Page:The Present State of Peru.djvu/278

238 his own coin, by publishing the follies of his brother Yaco, the husband whom heaven has bestowed on me as a punishment for my sins.

It is now four years since I was married to this dear man, who until very lately followed the avocation of a miner. Twice a year he undertook a journey to his mines. He constantly set out with many hopes; and with these fair prospects he entertained me, whenever I asked of him any aid which might contribute to my own decent support, or to that of the family; but came back with empty bags, and with a heart overwhelmed with sorrow. He never had a kind word to bestow on his unfortunate wife. During our short intervals of repose, he entertained me with a history of his discoveries, of the improvements he had made, of his disputes with the Indians, of the projects he had formed, and other absurdities of the same stamp and currency. He never made the smallest inquiry after my health, or that of the children. He was likewise embarked in commerce. When a ship arrived from Spain, he was incessantly engaged, like a distracted man, in making trips to Callao and back again. It chanced, however, one day, that the guards detected him in a small contraband traffic: he came home to vent his spleen on me, and dared to lift his hand against me. It is thus that all his chagrins, losses, and caprices, fall on poor me; and I have the additional mortification to hear him repeat every where, that I am a bad woman, and do not deserve to possess such a husband.

An inheritance which has fallen to him unexpectedly in la Sierra, has enabled him to emerge from the pursuits of his primitive sphere. We have at this time a considerable income; but on that account my condition is not bettered. In some things