The Press. — London, England, 1854-06-03 00:00:00

120 pleased with his tribute to the memory of an ornament of his own profession, in which talent and character will find surer rewards than genius often gains when it worships the Muses. Brazil, the River Plate, and the Falkland Islands; with the Cape Horn Route to Australia, ac. By William Hadfield. London Longmans. MR. HADFIELD'S book is partly a narrative of travel, partly a compilation, the latter charac ter preponderating. He relies rather on other men's testimony than on his own experience ; but, possessing much personal knowledge of the countries described, he is qualified to weigh evidence, and select from former writers such passages as best illustrate the state of South American society. As a guide-book we know no work superior to his ; and it has the merit of condensation to a remarkable degree. The style is not particularly pleasing, but it is unaffected. The only critical fault which we are disposed to find is the unnecessary amount of space given to details respecting Portugal and Madeira, both too well known to require farther description. Mr. Hadfield's sketches of Brazil, the valley of the Amazon, La Plata, and Para guay are all excellent; the matter they contain being far too varied to allow of our doing more than giving a sample here and there. Here is a notice of Rosas, his government and charac ter, quoted from the hostile testimony of General O'Brien : Bow is known to me for five-and•twenty years. For his early education he was indebted to Maza, afterwards presi dent of the Buenos Ayres Congress. His calling in life was that of a " capataz," or care-taker of the property of his relatives, the Anchorenas, and this brought him into constant intercourse with the wild Indian tribes of the Pampas. He ingratiated himself greatly with these tribes, for he not only conformed himself to their habits, but he also won the favour of their Caciques by presents, judi ciously distributed amongst them. This was his state of life until 182 I, when the influence of his kinsmen, the Ancho- rams, obtained for him the lieutenant-colonelcy of the militia of the frontiers of the Indian territory. It was then, and not till then, that he appeared as a soldier. It was to aid Martin Rodriguez in a successful revolution ; but, once the victory of his friend had been secured, he again retired to the Pampas, .put himself in contact with the Patagonian and Pampa Indians, and thus added to his popularity and his influence amongst that savage race of men. Roses maintained his friendly relations with the Indians until the civil war, in 1829, in Buenos Ayres. In that war the Pre. sident Borrego was shot by Lavalle, and Rosas at once be. came the head of the party of I)orrego. With the death of Dorrego commence the calamities of that part of the world. The conduct, the bearing, and the demeanour of Rosas were such as to obtain for him universal approbation. He gained in his favour the opinions of the good whilst he was concocting schemes for winning the bad. He left the society of civilised men, and again repaired to the Indians. It was under his auspices, it has since been discovered, that the Indians were incited to attack the property of those who were civilised; and their hostility was especially directed by Roam against all whom he believed would be ca pable or disposed to resist his attempts of possessing himself of despotic power. He established a camp which had all the privileges of a sanetaary for every malefactor of every dis• trict, from Buenos Ayres to Upper Peru and the Cordilleras of the Andes. His protectorate of crime was not avowed, bat it was actively exercised. It shielded the criminal from the punishment of man, and it won impunity by the perpetration of new atrocities upon all who were suspected by Rosas. Between 1829 and 1833 Rosas laid the founda tion for that despotism which he has since exercised. The means he employed were worse even than the object itself, for they consisted in " the organisation of a band of aims. sins." It is alleged that the Dictator maintained in his employ a band of bravoes, whose sole duty was to execute his vengeance on obnoxious persons, native or foreign. By these was per petrated the murder of the Kidd family (Eng lish) some ten years back. They numbered nine persons, of all ages; had not interfered in polities ; and were found dead one morning, with marks of violence On their bodies, the corpses ranged in order, and their property untouched. This deed was openly boasted of as done by the orders of Rosas, though the intervention of the British Minister compelled him to disavow it, and even to offer a reward for the discovery of the offenders. This san guinary Government has done, according to our author, little or nothing for the people : The name of Roses has been so long identified with Buenos Ayres that you no sooner find yourself within the recent sphere of his undisputed and unquestioned domina tion than you naturally ask, where exist the monuments of his activity and the proofs of his successful promotion of the interests of this his dependent capital ? Beyond a large town residence, Which he built for government pur posse, oountry residence, called Palermo, and n mole oesetruoted in !trout of the sea, there is nothing to mark the THE PRESS. reign of a man desirous of elevating the character of his coun trymen in the scale of civilised nations, or of contributing to their commercial prosperity, 1 n spite of civil wars and bad go vernment the city of Buenos Ayres has contrived to extend itself, although the country round it is more or less in a state of desolation; but he has failed to leave any enduring personal impress, either outside or inside, of those walls where for many years he ruled lord of life and means, and almost of thought, so comprehensive and exhaustive was his despotism. The town residence alluded to is now oc cupied by the executive for public purposes, and the private one at Palermo will soon go to ruin and decay. This latter characteristic evidence of selfish gratification, with out either taste, utility, or architectural design, has cost endless sums of money ; but the approximate extent of the outlay will never be known. Palermo is built on a swampy bank of the river, with only a ground floor, at times several feet under water, which must be a prolific source of fever and ague. • • • • • • A good level road has been carried from the city to Pa lermo, at considerable expense, the approach being " through an avenue of willows," made to look as park like as possible. About the house, or palace, as it might have been called in the days of its glory, are numerous out buildings and barracks for cavalry, of which Roses always kept a strong body-guard, as might naturally have been ex pected from his antecedents, he having principally risen to power in the first instance among his fellow guachos by the superior daring and dexterity of his horsemanship ' • added, of course, to his extreme adroitness in turning to his own account the dissensions of his rivals in the race for power. Passing the house, down another long avenue towards the river, you are surprised at seeing a large vessel, evidently fitted up for some special purpose. It appears she was driven ashore there in some heavy gale, and Boggs had her converted into a pleasure-house, where balls and parties were held—another toy or plaything suited to the character of the man. Nature being found rather stubborn in yield ing to the wishes of the owner of Palermo, immense sums were expended in planting orange-trees, evergreens, and exotics, of one kind or another, which were brushed and combed daily, and coaxed into a sickly existence, but it would not do. Nothing but willows nourish, or will con tinue to flourish, over the dilapidated abode from which issued many a bloody decree of this Borgia of the Pampas. Of Urquiza a far more favourable character is given. He is represented as mild, tempe rate, and only too well disposed to be a fit ruler for a barbarous people like the Pamperos. No wilder race exists on the earth's surface than these. The true guacho raises no crops, performs no regular labour, lives on flesh and water exclusively, and supports himself by the slaughter of his half-wild cattle. The knife is his constant companion, necessary to his ex istence, and often used in affrays. The nature of the country secures comparative impunity for crime; hence law is little respected, courage and adroitness being the first requisites for success, or even safety. Of Paraguay and its rulers we have a more satisfactory description. The country is emi nently fertile, and, as now proved, accessible to commerce : the people appear inclined to peace. On Francia s death all was disorder. That extraordinary man had centralised the whole government in his own person, ruling literally without a minister, and reducing his employis to the position of simple clerks. Education was at a standstill; all schools closed ; even many of the churches deserted (a rare event in Spanish America) ; trade ruined, agriculture neglected. Fortunately to these evils nothing was added by the ambition of rival leaders. Lopez stepped quietly into the vacant place, at first aided by a colleague, who instead of embarrassing his government rea dily deferred to his intellectual superiority. The President, previous to his elevation, had led the life of a country gentleman, abandon ing that of a lawyer as too dangerous. This absolute retirement saved him from Francia's cruelty, and he seems to have owed his suc cess simply to the respect inspired by a high character combined with recognised abilities. His administration has been mild, just, and politic, contrasting in every respect with that of his predecessor, for whom no one except Mr. Carlyle was ever found to say a good word. The Paraguayan tariff is still high; but a desire for foreign trade has sprung up among the people, with whom the prospect of increased communication with the outer world is popular. Ample justice is done by Mr. Hadfield to the diplomatic victory obtained by Lord Malmesbury and Sir C. Hotham in the open ing of the great rivers. He predicts that the Amazon will soon be similarly set free to the trade of all nations. Brazil requires nothing more than steam navigation, her immense territorial area, and the want of roads, forming the great obstacles to her development. Some years ago a revolt in Para remained Unknown SATURDAY, at Rio until the news arrived—by way of Eng land ! Of the Brazilian character Mr. Hadfield speaks highly, and gives the Government full credit for sincerity in its efforts to put down slave-trading. Slavery exists throughout the empire in a mild form, as even philanthropists admit. European immigration has commenced on a large scale, but the climate is unsuitable, and importers of labour are beginning to look to China for their supplies. The humanity and comparative civilisation of the Brazilian character were admitted in the Buenos Ayrean wars, when their troops alone gave quarter to prisoners taken in arms. It is no slight gua rantee for Brazilian progress that the standing army is small, and without political influence. It numbers in all less than 23,000 men, the militia being double that number. Neither the Emperor nor his Ministers are soldiers. The debt is small, the Government constitu tional, the Imperial Family personally beloved.. Unless Mr. Hadfield is much misled, all, in ternally as well as externally, promises well for the prosperity of the only transatlantic monarchy. Dona Blanca of Navarre. An Historical Romance. By Don Francisco Navarro Villoslada. London : Bosworth. IT is stated in the translator's preface that the original of this fiction has met with great suc cess in Spain ; and we should not be surprised at such a fact, as its striking scenes and strong colour are calculated to recommend such a tale amongst a romantic people. The plot is laid in Navarre during the troubles by which it was distracted in the fifteenth cen tury, and the tale seems to be founded on some of the facts recorded in Quintana's life of Don Carlos. In construction the story is very deficient, as a period of fifteen years is supposed to elapse between the end of the first and the beginning of the second volumes, and the incidents throughout are too loosely put together to satisfy English readers. The most striking character in the tale is Ximeno, a captain of Free Lances, by birth, but not by creed, a Jew; and the retributive justice which he inflicts upon one of the Queens of Navarre for having poisoned a maiden whom he loved is powerfully described. Several passages are interspersed throughout the story written with intensity, and, with more practice in the art of storytelling, the author could probably gain considerable distinction. In some parts we are reminded that he has studied " Ivanhoe " and " Kenilworth," but his historical descrip tions want verisimilitude and antiquarian familiarity with the times of which he treats. As a specimen of the author's intensity we shall take a portion of his description of a Jew buried alive, clasped in a contrivance of his own invention fur securing a chest of dia monds ! Oh! who can describe the shriek the old man uttered when he attempted to rise, and found himself fixed, crushed against the metal plate, doomed to die of thirst and hunger, beside those treasures which might have pro vided food for entire armies? To find relief, he even licked from the iron the drops of perspiration which fell from his forehead ; and the coldness of the metal assuaged his thirst for a moment, only to irritate it more What frightful tortures did he suffer on account of those fatal treasures, which he had accumulated at the cost of so many privations and so many crimes ! For a cup of water he would have given the half of his diamonds. A cup of water: The most glowing imagination cannot picture to itself richer, sweeter, more enchanting illusions than those which the old man saw through the glass of fresh, pure, crystal water. Translucent streamlet ; foaming cascades, which sprinkled their flowery margin with Pearla and were overhung with rainbows of the softest hues; roaring torrents, grottoes, fountains, transparent rivers — the sea! But it was a sea, black, deep, boundless : a sea, calm and terrible—fit emblem of the Deity ;it brought to his memory the crimes which he had committed—the black billows became red—the water was turned into blood; and there floated Carlos the Prince of Viana; Blanca of Navarre; Catalina de Beaumont—pale spectres relieved against a tempestuous sky, furrowed at intervals by light. ning, flashed, as the Jew fancied, from the eye of the Omnipotent. But as the hours passed his hunger and thirst became more and more intolerable ; he thought the vault was filled with serpents which gnawed his vitals; and to rid himself of those loathsome reptiles he tore his breast with his nails ; and such was his thirst that he greedily sucked the blood with which the tips of his fingers were besmeared. In the midst of his horrible sufferings he once thought he heard footsteps over the slab which covered the entrance to the vault. Oh ! what a transport of jk - • did he fee!! He tried to shout, but his voice was hoarse, feeble, faint; he