238 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS. 



his own coin, by publishing the folhes of his brother Yaco, 

 the husband whom heaven has bestowed on me as a punish- 

 ment for my sins. 



It is now four years since I was married to this dear man, 

 who until very lately followed the avocation of a miner. Twice 

 a year he undertook a journey to his mines. He constantly set 

 out with many hopes ; and with these fair prospers he enter- 

 tained me, whenever I asked of him any aid which might con- 

 tribute to my own decent support, or to that of the family ; 

 but came back with empty bags, and with a heart overwhelmed 

 with sorrow. He never had a kind word to bestow on his un- 

 fortunate wife. During our short intervals of repose, he en- 

 tertained me with a history of his discoveries, of the improve- 

 ments he had made, of his disputes with the Indians, of the 

 proje6ts he had formed, and other absurdities of the same 

 stamp and currency. He never made the smallest inquiry after 

 my health, or that of the children. He was likewise embarked 

 in commerce. When a ship arrived from Spain, he was in- 

 cessantly engaged, like a distra6led man, in making trips to 

 Callao and back again. It chanced, however, one day, that 

 the guards detedfed him in a small contraband traffic : he came 

 home to vent his spleen on me, a-nd dared to lift his hand 

 against me. It is thus that all his chagrins, losses, and ca- 

 prices, fall on poor me ; and I have the additional mortifica- 

 tion to hear him repeat every where, that I am a bad woman, 

 and do not deserve to possess such a husband. 



An inheritance which has fallen to him unexpe6ledly in la 

 Sierra, has enabled him to emerge from the pursuits of his pri- 

 mitive sphere. We have at this time a considerable income ; 

 but on that account my condition is not bettered. In some 



things 



