeded, if
she thought her father would be really
displeased at the liberty he was taking;
for the viceroy had no desire to offend
Ada Reis.
ADA REIS. 29
" Oh, he never can be long displeased
with me," said Fiormonda, smiling ;
'' and if Condulmar plead for me, I am
sure of being forgiven directly."
" And does Condulmar, whoever he
may be, hold as great a power over the
heart of the lovely Fiormonda as it
would appear he does over the mind
of her father ?"
Casting her eyes down, whilst a deep
blush overspread her complexion, Fior-
monda answered, " I scarcely know,
sir ; but this I will say, that whenever
I desire any thing, he is kind enough
either to obtain it for me, or to show
me the manner in which it should be
obtained ; and I consider him, upon
the whole, in the light of a friend."
" Upon the whole !" said Don Jo-
seph, eager to penetrate the young
maiden's real thoughts ; " wherefore
upon the whole only?"
'30 ADA llEIS.
" Oh, sir," said Fiormonda, " 1)C-
cause a real friend woidd, perhaps, re-
press those wishes sooner than indulge
them ; and I sometimes tliink — nay, I
am intruding upon you that which
concerns only myself."
" Oh, no intrusion! Speak frankly to
me; you know not, you cannot believe,
the interest you have already awaken-
ed in me."
" Why then, sir, to be sincere, I
considered one, whom I left in my own
country, as a brother and a friend ;
but Condulmar as a very dangerous,
though, alas ! too fascinating, com-
panion."
" And who is he whom you left in
your own country?"
" Why, I hardly know how to an-
swer," said Fiormonda, smiling : " his
name, sir, I believe, is Zevahir; lie
was a playmate, a friend of mine, a
ADA REIS. 31
boy; and yet, under his fair locks, it
may be truly said, ' Sotto bionde capei
canuta mente,'' for he had indeed all
the wisdom of age. He was not a na-
tive of our country, neither do I think
he came from this land, unless he is
from the Eldorado, or perchance the
bright mountains of Calitamani. There
is no silly tale that is not told of him ;
but for himself, he never spoke to me
of his parents or his country; and,"
continued she, with a sigh, " of what
matter from whence he came ? This I
know, at least, that he was all good-
ness, ay, all gentleness and goodness \
but he is lost to me, and I only named
him because I thought him a real
friend. Condulmar hates me to re-
member him ; calls him a foolish boy,
and affects to be jealous of him, as if
one so young could have inspired me
with ."
32 ADA llEIS.
** With what?" said the viceroy,
seeing the deep bkish wliich now again
overspread her cheeks. ** With love,
were you going to say ? Has that young
bosom then ah'eady felt those danger-
ous fires ? Is it possible ? Alas ! I see by
your hesitation at the very name, that
I am not wrong in my presumption."
A sigh was Fiormonda's answer.
At this moment the Duke of Monte-
vallos appoached them. *' Alphonso,"
said the viceroy, '' will you accompany
us ?" Pale, trembling, deeply moved,
he hesitated for a moment, then placed
himself on the other side of Fiormonda,
w^ho, on her part, drew her veil more
completely over her countenance, and
turned away her head from the ardent
gaze which she was conscious he w^as
fixing upon her.
Love, though strong in itself, re-
ceives a great accession of strength
ADA REIS. 33
from perceiving the admiration paid
by others to its object. It becomes at
once confident in the justice of its
choice, and alarmed for the success of
its suit ; it feels itself sanctioned by
example, and stimulated by rivalry.
Such were at this moment the feel-
ings of Alphonso. The sight of Fior-
monda leaning upon Don Joseph's
arm, and the general devotion paid
by all who beheld her, so inflamed
his soul, so vehemently excited a dis-
position naturally impetuous, that he
could no longer conceal or suppress his
passion. '' Of what avail is it to me,'*
he said, " that I am allied to kings and
princes, if this malady consume me? I
love, I worship this beautiful girl. The
earth contains no other like to her :
the young and the great surround and
kneel to her, whilst I keep aloof, and
by this means shall lose her. She
VOL. II. D
34f ADA REIS.
knows not, as yet, the world ; her in-
experience may be misled ; she may
believe others to be as great as myself,
because more rich. See at this mo-
ment what crowds are gazing upon
her.'* A circle, in truth, was formed
around Fiormonda ; it was the first time
she had been seen unveiled. " I will
open my heart to her father on the in-
stant," continued the young Duke, as
he stood at some distance, intently
watching her : "in the title of Duchess
de Montevallos the merchant's daughter
will be lost, and the unrivalled Fior-
monda be my own."
No sooner had he formed this de-
termination, than, impatient at the
length of the show, 'and still more at
the increasing admiration bestowed
upon Fiormonda, he called the Mar-
quis de Santa Spina apart : the latter
heard his intention with the utmost
ADA RE IS. 35
surprise; insisted that he should con-
sult the viceroy; and upon his de-
murring, himself communicated the
secret to Don Joseph. They could
by no means believe him to be so mad,
— his youth, — his distance from his
friends, — the relation in which he stood
to the court, were all reasons why this
precipitate step should be suspended ;
but in vain they reasoned. Montevallos
looked again upon Fiormonda, and
would hear of no prudential delay. He
gazed with fatal passion upon the too-
conscious lady, and remounting his
horse, galloped rashly off, to lay him-
self, his dukedom, and all he possessed,
at the feet of Ada Reis.
D 2
36 ADA REIS.
CHAPTER III.
Ada Reis was seated, according to
the custom of his country, upon a small
flat cushion, laid upon a Turkish car-
pet ; a scarf of the finest cachemire half
concealed his resplendent dress. His
turban was of cloth of gold, having an
heron wrought upon it ; the foot of the
bird was worked in diamonds ; a collar
of large pearls hung about his neck ;
sherbet, and a Persian apparatus for
smoking, were upon a marble slab near
him, whilst slaves, in magnificent attire,
were standing with their hands folded
before them at the entrance of the
apartment. He appeared lost in
thought, and there was a gloom upon
his countenance, wliich repressed fa-
miliar intercourse. The Duke, young
ADA REIS. 37
and inexperienced, hesitated as he ap-
proached ; at length he broke silence.
He hoped, he said, his intrusion would
be forgiven ; he had much to commu-
nicate. Ada Reis rose, and laying his
hand upon his bosom, with eastern
courtesy saluted him, and bade him
speak without reserve. The Duke
hastened to explain himself at once.
He expressed his love, and declared
his intentions ; he then adverted, al-
though with some timidity, to his rank ;
but said that the consciousness of it was
only precious to him, inasmuch as it
might render the offer of his hand more
acceptable to the father of Fiormonda.
He paused, and in anxious silence
awaited the answer.
How great was his surprise, when
for that answer, the words, ** My
daughter is highly honoured -, but I
aspire to a greater match for her,'*
38 ADA UEIS.
were tranquilly pronounced. His in-
dignation was so great, that it rose to
absolute fury; — death, destruction, re-
venge ! — insolent, low-born merchant !
a torrent of abuse rushed from the in-
coherent and offended suitor, but in
vain.
Ada Reis listened to his rage with an
unconcern as calm as he had before
listened to his professions ; then, with a
smile, resumed his pipe, nor vouchsafed
him any further reply. Stung to the
quick by this neglect, the Duke was
hurrying out of the apartment ; when
Ada Reis following him ceremoniously
to the entrance, requested the honour of
his presence at an entertainment he was
about to propose to the viceroy upon
the day of Fiormonda's presentation ;
and assured him that if he felt himself
hurt at the honour of his alliance hav-
ing been declined, he might console
ADA REIS. 39
himself with the information, that he
was about the hundredth of those who
had already been obliged to submit to
a similar mortification,
" But not a prince," replied the
Duke.
" Ay, sir,** said Ada Reis, gasco-
nading a little, and concealing some-
what of the truth, " the Bey of Tri-
poli, himself, the son of the Pacha."
" The Bey!" rejoined Monte vallos;
" heavenly powers ! to name him even !
— a Moor, a Mussulman ! Why, the
alliance of the Pacha is not to be com-
pared with mine ! No wonder that Fior-
monda disdained to add herself another
slave to his harem. But to refuse
me!"
" Of this," said Ada Reis, " I pre-
sume the young lady is innocent j I
alone, therefore, am guilty."
iO ADA IlEIS.
"To what, then, do you aspire for
her?''
" I deem her worthy of an imperial
crown."
** So do I, Heaven be my witness !"
said Montevallos ; " and were I pos-
sessed of an empire, I would share it
with her on the instant. But why await
for impossibilities ?"
** It is enough," said Ada Reis ; "you
have my answer. Bear it like a Chris-
tian," he added with a sneer, " and I
will not betray your secret."
The Duke had now recovered him-
self, and perhaps still cherishing hope
that neither Fiormonda nor her father
would ultimately prove inexorable, ac-
quiesced for the present in the advice
given to him ; and Ada Reis, taking
down from its place a beautifully
wrought Turkish scimitar, requested
ADA REIS. 41
that the Duke would accept it as a
token of good-will and reconciliation :
" And if she whom you must not pos-
sess," he continued, " should ever be
in danger, draw thou this weapon, the
gift of the father, in defence of the
daughter.'*
** I will," said Montevallos with en-
thusiasm. " Pardon the offence I have
given you ; I am not yet twenty years
of age — I have been taught ever to
consider myself, save my sovereign and
my own kinsmen, as the greatest per-
sonage in the world. The presumption
of pride and passion have led me to ad-
dress to you language such as none of
high parentage and courteous manners
should ever use — forgive me. You
know not what it is to love as I do."
" Not know it, young enthusiast —
not know it !" said Ada Reis, and he
laughed aloud. " I too have permitted
42 ADA llEIS.
my eyes to wander ; I too have given
myself up to the dominion of passion ;
I too have made an idol of that which
is but dust — beauty has misled and be-
trayed me, as it has done others ; but
with this difference, my heart felt with
more desperate force, my feelings were
stronger, my power greater. — Not love !
Ye gods ! may you never feel what I
have felt. I have been the greatest
slave that love has ever made. Mon-
tevallos, believe me, no Castilian blood
ever flowed with more fervid violence
around a heart than mine ; but where
the feelings are deep and strong, they
give not utterance often to their mag-
nitude by words and outward gestures.
Neither can the contumelies you have
not disdained to use affect one like me :
for the sneer of ridicule, and the grin
of folly, I can return a bitterer and
more deadly jest : to the clamour of
ADA REIS. 43
the multitude, and the erroneous judg-
ment of the world, supreme contempt
and real indifference is my answer.
At passion, outrage, and the petty
wrongs which make common men mad,
I smile : but arouse me — injure those
I love — awaken the sleeping lion —
and dread Ada Reis as a fiend, at
once above and below mankind. Dread
him who dreads nothing, who acknow-
ledges no superior, no law, no master ;
who hopes for nothing in life, and fears
nothing beyond it ; to whom pain is as
a scratch, existence but a dream, and
death the termination of all things !
Bestow your professions and regrets,
your contumelies and abuse, on such
as seek the one, or fear the other : Ada
Reis thinks of his fellow-men as the
leviathan thinks of the tribes who inha-
bit with him the depths of the ocean !'*
As he said this, his muscular form
4f4f ADA REIS.
became convulsed; his eyes kindled
and rolled with anger ; his teeth
clenched within each other, and he
exhibited to the young Duke the dis-
gusting and appalling picture of un-
controlled passion.
The Duke retired; but encountered,
as he quitted Ada Reis' palace, the
object of his entire devotion ; for whilst
this interview had been taking place
between himself and Ada Reis, the
viceroy, proud of his charge, and eager
to show every possible attention to
her father, resolved to accompany
Fiormonda home himself, and to ask
forgiveness in person for having, con-
trary to the orders of her governess,
ventured to conduct her into the gay
and fair assemblage which she had
been so anxious to behold. Fiormonda,
animated, but no way flattered, by the
encomiums she had heard on all sides,
ADA REIS. 45
added to the grace and dignity of
eastern reception somewhat of the ease
and freedom of manner which charac-
terizes the European courts. Happy
she was and proud — too proud to be
rendered vain. With the Marquis de
Santa Spina and the viceroy she con-
versed easily, and her conversation was
full of spirit, and even of good-hu-
moured raillery. When Condulmar
addressed her, she w^as reserved, em-
barrassed, and almost affected. Thus
they proceeded, Shaffou Paca following
after, fatigued and angry, and keeping
up, in a low voice, a never-ceasing
murmur of complaint at her pupil's
disobedience and apparent disregard
of her father's displeasure.
As soon as they arrived in the pre-
sence of Ada Reis, the gouvernante
commenced an harangue which she
had been preparing ; when a glance of
46 ADA REIS.
his eye at once imposed silence upon
her. He received the viceroy with the
most marked respect, and was evi-
dently flattered by his condescension
in paying him this unexpected visit ;
he conversed with him on manv sub-
jects, and before he withdrew respect-
fully entreated that he would honour
his dwelling in a few evenings with his
presence. The viceroy accepted the
invitation, and with a look of admira-
tion cast upon Fiormonda, took leave
of her and of her father ; and thus the
visit which had begun with some awk-
wardness and apprehension, terminated
with general ease and satisfaction.
" Fiormonda," said Ada Reis, when
the viceroy had retired, " I have been
thinking, child, that it is time to pre-
sent thee to the world and marry thee,
as thy years are many ; and the ac-
complishment of a w^izard's prophecy
ADA REIS. 47
seems too long deferred. Blanch, the
fair Princess of Ildebar, of whom all the
grandees were last season enamoured,
is thy senior alone by two years — thou
wilt number thy eighteenth year in a
few months : I must not let the flower
wither upon its stem, to be devoured
by the caterpillars that seek to destroy
it. Appear, fair child, in all thy splen-
dour and beauty ; accept the hand
of him who is the highest ; and when
I have seen thee rendered great, I shall
perchance depart, — for a restless spirit
torments me. What is grandeur ? what
are honours ? what are riches, if the
mind remain idle and unemployed?"
Then, addressing his discourse to his
attendants, he commanded, that upon
the first day of the ensuing week, a
magnificent entertainment might be
given, for the double purpose of show-
ing honour to the new viceroy, and
48 ADA REIS.
presenting Fiormonda to an astonished
and admiring world.
These commands were promptly
obeyed. The arrangements for the
entertainment were of such extent as to
employ many hundred workmen. Con-
dulmar undertook the whole manage-
ment and direction ; all that apper-
tained to arrangement, taste, ornament,
beauty, comfort, he fully understood ;
and Fiormonda, assisting him with de-
signs and hints, thus obtained a pretext
for passing hour after hour in the so-
ciety of her lover.
Display and ostentation are generally
delightful to the female mind. The
poet Virgil tells us, that Camilla, in
the midst of the action, was suddenly
and deeply attracted by the armour of
an adversary. Fiormonda was not in-
different to the magnificence wliich sur-
rounded lier. To her was now arrived
ADA RETS. 49
that term of life which excites in the
bosoms of the young the liveliest feel-
ings of interest and pleasure. She was
now to see that world she had so long
looked forward to and anticipated: she
was now to be free from the tyranny of
ShafFou Paca, to go where others go,
and enjoy the society of those, of whose
wit, talents, beauty, and rank, she had
heard so much.
Condulmar painted in glowing co-
lours the delights of liberty, the enjoy-
ments of the world, the various amuse-
ment of company. Her hopes were
raised, her mind perturbed by his de-
scriptions ; but his discourse sunk still
more deeply into her soul, when he
assured her, that by the side of others,
that even amidst all the beauty of Lima,
that even by the as yet unparalleled
Princess of Ildebar, she would still be
the most lovely in his eyes, and the first
VOL. II. E
50 ADA REIS.
in his affections. She heard him with
pleasure ; but she loved, and there-
fore doubted. This her apprehensive
doubt, her strong solicitude, her desire
of pleasing him alone, and fear of
losing him ; these feelings, which in
the vain eyes of men communicate an
interest even to ordinary features, gave
to Fiormonda a loveliness and fascina-
tion the most seductive and irresistible.
ADA REIS. 51
CHAPTER IV.
At length the night of the enter*
tainment arrived, and exceeded all that
even expectation had imagined. The
carpets were of gold tissue ; emeralds,
amethysts, and rubies adorned the can-
delabras ; the service for the banquet
was, without intermixture, of highly-
wrought gold. Yet, amidst objects
so costly and brilliant, no eye could
look on any thing but the daughter of
Ada Reis. The beautiful women of
Lima, who valued themselves on their
rich brocades, short full petticoats, and
little feet adorned with diamonds^,
were outshone by the more simply-
attired Fiormonda, whose ringlets, ac-
cording to their mode, falling grace-
fully behind the ear, were fastened by
E 2
LIBRARV ,^,
UNIVERSnV OF ILUNOl
52 ADA REIS.
a gold pin, called the polyzone, adorn-
ed with a diamond aigrette at each end.
Her rosary was of pearls ; her dress
was somewhat longer than that worn
by the other ladies, and of it the girdle
alone was remarkable for its splendour;
the stones which composed it appeared
to be rubies, and cast an almost super-
natural light : they were, alas ! the gift
of Kabkarra ! Vanity could not resist
the display on such an occasion, and
Condulmar's piercing and jealous eyes
had not apparently as yet detected
them.
Fiormonda, perfect in loveliness,
seemed already to set some little value
upon the admiration of the men, and
the envious observation of the women,
to whom she was now for the first time
presented. Yet she demeaned herself
with a modesty, reserve, and dignity,
which added to her attractions. Her
ADA KEIS. 53
personal charms were heightened by
those of her mind, — ^inviting love, but
commanding respect. The delight of
her conversation was beyond common
praise ; her ideas were all original, na-
tural, and just; her expressions the
purest, and her manners the most art-
less and innocently playful. Such was
she the first time she was publicly seen
at Lima, and introduced into a world of
gaiety, which had appeared to her, in
its distant prospect, replete with amuse-
ment and happiness.
With Fiormonda the Duke of Mon-
tevallos opened the ball ; to her alone
every honour was paid. The viceroy
seized every opportunity of addressing
himself exclusively to her, and Mon-
tevallos gazed till his eyes beheld
scarcely any thing beside : the gay
scene appeared to vanish from before
him ; his brain turned, and feverish
54f ADA REIS.
illness disturbed his whole frame.
Whilst in this state, Condulmar ap-
proached him. — " How I pity you !"
he said : *' though a rival, you are not
a hated one : trust in me, and I w411
assist your wishes."
" Assist me /*' said the Duke, start-
ing with surprise : " Assist me ! when
I have plainly witnessed your own at-
tachment : — this is beyond even ro-
mance ; and, believe me, if I cannot
win the lady by my own merit, I will
never be indebted to another for her
favour."
As he said this with an indignant
warmth, his eyes met Fiormonda's ; and
the glance she gave Condulmar struck
like a poniard into the heart of Mon-
tevallos — it was the expression of entire
and devoted attachment. The Duke
knew no longer how to endure his
situation J he could not bear to leave
ADA REIS. 55
the apartment, and he could not com-
mand his agitation whilst he remained.
In the mean time, exclamations of
astonishment were breathed around at
the fineness of this painting, the beauty
of that china, the magnificence of the
decorations ; and Ada Reis was almost
fatigued with bowing to the numerous
assemblage.
The attachment of the Duke of
Montevallos to Fiormonda was a sub-
ject of much raillery to the viceroy ;
and the lady's indifference, of surprise.
The questions with which he perse-
cuted her upon this and other subjects
almost passed the bounds of good-
breeding, whilst her acute and dignified
answers evaded his curiosity.
At length he too observed her eyes
turn towards Condulmar, and the
glance and the smile she gave irritated
him also ; for lie was little less in lovje
56 ADA REIS.
with her than Alphonso. " And who,"
said he, endeavouring to penetrate her
inmost thoughts, " is he to whom you
have granted the envied privilege of
that smile ? I observed his remarkable
air, his easy grace, his light intellectual
glance, the first time I had the honour
of beholding him at the theatre at
Callao — I would I were like him, in
the hope that you would grant me also
some little share of your attention !"
Fiormonda's cheeks became of a
deep red ; the colour quickly extended
to her throbbing bosom. In early youth,
nothing is so beautiful as a blush, that
quick transition of colour, and the
change of countenance which accom-
panies it.
At length, recovering herself, " He
is,*' she said, " a stranger here ; some
say he is an Italian, one of my own
country : but I believe his history is
ADA REIS. 57
known to my father ; he came to Lima
with us ; his vessel was wrecked at sea,
and he was saved by ours ; of his birth
and parentage, I am in truth ignorant."
" And yet, lovely lady," said the
viceroy, " you seem to me to take no
common interest in this stranger's wel-
fare : your eyes have followed him the
whole of this evening ; when he spoke
just now to the Princess, you trembled
and changed colour, and your present
confusion shows me plainly that he is
not indifferent to you."
A deep sigh from Fiormonda was
her only answer, while her eyes, bent
downwards, again testified extreme
embarrassment. Her silence and her
manner naturally increased Don Jo-
seph's curiosity, and he instantly began
to make inquiries of all respecting
Condulmar.
How strange it seemed to him, that
58 ADA REIS.
no one could gratify his curiosity!
Great personages cannot bear to be
thwarted ; and princes and viceroys
are at all times over-curious : they ask
fifty questions in a breath, without
waiting for an answer. In this case it
was different ; the questions were asked,
but the viceroy waited in vain. In the
mean time, the object of so many
inquiries stood abstracted from the
throng, leaning against a pillar, and
gazing with a wild and anxious eye
upon the Princess of Ildebar. The vice-
roy observed him narrowly; various
emotions seemed to be passing in his
mind. At one time his eye brightened ;
at another he smiled ; at another
frowned : his manner excited surprise,
and commanded an attention not en-
tirely unmixed with awe and terror.
Ada Reis performed the honours of
the feast with princely dignity. The
ADA REIS. 59
entertainment concluded with a superb
banquet, and during the repast the
strain of music, and the voice of the
singer, sounded full, and yet softened
in the distance. There was a young
Italian singer, in particular, whose voice
was the theme of general commenda-
tion, to the annoyance of Fiormonda.
Condulmar hung over her whilst she
sung, and seemed more than others
delighted. Nirza returned the glance
of admiration. Fiormonda felt the first
pang of jealousy at that moment.
" Are you happy?" said an old man
with a long beard, addressing Ada
Reis as he passed from one of the
tables to another in order to pay a
fitting attention to all his guests. "Are
you happy?" said the old man, in an
abrupt tone of voice, and in a foreign
tongue. Ada Reis inclined his head,
with his hand upon his heart. " Be-
Go ADA REIS.
ware, then/' said the old man, " beware
of yon cloud !" and as he spoke, he
raised his eye towards the heavens with
an expression of prophetic fear.
Ada Reis, who saw nothing but his
painted ceiling, and the hundred light-
ed tapers, made sign of inquiry as to
his meaning. " Beware," repeated
the old man, " of the approaching ruin !
Upon the 28th of October, at half an
hour after ten at night, five hours
and three-quarters before the full of
the moon, thy signal crimes shall meet
with their recompense, and the deed
that thou didst in the far distant desert
shall be revenged !"
Ada Reis started : he thought, now,
he recognised in the stranger the mer-
chant Muley Hadgi, long since, as he
had good cause to know, dead ; but
the different habit could not disguise
those grim features he had too just
ADA REIS. 01
cause to fear. He shuddered, and
pressed his hand to his head ; the word
Kabkarra was distinctly heard, and a
laugh rose, hollow and triumphant,
none knew from whence, no one could
say from whom ; but all eyes were turned
upon the master of the feast, who in
vain attempted to recover himself, and
appear as before. At length, making
apologies for his sudden indisposition,
he retired, and the amusements of the
evening concluded with something of
disorder and precipitation.
62
ADA REIS.
CHAPTER V.
The ensuing day Ada Reis sent, at
an early hour, for Condulmar. When
he came, he told him that he was ill in
body, and miserable in mind ; that,
without being superstitious, he was
subject to the weaknesses of human
nature ; that either sudden madness
had fallen upon him, or he was pursued
by an avenging spirit. If either were
the case, what was to become of Fior-
monda ? He spoke wdth an inquiring
look, as if to penetrate Condulmar's
intentions ; but he noticed only the
former part of his discourse, and ex-
pressed surprise at his terrors ; saying,
they were the effect of mere indisposi-
tion, and would pass away with the
momentary disorder. Ada Reis re-
ADA REIS. 63
plied, with impatience, that it was not
momentary, and regretted in bitter
terms, that he had so abruptly rejected
the offer of the Duke of Montevallos.
" Death,'' he said, " is striking at my
heart ; I know it by the single beat of
that heart, and the sudden stop of the
pulse ; and what is to become of my
child ? Even now," he said, grasping
Condulmar by the hand, " now that I
gaze on you, methinks your eye glares
like fire, and I see before me a fiend,
not a m.an. Recall Alphonso; he shall
marry my daughter."
" A favouring look soon recalls a
lover," said Condulmar, scornfully;
" and the impassioned Duke is too
deeply enamoured to despond."
Ada Reis heaved a sigh, and was
silent; and Condulmar seemed little
inclined to continue the conversation.
As the day advanced the viceroy and
64 ADA REIS.
many of the nobles waited upon Ada
Reis, to inquire after his health. Fior-
monda wished not to receive them ; yet
so many compliments and professions
had been made to her on the preceding
evening, and so much interest express-
ed, that she could hardly decline re-
turning this courtesy by a moment's
interview with her father's illustrious
guests. Condulmar encouraged her to
admit them ; and it appeared somewhat
strange to her, who liked not her lover
to look at or to speak to any other wo-
man than herself, that he was so little
jealous and apprehensive, and per-
mitted every one to approach her ; he
seemed even to assist and encourage
the hopes of the proud jMarquis de
Santa Spina, and the Duke of Monte-
vallos ; and yet, with a malicious smile,
he whispered in her ear that he knew
those hopes would be disappointed.
ADA JIEIS. 65
Was his real love? xllas ! it bore none
of the beautiful features of that holy
passion. Love for the young and the
innocent is pure as youth and innocence
themselves. It delights to strengthen
and cherish virtue, and is ever anxious,
that even its most ardent desires should
be sanctioned and purified by the sa-
credness of religion : but Condulmar
was continually scoffing at constancy,
and deriding marriage : andFiormonda,
while she had suffered him to establish
an irresistible dominion over her heart,
had too much sense not to feel, that
him, whom it was now impossible that
she should not love, it was impossible
that she should esteem. To beauty has
been given, by nature, a fatal ascendant
over man and over woman. Condul-
mar was more than beautiful : every
feeling, every passion of his soul ani-
mated and spoke in his countenance ; a
VOL. II. F
66 ADA REIS.
depth of thought, apparently the most
profound, gave at times an external
calm and repose to his features ; but the
quick intelligence of his eye relighten-
ed in a moment at the slightest look or
word, that moved the quick sensations
within. His gifts were the most va-
rious ; his language the most impressive.
He could touch the hardest heart and
excite the coldest; yet when he had
made others feel the deepest, he could,
by a jest, make dignity descend, and
gravity forget itself, and turn at once
the beautiful and solemn into the ridi-
culous. With such qualifications he
was naturally admired and sought by
all ; but whilst he encouraged their
court, and was evidently gratified by
it, he had the dexterity to persuade
Fiormondathat, asbefore upon winning,
so now he was solely intent upon fixing
and retaining her affections.
ADA REIS. 67
CHAPTER VI.
How often is love described! its birth,
growth, decline, and death, in all lan-
guages, in all countries ! Authors of
both sexes seem never to tire of de-
scanting upon this master passion. In
the MS* there follow 662 pages of ro-
mantic love, such as former times were
enthusiastic and patient enough to read.
The present age, though as liable to
the affection, is somewhat more impa-
tient of common-place dissertation upon
it. So many lovers sighed round Fior-
monda, that many petty adventures
of course took place : sighs, presents,
moonlight walks, balls, plays, rides,
quarrels, treacheries, frowns, jealousies,
hopes, follow in the regular order ; and
f2
68 ADA RRIS.
at length, upon the lover's side, neglect,
inconstancy, and coldness.
Fiormonda yet, notwithstanding,
seemed to have forgotten every thing
on earth but Condulmar. Vain was her
pride ; vain a promised diadem ; vain
the distraction of Montevallos; vain the
adoration of so many courtiers ; vain
the flattery of the viceroy : weeks and
months passed, to appearance, in around
of amusement; but really in the in-
dulgence of violent and restless passion.
The period when young ladies require
the greatest care; when the feelings
are the strongest, and the reason the
weakest, when they are exposed at once
to the temptations of novelty and the
ardour of solicitation ; that period is
often selected, even by the wisest of
parents, for removing from about them
those who have hitherto guarded and
restrained them. This was now the case
ADA REIS. 69
with Fiormonda. SliafToii Paca, offend-
ing Ada Reis one evening by an abrupt
and unsolicited intrusion upon his pre-
sence, he sent her back to Egypt; but
previous to her departure, she boasted
that Fiormonda was now no longer in
need of her assistance ; — that her son
Kabkarra's predictions had been ful-
filled, and that before long he would
pay her an unexpected visit.
Fiormonda was thus left entirely to
her own guidance. Indeed, Ada Reis
was not much used to watch over the
female sex, with a view to admonishing
and protecting them ; and as he ad-
vanced in years, began, as is sometimes
the case, to feel her somewhat of a
charge and burthen. With her childish
sprightliness and infantine caresses, her
chief charm in his eyes was gone. He
was engrossed by his own favourites,
and he now viewed his daughter merely
70 ADA IlEIS.
as a means of gratifying his pride and
ambition. His love for low society
had never left him, nor slackened in
the slightest degree ; and he preferred
dancers, buffoons, and revellers, to vice-
roys, state, and ceremony.
The Duke of Montevallos, suffering
under a hopeless passion, and despairing
of success, resolved to quit Lima, and
fix his residence in the mother country.
He wished, however, to make one more
effort to recommend himself to Fior-
monda before he bade her farewell for
ever. For this purpose he asked and
obtained a last interview. He spoke
for some time with calmness, but at
length the vehemence of his love broke
forth, and in a tone of anguish he de-
manded of her — "Answer me but this,
this one question — Are you to be the
wife of Condulmar? Who is lie? Has
he any right over you? If he has, it is
ADA REIS. 71
well ; I must be satisfied ; but if not,
let me save you before it be too late."
Fiormonda hesitated.
" You know not," he said, " how
cruelly the world speaks of you — -you
are not happy."
" None can be happy," said Fior-
monda, with a sigh, ** who act as I have
done."
** I will save you."
" My name must never be united to
yours," she replied ; " there is a shade
cast over it would mar your brightness.
Go you and pursue your honourable
career, and remember these words from
one who has made the trial — happiness
cannot enter, where guilt has been re-
ceived.'*
" Guilt," said Montevallos, throwing
himself at her feet, " can never have
defiled that spotless bosom."
72 ADA REIS.
" Alas f said Fiormonda, mournfully,
" you know me not: you judge me by
the semblance it has pleased Heaven
to endow me with j you judge me, too,
by the wealth, the honours, and the
pleasures with which I have from in-
fancy been surrounded; but you can-
not see into my heart.*'
" And if I could," said Alphonso,
" what should I read there but ge-
nerous feelings, and benevolence, and
kindness?"
Fiormonda's tears alone answered
the duke's vows and protestations.
Compelled to leave her, he forced
himself from her presence in the utmost
misery and perturbation. "She is scarce
eighteen years of age," he said to him-
self: " even if seduced from duty, there
is time for amendment. Oh ! that she
were a Christian — that she would kneel
ADA REIS. 73
and repent ! But that atheist lier father,
and that evil genius her lover, to what
ruin may they not lead her ! If it be
possible, I will save her. However
misled and perverted by the wicked-
ness of others, could I but gain her
consent, I would espouse her on the
instant, and rescue her from the evil
by which she is surrounded. Who can
this Condulmar be? What can give him
the right thus to destroy with impunity
the loveliest of human beings? Her al-
tered looks, her dow^ncast eyes, her em-
barrassment, her floods of tears, all too
plainly declare the base and cruel ma-
lignity of his conduct. He shall either
openly acknowledge her to be his wife,
or decidedly resign her. I will awaken
her father to caution ; I will inform him
of my more than suspicions ; I will win
her yet, — by ardent attachment and
74 ADA REIS.
devotion: yes, I will win her. — For
young as she is, the depravation of her
lawless and artful companion cannot
have reached the purity of her mind,
or degraded and corrupted the original
nobleness of her nature."
ADA llEIS. 15
CHAPTER VII.
FioRMONDA had sufficient cause for
the bitter tears which she had shed
during her interview with the Duke of
Montevallos. The conduct of Con-
dulmar was too plain to allow even the
most devoted love to deceive itself any
longer. Amidst her sorrow and re-
morse, she had no longer the consola-
tion of believing, that she was preferred
or even beloved by him. The beautiful
singer, who had lately appeared, of the
name of Nirza, and the Princess of Ilde-
bar, a lady of high rank, but of little mo-
rality, engrossed all his time ; and, after
the manner of women, lost no oppor-
tunity of displaying power, and of sub-
jecting Fiormonda to as much morti-
fication as possible. There is no man,
7G ADA KEIS.
however unfeeling and remorseless,
who does not fear and dislike the re-
proaches of a woman wliom he has in-
jured. This dread made Condulmar
avoid seeing Fiormonda alone as much
as possible. In public he still paid her
attention ; such attention as was cal-
culated and intended to proclaim his
triumph and the empire which he had
established over her. His conversa-
tion, when near her, was in the most
personal and scornful tone of satire.
" Nothing," he would say, " can be
more fatiguing than a permanent at-
tachment; a beauty or an heiress are,
either of them, the most wearisome of
human beings ; they are never content-
ed or satisfied : but both characters in
one form a compound that is utterly
mtolerable. We take infinite pains to
win a woman's affections exclusively to
ourselves, but when they are gained we
ADA REIS. 77
find them the most troublesome posses-
sion with which a man can be encum-
bered. When one of whom we are
enamoured bestows upon another aught
of preference, we are apt to suppose the
suffering we endure the greatest that
can be inflicted upon us ; but we shall
find that it is nothing when compared
to the tedium of having all her affections
concentered upon ourselves."
This sarcastic levity increased rather
than diminished the infatuation of
Fiormonda. She sought him in so-
ciety, as she could rarely find the op-
portunity of seeing him otherwise : for
his sakeishe submitted to the humilia-
tion of courting those with whom he
associated; and the continued round
of company, into which her devotion
to Condulmar led her, in some measure
drove and banished the recollection of
her miserable situation from her mind.
Involved in the pursuits of this world.
78 ADA REIS.
she thought not of that wliich is to
come. A hurried life, though not happy
in itself, suspends and postpones the
day of unhappiness. The pause of
quiet that succeeds the return to tran-
quillity comes attended with remorse
and sorrow. The hours that are passed
in mourning and prayer are numbered,
but the mind takes no heed of time
when worldly pleasures are varying
every scene, and worldly interests ab-
sorb all attention. Fiormonda sought
without in a crowd of adulators for that
peace of mind she could no longer find
within.
Early, very early the next morning,
after her interview with Montevallos,
she heard beneath her window the step,
as she believed, of Condulmar return-
ing from his nightly revels ; she arose
in haste, and opening the lattice of her
apartment, saw the Duke of Monteval-
los, who called to her in a tone of re-
ADA REIS. 79
proach and impatience, and urged her
to speak one moment with him.
Immediately as he left her, he had
hastened in search both of Ada Reis
and Condulmar. But they were en-
gaged in those pursuits to which they
now devoted the whole of their time;
and he had been unable to meet with
either of them. At length, two or three
hours after midnight, he had entered
the coffee-room where the young men
of fashion were wont to assemble, in-
stead of returning to their homes. He
heard the loud laugh of revellers, and
found Condulmar at that hour of the
morning drinking with his libertine as-
sociates. The subject of the conversa-
tion was woman, and, one by one,
every fair character was impeached by
the profane and dissolute. Princesses,
countesses, merchants' wives, were all
mercilessly branded with the foulest
80 ADA REIS.
aspersions. The name of Fiormonda
was now hesitatingly pronounced by
the captain of the viceroy's guard ; with
a thousand oaths he protested he be-
lieved her at least to be immaculate.
Condulmar laughed, and, to the hor-
ror and astonishment of Montevallos,
boldly proclaimed this paragon of ex-
cellence, this puie, cold, and chaste
daughter of Aua Reis, this spotless
maiden, who had refused the hand of
so many great and powerful dukes and
princes, to be his mistress; voluntarily
and almost unsolicited to have resigned
herself to him, and to be more the ob-
ject of his contempt and indifference
than of his love. In the first impulse
of his wrath, Montevallos clapped his
hand to his sword, but recollection of
the exposure to which any rash step
upon his part would subject Fiormonda,
restrained his indignation, and he with-
ADA REIS. 81
drew, sensible of the difficulty of his
situation, and undetermined how to
act ; deeply wounded and irritated, but
at the same time confounded and over-
come. In this temper of mind he
hastened on until he found himself in
the open square near the viceroy's pa-
lace ; his servants were there awaiting
him. He dismissed them, and walked
beneath the windows of the house of
Ada Reis: the lattice opened ; he heard
Fiormonda's voice.
" Condulmar,*' she said, "is it you?"
" No, by heavens !" he answered, " it
is a wretch, a madman ! and if you
would not have me destroy myself, or
expose you to the scorn of the whole
world, see me for one moment."
Fiormonda looked from beneath the
veranda, and with that look of inno-
cence seen so often on the browof child-
hood, she gazed upon him, surprised
VOL. II. G
82 ADA REIS.
and struck with the vehemence of his
agitation. She was scarcely dressed ;
her dark blue eyes, with their black
rims and jetty fringe, as if awakened
by the hasty step of one she expected,
spoke of love, it is true, but the love an
infant might have felt ; and impurity
vanished from every thought even upon
beholding her: her dark rich locks fell
carelessly upon her white neck, and
her still whiter robe, clasped in front,
which showed nor art nor care ; all was
simple nature. Yet she wore bracelets
adorned with jewels, and a broach made
of the hair of Condulmar.
" He has wronged her," said the
duke, gazing upon her. '' I will tell
her what the traitor has dared to say :
I will save her from the seducer's grasp,
and bear her away to my own country
as my bride. She is innocent ! I see
it, I feel it; for purity and virtue show
themselves in every look."
ADA REIS. 83
Fiormonda now descended the stairs,
opened the door of the house, and
stepped half fearfully towards the duke;
she had thrown her veil over her head
and face. " I am doing wrong," she
said; " I am acting an imprudent part :
but I feel for your agitation ; and at
this hour of the morning I may con -
verse with you a few moments, perhaps,
without interruption. What mean you
by those horrid expressions? Why do
you appear thus moved, and why looks
your eye so wild ? Were I not used to
Condulmar in these moods, you would
terrify me.*'
" Do not name him, I conjure you!"
*'Iam aware," said Fiormonda, *'that
you hate him on account of his once
great attachment for me ; but did I in-
deed possess the power over your affec-
tions which you say I do, would you
not at my request, and for my sake,
g2
84 ADA REIS.
moderate the violence of your feel-
ings ?"
The duke now informed Fiormonda
of what had passed. *' And tell me,'*
he said, "tell me, can you ever see
again, or ever forgive the wretch who
thus has dared to defame you ? Say,
at least," he cried emphatically, " say
that he is false, and that you are chaste
and innocent, as I believe you to be —
as you now look. Speak !'*
Fiormonda was greatly agitated.
" Say," continued Alphonso, his
voice broken by the violence of his
emotion, "that the beautiful semblance
of all that is honourable and lovely in
woman, the flower and blooming rose
of this fair city, has not a canker in tlie
bud: say that your young heart is
chaste, that those lips, those eyes . .*'
" Oh, spare your commendations t
Your praise, sir, makes me sad. You
ADA REIS. 85
have learned much, I think, amongst
kings and courtiers.'^
" And have you learned nothing
there, madam ?"
" I know not what you mean."
" Happy innocence !" said Alphonso,
bitterly.
Fiormonda made a motion as if to
depart ; the duke seized her arm.
'" By what power do you detain me?"
" By the power of love, wrought up
to madness," he cried : '*by the feelings
of injured love and desperation !"
" Will you harm me ?"
*' Not for worlds !"
** What do you wish?"
" To save you."
** It is too late."
" Is it possible ? — Oh, Fiormonda !
can guilt put on the appearance of such
innocence? Can early youth admit of
such perversion ?*'
86 ADA llEIS.
** I am miserable !"
" How long — oh ! how long, have
you been the prey of this monster?"
" Call him not so harshly : — how
long? — Too long, sir, for my peace of
mind."
" You have a proud spirit : — does it
not kindle into wrath within you, when
you remember how he has repaid you ?
You weep: do you not hate him now?*'
" It is a hard task to learn to hate,
when we have once loved too well ;
but I own that I feel some resentment.
I feel that I was worth more than the
price for which I have sold myself — I
see others, whom I consider as less than
myself, set up above me — I love, too,
and "
" Have you no regard for your fair
name? Can you bear to hear the sneer
of the multitude, to be the laughter of
men j the jest, the scorn, the word of
ADA REIS. 87
reproach amongst women; to find your-
self the sport of slander ; you, who have
been flattered, followed, extolled be-
yond even your rare deserts ? Can you
outlive the world's contempt?"
" I have outlived his love : after that
I can endure any thing."
" If you think you can endure the
world's contempt ; if you believe, that
you value not its opinion ; be sure, un-
happy Fiormonda, that you deceive
yourself. Too powerful is that world
to be opposed ; too precious its good
report to be despised. It is pleasant
and honourable to be loved and com-
mended. A woman's name should be
sacred ; it should be rarely thrust upon
the public notice ; and whenever it is
drawn from its sacred and pure retreat,
modesty and dignity should surround
it. You are running the career which
many have run before you : you are
88 ADA REIS.
throwing away your fair name, before
you know its value and importance ;
throwing away that character which
you will pass the remainder of your
days in deeply regretting, and seeking
in vain to recover and re-estabHsh.
Can it be possible? are you '*
" Say nothing more, sir ; I wish you
every happiness : but when I refused
your hand, I told you I was not worthy
of your devoted attachment. Go, now,
and every blessing attend you! Leave
me to my fate, and judge me not."
" Not judge you ! Who should be
judged, if you are not ? Who possessed
your advantages, your understanding?
Who might have filled, more worthily,
the loftiest situation ? — For shame ! for
shame ! Break this disgraceful con-
nexion ! Away with those bands, and
braids, and jewels ; the opprobrious
tokens of dishonest love. Put on sack-
ADA REIS. 81)
cloth and ashes; — kneel in the church ;
do penance in thy soHtude. But I am
mad, I know not what I say. I swear
to be revenged !"
" On whom ?"
" On you — on him — on Ada Reis !"
" There is vengeance enough here,"
said Fiormonda : " seek thou for no
more. Sufficient punishment is it for
me to have lost his affections.'^
At this avowal Alphonso could trust
himself no further; he hurried from
her, and passed rapidly forward ; but
upon approaching to the bridge, he
paused, for straight before him, with a
cold and haughty air, he beheld Con-
dulmar ; and he was for a moment
checked by the perfect tranquillity of
his manner.
The mist of morning had dispersed,
the sun's all-glorious rays shone full
upon the desperate features of that
90 ADA REIS.
mysterious stranger, who seemed nei-
ther to seek nor shun the present inter-
view.
*' You liave wronged," began tlie
duke, " the sweetest and fairest lady
the earth ever saw ; you have profaned
her name, and disgraced yourself for
ever."
*' I seek not your good opinion," said
Condulmar ; ** nor shall I account for
my words or my actions to a madman."
" If I am mad," said Alphonso, ** you
have driven me to it ; stand — prepare
yourself — one of us shall die on the in-
stant."
" You have no right over me : I
scorn and pity you ; I will not tight
for that which I have obtained without
risk or trouble."
*' But you shall expiate your crime
thus," said the furious duke, rushing
upon him, and attempting to stab him.
ADA REIS. 91
Condulmar calmly struck the weapon
from his hand. Alphonso, baffled and
astonished, regarded his antagonist with
something of apprehension. '* What
are you?" he cried: " I adjure you
meet me as a man meets man."
Condulmar smiled — Alphonso leapt
forward to grapple with him. Con-
dulmar opposed coolness to his fury,
and seizing the frantic youth by the
arm, threw him to the earth, saying,
" Foolish boy, beware whom you at-
tack." His head struck with violence
upon the edge of a projecting marble ;
he fell motionless. Condulmar watched
him — approached him — raised him up
— felt that his pulse had ceased to beat,
that life was extinct. " What have I
done ? Is this death — can it be ?" he
cried, contemplating his lifeless antago-
nist for some moments^ — " Will the
silence which has followed such vehe-
92 ADA REIS.
ment and loud parley be eternal ? Is
that energy of character, and that ac-
tivity of frame at an end thus, and for
ever, in one instant ? Are those fierce
passions, that ardent faithful love, the
thoughts that passed so rapidly through
that romantic mind, the palpitating
Jieart, the eager hurried tone of voice
— is all terminated, all quiet, and am I
the murderer ?'* Condulmar now look-
ed around him. The sun already shone
bright above the horizon ; — the people
were passing to and fro, and the city
began to stir with the daily occupa-
tions of its inhabitants. The street in
which he stood was still lonely and de-
serted : — its stillness amidst the general
movement appalled him for a moment,
but collecting himself, he left the spot
without delay, returned to the house of
Ada Reis, sought his own apartment,
and there awaited the event.
ADA REIS. 93
With the early morn, the news of the
death of Montevallos spread through
the city; and a burst of grief and ge-
nerous sympathy sprung from every
heart. From the wound he had re-
ceived, and the place in which the body
had been found, it was difficult to as-
certain the cause and manner of his
death ; but it was generally supposed
that it had been his own act, and that
the unkindness of Fiormonda had
driven him to despair. His romantic
attachment was known to many ; every
circumstance that could interest was
recalled to mind ; all pitied, all sympa-
thised with him who was no more, and
the murmur became general against
the cold and cruel girl who had, as it
was supposed, driven him to his un-
timely end. The anguish of her feel-
ings may be imagined, when the recol-
lection of their recent conversation
94 ADA REIS.
recurred to her mind, and with that
recollection the bitter thought that the
knowledge of her degraded state, and
the misery of ill-requited love, had oc-
casioned and hastened the dreadful
catastrophe.
The day ensuing the corpse lay in
state. The viceroy ordered a general
mourning ; the festive dance and song
were discontinued ; the theatres were
closed ; and at the hour of night-fall
the whole of the nobility, and amongst
the rest Condulmar, serious, but col-
lected, followed the funeral of the
much-lamented youth.
ADA RETS. 95
CHAPTER VIII.
FiORMONDA sat at her window, and
saw the procession pass : the light of
the torches fell upon the beautiful fea-
tures of Alphonso. She watched the
funeral train ; she heard the tolling of
the distant knell ; she felt that she had
lost a faithful friend, one who, when
slander was busy with her name, would
have risked his life to defend her. She
now lamented the want of firm princi-
ple she had shown ; she then thought
with regret upon the ill conduct of
Condulmarj but love was still in her
young heart the predominant feeling;
she felt with ardour, and she knew not
the vanity, the transitory nature, the
little importance of all these illusions :
she knew not of how little profit, of
how little even pleasure it is to yield up
the affections of the heart and soul to
90 ADA REIS.
any one in this world, be he even really
possessed of all the grace, talent, and
beauty we imagine in him ; for in the
end he will merely betray the heart
which doats upon him, and mock at the
devotion which has served to feed and
gratify his vanity. To hate is wiser
than to love ; but the wisest is to do
neither. Better is it to pursue our
course upon the earth as the blind mole
does beneath its surface, working our
way, without seeking or attaching our-
selves to aught, that like ourselves, is
but dust.
Fiormonda continued at her window,
restless and melancholy, expecting one
who came not ; she felt oppressed by
the intense heat of the atmosphere. She
arose ; she approached her table ; she
wrote a letter, then tore it — it was
filled with reproaches, and of what use
were reproaches ? She struck her harp
ADA REIS. 97
— the notes reminded her of times past,
and brought with them the remem-
brance of her past life. The singular
events of her youth recurred; she
recollected her guardian spirit, his
care, and his admonitions ; she wished
again to see him ; she sung the song
he loved ; she thought how happy and
pure she once had been, and she suffer-
ed her tears to flow without restraint.
At that moment, a refreshing breeze
blew upon her from the open window,
and a note, sweet as that of a distant
horn, sounded from below.
If there be in souls a sympathy with
sounds, so that the chime of the village
bells can melt the heart by awakening
the memory ; if that simple air, played
by the Swiss mountaineer upon his
pipe, which calls the herds at evening
to their home, can in a distant land
make the iirm soldier foiget and aban-
VOL. II. H
98 ADA REIS.
don his duty ; it is no wonder that
Fiormonda dwelt fixed and absorbed
as these words were sung by a voice at
once familiar and dear :
I.
Sing not for others, but for me,
In every thought, in every strain.
Though I perchance am far from thee,
And we must never meet again :
Though I may only weep for thee.
Sing not for others, but for me.
II.
My spirit still is hovering nigh !
Then breathe for me that sacred sigh ;
The sacred sigh, the thrilling tone.
Which tells of time for ever gone ;
Oh, when the heart's tear dims thine eye.
Think that my spirit hovers nigh.
III.
In starry night, or soft moonbeam.
By mossy bank, or rippling stream.
ADA REIS. 99
In balmy breeze, in fragrant flower.
Though dearer hands may deck thy bower ;
In all that's sweet or fair to thee.
Think not of others, but of me.
IV.
If e'er thou sing'st thy native lay.
As thou wert wont in happier day ;
That lay which breathed of love and truth.
And all the joys of early youth ;
Though all those joys are past for thee,
Sing not for others, but for me.
V.
I 've mark'd the struggles of thy mind,
Like bird in gilded cage confined ;
Vain was the costly jewell'd chain— .
The heart breathed forth a mournful strain ;
The spirit panted to be free—
And I could only weep for thee.
VI.
Farewell ! Alas, I may no more
Than weep and blame — and yet adore.
Thy hour is come — I cannot save —
But we shall meet beyond the grave :
H 2
100 ADA REIS.
The sinner's prayer may reach to heaven ;
Pray then, and mayst thou be forgiven.
** And I will pray," said Fiormonda,
kneeling. She did so, and a calm she
had not felt for a length of time per-
vaded her whole frame. S)ie threw
herself upon her bed ; but the thought
of Condulmar again returned ; — twice
she started from her couch and listened
to catch again the voice, as she deemed
it, of her long-lost guardian spirit.
It was not yet midnight.. Fior-
monda's mind had not been affected
and heated by romances and tales of
spectres ; yet an indescribable horror
took possession of her mind at this par-
ticular moment. She had witnessed the
sudden death of one who loved her pas-
sionately; the thought of it chilled her.
" Alphonso," she said, " art thou no
more — thou w^ho wert so young, so gay.
ADA REIS. 101
SO handsome, and so much beloved?
How often have I seen thee the first
in the dance, in the chase, and even
(so weak is woman) whilst my heart
was Condulmar's, how even I added
my tribute of admiration to the general
voice!" As she thus lamented him,
she felt, as it were, the breath of some
one near her : there was in the chamber
that deep stillness, which can impress
awe upon the mind, even when occu-
pied with overwhelming grief. The
light of the moon faintly illumined the
apartment, and by that pale light there
appeared a dark substance, a gathering
mist, which slowly embodied itself, un-
til plain before her stood the shade of
Montevallos! His countenance was
mournful : his hand was raised to his
temple, as if he still suffered from the
mortal wound. In a low voice, at
length he spoke, " Fiormonda, prepare
102 ADA REIS.
thyself: be not alarmed ; but repent,
for death is at hand.*'
She looked fixedly upon him ; she
had no power to avert her eyes : her
very heart trembled, whilst her limbs
were fixed under the influence of pre-
ternatural awe.
The low sepulchral voice again ad-
dressed her ; "Fiormonda, awaken from
the delusions of life ; thou hast sinned
beyond thy years : repent, for even
now sincere repentance may avail."
** I have not sinned," she cried ;
" he—he first "
" This will not avail thee," said Mon-
tevallos, mournfully; ** I also have sin-
ned. We believed not in our hearts
the true faith ; we prayed not for
strength in the hour of temptation j
we thought it little to yield to the vio-
lence of our passions; to live alone for
love, — for pleasure, — for hurry, and
ADA REIS. 103
amusement. Prepare thyself to answer
for every word, for every thought, for
every neglect : for where I am, there
is no respect paid to persons ; neither
the soft voice, nor the bright eye, nor
youth, nor beauty, nor fashion, nor
rank availeth : humility, charity, faith,
forgiveness of injuries, are virtues
here."
" And must I, who am so young,
die ?" said Fiormonda : ** will no fur-
ther time be allowed me ?"
*' No further."
" Will Condulmar "
At the mention of his name, the
shade passed mournfully away.
" He did not slay thee ^" said Fior-
monda, rising with frantic eagerness
from her couch : ** he is too good, too
kind ! — Speak, yet once more ! — nay,
thus, thus let me retain thee." Her
arms clasped themselves,, as she
104 ADA REIS.
thought, around Alphonso ; but terror
unparalleled overpowered her, when,
by a sudden light which now blazed
through the chamber, she saw before
her, laughing with horrid malignity,
not Alphonso, but the fiend Kabkarra!
" Thou art mine! Thou art mine!"
he cried.
Fiormonda fainted. She recovered,
and in the distance, as in a picture, she
thought she beheld Condulmar laugh-
ing and drinking with his abandoned
low associates in the house of his new^
favourite, Nirza. Her father was with
them — she seemed to hear their loud
mirth, whilst a long procession, clad in
black, floated ever and anon before
her. The knell for Alphonso now di-
stinctly rung upon her ear ; the torches
blazed, when again loud laughter and
merriment was heard. Suddenly, there
passed before her, in all her seductive
ADA REIS. 105
charms, the Princess of Ildebar ! — Now,
now she aroused herself. All had been
a dream ! She was alone — she was dis-
consolate, and what had really appeared
to her distracted fancy, and what had
not, she could not tell. It was near
upon day-break — she had slept long :
she arose, and returned to the window
she had remained at the preceding
evening. She thought again to hear the
soothing voice of her guardian attend-
ant, she thought to breathe the fresh
reviving air of the early morn, and
watch the all-glorious sun in its first
brilliant beams ; she thought too, per-
haps, again to see the shade of Al-
phonso; and thus watching, thus listen-
ing, she heard, as will frequently be the
lot of those who look for supernatural
events or celestial sounds, in their stead
only peals of laughter— the rude and
noisy laughter of unlicensed revellers,
106 ADA REIS.
when reason has fled, and nothing is
left of man, except that laughter, to
distinguish him from the brute he with-
out reason despises. She started. Arv.
other laugh, loud and lawless, again
proceeded from an abandoned crew,
whom she now perceived approaching
the house. Amidst them she was
shocked to recognise her father and
Condulmar, both of them heated with
wine, and crowned with ivy and vine.
They were preceded by musicians,
and surrounded by maskers, buffoons,
dancers, and actresses, who were con-
ducting them home in licentious tri-
umph from their nocturnal orgies.
Condulmar was walking by the beauti-
ful Nirza, whilst Fleur de Rose (a pretty
Parisian dancer) and Ada Reis followed
them, supported by her husband, a
French coiffeur, who was vaunting his
art, and offering to dress Ada Reis ac-
ADA REIS. 107
cording to the fashion of his country.
In the mean time, the bravura song of
the singers was accompanied by guitars
and tambourines.
As the procession approached the
house, Ada Reis, perceiving Fior-
monda, declared it to be in her honour,
affirming that this should be her wed-
ding-day. ** Ay," said Condulmar,
" we have attended my only rival to
the grave, and I am now returned"
(he said, with cruel mockery,) " to
espouse thee, Fiormonda."
Fiormonda turned with desperate
grief from such a scene.
The custom of rejoicing upon the
night of any great funeral was common
at Lima, as in many other places, but
it was seldom that any person of rank
assisted at these lawless revels.
Condulmar's familiar air, his jests,
lowered from the refinement of wit to
108 ADA REIS.
the vulgar coarseness of his society, his
indifference shown so plainly either to
Fiormonda's conduct or her reputation,
his perverted laugh of malignity and
scorn, were all so many causes of misery
to the woman who still adored him with
the folly, enthusiasm, and romance of
raw and unadvisedyouth; andwhoeven
now, notwithstanding his manner, not-
withstanding the associates by whom
he was surrounded, was soothed in
some measure because she saw him
again. For the passion of jealousy in
young minds breeds no withering prin-
ciple as in later years : desire of re-
venge, deadly hatred, envy, malice,
find no harbour in tender open hearts ;
these love and break ; but as life ad-
vances, and as bitterness mingles with
disappointment, fiercer thoughts spring
up. Fiormonda, however, knew only
Jiow to love.
ADA REIS. 109
** By the by," said Condulmar, ad-
dressing the Parisian hair-dresser as he
entered Ada Reis's apartment with all
his Bacchanalian rout following him,
and there met Fiormonda, who had
come forward to receive him, ** here is
a chevelure worthy of your attention ;
these long dark tresses, I should ima-
gine, are such as you were speaking of.
See how well this head is set upon this
white and unmatched bust. Fiormonda,
put off some of your gravity, and amuse
yourself awhile : here is a gentleman
who has been dressing me, as he calls
it, a Paile de pigeon, and Ada Reis au
coup de vent. Mademoiselle seroit
mieux n'est-ce pas," he continued,
" coiff^e avec ses grosses boucles en
repentir." The hair-dresser replied
respectfully, " Mademoiselle est bien
comme elle est." Condulmar con-
tinued, the newest of all fashions
110 ADA REIS.
was, he heard, at Paris, to be drest en
d^sesp^r^ ; but that would not do for
him.
They then called for refreshments,
and seating themselves around a table,
ate dried sweetmeats, and drank mares-
chino with cream ; after which, in a
loud chorus, they sung wild and licen-
tious songs, until they retired, long
after daybreak, to bed : and this, this
was the night, or sooner the day, after
the interment of the young and noble
Montevallos !
ADA REIS. Ill
CHAPTER IX.
He who with open force and by de-
sperate deeds obtains the object of his
guilty wishes does not harm his victim
to the same degree as he, who, by con-
summate art and flattery, seduces a re-
luctant mind, and corrupts the purity
of the soul. Fiormonda's mind was per-
verted, and she resigned herself to her
love more than to her grief. Yet the first
time she had an opportunity of speak-
ing to her lover alone, she reproached
him with bitterness for his conduct.
" My dear friend," said Condulmar,
'* how it grieves me to hear these com-
plaints ! After all, c'est mieux d'etre
lobjet du caprice d'une femme que de
sa passion, et le pire de tout c'est d'etre
Tobjet de son amour.*'
112 ADA KEIS.
" There is something,** said Fior-
monda, ** in that French language, in
its phrase, in its tone, which mocks at
truth, and violates even virtue itself,
forcing her into the train and service
of vice. Their love, their sentiment,
their expressions of passion, their pro-
fessions of attachment, are all frivolous,
heartless, and corrupt. When I was
dear to thee," said she, trying to smile,
" it was in Italian, in Spanish, in my
father's language, thou didst speak to
me."
^* Quarrel not with the French lan-
guage,*' said Condulmar: ** it can ex-
press love in all its pathos and beauty
as well, if not better, than any other ;
but in good truth, why should we make
miseries for ourselves, seeing that so
many are already inflicted upon us?
Heaven knows, youth and happiness
last not long : why shoukl we, by
.ADA RETS. 115
anxiety and ill-temper, misemploy the
one and mar the other ? Love should b^
light, gay, and joyful ; a pleasure and
an amusement. By the importance we
attach to it, and the violent passions
with which we associate it, we make it
the most serious of occupations, and
the heaviest of cares/'
*' Well, then, we will be merry, if
such be thy desire," said Fiormonda,
mournfully; " I will speak French,
too, if it please thee : yet in that lan-
guage, entre I'amour et la mort, the dif-
ference is but of two letters."
" This is an idle conceit," said Con-
dulmar.
" All is over!" said Fiormonda. " I
shall not, however, as you have told me
the fond Englishwomen do, annoy you
by sighs and tears, by whining com-
plaint and vexatious jealousy: it is
done — ^you have struck here — you have
VOL. II. I
ll^ ADA REIS.
ended all ; — I esteem, I admire, I love
you no longer !"
" Then wherefore do my liaisons
with Fleure de Rose and Nirza give
you pain? and wherefore, my dearest
child, do you mind if the Princess of
Ildebar makes me some little d^dom-
magemens for your coldness ?"
Fiormonda turned from Condulmar.
„with proud contempt. ** These are,'^
she thought, *' unworthy rivals for me.
Their names will be forgotten when
mine is celebrated, though their insults
and unkindness send me to the grave.
In beauty, in talents, in understanding,
in heart, they are my inferiors ; yet for
them I am abandoned. Oh ! what a
lesson of humility is this ! What are
the gifts of nature ? What is the devo-
tion of love ? The first new features,
the first gay vision, that passes by,
leads away, in triumph, the affections
ADA REIS. 115
which we have passed years in seeking
to secure. I gave thee, Condulmar, my
virgin heart; I gave thee the purity of
my youth ; I gave thee the freshness
of the affections, and the entire pos-
session of a mind, let me tell thee, equal
to thine own ! — All these thou hast re-
nounced;— for me thou hast blighted all
below!" As she spoke a transient feel-
ing of ambition and revenge, passions
not congenial to her nature, sprung up
in her bosom, and for a moment ap-
peared to supplant the softer feelings
she had so long cherished.
Under such adverse and mortifying
circumstances, the hand, which she
had refused to the young and ardent
Montevallos, she began to entertain
the idea of bestowing upon the Mar-
quis de Santa Spina, who was destined
by the general voice to be the succeed-
ing viceroy of Peru. '* I know," she
I 2
116 ADA RE IS,
again thought within lierself, " I know
the conduct which will make Condul-
mar love me as he used. He shall see
me at the head of the society he courts.
For his sake I have neglected the forms
to which others are slaves. I have
thought only of him ; they have thought
of the world. The Princess of lldebar,
who now passes me with such insolence
of contempt, shall do me homage."
As these thoughts shot through
her mind, Condulmar turned suddenly
round, and fixed his eyes triumphantly
upon her. " Do so," he cried, as if
reading her soul ; " and I myself will
carry the welcome news to the future
viceroy. Do so, once beloved Fior-
monda; — 'tis well, 'tis well. Those
who are ever casting back a retro-
spective eye, doom themselves, in a
world like this, to everlasting repining
and regret. Let our hopes tend forward
ADA REIS. 117
to that wliich has not been. The past
has flown for me, like a dream, and
left nothing but weariness and fatigue
behind. 'Tis well that at length thou
driest thy tears, and takest these mis-
chances proudly, as becomes thee. I
love not your weak watery plants : —
the streaming eye has small power over
me. I have read in verse of women
looking lovely through their tears, but
in nature I have always found them
produce a contrary effect."
" Yet the full heart will find a vent
or break,'* said Fiormonda.
" Let the latter be its choice," re-
plied Conduhnar : *' inconstancy is a
great evil, and causes many woes, I
admit it ; but it is in our nature, and
admits of no remedy. Many idle rhap-
sodies, much bad poetry, many scenes
of absurd violence and desperation,
would have been saved, had it been
generally known, for truth, that when
118 ADA REIS.
two hearts, which have loved passion-
ately, sever, they never can re-unite.
We either die in the agony of the strug-
gle, or recover, as I have, our reason and
our calmness."
*' These are hard truths, if as truths
they must be admitted," said Fior-
monda.
" It is a pity," continued Condul-
mar ; " but in this world, all that is
bright and fair must perish. The
sweet scent of the rose — the maiden's
blush — the infantine smile of childhood
— the bloom of spring, which adorns
every shrub and tree, as with a magic
wand — all fades, even whilst we are
gazing upon its beauty, and inhaling
its fragrance. We must submit to the
law of our nature, and endure the con-
dition of our existence."
" Endure then my tea;'s," said Fior-
monda.
"Be it so," replied Condulmar:
ADA REtS. 119
** weep if thou wilt, and I will sing to
thee the while.
Weep for what thou hast lost, love ;
Weep for what thou hast won ;
Weep for what thou didst not do.
And more for what thou hast done.
Time that 's gone returneth never ;
Keen repentance lasteth ever.
Heart that 's pierced refuseth gladness :
Melancholy causeth madness.
Yet if tears avail not.
Tears of fond regret ;
Arm thy mind, and proudly, girl.
Endeavour to forget.
Shouldst thou spend thy days in grieving.
What is past there's no retrieving.
Once the hour of passion over.
Tear nor frown recalls a lover.
Weep for what thou hast lost, love ;
Weep for what thou hast won ;
Weep for what thou didst not do.
And more for what thou hast done."
120 ADA REIS.
** Ah ! sing not now," said Fiormon-
da : " once thy sweet full voice was
my delight ; once I lived but upon thy
song, and thy enchanting smile ; but
now all is over, and all I now ask is one
sympathising sigh, nay, one last em-
brace, and then farewell for ever !'*
" It shall be so/^ said Condulmar,
embracing her, " and thou shalt learn
to sing with me after this fashion.
DUET.
" The kiss that 's on thy lip impress'd
Is cold as parting kiss should be ;
And he who clasps thee to his breast
Again can never feel for thee :
The chain I gave — a true love-token —
Thou see'st in every link is broken. .
Then, since 't is so, 't were best to part ;
I here renounce the oaths I swore;
Correct thy faults, amend thy heart.
And let us meet no more.
ADA HKlS
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^122
ADA REIS
niot>* f<)r Hhat th'/Usi <!• nt ,
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ADA REIS. 1^1
*
THE ANSWER.
" I go : but ere I go from thee.
Give back what thou hast ta'en from me —
A heart that Vnlew nor care nor guile,
A parent's fond -approving smile.
The hopes which dared aspire to heav'n —
Give these, and thou shalt be forgiv'n.
Take back the ring, take back the chain ;
Thy gifts, thy oaths, I will resign :
Take back thy heart, since pledged in vain.
But, oh ! restore what once was mine !
" Hope not for this, thy course is run ;
All that is left thee is to die.
The dew drops with the setting sun.
And see the winds pass scornful by :
So when thou'rt left by me, thou 'It find
The world as scornful as the wind.
A stamp is set upon thy name,
A blight clouds o'er thy early fame.
There's nothing now thy fate can save:
Live scorn'd — or hide thee in the grave !
And so, farewell ! once best-beloved
Fiormonda."
122 ADA REIS.
CHAPTER X.
The last sound of Condulmar's deep-
toned mellow voice yet rung upon the
ears of Fiormonda, as, leaning her head
upon her hand, the clustering locks
fell over her face, and entirely con-
cealed her weeping eyes and the strug-
gles of her countenance. Ada Reis
entered, his air wild and terrified.
" Didst hear nothing?" he cried. *'Hast
seen nothing ?'* he said, darting by her.
" Hark ! — Again ! — Look ! look from
thy casement !"
A lurid beam burst from the dense
clouds ; a noise, loud and terrible,
aroused every inhabitant of the house.
Condulmar returned, calm and with a
smile. The heat was intense ; the
forked lightning fiaslied along the
ADA REIS. 123
skies; screams rent the air; the ter-
rified slaves and menials rushed into
the presence of their master, kneeling
and quaking. The howling of dogs was
then heard: strange and dismal sounds
filled the air : a sulphurous smell in-
fected the streets : the beasts of bur-
then, as they passed along, seemed
scarcely able to sustain themselves
under the loads they bore. In the
market-place, in the grand square, the
gardens and plains, adjoining the town,
the terrified inhabitants had assembled
together, lamenting aloud, and saying
the last day was at hand. The churches
were suddenly filled ; and of whatever
religion, — catholics, protestants, here-
tics, and pagans, prostrated themselves
before the altars, fearful of they knew
not what menaced danger.
. Condulmar addressed himself to Ada
Reis, and proposed that before it was
124 ADA REIS.
too late, tlicy should fly from this state
of horror and alarm, and remove, as
quickly as possible, to Callao. There
the fresh breeze would probably alle-
viate the burning heat, and from thence
they should be able to put to sea, and
escape from the terrors which now sur-
rounded them. With great difficulty
they induced their attendants to exert
themselves, so far as to take the mea-
sures necessary for their departure : and
when, at length, they did set out, the
heat was so excessive, that the journey
could not be accomplished under se-
veral hours.
Arrived at Callao, they found the
«cene there, if possible, more terrific
than at Lima. Never had the sun arisen
upon greater calamity. The whole
population of the place were assembled
upon the beach ; parents clasping their
children, and husbands their wives, and
ADA RKIS. '125
all invoking Heaven for mercy and
compassion.
The night proved more sultry and
oppressive than the day had been ; —
cattle and dogs traversed the country
alone, in wild aiFright : children wept,
they knew not why : strangers inquired
of each other the meaning of these ter-
rible portents ; many fled from the city
and fort of Callao, and betook them-
selves to sea; but Ada Reis was of
opinion, that to attempt the sea in its
present state were more dangerous than
to remain on land, for the whole sky
was of a purple tint, and the waves,
with a still swell, seemed rising above
the level of the shore. Subterraneous
noises were heard the whole of the day,
sometimes resembling the bellowing of
oxen, and at others the discharge of
artillery, or thunder rattling at a di-
stance.
126 • ADA REIS.
At eight o'clock that evening, Fior-
monda having been left alone in her
chamber, arose to seek Condulmar :
the floor rocked beneath her feet ; in
speechless terror she threw herself upon
a couch. Condulmar entered, and she
reposed her head helplessly upon his
arm.
In a short time Ada Reis joined
them ; and even at such a moment
they could not abstain from impious
raillery and profane jesting. " Should
the earth quake, I will not," said Ada
Reis. — At that instant a tremendous
shock threw Fiormonda forward, and
in the next, a concussion so violent en-
sued, that the building broke asunder
into ruins. Ada Reis heard a voice —
a shriek as of a dying woman sounded
near him ; he saw a mist, a cloud, and
heard a convulsive laugh ; an eye ter-
rible and fiery glared upon him — the
ADA REIS. 127
wordKabkarrall! was pronounced. The
concussion was repeated : sulphurous
flames broke forth from the bosom of
the earth ; then at once were heard, on
all sides, the screams of the dying, the
roaring of thunder, the wild howling
of animals, the crash of churches, pa-
laces, buildings, toppling one upon an-
other, all in a moment destroyed, and
burying under them their miserable in-
habitants.
The fort of Callao sunk into ruins ;
the ocean, receding to a considerable
distance, returned in mountainous
weaves, foaming with the violence of
the convulsion, and the whole country
became as a sea — the multitudinous
waters covering all that had so lately
been fair streets and stately buildings.
Cavallos andGuanape, and the towns
of Chancay and Guaura, and the val-
r28 ADA IlEIS.
leys Delia Branca, Sape, and Pativilca,
all underwent the same fate.
At that hour the fair and beautiful
city of Lima 7, with its cathedral, its
edifices, and all its grandeur, was over-
whelmed and annihilated. The labour
of architects, the master-pieces of
painting, the pride, the wonder, the
glory of men returned to the dust, from
which it had been raised : thus show-
ing the little worth and durability of
all human possessions, and the vanity
and folly of fixing our affections and
interests upon any thing in this transi-
tory and fleeting world.
Ada Reis was struck to the earth,
amidst the fragments of the mansion,
in the which he had sought for refuge ;
yet a preternatural power seemed to
support him. As soon as he could
again rise, he rushed forward, and was
ADA REIS. 129
carried by the whirlwind far out into [
the sea. When he opened his eyes,
he found himself floating upon its bo-
som. He raised his head and gazed
around him. The angry heavens ap-
peared like one vast sheet of fire.
Of the strong fort of Santa Cruz
one huge and massive fragment had
resisted the general ruin, and stood
erect and unbroken amidst the rolling
of the waves and the conflict of the
elements. So was it with the mind of
Ada Reis in that vast struggle and ge-
neral confusion ; for he retained the full
possession of his senses, whilst his eyes
gazed upon the fearful scene. And
now suddenly he beheld before him
the gaunt figure of an Indian, support-
ing himself upon a broken buttress,
holding an arrow; and he heard him
thus address himself to the sun : —
" Oh, sun ! thou father of oui* king,
VOL. II. K
130 ADA REIS.
covered as thou art with the veil of un-
natural night, and warred upon even
to destruction by the rebellious ele-
ments, I, thus cast to the disposal of
the powerful and pitiless waters, still
call upon thee to hear my vow. By
the poison of the herb which anoints
the steel of my arrow — by the bones
of my dead father — I swear I will yet
seek and destroy my country's foe : —
not the horrors of the ocean — not the
fury of thy intense heat — not the crash
of cities, nor the dissolution of nations
around me can diminish or divert my
wrath. I must slay him, even at the
feast of Vitziliputzly. For me there
is tranquil existence neither here nor
hereafter, if Ciulactly escape my venge-
ance J and if he fall in the course of
nature or by any other hand than mine,
I shall not be revenged, for he will
have escaped me. Oh, mightiest! spare
ADA REIS. 131
him, spare him, that I may dye my
hands red in the blood of his heart."
Scarce had the Indian spoken these
words, when a shock, more violent than
the former, forced him from his hold,
and plunged him again into the waves.
Ada Reis clung to him in the effort ;
and clasped together, as is usual with
drowning men, they were, with the re-
turning ocean, forced onwards to the
shore. The convulsion, stronger than
any of the preceding, which let loose
the sea from its natural bounds, and
drove one of the vessels in the port
many miles forward upon the land^,
threw, in the same direction, the bo-
dies of Ada Reis and the Indian ; where
they remained stunned and senseless.
Ada Reis had continued longer in a
state of insensibility had he not been
aroused by a shout of triumph from
his companion, over the desolation
K 2
IS2 ADA REIS.
which had been spread around. He
was exulting in the attainment of his
wishes ; boasting that the sun had heard
his prayer, and that at his request Lima
had been destroyed.
" Christians they were," he exclaim-
ed ; *' and merciless tyrants. The
blood of the natives of his own fair
country was on their heads. Him
they had chained, until liberated by
nature herself, because he disdained to
submit to their domination, as he had
disdained to bow even to the power of
the Incas9. Months upon months had
he suffocated in the prisons of their
inquisition ; but his secret curses, he
boasted, had now taken effect ; his
prayers had been heard ; his gods had
listened to him, because he had been
wronged. The world was convulsed
to give him liberty, and assist him to*
liis revenge."
ADA REIS. 133
Thus reasoned the infatuated savage,
and Ada Reis, desolate and solitary,
almost envied him the blindness of his
violence, and regretted that he, too,
had not some master passion to stimu-
late and hurry him on, for now all ap-
peared gloom and apathy before him.
What to him now were the long list of
sciences he had learned — what his
riches, power, former strength — what
even the remembrance of his child,
for whom all his love now revived,
and whose form, like that of an angel,
arose in his fancy as he had seen her
last. Vain was it that he had dived
into the depths of philosophy, meta-
physics, morals, hydrostatics, pneuma-
tics, optics, astronomy, meteorology,
psychology, painting, music, sculpture,
architecture, agriculture, and political
economy ; commerce, manufactures,
134 ADA REIS.
crystallography, zoology, anatomy, sur-
gery, pharmacy, and medicine. He
was now at the end of his career.
" Blood will have blood," he cried ;
** the evil predominates; I am lost, and
my child, my Fiormonda, my innocent,
my tender, my white-bosomed, blue-
eyed comforter, — where, where art
thou ?"
Some poor Indians who heard the
distant sound of his lamentations, to-
wards evening approached the sufferers,
and attended thenri with kindness and
hospitality. They restored them by
their care, and shared with them their
meal, matalotage and maize ^^. They
expressed no terror at the earthquake ;
— it was past now; — cities, and towns,
and forts, had been destroyed, witliout
its occasioning in them either regret or
surprise ; their humble huts had re-
ADA REIS. 135
mained secure, their dog still lived,
and they were perfectly indifferent as
to what others had suffered beyond
the narrow circle of their native village.
Ada Reis wished to partake of their
ignorance — of their philosophy ; but
the recollection of his wealth and his
grandeur, of his menials, his com-
panions, and his daughter, disquieted
him : and he was anxious to return to
the spot upon which Lima had stood,
that he might seek for all that he had
lost.
The Indian proposed a contrary
course. This strange and stern being
exercised over him an influence which
he could not resist. Ada Reis felt the
passions of his companion communi-
cated to himself, and almost sympa-
thised with his thirst for revenge.
The dark eyes of the Indian rolled
1S6 ADA REIS.
restlessly, and his large muscular arms
worked with agitation until they began
their journey: but when they set forth,
he yelled with triumph, and laughed
with exulting joy.
ADA REIS. 137
CHAPTER XI.
For many days Ada Reis and the
Indian traversed vast savannahs, and
deep woods of plantain. The natives,
as soon as they beheld them, brought
the vi-jahua^^ leaves, and erected huts
for their reception ; so pleased were
they to see and to show courtesy to
those whom they believed to be supe-
rior to themselves.
The beauties and wonders of nature
met Ada Reis and his companion at
every step of their journey. At one
time a beautiful cascade opened upon
their delighted view ; at another there
yawned beneath their feet a deep pre-
cipice, over which they had to pass
by a bridge, formed of a single tree,
so narrow and so unsteady that they
138 ADA REIS.
could scarcely maintain their footing
upon it ; then on a sudden the land
teemed with all the rich beauty of cul-
tivation; whilst fields of wheat, barley,
and maize, diversified the scene. The
climate, too, was as various as the view :
at times they suffered from the piercing
cold and drenching mist, and at others
from the burning heat. Hundreds of
wild peacocks, bustards, pheasants,
resting upon the tops of trees of enor-
mous height, now attracted their at-
tention ; whilst tall marimondas, erect
upon their hind legs, with visages like
ugly men, seemed a satire upon the
human race. There also the snake
folded and twisted itself amidst the
branches of the trees; the vi-jahua and
the bejuco abounded ; the canas, of
which the huts were built, grew plenti-
fully; and amidst the forest the mata-
palo and tlie manzanillo shot above all
ADA REIS. 139
other trees, withering them, by im-
bibing all the moisture and nutriment
of the earth.
The Indian paused upon the top of
a mountain to show his companion the
lightning flashing from the clouds be-
neath them, and hear the thunder
roll from below ; (for even the savage
admired the wonders his feeble reason
could not comprehend;) the earth ap-
pearing involved in tempests, whilst
they rested upon the mountain's head
in sunshine and security.
** It is fine,'* thought Ada Reis, "to
contemplate thus the bustle of the world
from such a height. So gazes the philo-
sopher at a distance upon all the busy
scenes and conflicts which distract
mankind. — And so, perchance, at this
moment, must be the feelings of that
Being, who takes no share in the un-
important quarrels and petty interests
140 ADA REIS.
of mankind. Here I feel a calm, which
I never knew whilst I dwelt in cities,
and amongst those whose narrow views
clashed with my own. However, I
must descend from these heights, and
follow, as others do, a leader whom I
heartily wish (were it not that I have
no better) at the devil."
Ada Reis and his companion, if
they laboured hard, at all events lived
well during their progress, eating rice
boiled with flesh of fowl, and drinking
strong spirit whenever they could meet
with it. They slept at the little cabins
of the Indians, or in the stables pre-
pared for their cattle, which w^ere
scattered up and down on the skirts
of the mountains. In the course of
their long journey they passed through
and conversed with many different na-
tions, who all differed in their customs,
beliefs, and dialects.
ADA REIS. 141
Ada Reis had no knowledge of the
latitude in which he was, or of the di-
rection he was pursuing. Were they
now upon the banks of the great Ma-
ranon^2? who might say? Many of the
natives were half converts to Christiani-
ty; some w^ere white, others copper-
coloured, and others entirely black. In
some of these countries the Spaniards
had established settlements, and a brisk
traffic was kept up between them and
the people : in others all was barbarous,
ignorance and superstition. The In-
dians who lived in villages were under
some kind of government, obeying their
Guraca chiefs, or caciques, and these
were less turbulent and corrupt than-
the rest : a proof, if belief be given to
Ada Reis, that any government is pre-
ferable to the following of simple na-
ture. Some flattened the fore and hind
parts of their children's heads y some
142 ADA REIS.
made holes in their upper and under
lips, and in both sides of the cartilage
of the nose ; others stuck into their
chins and jaws feathers or little arrows
eight or nine inches long; others prided
themselves on their long ears, extend-
ing them by various arts until they
reached the shoulders ; many thought
it a crime not to paint their bodies with
great nicety, and a virtue to sacrifice
their children to idols ; and, as if the
quadrupeds were as singular as the
men, caymans, alligators, tortoises, and
pexe bueys, swarmed upon the shores
and islands. The Indian assured Ada
Reis that these pexe bueys (or sea-
calves) were Spanish seamen who had
been wrecked upon an island, and trans-
formed into that shape. " The mari-
mondas or apes,'* he said, " were the
descendants of the indigenous natives,
who had been so terrified that they had
ADA REIS. 143
lost their intellects when the great
waters of the flood had descended upon
the earth."
Ada Reis saw, in the midst of a river,
an island, which was said to be en-
chanted ; all was white in it, the rocks,
the trees, the eagles, the cattle. He
found Indians fishing with inebriating
herbs or poisoned arrows; the quality
of which poison is so frigorific as to
repel all the blood immediately to the
heart. Wherever he turned, he found
new cause to wonder. Here also he
marked the strange varieties of lofty
trees, the wood of which, some white,
some red, some beautifully variegated,
distilled balsams of an exquisite fra-
grance, rare medicinal gums, or poisons,
terrible and sudden in their effects.
Passing along the banks of the river he
met with the jacumana, a serpent of a
frightful magnitude, which irresistibly
141i ADA REIS.
draws, by its breath, the unwary ani-
mals who approach it, swallowing them
whole. At one time, if we may believe
him, he met with a people, male and
female, who all had tails, which they
wagged when pleased, and turned dow n
when frightened ^^. This people showed
greater marks of sagacity, and were
more courteous in their manners, he
affirms, than any of the others, albeit
far inferior to us christians. The In-
dians appeared every where to Ada
Reis slow, as he describes them, but
persevering, and possessed of an im-
mutable calm, undisturbed by either
fortunate or unfortunate events ; in
their mean apparel or nakedness they
were as contented as a Prince, a Bey,
or Pacha, in all his splendid jewels and
attire ; nothingappearingto move them,
or discompose their minds : interest
seemed to have lost its power ; fear
ADA RETS. 145
could not stimulate, respect could not
induce, punishment could not compel.
They cooked their matalotage, they
ground their barley to make machea,
their maize for the camcha, and brewed
their chicha, regardless of every other
care ; and moved as little as possible
from the side of the fire, at which they
sat watching in idleness their food.
One evening Ada Reis found a num-
ber of Indians near what they termed
a village, celebrating a great festival.
A table, covered with a Tucujo car-
pet^'*, was placed before the door of the
inn, or public-house, where a quantity
of camcha and some wild herbs were
prepared. Each guest held a jug, from
which he ate his frugal meal in haste ;
then the women appeared with cala-
bashes, or round tutumos, full of chicha;
some played upon the pipe and tabor,
others sung and danced in slow un-
VOL. ir. L
146 ADA REIS.
graceful measures, whilst the rest sate
upon the ground. They welcomed
Ada Reis and his guide, without in-
quiring who they were, or whence they
came, or whither they were going, and
pressed them to accept their hospita-
lity. Intemperance, and excess, and
noise followed this feast to such a de-
gree, that women, men, husbands, fa-
thers, mothers, and children fell down
together, their feeble sense extinguish-
ed by strong drink, a miserable and
disgraceful picture of human brutality.
The extremes of barbarism and civili-
sation, thought Ada Reis, are then
similar in the excess, though not in
the modes of vice and self-indulgence.
What is man when he has forsaken the
restraint of reason and of law? Alas!
what am I next to witness, with whom
am I condemned to associate ?
Thev now left the inhabited countrv.
ADA llEIS. 147
and traversed the wildest mountains
and the most lonely deserts, the Indian
continually assuring Ada Reis that
they should soon be at their journey's
end^^
How different, thought Ada Reis,
in idea, is distance and time to differ-
ent individuals.
The thirst of revenge, which en-
tirely possessed the bosom of the In-
dian, lightened to him every fatigue
and privation; but the luxurious habits
of Ada Reis rendered the sufferings he
had to endure almost intolerable ; and
he felt in mind even more than in
body, from the recollection of his
wealth and his child, the overthrow of
his ambitious hopes, and the prospect
which lay before him of beginning life
anew, certainly under no very auspi-
cious circumstances, nor in a very eli-
gible situation ; yet he desired not to
L 2
148 ADA REIS.
die, for neither his own disbelief, nor
the jests of infidels, had hardened him
to that degree of insensibility, that he
could feel calm upon this point ; he
feared death — he feared that beyond
the grave " dreams might come ;"— he
thought, as some of a better mind
have thought, that it was better to en-
dure any thing than ** not to be ;" he,
therefore, bore his present evil destiny,
but not without repining or complaint.
In this temper they journeyed on,
with few other adventures than such
as have been before related ; until as
they were travelling by night, having
lain by during the heat of the sun, Ada
Reis beheld, by the clear light of the
moon, the appearance of the country
around him change, from a level and
fertile plain to a mountainous and
rocky desert. He had scarce observed
the alteration before his cruide uttered
ADA REIS. 149
three terrific yells, and leaping exult-
ingly from rock to rock, exclaimed,
that he could see his own land before
him, and that his heart felt lighter from
the certainty of vengeance. Dipping
his arrow again in the mortal poison,
which he ever carried with him, " Woe
be to thee, Ciulactly," he said, " proud
cacique, thou shalt feel my power."
A whizzing in the air startled Ada
Reis ; he beheld in the moonlight a
white line, passing with such celerity
that, but for its noise, he had not
known it was the Zumbadore ^^. " And
where, in the wide world, are we
now ?" he cried. " Are these the soli-
tudes of Atur^e? Are the rushing
waters I hear from afar, those of the
cataract of Maypur6 ? Is this superb
river the Orinoco, or is it the famed
river of the Amazons ?'*
The guide answered not ; perhaps,
150 ADA REIS.
indeed, knew not liow to answer these
inquiries : his heaving breast, his eager
eye, his convulsive gestures, only
shewed the agitation of his mind.
The vast tract of land before them
appeared as if it never before had been
trodden by the foot of civilised man.
There dwelt in it vast flights of wild-
fowl of every species ; every kind that
shun the haunts of man were there in
numbers, tame and unapprehensive of
danger ; the golden crested pheasants
dwelt in the thickets, and over the
wide-extended plains the vultures ho-
vered, casting their shadows across its
barren surface as they took their heavy
flight ; whilst eagles, and the condor
of the rock, soared above them to the
very heavens. All around the country
appeared wild, abrupt, extended, and
yet beautiful.
Ada Reis now beheld a large moun-
ADA REIS. 151
tain, around the foot of which wound
a majestic river. The cocoa and the
almond abounded upon the banks, and
the air was scented with the fragrance
of pines and aromatic shrubs. He
thought he was in sight of the island of
Pumacena, or the silver mountain of
Parim6, of which so many fables are re-
lated; or it might be he was approach-
ing the Calitamani^7^ so bright appear-
ed the shining sides of that extraordi-
nary and impassable rock.
When they drew nearer to the
stream, the Indian again stopped and
yelled loudly, after the manner of his
country. A thousand voices answered
him from the heights, and swarms of
the natives instantly poured down to
the side of the river, crowding its
banks, and putting forth their pirogues
and coracles, in order to meet and
welcome their countryman and his
companion.
152 ADA IlEIS.
CHAPTER XII.
Upon passing the river, Ada Reis
found himself in the midst of a vast
multitude of people. The natives,
assembling around him, knelt before
him in wonder, seeming to consider
him as a being of a superior order.
The Indian, who had so long con-
ducted him, perceived now that he w^as
much fatigued, and desired his coun-
trymen to remit their attentions for a
while; he then led Ada Reis to a cabin,
where maize, and milk, and fruits were
set before him. Once more he there
informed him, that this was his own
country; that these were the men who
had never been subdued ; that their
hearts were warm and pure ; that they
ADA REIS. 153
A\orshipped the god who arose every
day to warm them with his beams ;
that from the lips of an image, placed
upon a hill, in the form of a dog, they
received daily notice of his wishes ;
and that Ciulactly, their cacique, was
descended from the sun j that he, Papo
Taguacan (for that, he said, was his
name), was a kinsman of the caciques ;
that he had been absent one year,
having been taken in battle, and im-
prisoned at Lima ; but neither that,
nor any other event, had diverted him
from his intention of slaying the enemy
of his country, the tyrant who had
wronged him; and, when Ciulactly was
slain, the people, he said, would make
Ada lleis king ; for the priests had told
the people that a stranger, a white
man, who could speak their language,
a descendant of the great Manco Paca,
would come into their country and
154 ADA KEIS.
reign over tliem, and drink the blood
of their enemies.
As he spoke these last words, Ada
Reis began to see the drift of all that
had been taking place, and acknow-
ledged at once the probable fulfilment
of the promises held out to him by
Kabkarra. He had not time, however,
for much reflection, for the impatient
savages began again to flock around
him, bringing their tambours and pipes,
and dancing before him with wild and
extravagant gestures. He took this
opportunity of observing a little the
manners and appearance of those who
were to be his future subjects. They
were nearly black in their complexion,
tall in their stature, ungainly in their
manners, and wore no other clothes
than feathers and hides, no other orna-
ments than pieces of tin and glass, either
stuck into their flesh, or hung about
ADA RE IS. 155
their limbs. The women, with their
coarse black hair hanging straight upon
their shoulders, carried their infants
upon their backs, and stared in stupid
astonishment. Their understandings
appeared to be utterly contemptible ;
their habits slothful, dirty, and their
characteristic features indolence and
low cunning. Upon the whole, nothing
could be more unfavourable than the
opinion which Ada Reis conceived of
them. " I see now," he said to him-
self, " how the Spirit of Evil has de-
ceived me : the wish, for which I have
bartered my soul, may be fulfilled, I
may become a monarch and wear a
crown, but over whom am I doomed
to reign ? None here will ever sym-
pathise with my feelings. My wisdom,
knowledge, and experience will become
a curse to me. Is it for this I have
156 ADA RKIS.
learned the customs, manners, and laws
of distant nations ? Is it for this I have
traversed seas, waded through crimes,
and rejected the happiness within my
grasp ? I must begin again as with
mothers' milk, but without the sim-
plicity of taste, w^hich alone could ena-
ble me to endure it. The dream of
ambition is at an end, even now that
the first prayer of my heart is about to
be accomplished."
These reflections, however, disquiet-
ing as they were, were not sufficiently
so to prevent the fatigue which he had
undergone, and the food which he had
taken, from throwing him into a deep
sleep ; nor did he awaken until Papo
Taguacan, who had taken that oppor-
tunity of going forward to the great
city, to prepare for his reception, re-
turned with a concourse of the natives.
ADA REIS. 157
assembled for the purpose of conduct-
ing the stranger to the residence of the
cacique.
Ada Reis had often had opportunities
of contemplating the earliest state of
civilisation, he was not therefore sur-
prised at beholding the assemblage of
rude and ill-constructed huts, into
which he was led with so much pride
and exultation. He could not, how-
ever, repress a smile at the vanity and
impotence of man, when he recollected
that what he now saw was the capital
of a great country, and the palace of
its sovereign. *' If those," he said to
himself, " who are repining amidst
the conveniences and enjoyments of
European society, could come hither
for a short time and then return. Hea-
ven help them! how satisfied would they
be with their condition."
They now approached, Papo Ta-
158 ADA IlEIS.
giiacan leading the way, to the palace
of the cacique ; a wretched mud-built
hovel, somewhat higher and larger
indeed than the rest, and surrounded
with all the form, all the difficulty of
access, and all the circumstances of
ceremony and respect, which belong
to and distinguish the most splendid
courts of the mightiest monarchs. To
such a length was this carried, that Ada
Reis was informed that many prostra-
tions and other demonstrations of re-
spect were to be shown before he could
be presented to Ciulactly ; and that
with the customary tardiness of the
rois fen^ans, he was not at present at
leisure to go through the long so-
lemnity of giving audience.
To beguile the time until his majesty
should be disengaged, Ada Reis ac-
cepted the offer made by Papo Taguacan
of accompanying him around the city,
ADA REIS. 159
and showing him its principal objects of .
curiosity. In the main street the first
building which struck him, and that
with no great pleasure, was a temple,
much like the one at Mexico ^^ built
entirely of death's heads, set with lime
and stone, all ranged in rows ; the whole
adorned vv ith poles, to which were fixed
bones placed in the forms of crosses, with
skulls betv;een the intervals, made fast
to each otlter. This temple was the
residence of the god of providence and
the god of war ; besides which deities,
he was informed that this nation wor-
shipped two thousand other gods ; but
the chiefest were undoubtedly these
two, Vitzilipuztli, the god of provi-
dence, and Tezcatliputli, the god of
war, together with the Urmulas, the
god of grain and harvest. These idols
were of gigantic size, entirely covered-
IGO
ADA REIS.
with mother-of-pearl, set with emeralds,
chalcedonies, and amethysts, and other
rich jewels. Their eyes, formed of some
transparent and glittering material,
shone from afar in the night, by means
of lights placed within.
The temple was called Teutcalli,
from teutt, which is a deity, and calli, a
house. When Ada Reis was conducted
within its portals, the terror he expe-
rienced showed him of mortal mind. It
was not on account of the opening be-
ing fashioned in the shape of a serpent's
mouth, that he started back, neither
did he mind the tusks and grinders,
which adorned the work in relievo, nor
the darkness, although that was not
much to his taste ; but it was the blood
of those who had been sacrificed the
day before, at which his spirit revolted,
although to do him honour a band of
ADA REIS. 161
music played from without, and the
Indians danced in token of their re-
spect.
Whilst Ada Reis was yet contem-
plating this horrid abode of mortality
and superstition, the king, who had
with savage pride declined to receive
him, now hastened after him with all
the childishness of savage curiosity ; and
the prostrations and other ceremonies
being gone through with less form than
had been at first insisted upon, he
began to converse with him in a fa-
miUar manner. He wore around his
neck a gold chain, of some inches
thick, adorned with nine gold hearts,
and the remnant of the skull of one
of his enemies, with a lock of black
hair hanging to it. His manners were
very graceful, but Papo Taguacan
hardly returned his greeting; and Ada
Reis thought he observed something of
VOL. II. M
162 ADA REIS.
coldness and jealousy in the demeanour
of the priests towards their sovereign.
He treated Ada Reis with great cour-
tesy, and ordered his attendants to
bring him presents, which consisted
of two of his wives, many fine fea-
thers, a bushel of cocoa, and a gold
collar set with jewels : he then desired
him to play at bowls with him, or a
game somewhat similar, which required
strength rather than skill, and which
Papo Taguacan detested the more as
the Spaniards had taught ittoCiulactly.
Ada Reis was surprised to find that,
after all his menaced vengeance, his
Indian guide, neither at the game nor
at the banquet, times at which naturally
the king was most unguarded, had even
attempted to execute his threats ; but
he found himself suddenly in consider-
able danger, for he had sat with Ciu-
lactly with sandals on his fect^^ which
ADA REIS. 163
was not customary; and he had been
desired to cause it to rain, which it was
supposed by the priests he had power
to do, it having rained, it was said,
when some great Spaniard, who had
entered their country many years be-
fore, had commanded it.
The king, however, pleaded for him,
being impatient to show him his palace,
which was entirely full of curiosities 2^.
Fowls, cuyas, and guinea-pigs wan-
dered loose and tame about the apart-
ments. He delighted in stuffed animals
and preserved insects. Creatures of
every description were kept in cages ;
and the noisy chattering of birds, hissing
of serpents, roaring of lions, howling
of wolves, smell of foxes, and cries of
leopards, would have distracted any
other sovereign, notwithstanding the
order in which, to do Ciulactly justice,
they were kept. The king then showed
M 2
11)4 ADA REIS.
Ada Reis his plumes, fans, and carpets;
-—dwarfs, crooked and mis-shapen per-
sons, women and children ; after which
he sat down upon the floor and grinned.
Ada Reis did the same, upon which
Ciulactly, seeing he had so merry a
companion, sent for his buffoons, and
made them sing songs, crack jests, and
throw themselves into every sort of
ridiculous contortion, which, being in-
tended to produce laughter, did not
make Ada Reis laugh so much as cer-
tain serious ceremonials, which took
place in the course of the day. Indeed,
his composure was tried to the utmost,
when, to the sound of a sort of fife, and
of the teponaztle, or kettle-drum, the
grandees of the court, with great gra-
vity, danced, what they called, the ne-
totiliztle; many of them, for the pur-
pose of improving their appearance,
having thrust their own heads into the
ADA REIS. 165
skins of the heads of tigers, aUigators,
and other wild beasts^^ During this
performance, Ciulactly and his ladies
were dressed in coloured feathers, with
gold and jewels, mostly worn in their
rough state, although the art of cutting
and polishing stones was known here.
The king seemed so much delighted
with Ada Reis, that he knew not how
to show him enough honour; and, in
return, Ada Reis wished much to inform
him that his cousin, Papo Taguacan,
intended to kill him ; but it was im-
possible ; for at whatever he said,
Ciulactly laughed with delight, ex-
hibiting some new rarity of which he
was vain, pressing him to sleep in his
palace, a particular mark of distinction,
but one which, knowing what was to
befall him, perhaps, that very night,
Ada Reis would have wished to de-
<:line, had it been possible. In the
166 ADA REIS.
night, Papo Taguacan entered the
apartment, standing up before the
matted bed of his sovereign, and gazing
upon him with silent hatred, and eager
vengeance ; he was armed with his
poisoned arrow, and a knife made of a
sharp shell. Ada Reis turned away,
that he might not see the murder com-
mitted, for he thought it best not to
interfere in an affair of honour, lest he
should himself get into a scrape ; and
some painful passages in his own life
recurred at that moment to his me-
mory. But the morning dawned upon
the unconscious Ciulactly as safe as
Ada Reis ; Papo Taguacan alone ap-
peared perturbed and unrefreshed.
At an early hour some hundreds of
Ciulactly's subjects came before his pa-
lace, to offer him roses, flowers, bread,
fowls, and, what may seem singular,
bags of vermin 22, a tribute levied by
ADA REIS. 167
the cacique, in order to keep his people
clean. That day a dreadful sacrifice
was to be offered to the god of harvest.
The unhappy victims were husbands,
wives, mothers, and children, all, by a
refinement in barbarity, carefully se-
lected from different families, so as to
deprive the wretches of the consolation
of dying with those whom they loved,
and to spread the misery as widely as
possible through the whole of the na-
tion. All were led in procession, or-
namented with flowers, and accom-
panied with music to the steps of the
temple.
Beside the victims and the priests,
Ciulactly and Ada Reis were alone per-
mitted to enter and behold the specta-
cle within. The crowd, singing and
dancing in triumph and exultation,
awaited before the steps of the temple
168 ADA REIS.
for the signal, which told them that all
was over.
Cloths or pieces of carpet were spread
under the king's feet wherever he went.
He wore gold zagles or sandals, in form
much like those of the ancients — his
subjects being all barefoot, particularly
in his presence ; no one might touch
him upon pain of instant punishment ;
to raise the eyes to look upon him was
a high offence ; but whilst he paused
upon each step, his subjects, and even
the priests, to honour him, laid their
hands on their noses, and passed them
along their forehead to the nape of
their necks. The cacique turned his
head towards his left shoulder in return,
to show that he accepted their homage.
All persons danced in this country,
slow or quick, according to their rank;
the king, the nobles, and the priests,
ADA REIS. 160
forming a solemn ring, scarcely moved,
whilst the plebeians danced with an ex-
cess of gesticulation.
The dance of death now began, the
flourish of wild music sounded at in-
tervals. Before the altar was a pyra-
midal green stone, ending in a point,
about five spans high, on which the
victims were laid, one after the other,
on their backs to be sacrificed. During
the whole time perfumes from the in-
cense tree, and other fragrant plants,
were burning ;— and the groans of the
infants, for the older persons seldom
suffered a sigh even to escape them,
were suppressed by a sort of low chant
from persons appointed, who all the
while spinning round, wounded their
flesh with lancets made of shells, and
spurted the blood upon the king's
feet^^. The chief priest, or topzlm,
held in one hand an idol with green
170 ADA REIS.
eyes, saying to the purport, " This is
your god." He wore upon his head
a crown of green and yellow feathers ;
he had his office by inheritance ; he
had gold rings with green stones in his
ears, and under his lip, about the middle
of his chin, a Uttle pipe made of blue
stone, his face daubed black. The
other five priests w^ore wigs very much
curled, with leathern thongs wound
about them, girt in the middle of the
head, and small paper targets on the
forehead. The hearts of the sacrificed
were presented to the idol. This con-
clusion of the ceremony was signified
to the people without, who bowed and
shouted, taking up earth and strewing
it on their heads, whilst holy maidens
brought cakes of wheat, and danced
around the temple with garlands.
The dignified priests then came fojth
from the temple one by one, according
ADA REIS. 171
to their rank, followed by a procession
bearing out the gods and goddesses,
whom they worshipped in several
shapes, singing and dancing to the
sound of the pipe and kettle-drum.
" So much," said Ada Reis, ** for
idolators : why, I have heard men in
my country regret that paganism was
put an end to ; in the name of the
prophet, Ciulactly, why suffer these
horrors to be perpetrated under pre-
tence of virtue and religion ?"
" It has always been so," said the
king mildly j " I know not how to
change what was : I walk in the steps
of my fathers and grandfathers, who
are awaiting me in the grave."
The whole assembly now broke up.
Many great people ate a little earth,
and then went to celebrate the solemnity
at a feast given by Ciulactly, after which
the courtiers disguised themselves like
17^ ADA REIS.
birds ^'*, butterflies, frogs, beetles, deer,
lame, blind, or maimed persons, act-
ing every sort of buffoonery in the
public streets ; and the whole of the
ceremonials ended with dancing and
complete intoxication.
During all these circumstances many
opportunities of effecting his purpose
had presented themselves to Papo Ta-
guacan, of which Ada Reis was much
surprised that he had not availed him-
self. But it was not amidst the tumult
of the multitude, nor in the abandon-
ment of festivity, nor when overwhelm-
ed with the insensibility of drunken-
ness and sleep, that the blow^ was struck.
At mid-day, when all was tranquil and
composed, in the presence of his priests
and attendants, Ciulactly suddenly fell
dead, without a groan. It had been
urged with such fatal dexterity, that
the wound was instantly mortal, and
ADA REIS. 1(73
no one even gnessed the hand which
had given it. A howl of despair was
immediately heard. The news spread
with the utmost rapidity, and thou-
sands upon thousands of the inhabit-
ants crowded into the streets and
courts around the palace.
Ada Reis trembled not, although he
saw all eyes fixed with suspicion upon
him. His circumstances were so despe^
rate, that his care for himself, which
had ever been his predominant passion,
was somewhat diminished ; yet still he
disliked both death and pain : when
suddenly Papo Taguacan came for-
ward, proclaimed himself the mur-
derer, declared his motives to his fel-
low-citizens, and delivered himself up,
without a murmur, to the punishment,
which he was well aware immediately
awaited him.
174 ADA REIS.
The priests paid every customary
honour to their lost cacique, the rites
of whose funeral are described by Ada
Reis with as much minuteness as the
sacrifice in the temple. He was laid in
state, and mourned for, twelve days.
Each brought and placed upon his
grave that which he loved and esteemed
the most. His trinkets and his trea-
sures were buried with him, but not his
wives; after which there was no torture
they did not practise upon Papo Tagua-
can, who smiled at the agonies they
inflicted, singing in triumph whilst his
breath and strength continued, with
the satisfaction of having gratified his
revenge ; one hundred dogs were sa-
crificed with him. The priest then
proclaimed, from the mouth of an idol,
that a descendant of the sun was
amongst them ; and Ada Reis was
ADA REIS. 175
proclaimed cacique, and borne away
to the temple to be crowned, with all
the usual solemnities, and amidst the
congratulating shouts of the people.
lyG ADA REIS.
CHAPTER XIII.
Upon his return, Ada Reis threw
down in disgust the sceptre, which liad
just been placed within his grasp. *' By
the prophet," he said, " can man con-
descend to become the instrument thus
of deception and superstition ? I am
neither good enough to give up my
own passions and love of independence
for the benefit of others, nor weak
enough to conceive myself great, be-
cause I am considered so by such as
these. Praise, to gratify my vanity,
must come from beings, if not supe-
rior, at least equal to me; and distinc-
tion must be an acknowledged supe-
riority over creatures like myself, and
not over those blinded by bigotry and
ignorance. But, alas! of what can man
ADA REIS. 177
on earth be proud ; if even he be mon-
arch of an enHghtened nation ; is it
not by accident ? — is it by superiority?
Yet grant that I were chosen an ab-
solute king, by a free and enHghtened
nation, what then were the reward
of exertion, — and what, after a Hfe
of toil and fatigue, would be my
fate ? Alas ! life itself is, I find, after
all, but an illusion ; — the gratification
of every passion, every feeling, every
sentiment, leaves, as the wisest of
men has said, nothing but vanity and
vexation of spirit ; and the whole pil-
grimage, though adorned for a time by
hope, and rendered tolerable by vanity,
is as a vain dream. Would 1 had never
existed ! but it is of little moment. I
have lived and enjoyed all that it is
possible. I have seen from pole to pole
all that there is to possess ; every wish
of my soul has been gratified as it
VOL. II. N
IJS ADA REIS.
sprung up within me ! Now, then, let
me die. Nothing in me is immortal ;
the vain presumptuous hopes of man
affect me not ; and if there is no hea-
ven for the frail sons of dust, Ada Reis,
at least, fears no hell."
ADA REIS. 179
CHAPTER XIV.
It was in vain that Ada Reis thus
reasoned ; he was not only made king,
but obliged to witness the most cruel
sacrifices which celebrated his acces-
sion. Cruel as he was, the sight of
so much severity disgusted, though it
did not touch him. He had been for
a time entertained with the knavery,
the theft, the sluggishness, the gross
superstition of his new subjects ; but
all his desire now was to escape from
them. He resolved to leave these
wretched creatures and his palace, or
rather his hut, and to return, if possi-
ble, to civilised society : but he was so
watched in all his motions by his priests
and adherents, that, without making
use of a stratagem, he found it difficult
N 2 •
180 ADA REIS.
to make his escape. He therefore pre-
tended sickness, and shut himself up
entirely in his palace for several months :
during which time he amused himself
in writing, with the juice of a fruit,
the remainder of his journal, venting
his rage, and execrating Kabkarra for
having deceived him in the very fulfil-
ment of his promise.
But, unfortunately for him, the
lower his subjects fell in the opinion
of their sovereign, the higher he arose
in theirs. His obstinate retirement
was considered as an act of the most
kingly dignity. He became the most
popular monarch that had ever reign-
ed in the country; and when he pro-
ceeded to have his wives suffocated,
to squander his treasures, to burn the
uncouth figures which his predecessors
had venerated, to have the priests sa-
crificed upon their own altars, and to
ADA REIS. 181
issue edicts for numerous sanguinary
executions, the people set no bounds
to their enthusiastic attachment and
devotion. They kept perpetual watch
around his palace in order to obtain a
glimpse of him, and he saw, with deep
regret, that the more he tried to alienate
the more he attached them ; and that
their affectionate vigilance was such as
to preclude every hope of escaping from
his palace and his empire.
In this melancholy state he was sit-
ting one evening in his singular apart-
ment, when he saw a large spider
making a web ; and, strange as it might
seem, the ingenuity of the reptile, for
a moment, diverted his mind from his
own miserable situation. The spider's
eager diligence and dexterity struck
him forcibly. The web grew and the
insect grew. Its motions were so rapid,
its perseverance so great, that now it
182 ADA REIS.
had drawn its threads from one corner
of the room to the spot near which Ada
Reis stood; and now growing larger
and larger, its shining eyes and grin-
ning mouth became terrible to look
upon : it spun its threads round and
round Ada Reis ; it moved from side
to side ; at length he found himself
caught like a lion in its toils, and the
monstrous spider stopped, staring at
him in triumph.
A laugh and a yell now sounded ; the
word Kabkarra was pronounced. Ada
Reis started back through the silken
web ; then rushed forward ; nothing
impeded his course, — nor palace, nor
people. He found himself in a moun-
tainous desert, once more at liberty to
pursue his own course. " Not without
danger he climbed up the rocks of gra-
nite, perpendicular and impracticable,
were it not for the large rock-crystals
ADA REIS. 183
and feldspars jutting out, upon which
he could rest his foot: then broke upon
his delighted gaze the vast deserts of
Rhiana. Upon one side the mountain
of Nuraama, losing itself in the clouds,
whilst a part of the valley, covered by
an immense forest, appeared upon the
other ; there it was that he first beheld
the mouth of a cavern, like the famed
cavern of Ataruipe^^: near which it
seemed was the cemetery of a whole na-
tion. Skeletons were carefully pre-
served in baskets and urns, adorned
with the spiral leaves of the palm, laid
side by side, from the age of infancy
upwards, along a solitary valley, by the
banks of the river; all perfect, all tran-
quil : no names recorded. It was one
of those nights, serene and fresh, so
common beneath the torrid zone ; the
moon, surrounded with coloured haloes,
shone in her fulness, and brightened
184 ADA REIS.
the borders of the thick fog^^'; the aro-
matic smell from plants; the phosphoric
light from the millions of flies; the palm
and sycamore shaking their spiral leaves
to the breeze, and the roar of waters at
a distance.
As he journeyed on, he beheld be-
fore him, at some distance, past all
belief, Papo Taguacan, whom he had,
with his own eyes, seen cut to pieces
and burnt. He appeared lost in con-
templation and the deepest melancholy.
Upon approaching (stranger still) he
found not the Indian, but one who ap-
peared the exact image of Condulmar,
only very pale and exhausted. " Who
are you?" said Ada Reis.
" I stand alone upon earth," replied
Condulmar. ** I have caused the death
of every thing dear to me ; and thou,
lovely flower of this fair world, — Fior-
monda!"
ADA REIS. 185
" Is it possible?" exclaimed Ada
Reis ; " do I see Condulmar before
me!"
As he approached to embrace his
friend, the stranger grew taller and
taller, and every moment more and
more terrific in appearance. A voice,
hoarse and terrible, pronounced the
name of Ada Reis ; whilst eddying
waters rushing round, stunned him
with their noise. And now Ada Reis
scarcely saw any thing, when again
suddenly he beheld upon the summit
of that vast pile of granite, laughing
wildly, Kabkarra. " Ha ! Is it you ?"
said he, advancing fiercely, to destroy
him.
But Kabkarra, waving him off, hailed
him as a monarch ; and taunted him,
one by one, with the long catalogue of
his iniquities, saying, at the mention
186 ADA REIS.
of each new crime, ** And for this dost
thou not deserve a reward ?"
" Where is my child?" said Ada
Reis eagerly, " say, at least, where is
my innocent child ?"
" Innocent 1" said Kabkarra, scorn-
fully: " she is the mistress of a king,
nay, holds an empire, and wears like
thee a crown.*'
Ada Reis, whose impatience knew
no bounds, and whose curiosity was
painfully excited, now gave vent to the
violence of his temper, uttering impre-
cations upon the whole visible and in-
visible race, ending his rage by kneel-
ing down and saying, ** Restore me to
my child, and I will be your slave."
" You are my slave already," said
Kabkarra, taking from Ada Reis's head
the golden crown and high black
plumes with which his new subjects
ADA REIS. 187
had adorned it, and laughing wildly as
he leaned back against one of the vast
piles of granite above the roaring ca-
taracts, " Know you the name of this
cave? Bocca Inferno, the Spaniard
calls it ; and here we will remain, rash
mortal, whilst I inform you who and
what I am ; for you knpw me not,
although from a child you have sought
me, conversed with me, and seen me
every day."
Ada Reis threw himself at Kab-
karra's feet, and, all eagerness to hear,
leant forward in a still and thoughtful
attitude. Kabkarra's eyes glared upon
the wild scene before him, and clapping
his hands when he began, he bade the
marimondas and the birds cease their
clatter, and like the grey crocodile ^^,
whose dim eyes were fixed upon him,
be silent whilst he spoke.
NOTES.
Note 1, page 4.
With their mules and runa llamas.
In the parts of this country, which are neither
taken up by mountains or forests, only tame
animals are met with ; whence it is probable,
that formerly the native species were but very
few ; most of these having been introduced by
the Spaniards, except the llamas, to which the
Indians added the name of runa, to denote an
Indian sheep, that beast being now under-
stood by the runa llama; though, properly,
llama is a general name, importing beast, in
opposition to the human species. This ani-
mal, in several particulars, resembles the ca-
mel, as in the shape of its neck, head, and
some other parts ; but has no bunch, and is
much smaller ; cloven-footed, and different in
colour ; for though most of them are brown.
190 NOTES.
some are white, others black, and others of
different colours : its pace resembles that of a
camel, and its height equal to that of an ass
betwixt a year and two years old. The In-
dians use them as beasts of carriage ; and they
answer very well for any load under a hundred
weight. They chiefly abound in the juris-
diction of Riobamba, there being scarce an
Indian who has not one for carrying on his
little traffic from one village to another.
Anciently the Indians used to eat the flesh
of them, and still continue to make that use
of those who are past labour. They say there
is no difference between it and mutton, except
that the former is something sweeter. It is a
very docile creature, and easily kept. Its
whole defence is to eject from its nostrils some
viscosities, which are said to give the itch to
any on which they fall ; so that the Indians,
who firmly believe this, are very cautious of
provoking the llama. — Don Antonio de
Ulloa"'s Voyage to South America, vol. i.
p. 478.
NOTES. 191
Note 2, page 7.
She was called at times the Jcehhiera.
" Kebbiera'** means greatest, grandest ; as,
" Lilla Kebbiera," the greatest lady, or prin-
cess.— Tully's Tripoly.
Note 3, page 9.
The most valued and precious of plants, the
chirimoya.
The chirimoya is universally allowed to be
the most delicious of any known fruit, either
of India or Europe. Its dimensions are va-
rious, being from one to five inches in dia-
meter. Its figure is imperfectly round, being
flatted towards the stalk, where it forms a
kind of navel ; but all the other part is nearly
circular. It is covered with a thin soft shell,
but adhering so closely to the pulp, as not to
be separated without a knife. The outward
coat, during its growth, is of a dark green,
but on attaining its full maturity, becomes
somewhat lighter. This coat is variegated
with prominent veins, forming a kind of net-
work all over it. The pulp is white, inter-
mixed with several almost imperceptible fibres,
192 NOTES.
concentrating in the core, which extends from
the hollow of the excrescence to the opposite
side. As they have their origin near the
former, so in that part they are larger and
more distinct. The flesh contains a large
quantity of juice resembling honey, and its
taste sweet, mixed with gentle acid, but of a
most exquisite flavour. The seeds are formed
in several parts of the flesh, and are about
seven lines in length, and three or four in
breadth. They are also somewhat flat, and
situated longitudinally.
The tree is high and tufted, the stem large
and round, but with some inequalities ; full of
elHptic leaves, terminating in a point. The
length is about three inches and a half, and
the breadth two, or two and a half. But what
is very remarkable in this tree is, that it every
year sheds and renews its leaves. The blossom,
in which is the embryo of the fruit, diff*ers
very little from the leaves in colour, which is
a darkish green. It resembles a caper in
figure, but somewhat larger, and composed of
four petals. It is far from being beautiful,
but this deficiency is abundantly supphed by
NOTES. 193
its incomparable fragrancy. This tree is ob-
served to be very parsimonious in its blossoms,
producing only such as would ripen into fruits,
did not the extravagant passion of the ladies
for the excellence of the odour induce them to
purchase the blossoms at any rate. — Ulloa's
Voyage, p. 298.
Note 4, page IS.
At Callao.
Being at length arrived at Lima, the vice-
roy proceeds, as it were incognito, to Callao,
about two leagues and a half distant. In this
place he is received and acknowledged by one
of the ordinary alcaldes of Lima, appointed
for that purpose, and also by the military
officers. He is lodged in the viceroy's palace
at that place, which, on this occasion, is stored
with astonishing magnificence. The next day
all the courts, secular and ecclesiastical, wait
on him from Lima, and he receives them
under a canopy, in the following order: —
The audiencia, the chamber of accounts, the
cathedral chapter, the magistracy, the con-
sulado, the inquisition, the tribunal de Cru-
VOL. II. o
194 NOTES.
zada, the superiors of the religious orders, the
colleges, and other persons of eminence. On
this day the judges attend the viceroy to an
entertainment, given by the alcalde ; and all
persons of note take a pride in doing the hke
to his attendants. — Ulloa's Voyage^ vol. ii.
p. 48.
Note 5, page 14.
Accompanying him that eve7ii?ig to the theatre.
At Callao, at night, there is a play, to
which the ladies and others are admitted
veiled, and in their usual dress, to see the
new viceroy. — Ulloa's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 48.
Note 6, page 16.
Monastery of Mont-seirat,
See Ulloa"'s Voyage to South America,
vol. ii. p. 49.
Note 7, page 17.
7\co ordinary alcaldes.
The corporation of Lima consists of re-
gidores or aldermen, an alfcroz real or sheriff,
and two alcaldes or royal judges; all being
NOTES. 195
noblemen of the first distinction in the city.
These have the direction of the police, and
the ordinary administration of justice. The
alcaldes preside alternately every month ; for
by a particular privilege of this city, the juris-
diction of its corrigidor extends only to the
Indians. — Ulloa's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 44.
Note 8, page 17.
His Jiorse, a magnificent steed from Chili.
C'est du Royaume de Chili que sont venus
ces fameux cheveaux, et ces mules, qui courent
si bien. Tous ces animaux doivent leur origine
aux premiers qu*'on transporta d'Espagna en
Amerique; mais il faut avouer, qu*'aujour-
d'hui ceux de Chili sont superieurs, non seule-
ment a tous ceux des Indes, mais meme a ceux
d"*Espagne. II se peut bien que les premiers,
qu''on apporta en Amerique, fussent coureurs,
puis qu'on en voit encore beaucoup en Espagne
qui le sont; mais je suis persuade qu'on a eu
plus de soin de conserver les races en Amerique
que chez nous, et qu'on n'a point mele les
coureurs avec les troteurs, puis qu'ils sont in-
finimcnt plus parfaits, et que marchant k cote
o2
196 NOTES.
d'une autre cbeval, ils ont rambition de ne
vouloir jamais etre devance, et galoppent
d'une telle vitesse, que le cavalier ne sent pas
la moindre agitation les plus Ijeaux sont
envoyes a Lima, pour les personnes les plus
distinguees de cette ville. — Voyage au Perou,
par Don George Juan, liv. ii. chap. v. p. 41.
Note 9, page 51.
And little feet adoimed with diamonds.
One particular on which the women here
extremely value themselves, is the size of tbeir
feet, — a small foot being esteemed one of the
chief beauties ; and this is the principal fault
they generally find with the Spanish ladies,
who have much larger feet than those of Lima.
From their infancy they are accustomed to
wear straight shoes, that their feet may not be
suffered to grow beyond the size they esteem
beautiful ; some of them do not exceed five
inches and a half, or six inches in Icncjth, and
in women of a small stature they are still less.
Their shoes have little or no sole, one piece of
cordovan serving both for that and the upper
leather, and of an equal breadth and roundness
NOTES. 1 97
at the toe and heel, so as to form a sort of long
figure of eight; but the foot not complying
with this figure, brings it to a greater regu-
larity. These shoes are always fastened with
diamond buckles, or something very brilliant,
in proportion to the ability of the wearer,
being worn less perhaps for use than orna-
ment ; for the shoes are made in such a manner
that they never loosen of themselves, nor do
the buckles hinder their being taken off. It
is unusual to set these buckles with pearls ; a
particular to be accounted for, only from their
being so lavish of them, in the other ornaments
of dress, as to consider them as of too little
value. — Ulloa's Voyage ^ vol. ii. p. 60.
Note 10, page 101.
In the chase.
Hunting is the only diversion of the country;
a stranger at first would consider their extreme
ardour as rashness, till he sees persons of the
greatest prudence joining in them, trusting
entirely to their horses. The horses do not
wait for the riders to animate them ; they set
forward full speed at the shouts of the hunts-
men, and cries of the dogs. Then it will be
198 NOTES.
prudent in the rider to give him his way, and
at the same time to let him feel the spur to
carry him over the precipices. These horses
are called parameros ; their usual pace is trot-
ting. There is another species equally re-
markable for their swiftness and security,
called aquilillas ; though they only pace, they
equal the longest trot of others, and some of
them are so fleet that no other horse can equal
them at full gallop. I once was master of one
of this kind, and which often carried me in
twenty minutes from Callao to Lima, which
is two measured leagues and a h£df, and in
twenty-eight minutes brought me back, with-
out ever taking off the bridle. The pace of
the aquilillas is by lifting up the fore and hind
leg of the same side at once, but instead of
putting the hinder foot in the place where the
forefoot was, as is the usual way of pacing
horses, they advance it fartlier, equal to that
on the contrary side, or beyond it; thus in
each motion they advance t^nce the space of
the common horses. — See Voyage to South
Ameiica, by Don George Ivan and Don
Antonio de Ulloa, vol. i. p. 477.
NOTES. 199
Note 11, page 109.
A rdile de pigeoji,
A style of dress for the hair, once in fashion
at Paris, as was the repentir, the desesperee ;
and also the colours, gris de souris effrayee,
ventre de la reine, &c. For these consult
Hypolite, Le Page, and Rigolet.
As for the French — Coup de Vent was born
in Paris. — The translator of the MS. and the
printer are alone guilty of the numberless
little en*ors made as to gender, terminations,
&C-. &c.
Note 12, page 128.
At that hour the fair and beautiful city of
Lima.
On the 28th of October, 1746, at half an
hour after ten at night, five hours and three
quarters before the full of the moon, the con-
cussions began with such violence, that in little
more than three minutes, the greatest part, if not
all the buildings, great and small, in the whole
city were destroyed, burying under their ruins
those inhabitants who had not made sufficient
haste into the streets and squares ; the only
200 NOTES.
places of safety in these terrible convulsions of
nature.
At length the horrible effects of this first
shock ceased ; but the tranquilUty was of short
duration, concussions returning with such fre-
quent repetitions, that the inhabitants, accord-
ing to the account sent of it, computed 200 in
the first twenty-four hours.
The fort of Callao, at the very same hour
sunk into ruins ; but what it suffered from the
earthquake in its buildings was inconsiderable,
when compared to the terrible catastrophe that
followed ; for the sea, as is usual on such oc-
casions, receding to a considerable distance,
returned in mountainous waves, foaming with
agitation, and suddenly turned Callao and the
neighbouring country into a sea. This was
not, however, totally performed by the first
swell of the waves, for the sea retiring further,
returned with still more impetuosity, the stu-
pendous water covering both the walls and
other buildings of the place ; so that whatever
had escaped the first, was now totally over-
whelmed by those terrible mountains of waves,
and nothing remained except a piece of the
NOTES. 201
wall of the fort of Santa Cruz, as a memorial
of this terrible devastation. There were then
2S ships and vessels, great and smaU, in the
harbour, of which 19 were absolutely sunk;
and the other four, amongst which was a fri-
gate called St. Firmin, carried by the force of
the waves to a considerable distance up the
country.
This terrible inundation extended to other
ports on the coast, as Cavallas and Guanape ;
and the towns of Chancay, Guara, and the
valleys Delia Baranca, Sape, and Pativilca,
underwent the same fate as the city of Lima.
The number of persons who perished in the
ruin of that city, before the 31st of the same
month of October, according to the bodies
found, amounted to 1300, besides the maimed
and wounded, many of whom only lived a short
time in torture. — Ulloa's Vot/age, vol. i.
p. 84.
Note 13, page 131.
Many miles fons^ard upon the land.
Sec Ulloa's Voyage, vol. ii. p. 85.
202 NOTES.
Note 14, page IS2.
Even to tJie pois^er of the Jjicas.
All the Indians of Auraca, Tucapel, and
others inhabiting the more southern parts of
the banks of the river Biobio, and also those
who live near the Cordillera, have hitherto
eluded all attempts made for reducing them
under the Spanish government. For in this
boundless country, as it may be called, when
strongly pushed, they abandon their huts, and
retire into the more distant part of the king-
dom, where being joined by other nations,
they return in such numbers, that all resist-
ance would be temerity, and again take pos-
session of their former habitations. — Ulloa's
Voyage^ vol. ii. p. 282.
Note 15, page 134.
Their meal, matalotagc and maize.
The common food of the Indians, as we
have before observed, is maize, made into
camcha or mote, and macha : the manner of
preparing the latter is to roast the maize, and
then reduce it to a flour, and this without any
other apparatus or ingredient, they eat by
NOTES. 203
spoonfuls; two or three of which, and a
draught of chica, or, when that is wanting, of
water, completes their repast. When they set
out on a journey, their whole viaticum is a
little bag, which they call gueri-ta, full of this
meal, and a spoon : this suffices for a journey
of fifty or a hundred leagues. When hungry,
they stop at some place were chica is to be
had, or at some water ; where, after taking a
spoonful of their meal into their mouth, they
keep it some time, in order more easily to
swallow it, and with two or three such spoon-
fuls, well diluted with chica, or, if that is not
to be had, with water, they set forward as
cheerfully as if risen from a feast. — Ulloa's
Voyage, vol. i. p. 424.
Note 16, page 137.
Brought the xi-jahua.
The vijahua is a leaf generally five feet in
length, and two and a half in breadth. They
grow wild, and without any stem. The prin-
cipal rib in the middle is between four and five
lines in breadth, but all the other parts of the
leaf are perfectly soft and smooth, with a very
fine white and viscid down. Besides the com-
^04 NOTES.
mon use of it in covering houses, it also serves
for packing up salt, fish, and other goods sent
to the mountains, as it secures them from the
rain. They are also, in these desert places,
of singular use for running up huts on any
exigency. — Ulloa's VoyagCy vol. i. p. 2^4.
Note 17, page 141.
Of the great Mar anon.
See Ulloa, vol. i. 379.
i
Note 18, page 144.
All had tails^ \xihich they "wagged "ji'hen pleased,
and turned down when frightened.
Copied from p. 31 of Mceurs des Satwages,
by Le P. Lafitau.
Ada Reis might possibly have met with
such a race as is described bv Euphemius.
Pausanias says, that anxious to know whether
there were really any satyrs, and of what na-
ture they were, he had interrogated several
travellers upon that head, although liitherto
in vain ; but, at length, a certain Euphemus,
a carrier, had assured him, that when sailing
towards the coast of Italv, a violent storm liad
sent his vessel far away to the extremities of
NOTES. 205
the ocean, where, he said, they found islands
inhabited by savages. " Dont la chair est
fort rougeatre et qui ont des queues, les
quelles ne sont pas moindres que celles des
chevaux."" This account, continues the Pere
Lafitau, appears to me to be assez vraisem-
blable, and the description of these islanders
agrees entirely w-ith the description of the
Caraibes, who were masters of the Antilles,
from whence the greatest part have, in later
times, been driven by the Europeans. The
flesh of this people is red. " Et c'est moins un
effet du cHmat que Pimagination, des meres
qui trouvant de la beaute dans cette couleur
la transmettent a leur fruit." It is also, which
the Pere mentions, red by art, as they are
painted every day with the rocou, and thus
appear of the colour of blood ; as to the tails,
which the sailors maintained that they beheld,
it was the effect of terror, which made them
take
Des queues postiches, pour des queues reelles.
And almost all the uncivilized nations of Ame-
rica give themselves that ornament; in par-
ticular, when they are going to war.
20G NOTES.
Note 19, page 149.
It was the Zumbadore,
The zumbadore, or hummer, is a night-bird
peculiar to the mountainous deserts, and they
are seldom seen, though frequently heard,
both by their singing and a strange humming
made in the air by the rapidity of their flight,
and which may be heard at the distance of
fifty toises ; and when near is louder than that
of a rocket. Their singing may indeed be
called a kind of cry, resembling that of night-
birds. In moonlight nights, when they more
frequently make their appearance, we have
often watched to see their size and the celerity
of their motion, and though they passed very
near us, we were never able to form any idea
of their magnitude, all which we could see was
a white line formed in the air, and this was
plainly perceivable when at no great distance.
This being a very particular bii'd, in order
to gratify our curiosity, we promised the In-
dians a reward if they would procure us one ;
but all they could do was to get a young one,
scarce fledged, though it was then of tlie size
of a partridge, and all over speckled with dark
NOTES. ^07
and light brown; the bill was proportionate
and straight ; the aperture of the nostrils much
larger than usual, the tail small, and the wings
of a proper size for the body. According to
the Indians, it is with the nostiils that it makes
such a loud humming. This may, in some
measure, contribute to it ; but the effect seems
much too great for such an instrument, espe-
cially as at the time of the humming it also
uses its voice. — Ulloa's Voyage, vol. i. p. 476.
Note 20, page 151.
Calitamani.
Le dernier chainon de ces montagnes auquel
les naturels donnent le nom de Calitamini, nous
parut au coucher du soleil comme une masse
rougeatre ardente. Cette apparence est chaque
jour la meme. Personne ne s'est jamais ap-
proche de cette montagne, son ecliit singulier
nait peut-etre du jeu des reflets produits par
le talc ou le schiste micace. — Tablemi de la
Nature.
208 NOTES.
Note 21, page 159.
Like the one at Mexico.
The Mexicans being so very exact in all re-
ligious observances beyond all others in that
new world, either to show the multitude of
sacrifices they offered to their gods, or to keep
in their minds the remembrance of death, to
which all men are subject; they had a chamel
of the skulls of men taken in war, and sacri-
ficed, which was without the temple, and oj>-
posite to the great gate, above a stone"'s throw
from it, in shape like a theatre, longer than it
was broad, strong, and built with lime and
stone, with steps, on which the heads were set
between the stones, the teeth outwards. At the
head and foot of the theatre were two towers,
made only of hme and skulls, and having no
stone or other material, at least not to be seen ;
they were very strange to behold, being dread-
ful, and at the same time a good rnemoriiil,
death appearing which way soever a man
turned his eyes. At the top of the tlieatre,
which much adorned the charncl, there were
sixty or more long poles, about four or five
spans asunder, to which were fixed, from the
NOTES. 209
top to the bottom, as many sticks as the height
could contain, in the form of St. Andrew's
crosses, with heads or skulls placed between
all those intervals, and made fast at the tem-
ples. The number was so great, that Gomara,
who had it from Andrew de Tapia and Gon-
zalo de Umbria, two persons that took the
pains to count them, tells us, they amounted
to above one hundred and thirty thousand
skulls, besides those that were in the towers,
which they could not count; and the said
Gomara condemns this practice, in regard that
they were the heads of men sacrificed, as being
the effect of so cruel a cause, as was the killing
so many innocent persons ; and he is in the
right, for, had they been the heads of men that
had died a natural death, it was commendable
to expose them to public view, to put the
living in mind of their end. They were so
careful to keep them continually ranged in
their proper order, that there were persons
appointed to set up others, whensoever any
happened to drop out, which, according to
their superstition, they looked upon as a re-
VOL. II. P
i210 NOTES.
ligious affair. — Hekeeea's Voyage to Ame*
rictty vol. ii. p. 380, 381.
Note 22, page 162.
With sandals on his feet.
The two lords that led him were barefoot,
for the respect they paid him was so great,
that no man durst come into his presence
without taking off his shoes. — Herreea's
History of America, vol. ii. p. 328.
Note 23, page 163.
Entirely full of curiosities.
An apartment, which was also called the
bird-ho\>se, not because it contained more than
the o^er, but that they were larger, nobler,
and of another sort, being birds of prey, for
game, and they were looked after by skilful
men, with the greatest care imaginable. Mo-
tezuma went oftener to this house than to any
others, to see the birds, because they were
more noble than the others, and was wont to
ask many questions of their keepers, being
very curious in that sort of knowledge ; and
NOTES. ^11
he was in the right, for there are still here-
abouts more and better birds than in any
other part of the world. In this house there
were many upper rooms, and in them men,
women, and children, all with white eyes and
hair, as has been seen in Spain ; and, what is
most admired, in a town called Pocol, in New
GaHcia, a child was born, being the son of a
black man and woman, all of him as white as
snow. They said that there were some so
white in Guinea, that their children were black
like their grandfathers. It was very extraor-
dinary to have any such born in New Spain,
because all the other natives are of th§ colour
of boiled quinces. In another apartm^j^ there
were dwarfs, crooked people, some of whom it
is reported were purposely so deformed in
their infancy, alleging that it became a great
monarch to have such things as were not to
be found elsewhere. Every sort of dwarfs or
other monsters, were kept apart, with people
to look after them. In the low^ rooms there
were many strong cages or pens; in some there
were lions, in others tigers, in others bears, in
others leopards, and in others wolves. In
¥2
212 NOTES.
short, all sorts of four-footed beasts, only that
Motezuma might be said to be so great, that
he had all sorts of wild beasts shut up in his
house. In other rooms there were vast great
jars of water, in which they fed and kept
snakes, alligators, vipers, lizards, and serpents
of several sorts, so fierce and venomous that
the very sight was frightful. The birds of
prey were in another apartment about the
court, and in strong cages, upon perches; being
of all sorts, as hobbies, sparrow-hawks, kites,
vultures, goshawks, ten or twelve sorts of fal-
cons, several sorts of eagles, and among them
fifty much bigger than the largest in Spain,
each of which would eat a cock -with a crop,
which are very large birds. These eagles were
asunder, and all of these birds were every day
allowed five hundi'ed of these cocks, ha\'ing
three hundred men to attend them. There
were many birds in this apartment which the
Spaniards knew nothing of. They gave the
snakes the blood of persons sacrificed, which
they licked; they had likewise part of the
flesh, which was also eaten by the alligators.
The Spaniards were very well pleased to see
NOTES. 21
o
such variety of birds, so many fierce wild
beasts and serpents ; though they did not Uke
to hear their hissing, the horrid roaring of the
Hons, the dismal howlmg of the wolves, the
disagreeable cries of the leopards and tigers,
and the dreadful noise of the other creatures,
which they made either through hunger, or
because they were not at liberty to practise
their savage tempers. — History of America, by
A. DE Herrera, p. 348, 349, 350.
Note 24, page 165.
Tigei'S, alligators, and other wild beasts.
Many of them, by way of gallantry, or to look
fierce, had their heads thrust into heads of
tigers, lions, alligators, or other wild creatures ;
and on their right arm or shoulders they wore
some badge of gold, silver, or feathers. —
Herrera's Voyage to America, vol. ii. p. 343.
Note 25; page 1 (^Q.
Bags of vermin.
The house the Spaniards were quartered in
being extraordinary large, Alonzo de Ojeda
walking about several rooms, found in one of
214 NOTES.
them many sacks, about half a yard long, full
and tied up very close. He took one of them,
which he carried out, and opening it before
several of his comrades, saw it was full of lice,
which he affirms is certainly true; so they
quickly tied it up again, much admiring at
the meaning of it. They told Cortes, who
asked Marina and Aguilar about it. They
answered, that all persons were so submissive
to the king, that those who through extreme
poverty or sickness could not pay taxes to the
king, were obliged to keep lice (to pay them)
as an acknowledgment, and that the poor sort
being very numerous, there were several bags
of lice; the most remarkable thing that ever
was heard of, and which sufficiently shows the
wonderful subjection of these people. — Her-
rera's History of Ameiica^ vol. ii. p. 397.
Note 26, page 169.
l]]pon the kings feet.
After them came out the retired youths and
maidens of the temple, and taking their places
opposite to one another, played and danced to
the beat of the drum, in praise of the solemnity
NOTES. Q15
and of the idol, the prime men and persons of
note dancing about them. — Herrera's Hi^
story of America, vol. ii. p. 215.
Note 27, page 172.
Disguised themselves like birds.
Having bid the idol good morning, they
feasted, and then went to the temple, in the
court whereof they acted very entertaining
farces, with much dancing and joy; they all
afterwards appearing disguised after several
manners, like birds, butterflies, frogs, beetles,
and other vermin, and others like lame persons
and cripples, giving a comical account of their
misfortunes, which provoked to laughter ; and
the solemnity ended with dancing. — Her-
rera's History of America, vol. ii. p. 219.
At the feast of Beiram, and during the car-
nivals, do they not much the same ? And in
England what were the mummers.
Note 28, page 183.
The famed cavern of Autaripe.
La partie la plus reculee de cette vallee est
couverte d'une epaisse foret. Cest dans cet
216 NOTES.
endroit ombrage que s'ouvre la cavcrnc d'^Ata-
7'uipe; c'*est moins un autre qu''un rocher tres-
saillant ou les eaux ont creuse un enfoncement
lorsqu''elles atteignoient a cette hauteur. La
est le tombeau d'une peuplade eteinte. Nous
y comptames environ six-cents squelettes bien
conservees; chacun repose dans une corbeille
faite avee les petioles des feuilles de palmier.
Cette corbeille, que les naturels nomment ma-
pires, a la forme d\me espece de sac carre ;
elle est d'une grandeur proportionnee a Tage
des morts, meme pour les enfans moissonnes a
rinstant de leur naissance. — Tableau de la
Nature, p. 225. — Humboldt.
Note 29, page 184.
Brightened the borders of the thick fog.
C'etoit par une de ces nuits sereines ct
fraiches qui sont si ordinaires sous la zone tor-
ride. La lune, entouree d'^anneaux colorees,
brilloit au zenith ; elle eclairoit la lisiere du
brouillard, qui, comme un nuage a contours
fortement prononces, voiloit Ic flcuve ecumeux.
Une multitude innombrablc d'insectes repan-
doient une lumiere phosphorique rougeatre
NOTES. 217
sur la terrc couverte de plantes. Le sol re-
splendissoit d''uii feu vivant, comme si les
astres du firmament etoient venus s'abbatre
sur la savanne. Des Bignonias grimpans, des
vanilles odorantes, et des Banisterias aux
fleurs d''un jaune dore, decoroient Tentree de
la caverne. Au dessus, les cimes de palmiers
se balan9oient en fremissant. — Tablemt de la
Nature^ p. 232. — Humboldt.
Note 30, page 187.
Grey crocodiles.
Les petits singes, que depuis plusieurs mois
nous portions avec nous dans des cages tres-
sees, attiroient par leurs oris plaintifs, des
crocodiles dont la grosseur et la couleur d''un
gris plombe annon9oient le grand age, Je ne
ferois pas mention de cette apparition tres-
commune dans POrenoque, si les naturels ne
nous avoient pas assure, que jamais on n'avoit
vu de crocodiles dans les cataractes. Pleins
de confiance dans leur assertion, nous avions
plus d'une fois ose nous baigner dans cette
partie du fleuve. — Tableau de la Nature^
p. 221. — Humboldt.
END of vol. II.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY THOMAS DAVISON, WHITEFRIARb.
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