Year: 1860

| A PERUVIAN LEGEND.
= Huasca, the Inca of Peru, who reigned in the
beginning of the sixteenth century, and who was
remarkable for his love Of the arts especially those
connected with the improvement Of his capital pro-
claimed that whosoever would find means Of con-
veying water with facility to his palace and to
Cuzo, should receive in marriage his youngest
daughter, then beautiful girl in the first bloom OF
womanhood. This offer was no sooner made, than
q young man appeared, call Hassan, who declared
himself capable ofperforming the great work. He
was Immediately furnished with as many men, and
all the material which he thought proper to de
mand, and the work was commenced.
| While the work, however, was in progress an
incident occurred which dampened the ardor Of
the youth for the accomplishment Of what he had
undertaken, and seemed TO overthrow all expccta-
tions of its ever being completed. Among the
numerous attendants upon the workmen for the
preparation of their food and the OF the camp
in which they dwelt, there appeared girl ofgreat
beauty, who, while attending upon her father, was
observed by the youthful engineer, who became so
violently enamored that his attention was distract
ed and turned from the object upon which his mind
had been hitherto bent. He saw that the accom-
plishment of the work he had undertaken would
result in his marriage with the daughter Of the
Inca, and this, though accompanied by all the
honors the sovereign could bestow, would deprive
hih vi thdt WHICH ut Ndiueu more Lndn lie, ana
tie him TO bride whom he had never seen and
had now ceased to desire to know.
Owing TO this state of Huascas mind, neglect
languor and disorder regned in the encampment of
the workmen, which at first seemed to every one
to arise from conviction on the part of the engi-
neer that the accomplishment of the work was be-
yond his power. Some time passed without any
change, during which Huasca had frequent oppor-
tunties of meeting the young attendant to whom
he had become attached. This, however, was by
and by remarked by the people in such a manner
as to induce the young girl TO retire, and, return
no more to the camp-dstracting still more the
mind Of the engineer, who was unable TO obtain
any further information concerning her.


The confusion into which everything was now
thrown became known to the Inca, who soon learn
ed also the real cause Of the engineers default and
determined to take his revenge by putting to death
the subject who had so grossly and so openly in
suited his sovereign. The author, however of
the offence was sent for before his execution and
appeared guarded, in the presence Of the Inca who
sat upon his throne, surrounded by his mobiles


iuasca, happening to be Al Dan of moderate pass
ions asked the culprit, in the presence Of his
mobiles, whether he had anything TO say before his
execution, in extenuaton of the crime he had COM
mitted, by treating his sovereign with contempt
To this the young man replied that he had only
TO thank his sovereign for all the favors he had re-
ceived, and more especially for that he was about
to receive which would place him beyond the reach
of such suffering as he had endured since he had
become acquainted with the innocent cause Of his
misfortune.


AT the moment that the Inca was about to COM
init him to the tender mercies of the executioners
the girl we have mentioned suddenly appeared
among the crowd mobiles, dressed as she had been
in the camp of the workmen, and rushing into the
centre of the hail. exclaimed:


Stay, lncal Arrest the hand of Justice for o
moment while | nuf M 10 tba nc
ate cuprii. II shall be such as the Inca will not
disapprove"


FROM the moment of this strange apparition,
until the demand of the girl, there was not sound
heard. The whole of the mobiles present remained
motionless and silent. But had no embarrassment
overwhelmed them, the presence of their sovereign
would have restrained equally their words and
their acts. Huasaca, who alone seemed unmoVed
nodded assent to the demand of the girl, who now
walked up to the youth, and laying her right hand
upon his left shoulder, and standing little on one
side, that his countenance might be well seen by
the Inca, said:


"Young man of the hills where the Inca is ever
known subject of the Huasca hast thou chosen
the child ofthe wales in preference to the daughter
Of thy sovereign


To which the youth, after stcadfastly regarding
the Inca, replied:


'The will of the Great Source of Light be done.
The sentence of the Inca is just"


Ihen turning to the girl, he added


lgo now with joy to dwell where shall await
thy coming, TO possess thee forever"


"But wherefore couldst thou not" then said the
girl accomplish the work which thou hast under
taken2'


at had been DONE" said the youth, 'had the
labor been accompanied by the hope ofpossessing
thee"


AT this reply the young girl, suddenly throwing
OIL her upper garments, which had hidden those
which would have betrayed her true character, and
taking the entranced youth by the hand, advanced
to the foot of the throne of the Inca, and exclam-
ed


'Great father of the children of the Son. whom
thou lowest as thyself demand the remission of the
sentence against this youth now bowed down be-
fore thee until II be known whether the great work
he has undertaken can be accomplished or not"


Inca Huasca whose affection for his daughter
was beyond all other feelings, signifed his assent
to the proposal. few months after this, the great
aqueduct was completed and the engineer and the
princess became man and wife