282 CANOE-YOYAGE DOWN THE EIO NArO. 



the time when the last representative of the Peruvian 

 people shall have ceased to speak the tongue of his an- 

 cestors.* 



* The Hindoo origin of the Incas has been inferred from the similar- 

 ity in grammatical construction of the languages of both ; between two 

 and three hundred of these coincidences have been pointed out. The 

 Quichua abounds in compound words ; the conjugations and declensions 

 are formed by particles, and by the use of different words. From the 

 admirable v.'ork, " Cuzco and Lima," by C. R. Markham, we take the fol- 

 lowing specimen of lucarial verse, to illustrate the advance made in the 

 department of poetry by the early Incas. It was taken down from the 

 lips of the Indians, soon after the Spanish conquest. 



A chieftain had fallen in love with the daughter of an Inca, but had 

 been refused her hand by her father, and the daughter herself (Cusi Coy- 

 llur) had been severely reproved, when she is represented as indulging in 

 this lament : _ 



" Ay Nustallay ! Ay Mamallay ! 



How can I fad to mourn ? 



How can I fail to weep ? 



My father so dear to me, 



My guardian so beloved. 



In all these days and nights, 



In this my tender age. 



Has quite forgotten me. 



Without asking for mo. 



Ay Mamallay ! Ay Nustallay I 



Ah, my adored lover ! 



In the morning that I came here, 



The day became dark. 



The sun seemed obscure in the heavens, 



As if it were shrouded in ashes. 



The clouds of burning fire 



Announced my grief. 



The resplendent star Chasca ^ 



Sped out its rays. 



All the elements were weary, 



And the universe was tired. 



Ay Mamallay ! Ay Nustallay ! 



Ah, my adored lover ! 



' Yenus. 



