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FRANCISCO DE TOLEDO.

WHEN the Cathedral of Cordova was a place of Mahometan worship, the appearance of its interior was very different from what it now is, and the changes made by its Christian possessors have not added to its architectural beauty. The Spaniards have constructed in the very centre of the church a rich sanctuary, which breaks the continuity of its vast ranges of pillars, and impairs the general grandeur of effect here, as it does in most of the Spanish Cathedrals. They have also erected a great number of chapels around the sides of the church, with small regard to symmetry or general effect in their form and location.

The Moors entered their mosque from the court on the north side of it, where there is a grove of beautiful orange-trees, filling the air with the fragrance of flowers and fruit. They advanced up the body of the mosque, amid its thousand columns, until they approached its southern side and reached the place of purification. Here a fountain 7*

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rose from the floor, and above it was a richly wrought canopy, if I may so phrase it, encrusted with stucco moulded into all the fantastic shapes of Arabian fancy, but light, rich, and beautiful. The spot is now enclosed and called the chapel of the Purification. It was the place of preparation for the holier spot, at the southern extremity of the church, where the book of the law was deposited.

At that period, this last mentioned locality was distinguished from the rest of the mosque, not by being enclosed, but by the richness of the ceiling, by arches resting upon the capitals of the columns, and by an arched recess in the wall, every part of it being decorated with a great profusion of the ornaments peculiar to the people. But here, at the present time, is a large chapel, obtained by building up two sides, and then separating the space between into three parts by means of balustrades, one of these parts being occupied as the place of worship. This chapel, dedicated to Saint Peter, belongs to the noble House of Oropesa, and is by far the most curious and remarkable spot in the whole Cathedral. There are some incidents in the history of the Peruvian Incas, which are intimately connected with the fortunes of a celebrated cadet of this family, and which the view of their sumptuous chapel recalled to my attention.

The cruelty and rapacity of the Spanish conquerors of Peru are familiar subjects, which historians in general have united to stamp with

merited infamy. Pizarro and his fellow adventurers, brave as they confessedly proved themselves, by deeds of heroic prowess, were yet distinguished only by the harsh and stern virtues, if indeed they deserve the name of virtues, which characterize the mercenary soldier. The wanton mischiefs, which they brutally inflicted on the vanquished, are deeply contrasted with the confidence, approaching to veneration, with which they were greeted by the simple and unsuspecting Peruvians. There is a romantic charm, too, in the story of the Children of the Sun, and in their paternal government of their empire, which touches and warms the imagination. The tragic fate of the last of the Incas exhibits traits illustrative of the Indian character, and of the policy of the Spanish rulers, which are not devoid of interest, and which accord with the facts, more generally known, in the history of the earlier Incas.

Manco Capac, after his unsuccessful attempt to regain his empire, as related by Robertson, retired into the mountains of Villca Pampa, and lived there in voluntary exile until his death. This event was accomplished by one of those unhappy accidents, which now seemed destined to pursue the race. A number of Spaniards, who were imprisoned at Cusco for their participation in some of the civil broils which divided the first conquerors, escaped from confinement, and sought refuge with the Inca among the mountains.

Manco Capac received and entertained them with much cordiality; and through them a negotiation was set on foot, for persuading the Inca to quit the mountains and live on friendly terms with the Viceroy; and a pardon was to be the recompense of their success. The Spaniards, emboldened by these means, were accustomed to play at balls with the Inca very frequently; and one of them, Gomez Perez by name, even ventured to treat the Inca with insupportable insolence. On a certain occasion of this kind, Manco Capac was so much offended as to reprove Perez, and strike him a slight blow in the side; whereupon Perez flew into a violent passion, and, making at the Inca, felled him to the ground with the ball in his hand. The Indians, who witnessed the scene, enraged at the murder of their prince, instantly attacked the Spaniards, overwhelmed them with a shower of arrows, and exposed their bodies to be devoured by vultures and by beasts of prey.

Manco Capac was succeeded by his son Sayri Tupac, who continued in the mountains of Villca Pampa, until he was induced by the Viceroy, Don Andreas Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquess of Cañete, to leave them, and reside among the Spaniards. This object was effected by means of the Coyas, or Children of the Sun, who had been married to the conquerors, and of course felt a double interest, in the Peruvians by birth, and in the Spaniards by alliance. Mendoza was accounted very fortunate

in having accomplished this without any bloodshed; because, so long as the Inca lived among the Spaniards, he was wholly within their power, and they were freed from all apprehension of his attempting to regain the empire. He accepted a grant of lands, and a yearly stipend from the Viceroy, for his support; and after being baptised and banquetted at Cusco by both nations, he retired to Yucay, where he lived in obscurity and died a natural death.

Sayri Tupac left no son, and his dignity devolved upon his brother, Tupac Amaru. His estates, however, descended to his daughter, who was afterwards married, on account of her possessions, to Don Martin Garcia de Loyola, a Spaniard who acquired distinction by his success in seizing upon the person of Tupac Amaru. This happened under the government of Don Francisco de Toledo, second son of the Conde de Oropesa. He was appointed Viceroy in 1569, and sullied an eminently happy administration, by his cruelty towards the Incas and the rest of the Peruvians. Tupac Amaru, it seems, began his reign, like his predecessor, in the mountains of Villca Pampa. But Toledo, recollecting the credit and security which Mendoza acquired by the conversion of Sayri Tupac, soon resolved to draw Tupac Amaru from the mountains, either by negotiation or by violence. Tupac Amaru was deaf to all solicitation. He scorned the paltry stipend, which was doled out to his brother

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