282 JOURNAL. 



scepticism." And this appears to me to be exactly the state of 

 San Martin's mind. From religion, and the changes it has un- 

 dergone from corruptions and from reformations, the transition 

 was easy to political revolutions. The reading of all South Ame- 

 rican reformers is mostly in a French channel ; and the age of 

 Louis XIV. was talked of as the direct and only cause of the French 

 revolution, and consequently of those in South America. A slight 

 compliment was thrown in to King William before I had ventured 

 to observe, that perhaps the former evils and present good of these 

 countries might in part be traced to the wars of Charles V. and his 

 successor, draining these provinces of money, and returning nothing. 

 A great deal more passed, ending in a reference to that advance of 

 intellect in Europe which in a single age had produced the invention 

 of printing, the discovery of America, and begun that reformation 

 that had bettered even the practice of Rome herself. Zenteno, glad 

 to attack Rome, and to show his reading, exclaimed, " And well did 

 her practice need reform ; for she would have crowned Tasso, and 

 did crown Petrarch, but imprisoned Gallileo." Thus taking the 

 converse of Foscolo's true and admirable doctrine, — that the exact 

 sciences may become the instruments of tyranny ; but never poetry, 

 or history, or oratory. I was glad of the interruption afforded by the 

 entrance of tea to this somewhat pedantic discourse, which I never 

 should have made a note of but that it was San Martin's. I apo- 

 logised for having no matee to offer ; but I found that both the 

 General and Zenteno drank tea without milk, with their segars in 

 preference. But the interruption even of tea, stopped San Martin 

 but for a short time. Resuming the discourse, he talked of physic, 

 of language, of climate, of diseases, and that not delicately ; and 

 lastly, of antiquities, especially those of Peru ; and told some very 

 marvellous stories of the perfect preservation of some whole families 

 of ancient Caciques and Incas who had buried themselves alive on 

 the Spanish invasion : and this brought us to far the most interesting 

 part of his discourse, — his own leaving Lima. He told me, that, 

 resolved to know whether the people were really happy, he used to 



