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 a. The client states, "My head hurts."
b. The laboratory report shows an elevated white cell count.
c. The client weighs 148 pounds.
d. The nurse hears bilateral sounds.
ANS: A PTS: 1

6. The nurse takes the client's vital signs. The data collected are
a. subjective c. irrelevant
b. objective d. secondary
ANS: B PTS: 1

7. Which is objective data?

a. The client states, "I have a headache."
b. The client complains of a sore throat.
c. The client's temperature is 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
d. The client says he doesn't sleep well at night.
ANS: C PTS: 1

8. Which is not a part of assessment?

a. collection of data c. clustering of data
b. validation of data d. analysis of data
ANS: D PTS: 1

9. Which is an example of an actual NANDA nursing diagnosis?

a. Risk for Impaired Skin Integrity Related to Inability to Change Positions
b. Potential for Enhanced Nutrition
c. Fluid Volume Deficient Related to Nausea and Vomiting
d. Risk for Infection Related to Indwelling Urinary Catheter
ANS: C PTS: 1

10. A possible nursing diagnosis indicates

a. a situation in which a problem could arise unless preventive action is taken
b. that a problem does not yet exist but special risk factors are present
c. the client's expression of a desire to attain a higher level of wellness in some area of
function
d. that a problem exists
ANS: A PTS: 1

11. Which best describes a goal?

a. It is measurable and has a time limit.
b. It is a broad statement that describes the intended change in the client's behavior within a
specified time period.
c. It is a direct result of analysis of collected data within a specified time.
d. It includes both objective and subjective data.
ANS: B PTS: 1

12. Which is the best example of an expected outcome?

a. Turn, cough, and deep breathe every 2 hours.
b. The client will maintain nutritional status.
 c. The client will walk the length of the corridor twice a day by the second day after surgery.
d. The client has gained 3 pounds within 2 months as stated.
ANS: C PTS: 1

13. Which statement is not true regarding nursing diagnosis?

a. A nursing diagnosis is generally the same as a medical diagnosis.
b. Nursing diagnosis provides the basis for selection of nursing interventions to achieve
outcomes for which the nurse is accountable.
c. A nursing diagnosis focuses on the responses to actual or potential health problems; a
medical diagnosis focuses on the illness, injury, or disease.
d. Nursing diagnoses change as the client's health problems change.
ANS: A PTS: 1

14. In which step of the nursing process are nursing diagnoses prioritized?
a. assessment
b. diagnosis
c. outcome identification and planning
d. evaluation
ANS: C PTS: 1

15. Critical thinking involves

a. repeating memorized facts c. acting immediately on data
b. finding meaning in facts d. engaging in "groupthink"
ANS: B PTS: 1

16. All of the following statements about critical thinking are true except
a. it is a criterion outcome of the nursing education curriculum identified by NLN and
supported by the AACN
b. it is a functional skill
c. it is guided by logic
d. it is guided by sound judgment
ANS: B PTS: 1

17. Which of the following is not a cognitive skill of clinical judgment that relies on the application of
critical thinking skills?
a. biased inquiry
b. evaluation
c. intuition
d. creative analysis of a cause and effect
ANS: A PTS: 1

18. Which of the following is not a characteristic of critical thinking?

a. dependent thinking c. intellectual humility
b. proactive d. creative
ANS: A PTS: 1

19. Which critical thinking skill is associated with query of evidence, conjecture alternatives, and drawing
conclusions?
a. evaluation c. explanation
 b. interpretation d. inference
ANS: D PTS: 1

20. Which of the following is not considered to be a barrier of creative thinking?

a. fear of making mistakes
b. open mindset
c. hasty decision making
d. stereotypical perception of client care
ANS: B PTS: 1

21. Which statement about nursing diagnosis is true? Nursing diagnosis

a. remains constant until a cure is effected
b. focuses on the response to actual or potential health problems or life processes
c. focuses on disease process
d. focuses on cure
ANS: B PTS: 1

22. Which of the following is not a type of nursing diagnosis?

a. collaborative problems c. actual problems
b. wellness conditions d. medical diagnosis
ANS: D PTS: 1

23. Which type of diagnosis is defined as physiological complications monitored by nurses to assess
changes in client status?
a. risk nursing diagnosis c. collaborative problem
b. wellness nursing diagnosis d. actual diagnosis
ANS: C PTS: 1
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
not so ferocious as the English ones, who often, when retreat is cut
off, fight most ratfully. The Buenos Ayres rats are better educated.
The fire-fly, on summer nights, is seen gliding through the air.
This not being a woody country, the feathered creation presents very
little variety. Here are the canary, cardinal, common sparrow, owls,
&c.
About Paraguay, and where it is more intersected, there are some
beautiful birds, including the parrot and parroquet; the latter are
likewise plentiful on the other side of the river, in Entre Rios, &c. [23]
Ostriches are very numerous in the Pampas.
The beautiful and scarce little humming-bird, now and then, makes
its appearance among the lowers. I have made several efforts to
catch them, but without success.
This portion of South America, in the summer of 1824-25, was most
seriously annoyed by locusts; the memory of the oldest inhabitant
cannot recollect such a swarm. The air was darkened, and the
ground strewed, with the millions of those devouring insects: a north
wind brought them down from the Parana, like a snow-storm. The
fruit trees, plants, &c. dreadfully suffered. The inhabitants have an
idea, that, by ringing bells, beating tin saucepans, and other noises
of this description, locusts can be frightened away. An easterly wind,
rain, and cold weather, are, I believe, their only destroyers. The
months of December, 1824 and January, 1825, were foggy, dry
months, the wind constantly from the north; and, for want of water,
a great mortality took place in the country among the cattle.
Mushrooms and water-cresses are not very plentiful: they are more
found in the neighbourhood of Ensenada; as are also leeches, for
which doctors give a good price.
The flowers reared in this country must likewise yield, in beauty and
sweetness, to our own: we do not see the polyanthus, moss rose,
and many others that strew their beauties over the British isles.
Population.—The province of Buenos Ayres, which extends nearly 500
miles in length, with a breadth undefined (perhaps equal to its
length), has only a population of about 150,000 souls; and
Patagonia, which is under the same government, 1000.
It is estimated, that in the population of Buenos Ayres, there are five
females to one male. If this be correct, some ladies are likely to
come under the horrid list of old maids. That more female births
take place in comparison with those of Europe cannot be doubted. I
know families of eight, nine, and ten daughters, and perhaps one
son. The causes of such disproportion, I must leave the natural
philosophers to develope.

Trade and Manufactures.—From its extensive produce, Buenos Ayres

will ever command attention in a mercantile point of view.
The exports consist of ox hides of all descriptions, horse hides, horse
hair, wool, tallow, nutria skins, horns, chinchilla skins, salted beef,
and silver in hard dollars and bars.
The quantity of European goods annually imported is very great: I
am surprised how they find vent for them. The cargoes brought from
Liverpool, of manufactured goods, of Manchester, Glasgow, &c. are
of considerable value, often from 70 to 80, and £100,000.
The following is a list of square-rigged merchant vessels that entered
the port of Buenos Ayres in the years 1821, 1822, 1823, and 1824:—

In 1821. In 1822. In 1823. In 1824.

British [24] 128 183 113 110
American 42 75 80 [25]143

French 19 21 24 21
 Swedish 7 11 6 14
Sardinian 3 7 6 6
Danish 1 1 5 10
Dutch 2 4 6 8

Under the Portuguese, Brazilian, and Buenos Ayrean flags, brigs and
small craft are daily arriving and sailing from and to Rio Janeiro, and
all parts of the Brazils, Patagonia, and trading in the River Plate, and
up the rivers of the interior.
A number of American vessels are sold, as well as broken up, in
Buenos Ayres, which, assuming the flag of the country, trade with
Rio Janeiro, Rio Grande, Patagonia, &c. Many of them are under the
command of Englishmen and North Americans, who, at no great
distance of time will carry the Buenos Ayrean flag to every part of
the world. This country must for some time rely upon foreigners for
their shipping. The population are not maritimely inclined.
Several persons gain a livelihood by leaving notices, or avisos, of
vessels arriving, and their cargoes.
A long report upon the trade of this country has been drawn up by a
committee of British merchants, and presented to the Consul,
extracts from which have appeared in the English newspapers. Great
talent has been exhibited in the detail and writing of this report,
although I think the picture has been too highly painted.
Should the trade of Paraguay be thrown open to Buenos Ayres, it will
be of great advantage. The present Governor, Francia, follows the
Jesuits’ system; and Pekin is not more secluded from the inspection
of strangers. Some unfortunate Englishmen, who ventured there
with goods, had both their persons and property detained, and no
satisfactory intelligence has been received of them. In February,
1823, a memorial was sent to Sir Thomas Hardy, by their friends in
Buenos Ayres, entreating his interference. This memorial has been
forwarded to the British government. It is surprising that the people
of Paraguay, a country so rich in its natural productions should be
quiet under such severe restrictions. One is led to suppose, from
their passiveness, that they are content with the system. Francia,
however, has lately permitted communication and trade with the
Portuguese in Brazil; Itapua, on the frontiers, being the depôt town.
They have no regular exchange for the merchants to meet in, at
Buenos Ayres. A new general Commercial Room is about to be
established, to which persons of all nations will be allowed to
subscribe. Some late regulations of the British Room have given
offence; the committee of which, in derision, have been named “the
Holy Alliance,” and have had several anonymous letters addressed to
them, upon their aristocratical notions in a foreign country. The
refusal to allow any but British subjects to subscribe to the
Commercial Room, has been much commented upon; some years
back it might have been advisable, but at this period a more liberal
system would perhaps be better.
The Creoles of the country now engage in mercantile pursuits with
great avidity; and commerce has spread into so many hands, that
money does not roll in quite so fast as formerly.
The competition amongst the store-keepers materially diminishes
their profits, and reduces the concern upon a level with English
chandlers’ shops.
The number of shops in Buenos Ayres is very great; they abound in
the streets leading from the Plaza. Every shop and house has a
proportion of taxes levied upon it: and there is also a species of
property tax upon the English plan. The taxes now imposed
considerably diminish the profits they used to make.
The linen-drapers have a choice assortment from all countries,
neatly arranged. Their shops are well lighted; and although they fall
very short of the splendour of the London ones, yet they are equal
to some of those of our best country towns: they are open till nine
and ten at night. They call the Buenos Ayreans a lazy people: the
shopkeepers, at least, do not merit this epithet.
The shopmen are mostly young men, who appear to have all the
persuasive arts of their brethren in London, prevailing upon their fair
customers to get rid of their money, and subjecting them to a good
scolding from husbands and mammas, for extravagance, leading to
pouting and sulks for a week. Those gentlemen of the shop have a
great deal to answer for.
Every article of apparel, both for male and female, can be purchased
at the retail shops, of which there are many: they have coats,
waistcoats, trowsers, &c. hanging in front, in the mode of Monmouth
Street. Mr. Niblett was the first Englishman that opened a shop of
this description. A great many Englishmen have their clothes sent
from England: but the duty and incidental expences make them
come as dear as if made here.
Buenos Ayres contains several English tailors, whose work is
tolerably well, considering they have not English workmen; although
not with that exquisite finish which is to be seen in London. A coat
will cost thirty dollars, trowsers twelve; the rest in proportion. The
town swarms with Creolian and other tailors.
Manufactories for hats exist in Buenos Ayres: one of them,
Varangot’s, has a considerable trade, and they are really good, from
seven to eight dollars each, far superior to our second-rate hats; the
misfortune is, that on the approach of rainy weather they act as a
perfect barometer, and get limp.
Of the hats imported into Buenos Ayres the English are preferred;
but the heavy duty has brought out those of an inferior description.
At present, there are some good ones at ten or twelve dollars each,
which at that price meet with a ready sale. The French import a
quantity of hats; but the quality of them is much inferior to our’s.
English manufactured goods are cheap; the market has been
overstocked, and, I fear, does not yield much profit to the
adventurers. I have bought English stockings cheaper than I could
buy them in London, leather gloves (a good pair) for a dollar. It is
cheaper to purchase a stock of linen here than at home. I have
purchased good white cotton neckcloths, after the rate of sixpence
each. In summer, cotton shirting is preferred.
English saddles and bridles are imported largely; we thus return
them their own hides, manufactured into choice and costly goods. Of
the many saddlers’ shops, several are kept by Englishmen; as also
watch-makers, with loads of English watches.
All sorts of hardware, as knives and forks, and scissars, are imported
from England, and can be obtained at a cheap rate; also furniture,
such as tables, chairs, &c. Of the latter, the North Americans bring
great quantities.
India goods are sought after, particularly the China crape shawls.
Articles of stationery arrive from every quarter: Spanish writing-
paper from Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, and I think it of better
quality than ours, at least more pleasant to write upon.
Barbers’ shops are in great abundance.
At the pulperias, or grog-shops, they sell almost every article of life;
they are, indeed, perfect chandlers’ shops.
The pastrycooks neither cut a figure in their shops, nor in the
articles they sell; here are no hot buns or tarts on a morning, nor
stale pastry for the ragamuffin boys to purchase. Sweetmeats are
the order of the day.
A pastrycook’s shop in the English style, I am confident, would
succeed—with the addition of hot rolls in the morning: none of those
luxuries are known here.
A good portrait-painter, I conceive, would meet with encouragement
in Buenos Ayres: at any rate they would have a fine field for study.
An English artist, named Hervé, practised some months:
indisposition forced him to leave.
It had occurred to me, that a pawnbroker would be a good business
in Buenos Ayres; but I find every shopkeeper, or monied person acts
in that capacity, and that respectable persons do not hesitate to
send silver spoons, matté-pots, and other valuables, to pledge from
day to day—at what interest (or if any) I know not, though I am
apprehensive some of them are guilty of what we should call usury.
Poverty is a crime in England; here they dread not exposure: but
such is my delicacy in money affairs, I should prefer being under an
obligation to the gentlemen with three balls, and to slide in at one of
their secret doors, to the publicity practised here.
An Englishman has lately undertaken a speculation which has cost
him a considerable sum, to have the exclusive privilege of taking
cattle in the Falkland islands—in fact, to be sole proprietor for a term
of years. He has forwarded to his new sovereignty a small colony of
settlers, servants, &c.; the chances of his success are very doubtful.
Buenos Ayres claims the jurisdiction of these islands, and those
claims will not cause such a dispute as in the year 1770. The voyage
to them from Buenos Ayres is made in about fourteen days.

Currency, &c.—In the year 1822 silver became so scarce, that, it was
impossible to get change of a doubloon without allowing a
consideration for it. Foreigners, of course, bore the blame of draining
the country of the money. To remedy the evil, small notes were
issued; and, shortly after, a large supply of copper coin arrived, that
had been contracted for in England. This currency of paper and
copper was something so new, that not a few sneers and
forebodings took place. The facility that paper money affords to
business, however, soon began to be experienced in Buenos Ayres.
Previous to its issue, if a person had to receive a hundred dollars, it
was necessary to hire a porter to carry it, and for larger quantities a
cart; besides the endless trouble of counting thousands of dollars,
often in reals and madios, and the detection of bad money: hours
and days of valuable time were consumed by it. The collecting clerks
are no longer tormented with counting piles of silver, before they
take it from the house. Saturdays are the days appropriated for
money collecting.
Notes, engraved in England, are now issued on a grand scale, from 5
to 1000 dollars, upon the security of the government and bank; the
people are reconciled to it, and begin to find that a currency of gold
and silver is not at all times a proof of the credit or riches of a
nation. [26]
Besides the above notes, the present currency consists of the
doubloon of 17 dollars; the half, quarter, and half-quarter doubloon;
the dollar, half dollar, and quarter dollar; with reals, madios, and
quartillos. The hard dollars are scarce, being bought up for
exportation.
In exporting money, there is a small duty of two per cent. to pay.
Being so trifling, it prevents smuggling, which was formerly the case.
Making returns in produce, however, is at all times preferred to
money, when it can be obtained at any thing like a moderate rate;
but it is at times so scarce and dear, that it renders the purchasing
ruinous.
The average exchange for the last three years has been forty-five
pence the Spanish dollar.
The Bank of Buenos Ayres opened in 1822, the first thing of the sort
in this province. Its capital is one million of dollars, in 1000 shares,
of 1000 dollars each. The number of directors are ten, viz. six
Creolian gentlemen, and four British. It has hitherto proved a
profitable concern. The Bank shares rose from par to 170, but
quickly declined to 90 and 100 per cent. premium, at which price
they seem stationary. The last dividend paid on Bank stock was after
the rate of 30 per cent.
The reported establishment of a National Bank, has created some
alarm, amongst the present Bank proprietors; numerous
controversies have taken place in the newspapers, upon the
occasion. The affair, however, seems at rest for the present.
The government funds of Buenos Ayres have lately had a
considerable rise, from 28 to 100. The bulls carry all before them;
and the bears have had to pay pretty handsomely. Who knows but a
Stock Exchange may be established here some years hence?
Considerable sums of money have been made by the advance in the
public funds in Buenos Ayres; and, from the eagerness of all classes
to speculate in them, it is probable that lame ducks will not be
confined to Capel Court. Every shopkeeper now dabbles in the
funds; and, in a market so confined, the mischief may be very
serious.

Education, and Literature.—The government expresses the most

laudable anxiety to forward education, by patronizing schools upon
the Lancasterian system; and the numerous seminaries in this city
are a credit to the people.
The College School consists of 125 youths, from the age of 15 to 16
or 17 years of age. In their walks, they wear black clothes, with a
light blue ribbon over their coat. Their behaviour is better than that
of the boys at our public schools: a person may mix amongst them,
without being subject to those insolent remarks so common at
home, and which makes a stranger dread to enter their precincts.
At the Buenos Ayres College, pupils are taught every branch of the
classics. They have not the advantage of professors, as at Oxford,
Cambridge, Eton, Westminster, and the rest of our public schools—
professors, whose talents not only confer honour upon their country,
but on the human species generally. Some students have elicited
considerable talents. A younger branch of the Belgrano family,
Manuel, wrote a play founded on The Virgin of the Sun, which was
performed with success; he has likewise acquired a knowledge of
the English language, and is at present employed in the British
Consul’s office.
In the Merced Church, an academy is held for the instruction of 30
youths in the study of divinity.
Among the numerous seminaries here, is one kept by an English
lady, Mrs. Hyne, which receives great encouragement; she has had
70 scholars at a time, who are taught, with other requisites, the
English language. From the anxiety expressed by parents, that their
children should attain this language, the next generation will become
completely anglicised. In placing them under the care of a Protestant
lady, they are not so narrow-minded as to fear that their religion will
be tampered with. One of the stripling scholars conversed with me
the other day in good English, which he had learned in a very short
period.
A number of Buenos Ayrean gentlemen speak and write the English
language with much fluency and correctness. Don Manuel Sarratea,
late a governor of the province, and who resided some time in London
as their minister, is a proficient, and a man of talent. To the British he
is very attentive, and is much respected by them. Don Miguel Riglos is
another instance: this gentleman has made the tour of Great Britain,
and speaks English with so little of foreign accent, that, on my
introduction to him, I supposed him to be an Englishman: his
manners are very prepossessing and amiable. Some self-taught young
men have also an excellent idea of it, and others express a great
desire to learn it. It has now become a branch of education in their
public schools; and, from the continued intercourse they are likely to
have with the British and North Americans, and others who speak the
English tongue, the utility of learning it will become every day more
apparent, and, as regards business, it will be of greater importance
than the French.
The prejudices of ages is fast wearing away: the South-Americans,
and, Spain herself, no longer view us as renegades, heretics, “God-
abandoned.” Twenty years back, England and Englishmen were as
little known or understood by the Buenos Ayreans, as is the interior of
the Chinese empire now to the rest of the world. For centuries past,
care was taken to inflame the passions of the Spaniards against us
and our country; and it is not strange that a remnant of this animosity
yet remains. Their best poets have stigmatised us: I recollect hearing,
in Buenos Ayres, that part of Lope de Vegas’ popular ballad—

“My brother Don John to England’s gone,

To kill the Drake, the Queen to take,
And the heretics all to destroy;
And he shall bring you a Protestant maid
To be your slave, &c.”

It is gratifying to observe, that those Creolians who have been in

England evince the greatest attachment to us.
In the college of Stonyhurst, near Liverpool, are several Buenos
Ayrean youths, who have been sent thither to be educated. The
British government deserves praise for the countenance given to this
establishment; silencing at once the complaints of our own Catholics,
in not having a proper place to educate their sons, and bringing the
youth of foreign nations in contact with our’s, from whence it is
natural to expect they will feel an attachment to a country where they
have received almost their first impressions. So far from its infecting
our population with Catholicism, [27] the reverse would seem more
probable. It will give strangers an opportunity of judging, from actual
observation, of the institutions of our country, and the advantages
arising from a liberal system of government.
The education bestowed upon females is far from being solid:
reading, writing, music, and dancing, are all that is thought necessary.
In the two last they are enthusiasts, and some of the proficients; the
study of languages, or deep reading, is not thought of consequence.
Spanish husbands, they say, have an antipathy to blue-stocking wives:
from the natural talent of the females, they would soon be adepts in
more abstruse studies.
If the Buenos Ayrean ladies do not possess the higher branches of
learning, they have an indescribable sweetness of manners, free from
affectation, at once giving confidence to the timid stranger, and
delightful to all who have the happiness to know them. They seldom
address a person but with a smile, listen attentively to conversation,
without that listless indifference, and answering with the
monosyllables of yes and no, that I have witnessed in some societies.
The time may arrive, when South America may have to boast her
Madame de Staels and a host of female literati; and another Corinna
may conduct her lover over Southern scenery, the snow-topt Andes,
and Imperial Cusco, with as much soft enthusiasm as belongs to her
Italian rival. At present, however, their natural talent is thrown into
the shade, for want of cultivation.
The letter-writing between female friends is very energetic: I caught a
glimpse of one, which ran thus—“Farewell, my idolized and beloved
friend! receive the heart of your devoted, constant, faithful, &c.”
Notwithstanding this fervour, we never hear of those fatal love
attachments that end so tragically with us: is it that, south of the line,
the female heart is so tenderly moulded, they will not bid the
despairing lover die? or, are they convinced, “that men have died, and
worms have eaten them, but not for love,” and therefore doubt the
truth of man’s protestations? Alas! I fear that, in this love-inspiring
city of Buenos Ayres, it is possible to find Violas and Rosalinds, but
not many Juliets, and of the other sex still fewer Werters.
The Spanish language is certainly delightful; its very sounds bring to
recollection the Don Guzmans and Don Antonios of chivalric days. I
wish they would make it the fashionable study in England, as in good
queen Elizabeth’s reign, instead of the trifling French. From the great
changes in the Spanish world, and our South-American connections, it
must ever be an object of importance.
A work published in London, by Mr. Ackerman, in the Spanish
language, with plates, called Variedades et Mensagero de Londres,
has numerous purchasers here. It is published quarterly, and reflects
great credit on its author. This publication will afford to the South
Americans an excellent idea of Great Britain and Europe generally; [28]
it contains selections from our best authors.
The NEWSPAPERS published in Buenos Ayres are, the Argus, Teatro del
Opinion, Republicano, and State Register. There was, likewise, a
Sunday paper, called the Centinella, which has been discontinued—for
what reason I know not, for it was managed with ability. The freedom
of the press may be said to exist in a degree here; to the same extent
as in England, would be dangerous at present.
The Mercantile Gazette, edited by Mr. Hallet, a North-American
gentleman, is very useful; it has every sort of commercial information.
A newspaper of the same description, the Diario, carried on by a
Portuguese, failed for want of requisite attention.
A number of ephemeral productions appear from time to time, “to fret
and strut their hour upon the stage, and then are heard no more.”
In the almanack of 1824, there is a selection of English puns and Joe
Miller’s jests, to amuse the Buenos Ayreans, and give them a
specimen of English low wit.

The PRINTING-OFFICES are spacious, and furnished with every requisite,

from London. An English printer, Mr. Cook, is employed in one of the
offices, and report states his professional talents to be of the first
order.

Religion.—Previous to the late treaty with Great Britain, no other place

of public worship was allowed in Buenos Ayres, except those of the
Romish church; and it was only after much discussion, that the article
allowing religious toleration was obtained.
The Catholic faith has been denominated a religion of the fancy; the
Protestant, one of the mind. A book I have lately read, Blunt’s Italy,
ingeniously endeavours to prove that most of the Catholic ceremonies
are remnants of Paganism; and the author illustrates his arguments
by comparing the Roman with the Popish festivals. The great similarity
would certainly incline one to give credence to the assertion. The
reformed church, however, has its incongruities likewise. In Buenos
Ayres I have not witnessed any thing like the superstition that reigns
in Belgium; bigots there are, but not more than in some of our sects
at home. The rising generation of Buenos Ayres have gone from one
extreme to another, and are quite Voltairians: at the theatre, during a
portrait exhibition of different public characters, that of Voltaire ran
away with all the applause.
In January, 1824, an archbishop, named Don Juan Muzi, arrived from
Rome with a large suite, in a Sardinian brig, which hoisted the Papal
flag in addition to her own, and fired a salute. Some time ago, such
an event would have put the whole town in commotion; as it was, few
attended to see him land, and his reception by the government was
any thing but cordial: he shortly after departed for Chili. During his
abode, he lodged at Faunch’s Hotel, and there gave his benedictions
to the crowds that visited him, who were mostly females, attracted, I
thought, more from curiosity than from any other motive. The
manifest of the archbishop’s effects raised a smile:—there were
beads, crosses, and every trifling appendage of the church. The
archbishop himself, from his venerable aspect and mild manners,
engaged the esteem of all; but the Papal power is on the wane here
now, whatever it might have been in other times. The Catholic church,
however, under the care of a liberal priesthood, and shorn of its
superstitions, will insure the respect of all countries.
A church, in Catholic countries, ever possesses something to strike the
eye, though there may not be service going on. There are generally to
be seen numbers of poor old women, before their saint, counting their
beads, the low murmurings of their prayers alone breathing the
silence of the place: many times have I advanced with cautious steps,
fearing to interrupt their devotions. The absence of a congregation
gives one, likewise, an opportunity of a closer inspection of the
glittering altars, virgins, saints, and Madonas. No fear exists that
sacrilegious hands would dare purloin any thing from the sacred
walls; alas! in England, our thieves would not be so scrupulous.
The churches, on a Sunday, or feast day, are worthy a stranger’s
attention; and he must be cold indeed, that can view such an
assemblage of beauty unmoved: the dress, the veil, and prostrate
persons; indeed, we might picture other Lauras besides Petrarch’s: it
is almost enough to make one turn renegade, forsake the religion of
our fathers, and rush into the bosom of a church so enchanting.
Public worship takes place at various hours: one mass, as early as six
in the morning, and the sweet girls and their mothers are seen
hurrying to church at that early hour.
Families going to mass are attended by slaves and servants carrying
the carpeting upon which they kneel. Of books they have few enough;
and would, I dare say, stare to see our London footmen, in gorgeous
liveries, looking like Austrian field-marshals, walking behind their
mistresses, with a load of books, to church, and the host of carriages
that attend a fashionable chapel.
Upon entering or leaving a church, many of the congregation are
content to receive the holy water at second hand; that is to say, one
who is near the vessel which contains it will dip his fingers in, and
furnish to three or four other persons drops of the sacred element, to
make the sign of the cross. The ladies often condescend to mark with
this water the foreheads of their female slaves and attendants.
At “oration time,” in the dusk of evening, a small bell tingles from the
churches, when, it is presumed, every true Catholic whispers a prayer.
In Buenos Ayres, I am afraid, this is not always the case.
Some of the music sung in the masses is very pretty: friars and boys
are the vocalists, selected from the best voices. Friar Juan, at the
Cathedral, has a fine bass voice. The Portuguese hymn they sing with
science; but, as I had heard this hymn at the Portuguese
Ambassador’s Chapel in London, in which several of the first-rates of
the Opera took parts, the effect here was diminished: they select, too,
from profane music, and I applaud them for it, following the remark
attributed to our Rev. Rowland Hill, on the introduction of “Rule
Britannia,” and “Hearts of Oak,” into his chapel—“It is really a great
shame the devil should have all the pretty tunes to himself.” If music
be the “food of love,” it is equally so of religion, insensibly leading the
mind to an enthusiasm, and that softness, that compensates for “a
dull age of pain.” I wish they would reform the dismal hum-drum
music of our English churches. I do not wish the lively dance; but
something a little less gloomy than the present mode. My English
friends will be shocked to hear that in a Buenos Ayres church they
have played and sung to the charming air that opens our petit opera
of Paul and Virginia, “See from ocean rising.” At Monte Video, I heard
the Tyrolean war song, or our “Merrily O,” upon the organ, in a
church. Music and religion have, and will, raise these people to war
and desperation; other causes must combine to have the same effect
upon Englishmen.
Persons of both sexes go to confession very young—even at the early
age of ten years. At church confessions, the priest is seated in the
box, to which there is an iron-grating on one side, and through this he
hears the confession of the parties upon their knees outside. I have
seen several women confess;—somehow or other the sex have more
devotion than us men. Doubtless, it is a relief to the overcharged
heart to unbosom itself, and receive the consolations of religion; and I
can fancy the happiness experienced from the gentle expostulations
of an amiable priest, who, in censuring the errors, bids the sinner not
despair of mercy. We, of Protestant creed, appeal to God alone,
disdaining earthly interference. This system of divulging our inmost
thoughts has, at all times, been an argument with the opponents of
the Romish church, who instance, that the peace of families or
nations are at the mercy of a mortal man; and if breaches of
confidence are rare, still some villain might betray his trust, and ruin
his unsuspecting victims. To the honour of the Catholic priesthood,
such probabilities are very remote. I am afraid that I should make a
sad father confessor: loveliness upon the bended knee before me
would destroy all my philosophy; I should at once accord them
absolution, remission, and every thing else; and, forgetful of my oaths
and sacred calling, turn suppliant at the feet of those who came to me
as their pastor and guide.
Females are at times seen in the streets habited as nuns, in flannel
vestments, crosses, beads, &c. the effect of a vow made during
sickness or penance. The sins of some of these young creatures
cannot have been very flagrant: I should have pardoned them for the
pleasure of receiving their confessions again. There is likewise a
house in which females pass weeks in penitence and prayer.
It is observed of the Spanish female, that she will give herself up to
all the voluptuousness of pleasure, haste to the church, and,
prostrating herself before her favourite saint, return to sin again. I will
not venture to be so severe a censurer as to hazard an opinion upon
this: but, as my eye wandered over the countenances of many a fair
creature of Buenos Ayres, kneeling in graceful beauty before the
inanimate saint, I fancied all and more than books had ever told me;
for, “with faces that seemed as if they had just looked in Paradise, and
caught its early beauty,” I fancied that many of earthly mould shared
in those contemplations so seemingly devoted to heaven.
Small figures of the Virgin Mary, in glass cases, are kept in the
apartments of various homes. In apothecaries’ shops I have
particularly noticed them, to bespeak a blessing, doubtless, upon their
physic. In the mansions of the poorer class they are more frequently
seen; the costly saint and miserable dirty furniture of the rooms
contrasted. A full-length figure of a saint, in a wire cage, with lamps
on each side, is in the street of Le Cuyo, placed in accordance with a
vow made in a period of danger; but, in general, there are less
externals of the church in the public streets and roads than might be
expected.
On passing a church, it was a constant custom to take off the hat; but
few do it now. The beggars about these holy edifices clamour for
charity, for the love of God and St. Rosario, or any other apostle
favourite. These beggars are great thieves; I have lost several articles
by their professional visits to my lodgings. They do not shoulder
crutches and wooden legs, either to fight or run, as their London
brethren, upon the approach of the police. One of my friends told me
of an old woman, in Buenos Ayres, that spits upon every person she
supposes to be an Englishman. Not having had the fortune to receive
this lady’s favours, I cannot vouch for the truth of the story.
The priesthood are not so illiberal as report makes them out; they are
painted to us as having a fixed hatred to Protestants, conceiving them
to be the authors of all the obloquy the Catholics have endured from
time to time. It must be recollected, that we have our errors on the
score of prejudice likewise.
The friars of Buenos Ayres have amongst their body men of
considerable learning; and, whatever hostility exists towards the
system, they, as individuals, do not generally share in it. There may
be one or two black sheep in the flock; and scandal takes care to
blazen forth their deeds, particularly all that relates to their amours,
but the common frailty of our nature should teach us to be merciful
judges where love is concerned. The people have much respect for
them; and, from what I have heard, they deserve it. Formerly, it is
related, that on any offender being flogged in the public streets, the
appearance of a priest calling for mercy would stop the infliction. If
this was the case in England, our unflogged thieves would be bound
to pray for them.
Four years since, two Englishmen having quarrelled, one of them ran
into Le Merced church for protection from his opponent, who
followed, and beat him under the very robes of the priest; a guard
was called, and the offender taken into custody. Having an excellent
character, he was liberated from prison on bail; and the affair ended
in an expensive law suit. Some years back, he would have been
severely punished for his inconsiderate conduct.
Some of the friars are handsome men: I have remarked one of them
a counterpart of Young the actor. Their dress, shaven crown, and dark
hair, added much to their appearance: the ugly attire they now wear,
is a sad drawback. In my casual rencontres with them, I ever found
them polite and attentive, effacing that diffidence which a stranger
feels in venturing upon their hallowed precincts. The inquisition has
never been established in Buenos Ayres; but I have often been cruel
enough to fancy, that such and such a priest had a countenance like
an inquisitor.
The suppression of the monasteries, in 1822, caused a great deal of
discussion. There were those of the well-inclined who were not
without apprehensions, and seemed disposed to let the presumed evil
continue, rather than risk a change. The government must have felt
their own strength, when they determined to reform so influential a
portion of the church, having to encounter the prejudices and
fanaticism of those grown grey in the old order of things, who
regarded meddling with the church as little short of heresy. The friars
were, in a manner, domesticated with the first families of Buenos
Ayres, and ever received as welcome guests. They must (at least,
some of them) have felt great reluctance to quit the convents, in
which they had expected to remain for life, and regret at parting with
the attire of their order. Discontent was engendered, at times, almost
amounting to threats, which found vent in a conspiracy, ending in the
banishment of Taglé, its author; and another more serious one, of the
19th March, 1823. The result of these abortive attempts served to
confirm the power and influence of the existing government. The
majority of the people, I should conceive, thought an alteration
necessary in the clergy: many of that majority had visited Europe, and
became divested of the narrow policy the Spaniards had taught them.
Elderly ladies, of all countries, are allowed to be more pious than the
rest of society. The friars in Buenos Ayres found them staunch
advocates of their cause.
To counteract the strong feeling that existed for the friars, the press
of the day had recourse to ridicule, as well as to argument: a
publication called the “Llobera,” teemed with paragraphs and
anecdotes, often so indecent that it injured the cause it proposed to
serve. This print was soon laid aside. In the mean time, the
suppression gradually went on; and all that now remains of the
monasteries of Buenos Ayres are the Franciscans. The buildings will
soon perhaps be converted to other uses. The ejected friars, throwing
off their habit, assumed a clerical half-dress, very similar to that of
our clergymen; and the Dominicans, Mercedites, &c. are now met in
the streets, as simple citizens, no longer wearing the livery of the
founders of those orders. Three years ago, groupes of friars were
continually about the church doors, in coffee-houses, and the streets,
segar smoking, apparently under no church restrictions: when a
reform was agitated, they were more strict, and the convent gates
were closed at a certain hour. The Franciscans, who yet keep
together, are rarely to be seen abroad, except the messengers, or lay
brothers, who are, in dress and figure, no bad copy of their prototype,
in The Duenna.
If the original rules of monastic institutions were put in full force, few
claimants would be found for the honour of entering them. A suitable
provision has been made for those who have left their convents; the
government appropriating the lands attached for the benefit of the
state. Time appears, in some measure, to have healed the wounds of
the discontented, though there are some who pretend the flame is
smothered, and not burnt out; “Give it vent,” they say, “and ’twill
blaze again.”
There are two convents for NUNS, St. Juan and St. Catalina, each
containing about thirty. The regulations of St. Juan’s are very rigid:
they wear clothing of the coarsest nature, and the beds, and every
other accommodation, are of the same description. No one is
permitted to see them, except their nearest relations, and that very
rarely. Heavens! how ardent must be that devotion, that can
voluntarily embrace such a life! A female, on her first entrance, may
leave at the end of a year; but, after that time, she is professed, and
must conform to the rules. Very few, I believe, take advantage of this
option. Such is the force of religious enthusiasm, that they gladly bid
farewell to the world, wishing no father, mother, lover, friend, but their
God and Saviour.
At St. Catalina’s they are not so strict, being allowed indulgences
unknown to the self-immolated of St. Juan.
I have never seen any of the fair inhabitants of these convents; but
when the nuns of Buenos Ayres have formed the subject of
conversation, I have eagerly listened, expecting to hear something of
disappointed love, or confidence betrayed. Alas it was in vain: the
ladies of St. Juan and Catalina are nuns from the dull routine of
religion, with one exception only, if my information is true; and
advantage was not taken to quiz my avidity for nunnery news. The
tale runs, that St. Juan’s convent does contain, a victim of “despised
love.” Her lover, an officer, of course—for what men in trade ever think
of love?—joined the army in Peru, and married another. At the age of
seventeen, the fair, betrayed girl fearlessly took the veil, chiding her
weeping mother for her cruelty, nay, sinfulness, at shewing such
affliction for what constituted her daughter’s only happiness. An
account of the ceremony was given me;—but who shall take the field
in description, after the glowing details we have read in romances?
and especially at second-hand.
The majority of the nuns in these two convents are aged, having
received very few additions, lately, of the youthful class. Has man,
false man, become more constant, no longer striving to break the
heart of the doting fair one or, are the ladies less sensitive, preferring,
at all hazards, this bustling world to the cloister’s gloom, exclaiming
with Sheridan’s Clara,

“Adieu, thou dreary pile, where never dies

“The sullen echo of repentant sighs!”

In the most minute affairs of the Romish church, there is a formula,

which, having antiquity for its basis, imposes upon the mind of its
followers; and, as regards a conventual life, the first dawn of such a
wish, even before the parties quit their parents’ house, amounts to a
ceremony. In the year 1822, my curiosity was gratified by an
exhibition of this sort. I was invited to a house, in which a lady, about
to become a nun, was receiving the last farewells of her friends. It
was evening; and it was with difficulty that I gained admittance from
the crowd outside. The lady was seated in the sala; arrayed in her
best attire; her head and neck decorated with jewellery; such is the
fashion, this being a contrast to the dress she was about to assume.
Music was heard; and it seemed more like a party met for gaiety, than
one in which the afterpiece was to be so serious—the taking from the
world a fellow-creature. The lady—I was going to write, victim—was
all smiles; no regrets were apparent in her bosom; she received the
adieus of her friends with calm composure. A friar, attached perhaps
to the convent, was in the room: in taking her final leave, she was
escorted by him and her relatives. With a firm step, bowing to all
around, she quitted the room. In passing our party (consisting of
several Englishmen), I thought she eyed us particularly; we bowed to
her; and the door closed upon us. That same night, I am informed,
she was conducted to the gloomy walls of St. Juan, and has since
taken the veil. The lady appeared about nineteen or twenty years of
age; she was not handsome, but the occasion rendered her very
interesting.
The first RELIGIOUS PROCESSION I had ever seen, was that of St. Rosario,
in Buenos Ayres; and it is not possible I can forget the impression it
made upon me. Those details which, when a school-boy, I dwelt upon
with such delight, were now, in my manhood, brought full before my
eyes, losing nothing of their interest; on the contrary, I found that
imagination does not always come up to the reality. The churches of
France and Belgium I had visited with far different emotions: Spain,
and Spanish connexions, thought I, contain all that can fix the
attention of the Protestant inquirer, who wishes to see the Catholic
church the same in the nineteenth as in the fourteenth century. Spain
clings to it; with its many imperfections, as a fond lover to an idolized
mistress; else they would not have suffered foreigners to overrun
their soil. What would the heroes of Roncevalles and Pavia have said
to those events?
The figure of St. Rosario, full-robed, was carried by soldiers, on a
stage. The Virgin, on another stage, followed, flanked by numbers of
the faithful carrying large lighted candles; these were chiefly old men,
and boys. The host, and attendant priests wafting incense towards
this sacred emblem, formed a conspicuous part; with groups of friars
chaunting their prayers, in which they are joined by the crowd. A
huge cross, apparently of silver, and borne by friars, precedes the
whole. A small band of violinists attend, and accompany the singing:
they reminded me of our itinerant musicians, that serenade us of an
evening in London. The military band has a better effect. A halt is
made, at intervals, at the corners of streets, or opposite temporary
altars, which the devotion of the pious has raised in front of their
houses: they consist of tables, covered with white linen, with small
images of Jesus, the Virgin, crosses, &c. &c. and a mirror, garnished
with flowers and other decorations. Soldiers march in front and rear.
They, as well as every one else near the procession, are uncovered;
and when the ceremonies of the host are going on, all must kneel.
The houses display silks, tapestry, and other finery, arranged in front,
in the streets through which the cavalcade passes; and the balconies
are filled with spectators. The saints and his dumb attendants (the
images), are finally deposited at their head-quarters, the church. A