Maracaybo.
The Times, 1824-07-12T00:00:00

The following letter, which was received byfe Ult mail frorm tht Leeward Ilands, gives an amusing delineatlo's of 4te state of muan- ners int ;racaybo, one of the principal towns o6 the Coombian IIain. But itassumes a higher value in showingby nernal evi-' ence howv tranqully affairs were proceeding in a plce which the last notable accounts in the Madid Gazte and the Ewoile (par so. t bile f;atr:,j had representted to have been itn a state of Insurre- Ition, and falIen tnto the powter of the Royali6tti: "1 qutte~tThom~s on he Alarucaybo, 2,2d IMay, 1824. I quitteStThemas's on t'sts 30th of April. On fte 4th dapywe passed the bar of Maracaybo, andanchored opposite the fortofSarc Carlos, a fine Picturesque castle, planted on the borders of the lske, and surrounded with dark groves of cork trees. TheneXt mnorning a pilot and an officer frem the castle came on board to conduct us to the town, about 20 miles distnt. In our way 'we passed the Ptinta de Pstnmas and Altagraci, the snes of lte desperate actions os the lake, of which there remains no other inemento but- the solitarywreckof aSpanish brig. After having received a visit from the constituted authoriiies, and after having been annoYed by their questlonsewewerepermited toland. Weproceede4topayoarreepects to the Govcrnor,a shortfatrman, with monstrousraustachio, which he was conatinually wirling. Thereis a genetejlorder.that aUmirtire,s shall wear musmehies, wbhib has the efftect of metamnorpnosing 1;l, farthe greater patt into the strangestfigures imaginahe. ,From the Governor's, we wentta tbeJuez Politico. Corsceive my astanishment thenatseeingtbisgravepersonageexerc,slg the functionsofajudgeat hisdinnertable, withno othergarmentbuta shirtand trorserti,ol.ing in his hand a monstrous plantain, whieb he, and a naked boy on his knee, alternately bit. Opposite was his wife likewise, with only two gaiments, a chemise, just above her waist, and the kirt of a gown considerdbly below it. Theydid notseemamuchdiseoncerted, though you may be sure I made my visit as short as possible. "The town of-araraybo ha3 very much the appearance of an old English country town; the houses are mostly built in the shaae of en oblong snuare with a court-yard in the middle, end as gUery running round. With very fewexceptions, the flGors are ofbrick, and the walls of plaster: there are four very ine churches,'Jichly deco- rated. They afferd a strong evidence of the power formerly exer- cised by the priesthood, their magnificence and grandet~r far sur- passing what the size and appearanee of the town would give you reason to expect.Under the present Governmentno oneseemnstoce for the priests: it is no wonder, therefore, that they havebeen gene- rally stanch Royalists. I have never seen a dozen men at any onp of the churches; they are filled indeed, but by women. The univer- sal dress for church, among all asss, is a black Fown, 2ad white shawl, which is tbrown over the head, partly covering it," and fail- iag not ungracefully on their shoulders. I cannot sav t6i 1 ama captivated with the ladies of Alaracaybo: they have fine expressive eyes, but that is generally their cnly beauty. Their figutes arebad, nor do they attempt to improve them by the use of stays. They love music and dancing almost to madnesB; a fine milita3y hand plays bere every evening; erowds of women surround it; the lowerctssses openly dancinv, while the rolling eye, the quih3rin& linbs of the ladies, show what they suffer from tbe restraint which dlcnrum in- poses. T'he Spanish country-dances are very pretty, though the dif- ficulty of the figures deter many from attempting them. Not withstanding that the men here in general dance very badly, four out of five are milituircs, and as the Government ,des not pay them, they wea what uniforms they please, th. out the least regard to consistency or propriety; thus, wnen assembled together, they present a most grotesque appearance- some with jack;ets, some with coats, some with gold, others with silver epaulets, besides an endless diversity of embroideries,feathers, &c. The soldiers cut a much more respectable figure: they have lately received from England a neat and becoming niiforn, but the- greater part go without shoes, considering themn an useles ancum-. brance. The Colombian army is mostly composed of thenativenIn- dians. They are generally of a tawny complexion, but some are-. completely black; thev undergo hardships and fatigues that are al- most Incredile. An Englishman, Colonel Farrier, assureir me that during the last campaign, the reiment which he commanasjmarched 80 miles in two days, through places where they had literaIly to cat their own road, withoutany thmng whatever to eat for tht two days. A few days ago, General Urdaneta (late President of the Senate) arrived here to take the command of the department. The munici. zity deternmned give him a dinner, and the merchurts a balL- ' he dinner took place last Thursday, and in cempHimnt to M1adame Urdaneta ladies 1ere invited. All the viands were put to table at onte. The wa-ters were females, whom I found to be neither expeditious nor civiL Before thi mutton, turkeys, &c. were removed. the toasts commenced. Tie first was 'Bolivar;' the second, ' Urdaneta;' and the third, i iny vesy great utpraise, ' Utranetsj again. After this, every body rose from the table and lounged about for half an hour, during which t'ne servantsasanged the desser under the direction ofthelidi. After we bad sat down, General trdaneta was toasted nix th3tm more - evidently to his own great annoyance; but the fact was, that a ge. neral 'rabies loqaewdi' seemed to visit all the Governtrientocicers in praise of their new Chief. On the King of Engsnd's health being drank, an E5nglhmana gotw upand made a most lengthy and soiraiferous oration in E nglish. The poor people who-were com- pelled to hear him, without understanding a word, yawned most ter- nbly; and they did not seem a btt better pleased when, after he hae. finfshed, he very coolly handed a Spanish translation to a friend of his, who then spouted it for the benefit of the ' country members.' "This country,in spite of all the inconvenience attendant on traveI- llng in it, presents so much amusement and gratifiction fbr cariosi- ty, that I seall probably extend my travels beyond what I orginally intended, and visit the otherprindpcl Dlaces on the coast." -MARACAYha-