528 / 1070
Royal_
Commentariu.
Boo~ll.
CH
A P~
IV.-
kumminaví
tak§s all the Sele[l Virgins of a Conveni añél
Éuries
them alive.
T.·
W
O
Spanifh
Hiílorians treating of che Crue!ties of
Rummina:11i,
fpecifie a–
, mongfr che reíl:, one of che moíl: barbarous pieces of inhumanity that ever
was committed: They fay, chat when
Rumminavi
carne to
f2.J.!1tu,
where entertairi-
. r,
ing fome difcourfe with che Women; ~e faid éb them,
Cheer up, and be
merry,
ce
for the ChriftianJ are now coming with whoifl
JOU
may
fo/ace
JOUr
fe/vei
;
át whié:h fome
'' 0f che Women happening innocently to laugh, thinking no hure, he fpoiled
·" their jeíl:, and cut cheir chroats, and burnt down the Clofet or With-drawlng–
" room of
Atahualpa :
Thefe are the words of one of the Writers; and the dther
agrees with him in che fame fenfe. Bue the truch of th~ íl:ory is this : The Ty–
rant one day went to vifü che Convent of chofe who are called the Seleét Vir–
.gins, with intencion
to
chufe out from chofe Wornen who were there placed, and
feparated for the ufe of
Atahualpa,
fome
of
che mofl: beautífull and pleafing
to
his
fancy;
in regard that he being declared King, ali che Women, Efl:are, and Riches
of his Predeceífour devolved
to
him with the poífeflion of the Kingdom. Di-f–
courfing one day with thefe Ladies concerning che prefenc ílate, and fucceffes of
affairs, he defcribed che behaviour and habit of the
Spaniard1,
whofe Bravery and
Valour he excolled to a high degree, fayin~, That it was no íhame to Ay from
~hei.r irrefifüble fury ; that they were a íl:range fort of people wich Beards in rheir
faces, and were moumed upon creatures called Horfes, which were fo fhong and
fierce, chat a ,thoufand
IndiAm
were not able to withítand che violence of one df
..them,and with che fwifmeís of his caniere was
fo
terrible as
to
rout, and put rhem
ali to fügbt.
He
_added _farther, That che
Spaniard1
carried Thunder and Light–
ning with them, by which they could kili che
lndian1
at two or three hundred Paces
diíl:ant from chem, and thac they were armed wich Iron from head
to
foor.
In
fine, a:fm he had defcribed them with high admiration, he faid, that chey wore a
certain kind of Codpiece, like a Box wnerein ro inclofe their Genitals ; ic 1s ro ,
be füppofed, he meant che Codpiece
to
che Breeches, ( ufed in che days of Our
Henry
che Eighcb) which was a faíhion neicher modeíl: nor ufefull. The
W
o–
rnen hearing che latter pare of che Scory, burft out heartily into a laughcer, fuppo–
fing that they had rather pleafed chan angred
Rumminavi
cherewirh : but he on che
contrary incerpreting their laughcer ro be an effeét of unchaíl and difhoneíl de-
, fües, and chac tbey would joyn and concur with che
Spa11i11rd,
when occaÍion of–
fered, he was tranfponed wirh fuch rage, that
it
broke forrh into chis forious ian–
guage:
Ah wickfd Whorn and Traytorejfe1,
if
onely rvith tal~ of rhe
SpaniardSJ'OU
f/re
fo
pleafed, what wou!d you doe and ail niith them,
if
they 1vere prefent
?
But I Jha!l ta/et
care
io
fpoilyour fport and paftime rvith them.
So foon as che words \Vere o'ut of his
mouch, he,immediacely commanded his Officers
to
cake and carry all che Wo–
men, as well che young as che old, ro a_ílream of \~ater w_hich runs by the
City,
~nd to execuce u~on thern ch~ fame pumíhrnent wh1ch cheir Lav.: infüfü, \Yhich
1.
to bury them alive; accordmg to che Semence they were camed thirher, and
there interred alive under great heaps of íl:ones, which were thrown upon rhem
from ce ·rainMountains· and Rocks, which lye' on boch fides che River. T!ius
did this barbarous Tyrant difcover more unhumane cmelcy, and relemleís bowels
by
this Murtber cornmicted on poor füly Women, who knew noching bue ho\~
to Knit and Wea e; than by his bloudy treachery praétiíed on íl:ouc Souldiers
and Marcial Men; and what farther aggravaces bis crime, was, chac he was cher~ ·
pre[ent
to
fee the execution of his deceíl:able Sentence, being more plcaíed wich
che objefü of-his crne-lty, and his eyes more delighced wich che íad and difü,al
fight of
fo
many perifhing Virgins, chan wich any other proípeél: or colours
which could have been prefemed before h1s view. Thus ended chefe poor Vir-
gms,