ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 



1017 



to their guests, ^vliom tlicy salute by 

 kissing the points of the fin2;crs, 

 with vvliich tln?y afterwards stroke 

 the chin, and then hold ont the 

 hand agreeably to the usage of civi- 

 lized nations." 



It would have been much our 

 wis!) to have givcu an extract 

 from the v> ry interesting account 

 which our author now gives of the 

 "public congregation of negroes, re- 

 siding with.il the district of Lima," 

 and who form, in Peru, the great 

 mass of the rural and domestic 

 servants, but we have already given 

 almost more than its due share of 

 attention to a single article. 



The following part of the work, 

 being the seveiith, is occupied by a 

 view of the particular topography 

 of Peru, under the several heads of 

 " a description of the province of 

 Tiir/ja, so railed after its banovolent 

 discoverer." " Plan for gaining ac- 

 cess to, and peopling the Andes 

 mountains of the province of Gua- 

 inalies, jiroposcd and set on 

 loot by John Juan de Bezares," 

 and, " the repOpulation of the 

 valley of Vitoc." VVe could di- 

 late, with pleasure, upon each of 

 these articles, particularly the se- 

 cond, but, for the reason already 

 given, we must content ourselves 



with recommending them to the 

 perusal of our readers, as well for 

 the information they afford of a 

 vast, but hitherto unexplored traft 

 of country, as also of the_ rare 

 instances of patriotism, and energy 

 of niinu, exhibited by individuals, 

 who are particularly mentioned, 

 such as Don Juan de Bezares, and 

 Don Juan Maria dc Galvez, who 

 appear to have been the real bene- 

 factors of their country. 



Among tl'.e discoveries made by 

 the former, "after having clomb 

 mountains, descended into abysses, 

 penetrated forests, and gained 

 heights, at the manifest risk of 

 falling from the precipice they 

 presented, he then finally met, not- 

 only with a convenient scite for the 

 opening of a road, but also with 

 many rivulets and streams, spacioifs 

 plains, vestiges of ancient towns, 

 immense pastures, abandoned plan- 

 tations, dormant mines, above all 

 with mountains thickly covered 

 with the * Cinchona, or Quina 

 tree, the existence of wliich had 

 never been ascertained, in that 

 territorv. In a word, he saw be- 

 fore him an unexplored country, 

 capable of becoming a new pro- 

 vince, richer than many of tlrose 

 that are peopled." 



* This will not nppear qjtraordinary, when it is considered that a century and 

 a h:ilf had elapsed, iil'ttr the arrival of Columbus in America, when the iirst dis- 

 covery of ilie quiua was ujadc. This happened in ilie year 1(538, under the vice- 

 royalty of (!<iUiitdeCiiK!ii)n, whose lady ihen laboured uiuier an obstinate tertian 

 fe\ei-. The C'lre'^idor of Loxa, to whom, an Indian hud just revealed the \irtues 

 of this rcuiedy, having lieen informed of the countess's illness, sent to Lima a 

 packet of the pt>wdeicJ qiiinu, whicii was successfully aduiiiiistered liy the phy- 

 sician in ciii<'f, .loan de Ve<;a, who was likewise captaiu of tiie armory. On the 

 expiration of hii <j;ovcrnmcnt, in 1630, the count carried widi him a quantity ot the 

 pulvcri/cd bark to Spain, when it was named the countess's powder. Tl>c Jesuits 

 eonveycfl another parcel to Home, bestowing a portion on cardinal de Luijo, and 

 distributing the rest jiratuitously ; on wliich account it was named, by some, the 

 powder of the reverend fatllers, and by others, the cardinals' powder. 



