S. AME was the last; and renounced the throne to the king of RICA. Spain, embracing the Catholic religion, and taking the name of Diego Sayri-Tupac-Inca.

Political

This empire is peopled with many barbarous nations, and Moral who live in the woods and on the mountains like wild State. beasts. Many of them have embraced the Catholic faith, and have become reduced to a civilized state of life in the cities and settlements which have been founded by the Spaniards. They are robust, pacific, and kind: their predominant vice is drunkenness; but they are ingenious and easily imitate whatever they see. Since the conquest, the Spaniards have been established amongst them, and the descendants of these they call creoles and peruleros, a race at once clever, valorous, and docile, of fine temper, and excellent understanding, and greatly attached to strangers: but they have been without instruction or reward, or they would otherwise have made the greatest progress in literature, and carried the arts in this country to the highest pitch; since, under all their disadvantages, there have not been wanting amongst them men who have excelled in arms and letters.

The European Spaniards are called chapetones, and are nearly all devoted to commercial pursuits. Some established themselves here, and formed new families; whilst others, after having made their fortunes, with great fatigues and perils by land and sea, returned to Europe. The English, French, and Dutch, have attempted several times to establish themselves in Peru; but their views have always been defeated by the Spanish government, who were aware of the immense treasures they derived from it in gold, silver, jewels, quicksilver, copper, dyes, woods, balsams, spices, sarsaparilla, vanilla, bark, cacao, and a thousand other drugs and productions, not to mention animals, fruits, birds, and fish.

The first bishops of Peru were put to death by the Indians in 1538. The archbishopric of Lima has for suffragan the bishops of Cuzco, Santiago de Chili, Concepcion de Chili, Guamanca, Arequipa, Truxillo, Quito, and Panama; and the archbishopric of La Plata, those of La Paz, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Buenos Ayres, Tucuman, and Paraguay. This vast empire is governed by a viceroy, who resides at Lima, this being the capital and metropolis. He has the title of governor and captain-general of all the kingdoms and provinces of Peru, and is president of the royal audience and chancery of Lima; this being the authority on which depend the other magistracies and tribunals, civil and criminal. The provinces are governed, some by governors, and others by corregidors nominated by the king, and in some settlements there remain the old caciques, or Indian governors, though under subordination to the former powers. The Indians pay an annual tribute to the king, which is more moderate with regard to such as voluntarily acknowledge their obedience; and proportionably larger to those who were subjected by force of arms: and, again, there are some entirely free from this exaction; namely, those who are descendants of the first allies of the Spaniards, and who assisted them in their conquests.

The population of Cuzco, which, before 1720, amounted to 26,000 souls, has been much diminished by a plague experienced in that year. The population of Quito amounted, in 1802, to 70,000 souls, the greater part of them are Indians; and it has been suggested,

The possession of Chili has cost Spain more blood and Ca treasure than all the rest of her settlements in America. The Araucanians, occupying but a small extent of territory, have, with far inferior arms, not only been able to counterbalance her power (till then reputed irresistible), but to endanger the loss of her best established possessions. Though the greater part of her officers had been bred in that school of war, the Low Countries, and her soldiers, armed with those destructive weapons before which the most entensive empires of that continent had fallen, were considered the best in the world, yet have these people succeeded in resisting them. The Spaniards, since losing their settlements in Araucania, have prudently confined their views to establishing themselves firmly in that part Chili which lies between the S. confines of Peru and the river Biobio, and extends from S. lat. 24° to 361°: this they have divided into thirteen provinces. They also possess the fortress of Valdivia, in the country of the Cunchese, the Archipelago of Chiloe, and the island of Juan Fernandez.

These provinces are governed by an officer, who has G usually the rank of lieutenant-general, and combines the title of president, governor, and captain-general of the kingdom of Chili. He resides in the city of St. Jago, and is solely dependent upon the king, except in case of war, when, in certain points, he receives his directions from the viceroy of Peru. In quality of captain-general, he commands the army, and has under him not only the three principal officers of the kingdom, the quarter-master, the serjeant-major, and the commissary, but also the four governors of Chiloe. Valdivia, Valparaiso, and Juan Fernandez. As presdent and governor, he has the supreme administration of justice and presides over the superior tribunals of

Moral

ME. that capital, whose jurisdiction extends all over the CA. Spanish provinces in those parts: The principal of these is the tribunal of audience, or royal senate, whose tical decision is final in all causes of importance, both civil and criminal; and is divided into two courts, the one for the trial of civil, and the other for the trial of criminal causes. Both are composed of several respectable judges, called auditors, of a regent, a fiscal, or royal procurator, and a protector of the Indians. All these officers receive large salaries from the court. Their judgment is final, except in causes where the sum in litigation exceeds 10,000 dollars, when an appeal may be had to the supreme council of the Indies. The other supreme courts are those of finance, of the cruzada of vacant lands, and the consulate or tribunal of commerce, which is wholly independent of any other of that kind. The provinces are governed by prefects, formerly called corregidors, but at present known by the name of sub-delegates; these, according to the forms of their institution, should be of royal nomination, but, owing to the distance of the court, they are usually appointed by the captain-general, of whom they style themselves the lieutenants. They have jurisdiction both of civil and military affairs, and their emoluments of office depend entirely upon their fees, which are by no means regular. In each capital of a province there is, or at least should be, a municipal ntagistracy, called the cabildo, which is composed, as in other parts of the Spanish dominions, of several members, called regidores, who are appointed for life, of a standard-bearer, a procurator, or forensic judge, denominated the provincial alcalde, an alguazil, or high sheriff, and of two consuls or burgomasters, called alcaldes. The latter are chosen annually from among the principal nobilitý by the cabildo itself, and have jurisdiction both in civil and criminal causes in the first instance.

The inhabitants are divided into regiments, which are obliged to march to the frontiers or the sea-coast in case of war. In 1792 there were 15,856 militia troops enrolled in the two bishoprics of Santiago and Concep tion; 10,218 in the first, and 5,638 in the latter. Besides this regular militia, there are a great many city militias, that are commanded by commissaries, who act as colonels. A sufficient force also of regular troops for the defence of the country is maintained by the king. All the veteran troops in Chili do not exceed 2,000, and these consist of artillery, dragoons, and infantry. The infantry, as well as the artillery, is under the command of two lieutenant-colonels.

In its ecclesiastical government, Chili is divided into the two large dioceses of Santiago and Conception, which cities are the residencies of the bishops, who are suffragans to the archbishop of Lima. The first diocese extends from the confines of Peru to the river Maule, comprehending the province of Cujo upon the other side of the Andes. The second comprises all the rest of Chili, with the islands, although the greater part of this extent is inhabited by pagans. The cathedrals are supplied with a proper number of canons, whose revenues depend upon the tithes, as do those of the bishops. The court of inquisition at Lima has at Santiago a commissioner with several subaltern officers. Pedro Valdivia, on his first entering Chili, brought with him the monks of the order of Mercy; and about the year 1553, introduced the Dominicans and strict Franciscans: The Augustins established

Political

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themselves there in 1595; and the hospitallers of St. S. AMEJohn of God, about the year 1615. These religious RICA. orders have all a number of convents, and the three first form distinct jurisdictions. The brothers of St. John of God have the charge of the hospitals, under a commissary, who is dependent upon the provincial of Peru. These are the only religious fraternities now in Chili. The Jesuits, who came into Chili in 1593, with the nephew of their founder, Don Martin de Loyola, formed likewise a separate province. Others have several times attempted, but without success, to form establishments, the Chilians having always opposed the admission of new orders among them. In Santiago and Conception are several convents of nuns; but they are the only cities that contain them.

The cities are built in the best situations in the Cities. country. Many of them, however, would have been better placed, for the purposes of commerce, upon the shores of the large rivers. This is particularly the case with those of more recent construction. The streets are straight, intersecting each other at right angles, and are 36 French feet in breadth. On account of earthquakes the houses are generally of one story; they are, however, very commodious, whitewashed without, and generally painted within. Each is accommodated with a pleasant garden, irrigated by an aqueduct, which furnishes water for the use of the family. Those belonging to the wealthier classes, particnlarly the nobility, are furnished with much splendour and taste. The inhabitants, perceiving that old buildings of two stories have resisted the most violent shocks, have of late years ventured to reside in the upper rooms, and now begin to construct their houses in the European manner. In consequence of this, the cities have a better appearance than formerly; and the more so, as instead of forming their houses of clay hardened in the sun, which was supposed less liable to injury, they now employ brick and stone. Cellars, sewers, and wells were formerly much more common than at present; a circumstance which may have contributed to render the buildings more secure from earthquakes. The churches are generally more remarkable for their wealth than their style of architecture. The cathedral and the church of the Dominicans in the capital, which are built of stone, are, however, exceptions. The first was constructed at the royal expence, under the diree tion of the Bishop Don Manuel Alday, an excellent and learned prelate; it is built in a masterly style, and is 384 French feet in front. The plan was drawn by two English architects, who superintended the work: but when it was half finished, they refused to go on, unless their wages were increased. In consequence of this the building was suspended, when two of the Indians who had worked under the Englishmen, and had se cretly found means of instructing themselves in every branch of the art, offered to complete it, which they did with as much skill and perfection as their masters themselves could have displayed. In the capital the following edifices are also worthy of remark: the barracks for the dragoons, the mint, which has been lately built by a Roman architect, and the hospital for orphans.

Spanish Chili, in consequence of the freedom granted Population. to its maritime trade, is peopling with a rapidity proportioned to the salubrity of its climate and the fertility of its soil. Its population, in general, is composed of Europeans, creoles, Indians, negroes, and mustees.

and Moral State.

S. AME The Europeans, except a few French, English, and RICA. Italians, are Spaniards, who for the most part are from the southern provinces of Spain. D. Cosme Bueno, Political whose manuscript account of Peru is stated by Robertson, as having been drawn up in 1764, (though the copies which we have seen of this work contain facts of a later date by at least 20 years), gives to Chili a population of 240,000 souls. Malespina, who visited that country in 1790, is of opinion that this estimate is greatly under the truth; and we have been lately informed, on good authority, that the present population of Chili amounts to 720,000 souls, including 70,000 independent Araucanos.

The creoles, who form the greater number, are the descendants of Europeans. Their character, with some slight difference proceeding from climate or government, is precisely similar to that of the other American creoles of European origin. The same modes of thinking, and the same moral qualities, are discernible in them all. This uniformity, which furnishes much subject for reflection, has never yet been considered by any philosopher in its full extent. Whatever intelligent and unprejudiced travellers have observed respecting the characters of the French and English creoles, will perfectly apply to that of the Chilian. They are generally possessed of good talents, and succeed in any of the arts to which they apply themselves. They would make as great progress in the useful sciences as they have done in metaphysics, if they had the same motives to stimulate them as are found in Europe. They do not readily imbibe prejudices, and are not tenacious in retaining them.

As scientific books and instruments, however, are very scarce, or sold at an exorbitant price, their talents are either never developed, or are wholly employed upon trifles. The expences of printing are also so great, as to discourage literary exertion, so that few aspire to the reputation of authors. The knowledge of the civil and canonical laws is held in great esteem by them, so that many of the Chilian youth, after having completed their course of academical education in Chili, proceed to Lima, which is highly celebrated for its schools of law, in order to be instructed in that science. The fine arts are in a very low state in Chili, and even the mechanical are as yet very far from perfection. We may except, however, those of carpentry, and the working of iron and the precious metals, which have made considerable progress, in consequence of the information obtained from some German artists, who were introduced into the country by that worthy ecclesiastic Father Carlos, of Hainhausen, in Bavaria. In a word, the arts and sciences of Chili have, for these latter years, much engaged the attention of the inhabitants, and it is affirmed that the state of the country has already assumed a very different appearance.

The peasantry, though for much the greater part of Spanish origin, dress in the Araucanian manner. Dispersed over that extensive country, and unencumbered by restraint, they possess perfect liberty, and lead a tranquil and happy life, amidst the enjoyments of that delightful climate. Raynal observes, the principal part of these robust men live dispersed upon their possessions, and cultivate with their own hands a greater or a less extent of ground. They are incited to this laudable labour by a sky always clear and serene, and a climate the most agreeably temperate of any in the

two hemispheres, but more especially by soil whose S. A fertility has excited the admiration of all travellers." Ric They are naturally gay, and fond of all kinds of diversion. They have likewise a taste for music, and compose verses after their manner, which, although rude and inelegant, possess a certain natural simplicity more interesting than the laboured compositions of cultivated poets. Extemporaneous rhymes, or improvisatori, are common among them, and are called in their language palladores. Those known to possess this talent are held in high estimation, and apply themselves to no other occupation. In the countries dependent on the Spanish colonies, there is generally no other language than the Spanish spoken, but on the frontiers the peasants speak the Araucanian, or Chilian, as well as the former, The men dress in the French, and the women in the Peruvian fashion, except that the women of Chili wear their garments longer than those of Peru. In point of luxury, there is no difference between the inhabitants of the two countries; Lima prescribes the fashions for Chili, as Paris does for the rest of Europe. Those who are wealthy make a splendid display in their dress, their servants, coaches, or titles. Chili alone, of all the American provinces, has enjoyed the superior privilege of having two of its citizens exalted to the dignity of grandees of Spain: the one, Don Fernando Irrazabal, marquis of Valparaiso; the other, Don Fermin Caravajal, duke of San Carlos.

The salubrity of the air, and the constant exercise on horseback to which they accustom themselves from childhood, render them strong and active, and preserve them from many diseases. The small pox is not so common as in Europe, but it makes terrible ravages when it appears. This disease was, in the year 1766, for the first time introduced into the province of Maule, where it became very fatal. A countryman who had recovered from it, conceived the idea of attempting to cure a number of unhappy wretches, who had been abandoned, by cow's milk, which he gave them to drink, or administered to them in clysters. With this simple remedy he cured all those whom he attended; while the physicians, with their complicated prescriptions, saved but a very few.

The city of Caracas, which, with its vicinity, has C been the chief theatre of the exterminating revolu tion with which this continent is agitated, is built in a valley of four leagues in length, in a direction from E. to W., and between that great chain of mountains which runs in a line with the sea from Coro to Cumana. It is, as it were, in a basin or hollow formed by this chain; for it has mountains of equal height to the N. and to the S. The city occupies a space of 2,000 square paces; the ground on which it stands remains as nature formed it, art having done nothing towards levelling it, or diminishing its irregularities. The declivity is everywhere decidedly from the S.: the whole of it is 75 fathoms perpendicular from the gate De la Pastora to the N. unto the river Guaire, which bounds the city to the S. It derives its waters from four small rivers, which, after having served the domestic uses of the city, run in one channel across the valley of Chacao, aud thence into the ocean at 12 leagues to the south of cape Codera. The streets of Caracas, like those of many modern cities, are in parallel lines, about 20 feet broad, paved. and running N., S., E., and W. The houses are well

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ME built, about 300 feet from each other. Although this CA. city suffered greatly by the earthquake which happened in 1812, the description given of it by Depons is very tical near the truth. The great square, called Plaza Mayor, is deformed by booths built to the E. and W., which are let to shopkeepers for the profit of the city; and for the trifling emolument thus derived is sacrificed a most delightful prospect. The square is well paved, and in it is held a market, in which you might procure in abundance vegetables, fruits, fresh and salted meat, fish, poultry, game, bread, paroquets, and monkies. The cathedral, which is situate on the E. side of the square, has no symmetrical connection with it. This square has on each side two entrances. The second square is that of the Candelaria, surrounded very regularly by an open palisade of iron upon stone-work of an unequal height. This square, although not paved, has a soil of clay mixed with sand, which is as good as the best pavement, and altogether it does not fail to afford an agreeable coup d'œil. It owes nothing to the buildings that compose it, nor is there, indeed, one fit to engage the attention, save the church of Candelaria, which, although not of perfect geometrical proportion, has a front which diverts the eye, and is by no means a disadvantage to the square. The third square is that of St. Paul: its only ornament is a fountain in its centre. The church of St. Paul is, indeed, at the S. E. angle, but has no other symmetrical relation with the square than that it forms a part of it. This square is neither paved nor even. The other squares are, 1st, that of Trinidad, which has not even the form of a square, and the ground of which is extremely uneven and neglected; 2d, that of St. Hyacinth, containing the convent of the Dominicans, and bordered on the E. by the pavement of a street, and crossed by another, so as to induce a supposition that it was never intended for a square; 3d, that of St. Lazarus, which is a sort of enclosure before the church of that name, situate to the S. E. of the city; it has the merit of neatness, but so detached from the town that it does not appear to form a part of it; 4th, the square of Pastora, which is surrounded by ruins; 5th, the square of St. John, which is spacious, but irregular, unpaved, and bordered only on the W. side by a row of houses of mean construction. It is in this square that the mounted militia are exercised. The houses of individuals are handsome and well built. There are a great number, in the interior of the city, which consist of separate stories, and are of a very handsome appearance. Some are of brick, but the greater part are of masonry, made nearly after the manner of the Romans, and on the plan now adopted when building in marshes or in the sea, &c. according to the method published by Mr. Tardiff, in 1757. They make a sort of frame without a bottom, with planks of five feet long and three high, which becomes the model of the front of the wall about to be erected. The ground on which they build serves as a foundation to this frame or support, and the frame is removed as each tier or part is added to complete the walls. They cover the walls with mortar, called in the country tapia. There are two sorts of this mortar: the first, to which they give the pompous name of royal tapia, is made of the sand of the river mixed with chalk, to which are frequently added flints, stones, and pebbles; the second is composed of common sand with a very small quan

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tity of chalk. A person easily distinguishes, by the S. AMEmixture of these materials, that which is the most durable; yet both acquire, by means of the pestle, a consistency which braves for a long time the inclemencies of the seasons and the effects of time. The outside of the houses, when made rough and whitened, appears equal to free-stone. The timber of the roof is formed, as it were, into a double slope. The wood work is well joined, very elegant, and of an excellent description of wood, which the country furnishes in abundance. The houses of the principal people of the city, in general, are neatly and even richly furnished: they have handsome glasses, elegant curtains of crimson damask at the windows and at the inner doors; chairs and sofas of wood, with the seats covered with leather or damask stuffed with hair, worked in a Gothic style, but overloaded with gilding; beds, with the head-boards raised very high, exposing to the sight nothing but gold, covered with handsome damask counterpanes, and several pillows of feathers covered with muslin cases ornamented with lace; but there is seldom more than one bed of this magnificence in each house, and this is generally the nuptial bed, though being, in fact, merely kept for show. The feet of the tables and the commodes are richly gilt: elegant lustres are suspended in the principal apartments; the very cornices appear to have been dipped in gold, whilst superb carpets are spread over the part of the floor whereon the seats of honour are placed; the furniture is arranged in the hall in such a manner that the sofa, which forms an essential part of it, stands at one end with chairs on the right and left, and opposite the principal bed in the house, which stands at the other extremity, in a chamber, the door of which is kept open, or is equally exposed to view, in an alcove. These apartments, always very elegant and highly ornamented,, are in a manner prohibited to those who inhabit the house: they are only opened, with a few exceptions, in honour of guests of superior rank.

The city of Caracas possesses no other public buildings than such as are dedicated to religion. The captain-general, the members of the royal audience, the intendant, and all the officers of the tribunal, occupy hired houses; even the hospital for the troops is a private house. The contaduría, or treasury, is the only building belonging to the king, and its construction is far from bespeaking the majesty of its owner. so with the barracks; they are new, elegantly built, and situate in a spot where the sight breaks upon the city, and are two stories high, in which they can conveniently lodge 2,000 men. They are occupied only by the troops of the line; the militia having barracks of their own, consisting of a house, at the opposite part of the city.

It is not

Caracas is the seat of the archbishopric of Venezuela, Ecclesiastithe diocese of which is very extensive, it being bounded cal importon the N. by the sea, from the river Unare to the ance. jurisdiction of Coro; on the E. by the province of Cumana; on the S. by the Orinoco; and on the W. by the bishopric of Merida. Caracas was erected into an archbishopric in 1803. The annual revenue of the archbishopric depends on the abundance of the harvests and the price of commodities, on which they take the tithes: these tithes are equally divided between the archbishopric, the chapter, the king, and the ministers of religion. The fourth part, belonging to the prelate, amounted, on an average, before the war terminated by

Manners.

The cathedral church does not merit a description but from the rank it holds in the hierarchy; not but that the interior is decorated with hangings and gilding, and that the sacerdotal robes and sacred vases are sufficiently splendid, but that its construction, its architecture, its dimensions, and its arrangements, are void of majesty and regularity. It is about 250 feet long, and 75 broad; it is low, and supported in the interior by 24 pillars, in four rows, which run the whole length of the cathedral. Tho two centre rows form the nave of the church, which is 25 feet broad; the other two rows divide the aisles at equal distances of 124 feet, sa that the nave alone is of the width of the two aisles, which are on its right and left. The chief altar, instead of being, like the Roman altars, in the centre, is placed against the wall. The choir occupies one half of the nave, and the arrangement of the church is such, that not more than 400 persons can see the officiating priest, at whatever altar he may be performing the service. The exterior does not evince any taste or skill in the architect; the steeple alone, without having received any embellishment from art, has at least the merit of a boldness to which the cathedral has no pretensions. The only clock in Caracas is in this steeple; it strikes the quarters, and keeps time pretty well. The humble architecture of the first church in Caracas springs from a source highly honourable to the inhabitants, and which we are therefore bound to relate. The episcopal chair having been translated from Coro to Caracas (as we have before observed), in 1636, there was no necessity, until this period, for a cathedral in this city; and when they had begun to carry into execution a project of erecting a magnificent church, there happened, on the 11th of June, 1641, a violent earthquake, which did great damage in the city. This was regarded as an admonition of heaven to make the fabric more capable of resisting this sort of catastrophe than of attracting the admiration of the curious. From this time, therefore, they no longer thought of, or rather they renounced, all ideas of magnificence, to give the building nothing but solidity. But as they had never since experienced any shock of an earthquake, they soon resumed the project of building a handsome cathedral.

The people of Caracas, like all the Spaniards, are proud of being Christians, and are very attentive to the duties of religion-that is, to the mass, days of obligation, to sermons and processions; but it is worthy of remark, that they do not admit vespers in the number of religious exercises, agreeably to the custom of Old Spain and other Catholic countries. It is necessary that the men going to church should wear a cloak or great coat, or that they be dressed in a long coat; one of these habits is indispensible, neither rank nor colour affording an exemption.

The dress of the women, worn only in sacred duties, is now made of silk or velvet, enriched with handsome

Stute

lace, which often costs from 400 to 800 dollars. Such 8. A as have no means of procuring the customary church RIC dress, are obliged to go to the masses that are said before day-break, and which are called missas de ma- Politic drugada, and are performed at these hours greatly for the and M. convenience of those who are destitute of clothes sufficiently decent to appear at church during the day. The Spaniards have no other festivals but those contained in the Roman calendar. They are so multiplied at Caracas that there are very few days in the year on which they do not celebrate the festival of some saint or virgin in one of the churches of the city. What greatly multiplies the number is, that each festival is preceded by nine days of devotion, consecrated entirely to prayers, and followed by eight days, in which the faithful of the neighbourhood, and even of the whole city, join to prayers public amusements, such as fire-works, music, balls, &c.; but the pleasures of these festivals never extend to the table. Public feasts, so common among all other people, are unknown on such occasions among the Spaniards. These people are sober even in the delirium of pleasure. The most striking part of their festivals is the procession of the saint they celebrate; they perform this always in the afternoon: the saint, represented by an effigy of human stature, is richly dressed; it is borne on a table handsomely decorated, and followed or preceded by some other saint of the same church, dressed less sumptu ously; a great number of banners and crosses open the cavalcade; the men walk in two lines; each of the principal persons holds a wax taper, then follow the music, the clergy, the civil officers, and at last the women and a file of bayonets. The followers are always very numerous. All the windows in the streets through which the procession passes are ornamented with floating streamers, which give the whole neighbourhood an air of festivity and rejoicing. The windows of the French, in particular, are filled with ladies, who repair from all parts of the city to view the agreeable spectacle. But the principal and almost exclusive devotion of the Spaniards is to the holy Virgin; they have her in every church under different denominations, and in every case she has established herself in a manner more or less miraculous.

The sum of the public amusements at Caracas is the playhouse, at which they perform only on festivals; the price of admission being a real, nearly sixpence English, a sum sufficiently indicating the talents of the actors, and the beauty and convenience of the theatre. All the plays, bad enough in themselves, are yet more miserably performed. The performers of Caracas may be compared to strolling players, who live by moving pity rather than by affording amusement; every body must suppose, from this description, that an exhibition of this sort is altogether deserted, but the reader may be assured that the rich and poor, the young and the old, the nobleman and plebeian, the governor and the governed, all assiduously frequent the theatre. Independently of three tennis-courts, a few billiard-tables in a bad condition, scattered through the city, and which are but rarely frequented, complete the catalogue of amusements at Caracas. Indeed the Spaniards appear averse to all places of amusement; they live in their houses as if they were prisons, they never quit them but to go to church, or to fulfil the offices imposed on them by their stations in society.