Johann Jakob von Tschudi (1818–1889)

This is one of the oldest bks in my collection. The full title is "Travels in Peru, during the years 1838-1842, on the coast, in the Sierra, across the Corcilleras and the Andes, into the primeval forests." Flipping open to page 72 I find:

"Above all things the Limeñas pride themselves on the excessive smallness of their feet. Whether walking, standing, sitting, swinging in the hammock, or reclining on the sofa, the grand object invariably is to display to advantage the tiny foot."

I remember loaning this to a doctor to read when I was a research volunteer for a cholera study at the University of Maryland Hospital in downtown Baltimore. He thought the author was exaggerating his stories about encountering bandits. Contrarily, the bandits story seemed plausible enuf to me.

Anyway, as w/ "A Relation of Maryland", reading such old books is very educational, whereas reading the latest escapist novel most likely isn't.… (más)