I 22 



BULL-FIGHT AT LIMA. 



Instead, however, of his being afflicted at the 

 change, it is probable he secretly rejoiced at his 

 dismissal from the command. He had done his 

 duty as long as he could, by making a respect- 

 able stand against the enemy ; and it was clear, 

 that he must, ere long, have yielded up the capital, 

 not so much to the force of San Martin's army, as 

 to the overwhelming influence of public sentiment, 

 the tide of which had decidedly turned, and was 

 at this time flowing directly against the Spanish 

 authority. 



During the first few days, our thoughts were so 

 much taken up with official duties, that little time 

 was left for observing either the town or the 

 society. We became every day more and more 

 sensible of our precarious footing, and the neces- 

 sity of observing the greatest circumspection in 

 our intercourse with these jealous people. Living 

 entirely on board ship, would at once have con- 

 firmed all their suspicions of our favouring the 

 enemy, whose squadron was anchored in the outer 

 Roads ; while residing altogether at Lima might 

 have been attributed to our wish to spy into the 

 nakedness of the land. The course we did follow, 

 of being at Lima, or at Callao, or on board, as 

 circumstances required, though it did not exempt 

 us from suspicion, was the best we could adopt ; 

 and we hoped, by caution and forbearance, to 

 avoid giving cause of offence ; but in this, as will 

 be seen, we found ourselves much mistaken. 



CHAPTER V. 



Bull-Fights at Lima.— Marquis of Montemira.— Ex-Inquisi- 

 tor — Manners and Dress of Limenian Ladies.— Distressed 

 State of Lima, in consequence of the War. — Dissension in 

 the City. 



Being desirous of ascertaining, an all occasions, 

 the real state of popular feeling, which generally 

 develops itself at public meetings, I went to one 

 of the bull-fights, given in honour of the new 

 Viceroy's installation. It took place in an immense 

 wooden amphitheatre, capable of holding, it was 

 said, twenty thousand people. As we had been 

 disappointed at Valparaiso by a sham bull-fight, 

 we hoped here to witness an exhibition worthy of 

 the mother country. But the resemblance was, I 

 suspect, not less faulty, though in the opposite 

 extreme ; for the bulls were here put to death 

 with so many unusual circumstances of cruelty, as 

 not only, lam told, to make it unlike the bull-fights 

 of Spain, but to take away all pleasure in the 

 spectacle from persons not habituated to such sights. 

 These exhibitions have been described by so many 

 travellers, that it is needless here to do more than 

 advert to some circumstances which are said to be 

 peculiar to those of Lima. 



After one of the bulls had been repeatedly 

 speared, and tormented by darts and fire- works, 

 and was all streaming with blood, the matador, on 

 a signal from the Viceroy, proceeded to despatch 

 him. Not being, however, sufficiently expert, he 

 merely sheathed his sword in the animal's neck 

 without the intended effect. The bull instantly 

 took his revenge, by tossing the matador to a great 

 height in the air, and he fell apparently dead in 

 the arena. The audience applauded the bull, 

 while the attendants carried off the matador. 

 The bull next attacked a horseman, dismounted 



him, ripped up the horse's belly, and bore both him 

 and his rider to the ground ; the horse was not 

 suffered to die in peace, but being raised on his legs, 

 was urged, by whipping and goading, to move 

 round the ring in a state too horrible to be 

 described, but which afforded the spectators the 

 greatest delight. The noble bull had thus suc- 

 ceeded in baffling his tormentors as long as fair 

 means were used, when a cruel device was thought 

 of to subdue him. A large curved instrument 

 called a Luna was thrown at him, in such a way 

 as to divide the hamstrings of the hind-legs ; such, 

 however, were his strength.and spirit, that he did 

 not fall, but actually travelled along at a tolerable 

 pace on his stumps, — a most horrible sight ! This 

 was not all ; for a man armed with a dagger now 

 mounted the bull's back, and rode about for some 

 minutes to the infinite delight of the spectators, 

 who were thrown into ecstacies, and laughed and 

 clapped their hands at every stab given to the 

 miserable animal, not for the purpose of killing 

 him, but to stimulate him to accelerate his pace ; 

 at length the poor beast, exhausted by loss of 

 blood, fell down and died. 



The greater number of the company, although 

 females, seemed enchanted with the brutal scene 

 passing under their eyes, and I looked round, in 

 vain, for a single face that looked grave : every 

 individual, indeed, seemed quite delighted. It 

 was melancholy to observe a great proportion of 

 children amongst the spectators ; from one of 

 whom, a little girl, of only eight years old, I 

 learned that she had already been present at three 

 bull-fights ; the details of which she gave with 

 great animation and pleasure, dwelling especially 

 on such horrid circumstances as I have described. 

 It would shock and disgust to no purpose to give 

 a minute account of other instances of wanton 

 cruelty, which, however, appeared to be the 

 principal recommendation of these exhibitions. 

 But it was impossible to help feeling, in spite of 

 our much-talked-of neutrality, that any change 

 which would put a stop to such proceedings was 

 greatly to be wished. In every instance in South 

 America, where the cause of Independence has 

 succeeded, two measures have been invariably 

 adopted : one the abolition of the slave-trade, and 

 as far as possible of slavery ; the other, the relin- 

 quishment of bull-fights. With respect to the 

 slave question, most people think alike ; but many 

 hesitate as to the propriety of doing away the 

 bull-fights, especially they who have witnessed them 

 in Spain only, or who have never witnessed them 

 at all ; but it is rare to hear any one condemn 

 their abolition after having been present at those 

 of Lima. 



I heard a Chilian gentleman offer a curious 

 theory on this subject. He declared that the 

 Spaniards had systematically sought by these cruel 

 shows, and other similar means, to degrade the 

 taste of the colonies, and thereby more easily to 

 tyrannize over the inhabitants. The people, he 

 said, first rendered utterly insensible to the feel- 

 ings of others, by a constant familiarity with 

 cruelty and injustice, soon became indifferent to 

 the wrongs of their country, and in the end lost 

 all motive to generous exertion in themselves. 



An excellent old Spaniard, of whom I shall have 

 occasion to speak hereafter, stated, that these 

 bull-fights were totally different from those exhi- 



