Year: 1860




Huasca, the Inca of Peru, who reigned
at 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, proclaimed that
whoever could find means of conveying wa
ter TO his palace and to Cuzce, with facility,
should receive in marriage his youngest
daughter-then a beautiful girl, in the first
bloom of womanho0d. This offer was no
sooner made than young man appeared
called Hassan, who declared himself capa-
BILE Of performing the great work. He was
Immediately furnished with as many men
and all the materials which he thought
proper to demand. and the work commenced
under very favorable auspices.


While the work wrs progressing, how
ever, an incident occurred which dampened
the ardor of the youth for the accomplish
ment of what he had undertaken and seem
ed to overthrow expectation OF its ever be-
ing accomplished Among the numerous
attendants at the work, who seemed to be
greatly Interested at its progress, was
poor and very beautiful young lady, with
whom the enthusiastic engineer became so
deeply enamored that his attention became
distracted and turned from the object upon
which his mind had hitherto been bent
de saw that the accomplishment of the
work he had undertaken would result in
his marriage with the Inca's daughter and
this, though accompanied by all the honors
the sovereign could bestow, would deprive
HIM of that which he valued more than
life, and tie him to bride whom he had
never seen, and had now ceased to desire
to know.


Owing to this state of Hassan's mind,
neglect, languor and disorder reigned in
the encampment of the working men,
which at first seemed to every one to arise
from a conviction on the part of the en-
gineer that the accomplishment of the stu
pendous work was beyond power. Some
time passed without any change, during
which HRssan had frequent opportunities
of meeting the young attendant TO whom
he had become so ardently attached. This,
however, was noticed by the people in such
manner as to induce the young girl to re-
/ opA ,.ott, ,rr1p 10 fbo &c fha
misunderstanding still more the mind
of the engineer, who was unable to obtain
any information concerning her.


The confusion into which everything was
thrown became known 10 the Inca, who
soon learned, also the real cause of the en-
gineers default, and determined TO take his
revenge by putting to death the subject
who had so grossly and so openly insulted
/ him. Hassan was sent for before his exc
cution, and appeared strongly guarded in
| the presence of the Inca, who sat upon his
throne of judgment, surrounded by his no.
bles. The Inca happening to be man Of
moderate passions, asked the culprit wheth-
er he had anything to say before his exc
cution, in extenuaiion of the crime of treat
ing his sovereign with contempt, by under
taking a work he was unable to accomplish,
or if able, by neglecting it, and thus failing
to win the hand of bis beautiful daughter,
for which all the young mobiles in the realm
I had sued in vain.


! To this the young man replied, that he
had only TO thank his sovereign for sill the
favors he had received, and more espec-
tally for that he was about to receive, which
would place him beyond the reach of such
intense suffering as he had endured since
he became acquainted with the innocent
cause of his misfortune.


At the moment the Inca was about to