ultures of America or even
of Europe. Marriage was regarded as a sacred relation, and adultery was
considered one of the most heinous of crimes, being punishable with
death. In this and other places, however, it must be borne in mind that
in speaking of the old Peruvian civilization, the word "punishable" is
necessarily used instead of the more positive "punished"; for it does
not seem that all the laws were straitly enforced. It was, for example,
a singular provision of this law that made no distinction between
adultery and fornication, both being equally visitable by death; yet
there was a recognized, if not legalized, system of prostitution in the
cities of the Incas. Such a contradiction of facts casts a very grave
suspicion upon the integrity of the whole of the code in which that
contradiction appears; and it may therefore be supposed that much of the
legislation of the Incas was allowed to remain a dead letter. Still, the
tendency of thought among a people can frequently be discovered by a
study of their statute-book, even if the laws be not implicitly
enforced; and we may judge from the laws of the Incas that the people
over whom they ruled were straitly moral according to their lights,
which is all that can justly be demanded of any people, even the most
civilized.

The other facts pertaining to the status of women in that wonderful
civilization which Pizarro destroyed may be well summed up within the
scope of a paragraph. The women of the Peruvians knew a domestic lot
which was strongly akin to that held by their Aztec contemporaries. They
were reared in affection, though with some severity, and they were early
taught the principles of chastity, modesty, and reverence for parents
and religion, as well as the more material knowledge that enters into
the life of the normal woman of all cultures: housewifery, needlework,
and certain of the arts pertaining to the household. The Peruvian maiden
was well fitted for the responsibilities and dignities of wifehood ere
she was allowed to assume that place of honor; and the occasion of her
marriage was marked by a ceremony so quaint and original that it
deserves special mention. The Peruvian maidens could not choose their
own marriage day; this was appointed by law, and only once did it come
in a year, so that each twelvemonth there was a season of bridal
rejoicing throughout the land. Those who were desirous of being married
assembled on this stated day in the public sq