386 APPENDIX. 



Excellency Don Juan Bautista Bustos, governor of the province of Cordova. 

 According to the religious institutes of Catholic countries, monks or friars are 

 not supposed to extend their affections to any thing beneath the dignity of the 

 church, the blessed Virgin, or some other heavenly chimera ; but that they 

 have their weaknesses, and, like other men, are sometimes led aside from the 

 paths of virtue, we have a living and unequivocal proof in the person of Don 

 Juan Bautista Bustos, who was the son of a friar : his mother was indeed a 

 slave j but she was one of the prettiest Mulatas in Cordova, so famed for that 

 cast. She was afterwards purchased by the friar by whom she had many chil- 

 dren. As Cordova is the seat of science and literature in America, it is very 

 natural to suppose that Bustos imbibed some tincture of both. He served in 

 the Spanish army as cadet ; and it is further said, that he particularly distin- 

 guished himself in Buenos Ayres, in 1807, against the English. However 

 that may be, Bustos is certainly a brave man, and his military promotions 

 have been gained in the field by his merit : nevertheless, he is ungrateful, 

 cruel, intriguing, and perfidious. 



Buenos Ayres now saw herself divested of those succours in which her 

 confidence and security were founded. Santa Fe was lost, Cordova no longer 

 recognised her authority ; and the army of Peru, which was expected to con- 

 quer her enemies, now was foremost in asserting the rights of the provinces. 

 The communication with the province of Cuyo was intercepted, and there 

 were reasons to fear, that that province would follow the example of Cor- 

 dova, whenever circumstances would be favourable to it. Thus deprived of 

 all its resources, Buenos Ayres saw, in its most dreadful shape, the impending 

 storm which was gathering over her head, and promised to crush her to the 

 dust : the day of retribution seemed fast approaching, in which she should 

 receive the punishment which was due to her insidious perfidy and un- 

 bounded ambition. In this lamentable dilemma, Pueyrredon and his con- 

 gress turned their eyes unanimously towards their champion San Martin, 

 the immortal and invincible hero of San Lorenzo, Chacabuco, and Mai/pii, 

 as the only person who could deliver them from the hands of their enemies. 



San Martin had crossed the Andes, and was with his grenadiers, dragoons, 

 and Cazadores, in Mendoza. The army of the Andes, which San Martin 

 commanded, belonged to Buenos Ayres. His obligations to Pueyrredon 

 were, or ought to have been infinite, for having selected him, from amongst 

 many who possessed greater merit, to fulfil the office which he held ; but he 

 had cunning enough to foresee that the Federal army was superior to his 



