408 / 1060
Royal
Commentaries.
makes no difference of Seafons, and is indeed the effeCl: ofN ature rather than of
urioftcy, or
any
other good Husbandry.
In
the Year
1560.
vvhich vvas about the time that
I
departed
from
Co:uo
and
fome
vvhile after, it vvas not the cufrome
to
afford Wine at the Table up
0 ; 1
an
in
itation of the Neighbours, vvho vvere fuch as vvere Mafiers of
Indians
ana
co~11mon
Guefis,
unl~[s
one, or
fo,
rnig~t
require
it
for
the. fake of his
H~ldi,
emg
accounted
a
p
o mtof Luxury and
Y
ice
f~r
any _one to drmk it for other
caufe
than for
neceffit~.
F.orvvhen the_
Spaniards
laid_their firfl: foundations of this Em..
pire, they aeted
it
v
v1thgreat fobnety, and havmg·began vvith hardlliip and tern
perance, they eafily continued a moderate and frugal Table
j
fo
that their
Gue{ls–
vvhen invited, vvould refufe Wine, though it vvere offered them; for they
kne\;
the price ro be
ye~
dear, being vvorth, vvhen
~heapefi,
at 1eafi thirty
Ducats
the Arrove, (vvhich is but tvvemy five pounds vve1ght) and continued at the fame
rice untill after the
yY
ars of
Francifco Hernandez. Giron.
In
the time of
Gonfnlo
Pifarro,_
and before,
1t
vvas vvnrth from three
hundr~d
to five hundred Ducars
the Arrove; and
in
the Years
i ) )
4.
and
5
5.
the Vintage
fo
generally failed through
d1e vvhole Kingdom; and fuch fcarcity there vvas of it in the City of
los
Reyer
that there vvas fcarce fufficient for the Sacrament.vvhich
is
celebrated in the
Mars:
vvherefore the Archbifhop
D.
[eronimo
.de
Loa_;fa,
ordered that half a Butt of
Win~
vvhich vvas found · a Hou[e fhould
be
conferved for the ufe and fervice of
che
M
ff
es.
In fuch
f
carcity and want of Wine they remained for feveral Days
and
M ·nths, until! a fhip arrived in
that
Port, belonging
to
two
Merchants-of
my ac–
quaintance~
(whom, out of refpeet to their .Noble Families, I forbear to
name,)
importing two thoufand Barrels of Wine, part of which they fold at
full:
for
thre~
hundred and Iixty Ducats the Barrel, and the latter parcel for no lefs than
n
o hundred. This account I received from a Mafier of one of the
Veifels
on
which I embarked
in
my
Voyage from
lor
Roye.r
to
Panama;
for
which reafons
Wine is not commonly drank. On a certain day a Gentleman who was
Maller
of
Indian.t
invited another
to
dine with him, who \.Vas Mailer of none, and being
jn cheerfuU converfcltion with five or
foe
Spaniards
more, he defired a
cup
of
Wa.
ter
to
driok; upon which the Mafier of the Houfe fent him Wine, but he refu-
.
fing it, faid that he drank no Wine; whereupon the Mafter replied, that
if
it
were
fo,
he fhould defire.
his
company to eat with him every day;
incimaring
rhat
the charge of Viet:uals was inconfiderable, provided that the reckoning were not
inflamed with Wine, \ hich yet was not refufed
[o
much for the dearnefs of
ic,
as
for the total waoc rhere was fomet1mes of it, being
brol.1ght
from
fo
remote
pares
as
p.ain.
C I-I A· P. .