1924.} Miller on the Sailing Properties of Square-Rigged Ships. 
unusual, he said, to see the radical 
nuns going before the inquisitor-general 
of their order with black eyes, and 
other tokens of the courage with which 
they had maintained their doctrines. 
In the avenues of the shrubbery or 
tinta we met a fat monk, who, in the 
course of our conversation with him, 
regretted that the extreme poverty of 
the brother and sisterhood prevented 
our being received with the usual hos- 
pitality of their prosperous days. As he 
looked too comfortable a personage for 
a pauper, I remarked that fasting and 
mortification were forgotten with other 
comforts. This ill-timed repartee he 
took no notice of more than by a-sig- 
nificant shrug, remarking, that before 
the revolution, they. enjoyed many pri- 
vileges, but that the country growing 
poorer, and consequently more wicked, 
contributed very little at present to 
their support. I told him, for his con- 
solation, that a French and English 
colony would soon repeople the land, 
and give a fresh energy to manufacture 
and commerce. “ Oh, Santa-Maria,” 
said he, “ Voltaire and Paine’s dis- 
ciples !”. A prolonged ha-ra-co suc- 
ceeded a pause, in which he was evi- 
dently labouring under some mortifying 
perplexity; to add to his chagrin, I 
told him a worse evil than those was to 
follow, as the Methodist missionaries 
were instructing some Saint in the Spa- 
nish language, in order to preach the 
gospel in South America to the people 
of colour. I can hardly describe the 
emotions of the good father on hearing 
this account: he looked in despair, and 
prayed to God to remove him out of the 
world before that occurrence should take 
place. I left him, however, to his own re= 
fleetions, which I dare say were any thing 
rather than pleasant. The Frenchman 
wrinkled up his face into an arch smile, 
exclaiming, “ Monsieur padre is von 
damned grand gourmand,’ and added 
that this fellow was’a greater plague to 
him than any of the fathers; “ he used 
to squeeze my nose, Sennor, in the wafer 
tongs, if he had not the wafer for the 
sacrament and his breakfast-bread by six 
_ clock im the morning.” 
In our way onwards, we saw 
five other convents, mostly in ruins 
from the earthquake; but, dreadful as 
such an event must be, one can hardly 
regret its having destroyed these re- 
ceptacles of pious indolence, which 
operated as a double tax on the com- 
munity, by withdrawing from the ge- 
neral toil so many people capable of 
Monty Mac. No. 401. 
200 
labour, and then taxing those that re- 
mained, for their support. 
This charming spot is infinitely pic- 
turesque and delightful: a succession of 
the most fertile hacundas cover the vale 
for nine leagues; as far as the eye can 
range over to the lofty Paramos de los 
Cunegos Mountains you are sure to see 
the vine and clive appear in rich luxu- 
riance, festooning the props that support 
them, while vast plantations of sugar- 
cane diversify the appearance in the 
vallies. Nothing is wanted to the per- 
fection of this scene, but that moral 
beauty which is supplied by the presence 
of an industrious population, and hu- 
manity would hope that this will not 
long be wanted ; the tide of liberty and 
intelligence is setting in with a powerful 
flow over the whole world; and though 
despotism may check the rapidity of its 
course by temporary barriers, it must 
eventually bear down every obstacle op- 
posed to it, and leave only the ruins 
of slavery as the earthquakes have left . 
the ruins of the convents. 
—<— 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
On the Nature and Efficacy of a new 
Principle for improving the Sailing 
Properties of Squart-RiccepD Surrs. 
HE treatise lately published by Sir 
Henry Heathcote, Captain, R.N., 
demonstrating the superiority of his 
patent stay-sails over the common stay- 
sails, is an instance that some naval 
officers at least are superior to esta- 
blished prejudices, though the navy in 
general is slow to receive improve- 
ments. For nearly two centuries, the 
art of rigging ships has not undergone 
any material alteration upon scientific’ 
principles, as appears from original 
paintings and drawings of ships exe- 
cuted early in the seventeenth century, 
and from the writings of Sir Walter 
Raleigh. If, as the great Lord Bacon’ 
says, “ wise and exact men have 
thought. that there are ebbings and 
flowings of the arts and sciences ;” if is 
surely time, after having for two cen- 
turies overlooked defects, and “ vene- 
rated error,” that some progressive im- 
pulse should break the fascination which 
leads most men to think this art per- 
fect, though it is devoid of science, dis- 
figured by the complexity of clumsy 
expedients, and in many circumstances 
of wind and weather utterly inadequate 
to its true object. 
The writer of this article differs from 
Sir Henry Heathcote as to the means 
of improving the sails of ships. He 
does 
