BUENOS AYRES FROM THE AÇOTEA OR, TERRACE OF THE QUINTA.

BUENOS AYRES—QUINTA, FORMERLY THE SEAT OF THE BRITISH LEGATION.

Any lengthened description of Buenos Ayres, beyond what is supplied in the note below,[85] and that on the illustration, would be superfluous, so many thousand English having visited and recorded their experiences of it; but it is very questionable whether the public generally have any adequate idea of the magnitude of the city, the extent of its inland territory, or the leading characteristics of both. At all events, very few works have been published from which accurate information of this kind can be derived; the recent and most valuable one of Sir Woodbine Parish being as yet only partially known, in consequence of its being but a second edition of one published several years ago; and even since the second edition appeared, scarcely two years back, there is necessity for further information, so unstable is the condition of things, and so rapid the mutation of momentous events in these regions. Certainly there is ample scope for dissertation in all that comes under one’s notice here, look with what indifference or contempt we may upon the individuals and parties by whom political occurrences are influenced. First, as regards the climate and people: the difference in temperature between Buenos Ayres and Rio Janeiro at this season of the year is from 20 to 30 deg., and after four or five days’ sailing, you find yourself obliged to change the lightest possible clothing for English tweeds and stout broad-cloth, which, mindful of such vicissitude, and therein being much more provident than some of my fellow voyagers, I had fortunately with me. It is a precaution I would recommend all voyagers in the Plate to adopt, as it is one that will not only save them much inconvenience at the outset, but probably obviate a material cause of subsequent illness, consequent upon exposure to such rapid transitions as are here experienced, especially until the traveller becomes somewhat acclimated.

The mornings and evenings are positively cold, even according to our English acceptation of the word; and most houses had fires in their sitting rooms. In the day time the sun is warm and pleasant; the air of that bracing kind which is calculated to raise the animal spirits, and give a tone and energy to the mind. The difference, too, in the people between this place and Brazil is remarkable:—strong, healthy-looking men, clear complexioned, bright-eyed women, many of whom have as much bloom on their cheeks as would become an English dairy-maid. Of course, there is a considerable mixture of races; but the true native Buenos Ayreans can be easily distinguished by their rather dark but clear complexion, dark eyes, and dark hair, strongly-marked sharp features, and somewhat aquiline nose; whilst the Guachos, or horsemen of the Pampas, the South American Bedouins, combining the attributes of their Hispaniolan forefathers with the later ‘blood of the desert,’ are the most picturesque-looking objects in the world, being dressed in fancy-coloured ponchos, with much ornamental work about them, and long, embroidered white trousers, galloping about on equally grotesque-looking steeds. They remind one immediately of Arab sketches, or, still more vividly, of real Arabs, if you have been fortunate enough to have made the overland trip, and beheld the followers of the Prophet in the land of dates, palm-trees, and dromedaries; many of these Guachos being, also, immensely muscular, fine-looking men. Numerous black faces are also to be seen here, the owners thereof being all free, and mostly occupied as regular soldiers, as likewise at Monte Video.

Buenos Ayres literally forms a regular chess-board, as the plans of the city show. It is about four miles square, and supposed to contain nearly 100,000 inhabitants; but as no census has ever been taken, this is only conjecture: some asserting that there are 120,000, others, not 80,000; and others again, as low as 50,000.[86] At all events, the mass of the houses being well occupied, rents are very high, paying the owners from 12 to 20 per cent. per annum; so there would appear to be plenty of occupants, and great encouragement to go on building. The same remark as to the description, extent, and elegance, of private houses, applies here precisely as in the capital of the Uruguay, only that they are ten to one in number, more costly and elegant; indeed, the city itself, compared with Monte Video, is as London to Liverpool, the great maritime and commercial advantages and facilities of the one being regarded as an equivalent, and perhaps more than an equivalent, to the architectural and general urban superiority of the other. The size of the (fifteen) Buenos Ayrean churches is something marvellous; and it is impossible to enter them without admiring these monuments of the power and wealth exercised by the Jesuits, as well as of that undaunted tenacity of Spanish character which could erect such huge piles in a country where there are neither bricks, mortar, nor stones on the spot, all having to come from a distance. But, as we have said, the brick-work in many of them has never been completed; and they look very bad when contrasted with the glaring white of other parts of the building, covered with large patches of grass and rubbish. The cathedral is the crowning point of Buenos Ayrean attractions, only more modern, and the exterior is in the same unfinished state as much older edifices; the interior being gorgeously ‘fitted up’ with numerous side altars and oratories, well cleaned, lighted, and ventilated, with numerous glass chandeliers down the nave. There is less tinsel and glare than in many Roman Catholic churches in Europe, but more solidity and pleasing effect; nor can a stranger help expressing surprise on entering so fine a building, whose architectural merit is enhanced by its situation in so handsome a square, the other sides being occupied by the Cabilda, or police-office, and good shops and dwelling-houses, with striking piazzas. There is also an ornamental archway on the side facing the sea, looking towards the old fort and government house, together with a pillar in the centre of the square, to commemorate the independence of the country. This square has been the scene of many important political changes: it was here that our brave soldiers under General Whitelock forced their way, and from the Square Manzo, what is now styled Calle de Defensa (Defence-street), by which the troops entered the town, and were shot down from the flat tops of the houses,[87] without the power or means of defending themselves. It does not require a military eye to see the error and folly of the tactics pursued in this melancholy business, nor to be satisfied with how little trouble and loss of life such an army as the British, so circumstanced, could have reduced a city like Buenos Ayres, even supposing they had preferred a more summary process to that of starving out the enemy. There was an infatuation about the whole affair for which it is difficult to account, especially when coupled with the gratuitous surrender of Monte Video, under the same terms as those which ensured the capitulation of Whitelock, a clause inserted by the Spanish general, Liniers, without the least idea that it would be acceded to. But, at that period, imbecility and absurdity the most incredible seemed to preside at our military councils, leading to the same futile and mortifying results as had characterized our operations in Walcheren and elsewhere in Europe, some few years before. With Monte Video and Buenos Ayres under our flag, it is difficult to conjecture what might not have been the fate of a country traversed by boundless rivers, and in every way so admirably adapted to the agricultural pursuits of Englishmen. The tide of emigration from our own shores would then, in all probability, have flowed freely towards this part of the world, and the United States of North America have taken considerably more time to develope themselves, and to have attained their present position, which, of course, has been reached mainly in consequence of the enormous influx of the redundant bone, sinew, and brain of Europe. On such slight threads and events does the destiny of nations often hang. But it is time that we leave speculation for fact.

The name of Rosas has been so long identified with Buenos Ayres, that you no sooner find yourself within the recent sphere of his undisputed and unquestioned domination 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 purposes, a country residence, called Palermo, and a mole constructed in front of the sea, there is nothing to mark the reign of a man desirous of elevating the character of his countrymen in the scale of civilized nations, or of contributing to their commercial prosperity. In spite of civil wars and bad government, 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 occupied 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, without 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. It is reported of Rosas, that on one occasion the water was so high, that the cook sent him word he could not dress his dinner; but on ascertaining that the kitchen-fires were not out, the command was to prepare the meal forthwith. The unfortunate subterranean ruler of the roast did so at once, congratulating himself that he only suffered the penalty of a severe attack of rheumatism, instead of the more summary visitation wherewith the dictator generally followed up the slightest implied opposition to his wishes, even in so trumpery a matter as the one we speak of.

A good level road has been carried from the city to Palermo, 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 Rosas always kept a strong body-guard, as might naturally have been expected 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 dissentions 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 Rosas 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 yielding to the wishes of the owner of Palermo, immense sums were expended in planting orange trees, ever-greens, 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 flourish, or will continue to flourish, over the dilapidated abode from which issued many a bloody decree of this Borgia of the Pampas.

I have no wish to say anything unnecessarily harsh of Rosas: on the contrary, knowing, as I do, what was the state of parties in this portion of South America, I am quite willing to admit the extreme exigency of his position in the first instance, as one who must put down, with an iron, and even a remorseless, hand, that universal anarchy and violence in the midst of which he attained the eminence of being the most daring and sanguinary member of a community of semi-civilized brigands. But what should silence, or rather should have silenced, for they are all mute enough now, his well-paid eulogists and defenders, is the continuance of mean and miserable cruelties, long after the faintest pretext for their perpetration on political grounds had passed away. I will not shock the reader by a revival of stories at which one’s blood runs cold. He is gone; fled as ignominiously as he had lived detestably; and, notwithstanding his gangs of gorged assassin friends, who would profit by his return, he has left none behind who bless his memory. If any proof were wanted, this would be conclusive, as to the purely selfish career of the man; for even a comity of crime evokes no benison on the head of the expelled despot, who never thought of anything but the aggrandisement of himself and family, at the expense of the national treasury. The revulsion of popular feeling towards him is only what might have been anticipated, though hardly, perhaps, to the extent that has actually taken place, considering the length of time he ruled, and the immense number of personal retainers one would have thought he might have contrived to attach to him. Some of these remained faithful after his fall, to the length of employing a portion of the ample funds left behind him to endeavour to promote his recall.

There has been an end of this for some time, and, consequently, a cessation of the intrigues arising from it. Urquiza, his sometime successor in the dictatorship, and the present President of the Argentine Confederation, (though long since repudiated by the principal state of the confederacy, Buenos Ayres, itself), extended to Rosas the almost unheard-of generosity of sparing his so-called private property—property which he wrung from the state, and which, on his departure, was employed by his myrmidons to effect the expulsion of Urquiza, and bring about the restoration of the elder tyrant. The former object it undoubtedly greatly helped to accomplish; in the latter it entirely failed; for, though Urquiza certainly entered upon unwise courses, was too precipitate and sweeping in his changes, and mistook violence for vigour, in many instances, as was not unnatural in a soldier fresh from another country, for the province of which he was president, Entre Rios, may be called so, still, from all I could learn among dispassionate critics, it would seem that he and the citizens, friends of order, would soon have become reconciled to each other, and there would have been a mutual softening of acerbities, were it not for the emissaries of Rosas being enabled, by the means just mentioned, to foment those antagonist feelings which eventually led to the siege and blockade, by Urquiza, of the very place he had so lately freed from the presence of the despot. Whatever may have been the faults of Urquiza, and they certainly find no apologist in me, his brief tenure of supreme power was sufficiently long to prove that he was altogether a man of superior stamp to Rosas, whose selfishness lacked even the ambition to make his tyranny respectable, in the sense that the most narrow-minded of oppressors have endeavoured to do elsewhere. Francia, whilst isolating Paraguay from all the world, contrived to make the Paraguayans proud of their country, and to cause others to believe that that pride was not altogether unfounded. Not so with Rosas: short-sighted as Francia, he had not a particle of the lofty feeling which influenced that gloomy bigot; for, while endeavouring to render Buenos Ayres powerful, it was all for himself individually; and he cared not to give the Buenos Ayreans an interest in saying that the tyrant who ground them was otherwise than simply hateful, and that what he achieved for them in the eyes of foreigners was purely contemptible. Saying nothing of the total absence, under his regime, of any commercial convenience, as already pointed out, not a single thing was done during his sway that had for its object real internal improvement. No newspapers were allowed to appear, except those under his sanction, in the same way as the one St. Petersburgh journal under the Czar’s surveillance. Not a single literary, historical, descriptive, or local work was allowed to be published or sold in Buenos Ayres, and barely a common-place almanack could be procured; so that to the present day you cannot find such a thing in the city as the slightest evidence that the mind of the whole population was otherwise than embruted to the level of helots, which indeed was virtually the case all the time his blighting influence was in the ascendant. The answer to any inquiry at the shops for works of information about either the city or provinces, during that period, is invariably the same, ‘Rosas did not permit their publication!’ The consequence is, you are obliged to grope your way along, and glean what you can from those you meet.

The rationale of this argument is altogether incomprehensible; for how are we to understand what could be his motive for such conduct at home, when we know that he was particularly assiduous, by means of the French, English, and even German press, and through every instrument of publicity he could influence, whether on stock exchanges, in diplomatic circles, or in fashionable coteries, to disseminate through Europe the belief that his capital was the abode of luxurious and intellectual enjoyment of every kind, its inhabitants delighted with his paternal sway, and that any interference on behalf of the unfortunate Uruguayans or others of his victims, external or domestic, was to be deprecated as the most irremediable of calamities, not merely to Buenos Ayres itself, but the whole of South America? That he succeeded in propagating this belief in some of the best informed quarters of Europe, particularly in England, is but too well known; and it is not a little curious that almost simultaneously with his arrival here, there appeared in certain organs, influenced by him, loud praises of a Hamburgh publication devoted to the exposition of the wisdom of his commercial policy, and ridiculing the notion of the affluents of the Plata ever being opened to European trade. But he and his system have passed away, and the memory of them is fast departing too in the coming of that better time which is believed to be at hand. His brother arrived in Europe in January last, despairing of any restoration of the family fortunes whatever; so I take leave of a topic that has become as obsolete as it would have been disagreeable to pursue it; and shall make no apology for the omission in these pages of anecdotic scandals,[88] for which readers at one time looked, as a matter of course, in every book professing to treat of the terrible Dictator, and eke of his famous daughter, the Donna Manueleta, who has been married (to a South American) since her father’s arrival in England, and now lives, I believe, in the neighbourhood of Southampton. Unwilling to dwell on the political complications in the Plate, and, at the same time, fearing it would be a contradiction of the desire expressed in the preface, to render this volume as informing as possible, especially to readers who may draw from it for the first time their knowledge of South American matters, I append, in a note, from the excellent geographical work of Mr. Charles Knight, now (1854) in course of publication[89] by Messrs. Bradbury and Evans, a brief, but comprehensive and dispassionate statement of recent incidents in the Argentine Confederation, and have added a few particulars, which, together, will, it is hoped, bring the narrative of occurrences necessary to be known down to the period of going to press, without the occupation of much space, or tediously encumbering the text with minutiÆ of proper names, dates, and places, for these are really of little value to the general reader save for purposes of reference.

The view of the port of Buenos Ayres (if it can be called a port) from the flats of the houses is picturesque, vessels lying at anchor as far as the eye can reach. On the left, towards Palermo, is some high ground, with numerous pretty-looking villa residences; on the right, is the old fort, afterwards the custom-house, warehouses, and depÔts of various kinds; further on, what is called the Boca, or Mouth, a small river, where large numbers of minor craft discharge and load in safety; but, at times, it is difficult even for them to get out, owing to an accumulation of sand at the river’s mouth which Rosas might have kept open, but made a really effectual effort to close it. Looking seaward, swarms of carts are visible going to and from lighters or small vessels at anchor in the inner road, the only means by which shipping can be discharged or loaded, the merchandise exposed of course to damage from being wet, as the horses are often up to their chests, and the cart itself even higher, in the water, through which it has to be dragged for a mile and upwards. The wonder is how any trade whatever can be carried on under such disadvantages. Another singular feature in the vicinage of the landing place is to see the shore covered with garments of cotton and linen undergoing every stage of the ablutionary process, the Buenos Ayrean naiads of the oceanic wash-tub converting the Atlantic to a purpose undreamed of by the Mesdames Partington of the elder world. As far as the eye can reach the detergent sisterhood may be seen of an afternoon, like the laundry-maid in the fable, ‘spreading out their clothes;’ and their gesticulations, and the chattering they keep up, especially if there is a squall blowing, and one can hear their shrill treble piping fitfully above the blast at intervals, recalls a recollection of the Witches’ Dance as played by Paganini, if you ever happen to have heard that weird fantasia on one string; or, if not, perhaps you will be inclined to account for what must have been the sensation of Columbus and his companions, on nearing the shores of the new world, when, according to Rogers,

We have said there is a large foreign population, some say 50,000; but though that must be a great exaggeration, there are at all events some 5000 English of all denominations, many being small tradesmen, and not a few owners of cattle and cultivators of the soil in the province; the Anglo Buenos Ayrean community mustering altogether in sufficient strength to support liberally a well-conducted though not always impartial local organ of their own, in their own language, called the British Packet, which holds somewhat the same rank among the family of John Bull on the East coast of South America that Galignani does in Paris—saving the political neutrality of the latter. There is a tolerably handsome well-frequented English, and several other protestant churches, nearly all of which have good schools in connection with them; as have also the places of worship belonging to the Germans, who muster to the number of about 900, or nearly equal to the Scotch; but the governmental influence exercised over these schools renders them less satisfactory to the parents of the children than could be desired. It is to be hoped that now there is a stable form of administration established, there will be a reformation in this respect; for, from the circumstance of Buenos Ayres possessing many institutions for the promotion of science, for painting and drawing, and some excellent libraries, not saying anything of several good newspapers, which, though in Spanish, are very useful to the foreign inhabitants, the city is perhaps one of the best for educational purposes in South America. Indeed, there is a very English aspect in many features of Buenos Ayres, not the least prominent of which are perhaps the hotels and boarding-houses, several of these establishments being conducted by English people, and by natives of the United States. Anglo intermarriages with the natives are frequent, and a few years of peace and tranquillity here, as at Monte Video, would give a wonderful impetus to population, and to the trade of the place. Some railway projects were being talked of when I was there, and still more sanguinely since I left. These, if undertaken by joint stock companies on the spot, may be carried out with remunerative success; but the government are totally helpless in the present state of their finances. One railway scheme, from the mole round to the custom-house along the margin of the river, would be a great public convenience, and easily made. Railways and steam navigation must be established, to drive these countries a-head, or they will recede into a state of semi-barbarism. They cannot stand still, or remain in their present normal condition; and it is to be hoped they will take heart of grace from the position and example of Brazil, which shows that it is not climate, race, geographical position, nor fertility of soil, that gives prosperity to a country; but 1st, peace, and, above all, internal peace; and, 2ndly, a determination to avail of the advantages which peace alone permits of, when it is a peace secured, not by the leaden despotism of a Paraguayan Francia or a Muscovite Nicholas, but by a constitutional government, rendering every man equal in the eye of the law, and rendering the law equally applicable to every man’s case, from the President or Emperor, to the humblest citizen, whatever his creed, colour, or profession. In reference to the system of government prevailing in Buenos Ayres, it is only necessary to say that, like all the South American republics, nominal freedom is maintained on the widest basis. Forty-four deputies, one-half of whom are elected every year by the people, compose the junta, or legislative assembly, by whom the governor,[90] or captain-general, is chosen for three years, he being altogether unfettered in his choice of ministry, but their policy must of course be acceptable to the junta to be rendered effective, as in the case of the British Cabinet and House of Commons. The provisional governor now in office is Don Manuel Pinto; and from all I could hear, his conduct, and that of his ministers, is regarded with as much general favour as could be reasonably expected, considering his and their exceedingly anomalous position. For it is to be remembered that Buenos Ayres is, de jure, a province of the Argentine Confederation, and yet de facto, separated from it, the difficulty being to determine how far either condition is acceptable, or the contrary, whether to the Buenos Ayreans themselves, or to any, and how many, of the other provinces, whose constancy to any one view, whether as affecting their individual or federative status, cannot be counted upon for a month together. I had not an opportunity of attending the Buenos Ayrean Assembly, but believe that the description given of that at Rio is tolerably applicable to it, and that both, and indeed those of all the states of the continent, were very accurately pourtrayed by Mr. Robinson several years ago, nothing whatever having occurred since to qualify his sketch, viz.,—

IDA AL BAILE—GOING TO THE BALL.

PIESTAS MAYAS.—MAY-DAY IN BUENOS AYRES.

URQUIZA AND ROSAS.