It is a long step toward relieving the pressure of modern needs when a race, whose women have been so closely guarded as have those of Spanish ancestry, can throw off the prejudices of traditional custom and meet a present demand with a present remedy. The adverse fortunes of war in the southern part of the United States forced many gently born women to enter the business world. At first they stayed at home and earned a pittance bending over the embroidery frame, but modern machinery made even this a hopeless effort in the face of too strong competition, and they turned their attention to more lucrative posts. While war continues to destroy the natural breadwinners of society and to deplete the home treasury, it is useless to preach about “woman’s sphere.” [Illustration: MAIN CORRIDOR OF THE NATIONAL CLUB, LIMA.] While the descendants of the Spaniards in Peru have been the directing power in the affairs of the republic, as they were in the viceroyalty, yet the _mestizo_ and the Indian have not remained ciphers in the social development of the nation. The descendants of the Inca princes were educated in colonial days in colleges especially established for that purpose, and under the republic all classes of Indians have received the benefits of instruction; but it is not to be expected that the descendants of the Inca’s humble subjects can show the same degree of progress as those whose ancestors were of the family of Manco-Ccapac, and had the mental training of royal princes for long generations. The latter are intelligent, very proud, and have shown themselves worthy of the white man’s admiration on many occasions. General Andrés Santa Cruz was of the Inca’s race, as were many others who contributed to the triumph of republican principles in the great war of independence. In the _sierra_, many families of Inca descent, whose sons have filled posts of importance in the republic, have comfortable homes and broad acres rich in harvests. The race, as a whole, however, shows no more initiative to-day than at the time of the conquest; under the present government, the Indian is generally contented and obedient, peacefully cultivating the fields as he did under the Inca’s rule. His songs, called _tristes_ by his Spanish compatriots, are most melancholy and seem to express the sadness of ages. Indeed, the Indian himself looks like a survival of antiquity, out of place in a modern world. The _mestizos_ are apparently a much happier people than the Indians; they are good artisans and are successful in trade. They attend faithfully to religious duties, and throng the processions of the Virgin, and other feasts in celebration of the saints. These processions take place in every city and town of the republic, and though they have lost much of the sumptuous magnificence that characterized all religious festivals under the viceroyalty, they are still conducted with great ceremony. [Illustration: ANNUAL PROCESSION IN HONOR OF SAINT ROSE OF LIMA.]