1036 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



in many places, the ino,'!t delicafe 

 Persian carpets. In fine, all the 

 sweets of nature seemed co'i.'Cfed in 

 one spot, to honour the sjcrcd iVs- 

 tival : and a gr.-ater asscmhlage of 

 people of all ranks, ag;>s, and con- 

 ditions, 1 ni'ver witnessed, even in 

 the most populous cify in Europe ; 

 nor so profound a silence and rej^u- 

 la ity, except when the pious rc- 

 sponst s were made. 



*' The governor was dressed in a 

 rich Spinish habit, tastily orna- 

 mented with gold, jewels, &c. lie 

 was surrounded by a numerous and 

 very splendid ntinue, as n;)ne but 

 the sick arc exempt from assistance 

 at this ceremony. 



" When the procPS<Jion rcathed 

 the cathedr.il the air was almost rent 

 by the multitude of voices ; and we 

 entered the edifice during a heavy 

 discharge of artillery from the g,ir- 

 rison and ships in the harbour, also 

 volleys of musquetry from the sol- 

 diers in the streets. Here higti mass 

 ■was celebra'ed. and the sacrament 

 administered ; which ceremony, of 

 course, occupied a considerable time, 

 and when ended, the ditfercnt com- 

 munities retired in the same order to 

 their respective convents. T*'e prin- 

 cipal visitors and caciques are invit- 

 ed to the governor's, where a plen- 

 tifnl banquet is provided for them, 

 composed of every delicary the 

 country affords. The eatables, &c. 

 with which the streets were adorned 

 are taken down, and distributed by 

 the parish priests among the inhabi- 

 tants, who entertain all stranjjers that 

 choose to partake of them. At night 

 there is a general rejoicins; ; when 

 some very ingenious fire-works arc 

 displayed, and national games ex- 

 hibited, such as hunting or baiting 

 the wild bull, &c. and various mar- 

 tial exercises, in which the inhabi- 



tants of IJuenos Ayrcs particularly 

 exctl. 



" Thesecustoms to an Knglishman 

 may ajipear strange, perlups ridicu- 

 lous ; but they are absolute y neces- 

 sary in all cat'iolic counfries, whereit 

 is the obje6t of the religious to mikc 

 as many converts as possible. Thes& 

 public ceremonies, then, are posi- 

 tively requisite : — you must at'ack 

 the senses, not the judgment, ol an 

 ignorant people. The Indians, in 

 p.rticular, are powerfully attracted 

 by church mu>ic : can- is theiefore 

 taken by the clergy here to invite as 

 many as possible to their splendid 

 festivals, that by vvitnefsing the 

 grandi'ir and solemnity of the spec- 

 tacle they might form a wish to bo~ 

 come members of a church which, to 

 all outward appearance, is so ex- 

 tremely fascinating. 



" At our return to the convent 

 we sat down to a very sumptuous 

 and elegant dinner, composed of 

 every delicacy of the year, 'f'his i> 

 a peculiar indulgence granted them 

 by his holiness the pope ; otherwise 

 the order profess ab (inence and 

 mortification." 



The condition of (he Indian inha- 

 bitants is repeatedly to^sched upon 

 by Mr. Davie, but intoo loote and 

 desultory a manner to piove per- 

 fctUy satisfactory. It is however 

 clear, that the arbitrary tyranny of 

 the Spanish government is still exer- 

 cised to an intolerable degree, and 

 that force alone can ke( p the natives 

 in subjection. The itinerant and 

 advenfurous missionaries dispersed 

 over the whole of Paraguay mitigate, 

 to the utmost of their power, the 

 severities exercised upon these poor 

 creatures by their unrelenting task. 

 masters, but in no decree sufficient 

 to alleviate the loss of liberty ; and 

 but few Indians are now to be seen in 



the 



