190 



ing Azteck paintings, and in copying those he 

 was unable to purchase : his friend Gama, au- 

 thor of several astronomical memoirs, bequeath- 

 ed him all the most valuable hieroglyphical ma- 

 nuscripts he possessed. In the new continent, 

 as well as in every other country, private indivi- 

 duals, and those not the most opulent, become 

 the collectors and preservers of objects, which 

 are worthy the protection of governments. 



In the kingdom of Guatimala, or in the in- 

 terior of Mexico, I know of no persons ani- 

 mated with the same zeal as Alzate, Velasquez, 

 and Gama. The hieroglyphic paintings are 

 now so scarce in New Spain, that the greater 

 part of the well informed men who reside there 

 :have never seen any ; and among the remains 

 #f the collection of Boturini there is not a single 

 manuscript so fine as the Codices Mexicani 

 of Veletri and Rome. I have however no doubt, 

 that several objects of importance to the study 

 of history may be still found in the hands of the 

 Indians, who inhabit the province of Mechuacan, 

 the Intendancies of Mexico, Puebla, and Oaxaca, 

 the peninsula of Yucatan^ and the kingdom of 

 Guatimala. In these countries the nations, who 

 were emigrants from Aztlan, had reached a 

 certain degree of civilization ; and a traveller, 

 who, understanding the Azteck, Tarasck and 

 Maya languages, could obtain the confidence 

 of the natives, might still collect, three cen- 



