The royal commentaries of Peru : in two parts / written originally in spanish by the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega; rendred into english by sir Paul Rycaut.

Koyal Commen 'tar.vl?fs. thiríl:y, 'to a place where he might dri~k, .and 'halling dra~k he laid himfelf 0own in the Water, having ·one ,Leg of bis Maíl:er under h~m, ·~nd lay on ~hat fidé .wf.iere che 'Nater was deepeíl:; .PorrM endeavoured to dear h1mfelf of his Herfe but could •not; 'al'ld fo lay íl:ill a while, untill che Horfe íl:ruggling to rife, and the füeam running f wifc upon hirn, he was at lengch drowned ; but the Horfe 1keep- ing his head above .Water, made ~ íhif~ to keep himfelf from drowóiAg, uAtill füme Travellers pafling that way_helpt h1m out; but for PorrM tbey found him dead, and burieá him on the-Bank of che íl:rearn. The whiah was eíleemed by ali che Kingdom to have be$!n a Judgmenc oflHeaven for bis irreverence towards the Moly Altar, as w.e have befare menrioned. · We may here ,cake notice of che Divine Judgments againíl: fuch, who were common Swearers ancd Blafpherners of che Name of God in their ufual Converfa- tion; who not contented wich little.peny Oaths, as Godsbodikins, or che like, bue would fay, God Damn me, or, God renounce me: · fuch menas chefe, l fay, have been obferved co die by wounds ir.r their Mouths ; and not onely hath this happe- ned in Batrels in Peru, out in fo11gle Duels between Man and Man, in which fuch ;Blafpherners as .chefe have bm1 killed by íhot of a Carbine in cheir Mouchs, or che füoke of a Lanae, or a íl:abb of a Dagger in chat pare. There is one Inílance of chis very remarkable in rny time, which happened a year befare 1 carne from Co~co, and ir was this ; A certain Soukiier called Aguirre, an ·ilkon- dicioned fellow, hada quarrel wich {ohn de Lira, a perfon of a far different cernper, being naturally o_f a pea~eable and quier ~ifpofirion ; thi AgHirre, to fight with de. Lira, armed h1mfolf w1th a Goat of Ma1l, Gantlet and Head-peace, and expec- ted him near che Convenc of St. Dominick._, as he paffed w bis Lodging from che gveat Church, where, on a Friday in Lent, he went to hear a Sermon ; :fe Lira coming was met aAd affaulced by AgHim, and cheyboth ílruggled togerher for rhe fpace ,of :m hour by che.Clock, none coming in w parethem, at length {ohn de Li- ra, dofing in witb Aguirre, fiabb'd hirn in the Mouch with his Dagger, which ' catihe out at che nape of his Neck, and Aguirre, with a ílafh of bis Sword firok~ de L ira upon che Cloak which was folcied on his lefc Arm, and cut eleven folds of it, and glancing along cut off his middle Finger j the fame night Aguim died of his wound in che Prifon, bue 'fohn de Lira recovered and was cured, in che Mona- flery of St. Dominiclz where he was lodged; and there l vifired hirn, and faw how his Finger was cut off, and eleven folds his Cloak cut thorough. Tne like Judgment befe.U ocher notorious Blafphemers at che Battel of SalinM where cwo or three were wounded in che Mouch, and dyed, as many in lik~ manner at Chupa&, as alfo four at Huarina, on€ of which was called Me:i;,quita, and ali of them íncurred rhe fame fa te; which was fo apparent a J udgment a pon com- mon Swearers and Blafphemers, char many repented of that fin, and were converced, and fo parcicularly did chis Judgment operare on the minds of che Spaniard1 in Pe- ru, that chey generally aoknowledge ir to have been a .merey of God rowards them, and fo abílain from that fin, chac it is a difparagemem to any man to be guilcy thereof. And fo far harh this cuíl:ome againfi Blafpherny prevailed, as ro pafs from Peru into che ]urifdiétion of M exico, where it is accounted ao infamous crime for any man to fwear, efpecially Souldiers; fo that when any one unadvi- fedly fw~ars, che Capcains or Olficers rhen prefent, caufe him irnmediacely to re- call his Oath, and ask pardon for ir, which indeed is a very laudable cuíl:ome and rnuch to be commended in chofe Officers who were che occafion chac che Carne was praéhfed amongíl: che Souldie1y · · I cannot tax any of my own ·Relacions by the Mocher fide with che fin of chis nature ; for to the concrary I have heard from one of my own Kindred, who (as 1 b~li~ve) fpake imparcially of rhem, That in che fiare of their very Gencilifrne they knew not whar an Oach meam, nor to cake che Name of God in vain, bue as a tbing (as natural to them as their m1lk) chey learned to pronounce che Narne ofGod on no ocher occafion than of Prayers and Praifes to him. But v.ihilíl: Gonr_alo Pif arro was folemnizing che ·Fefüval appointed in honour to his new Title of Governour, he did not forget bis dependence on Spain; and therefore propofed firíl to bis Capcains and Friends in privare, and afcerwards -p~blic~ly to che Cicizens.of Los Reyes, 11hat ir was neceífary to fend Mefiengers to hIS .Ma1eíly to render an ammnc of ali that happenéd unto that time, befeeching his Majeíly in beh;df of thar whole Empire to confer che Governmem thereof upon Gonp1lo Pi911rro, reprefenting it as a rnatter rnuch conduóog ro che fervice Qf his