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608 
ever, an active member of the first Junta 
of Seville, and is supposed by his infiu- 
ehce with the mob, to have caused the 
gaurder of the amiable Count Aguilar, 
one of the victims of popular feeling in 
this city. When it was determined to 
create the Central Junta, for the super- 
intendance of the general affairs of the 
kingdom, by electing two members from 
each provincial Junta, Tilli, though one 
or the most worthless, was chosen by the 
Junta as the representative for Seville, 
merely, as it should seem, for the pur- 
pose of getting rid of him, Padre Gill, 
an ecclesiastic of worth, of patriotism, 
and of eloquence, had been one of the 
most energetic opposers of the French; 
he saw through the selfish views and 
bloody schemes of Tilli, loathed his asso- 
ciation, and conceiving that, after the 
formation of the Central Junta, that of 
Seville woultl still retain its influence and 
its power,and that its proceedings would be 
more respectable without the presence of 
Tilli, and knowing that the influence which 
his wealth gave him over the populace of 
Seville, would make his removal difficult, 
if not impossible, in any other way, he 
‘ promoted his nominatio 2@s a deputy to 
the Central Junta; and thus, while Se- 
ville was rid of him, he thought bat little 
of the mischief he might do when made 
a part of a higher body, which, whatever 
may have been the design of those who 
elected it, was sure to become the depo» 
Sitary of all the power, both legislative 
and executive. 
The other deputy from Seville, Don 
Vincente Hors, was chosen for reasons 
similar to those which procured the elec- 
tion of Tilli: he had been formerly pro- 
tegé of the Prince of Peace, and had 
filled the office of pander to the lusts of 
that minister. When the revolution 
broke out, he was warned by the fate 
of the unfortunate Count Aguilar, and 
became a furious patriot, Padre Gill, 
and the other patriots, blushed at such 
an associate, and, to remove the dis- 
grace from their body, sent him as a'vocal 
to the Central Junta. 
Iam afraid I should only create dis- 
gust were I to dwell on other characters 
among the vocals, as they are designated. 
I shall, therefore, pass over Riquelme, 
Caro, Calvo, Cornel, and others, to enter 
upon a more grateful subject, and give 
some account of JoveLtanos. Heis now 
an old man, but his. life has been spent 
Yn the exercise of virtue, in the cultiva- 
* tion of his mind, and in devising practical 
plens lor amelicrating the condition of 
Br. Jacob’s Travels in Spain. 
his country ; he has learnt, by suffering 
along and unmerited imprisonment, to 
raise himself above misfortune, and to 
prefer the good of his fellow-creatures to. 
those gratifications and indulgences which 
his subsequent elevation might have in- 
sured. He laboured diligently, during 
his exile in Majorca, to point out the 
evils which oppressed the agriculture of 
Spain, and prepared himself for levis-. 
Jation, by contemplating the sufferings 
which the old laws of entail, and morte 
main, had inflicted on the nation. At 
the first assembling of the Junta, it is 
said that Count Florida Blanca, who had 
been minister of Spain under the antient 
regimen, gave more importance to the 
rank of the grandees, and even to the 
vicious part of the antient forms and ine 
stitutions, than was compatible with the 
more correct, practical, and simple 
views of Jovellanos; that these two men 
formed the central points round which 
the other members rallied, and that the 
Majority, not being men of enlarged 
minds, coincided with the opinions of 
Florida Blanca more, than with those of 
Jovellanos, This adherence to the opi- 
nions of the former oceasioned the ap» 
pointment of Count Altamira to the pre- 
sidency of the Junta, and the retention 
of a cumbrous load of forms and ceremo- 
nies, only tending to cramp the exertions 
which Spain is now called upon to make. 
In private, Jovelianos is frugal and sim- 
ple in his manners, beloved by his friends, 
and esteemed by all who know him; he 
is even now a diligent student,-and has 
acquired a knowledye of the best writers 
in the Greek language superior to that 
of any man in Spain. 
SAAVEDRA, the minister of finance, 
and a native of this city, though of an ad- 
vanced age, discharges the duties of his 
office with integrity ; but it is supposed 
that his faculties have been much injured 
by an attempt to destroy him by poison, 
administered at the instigation of the 
Prince of Peace. Ithas injured his health, 
and his memory, bat he still retains his 
benevolent dispositions, and his patriotic 
abhorrence of the French. His house, 
the domestic arrangements of his family, 
and the whole economy of his establish- 
ment, more resemble those of a well rea 
gulated family in England, than is gene- 
rally seen in this country. His daughe 
ters, though not destitute of acéomplishr 
ments, have been taught to set an unusu 
ally high value on the cultivation of their 
minds, and they are the best-informed 
women Ihave met with in Spain, 
a a a = MS 
a 
