188 



some slight remnants were preserved, till the 

 expulsion of the Jesuits, in the library of St. 

 Peter and St. Paul at Mexico. A part of the 

 paintings collected by Boturini was sent to Eu- 

 rope in a Spanish vessel, which was taken by 

 an English privateer. It was never known 

 whether these paintings reached England, or 

 whether they were thrown into the sea as of no 

 value. A well informed traveller has assured 

 me, that a Codex Mexicanus is shown in a li- 

 brary at Oxford, which in the liveliness of its 

 colours resembles that of Vienna ; but Robert- 

 son, in the last edition of his history of America, 

 says expressly, that no other monument of 

 Mexican industry and civilization exists in Eng- 

 land, beside a golden cup of Montezuma's, be- 

 longing to Lord Archer. How could this Ox- 

 ford collection have remained unknown to the 

 illustrious Scottish historian ? 



The greater part of the manuscripts of Bo- 

 turini, those which were confiscated in New 

 Spain, were torn, pillaged, and dispersed by 

 persons, who were ignorant of the value of these 

 objects. What exists at present, in the palace 

 of the viceroy, composes only three packets, 

 each seven decimetres square by five in height. 

 They remained in one of the damp apartments 

 of the ground floor with the archives of the 

 government, which the viceroy, Count Revill*- 

 gigedo removed, because the humidity mould- 



