430 HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



faparilla began to be employed in 1535, and China root 

 about the fame time ; and faffafras a little after. 



The other proof by Oviedo, for he only offers two, 

 is, that among the Spaniards who returned with Colum- 

 bus from his fecond voyage in 1496, was D. P. Marga- 

 rit, a Catalonian, " who," he fays, " was fo ailing, and 

 u complained fo much, that I do believe he felt thofe 

 " pains which perfons infected with fuch diftempers feel, 

 " though I never faw a pimple in his face. A few 

 " months after in the fame year, this ailment began to 

 " be felt amongft fome proftitutes ; for, at firft, thedif- 

 " temper was confined to low people. It happened af- 

 " terwards, that the great captain was fent with a large 

 tf and fine army into Italy, . . . and among thofe Spani- 

 " ards who went in this force were many infected with 

 " this diftemper ; from whom, by means of women, &c." 

 fuch are Oviedo's proofs, which have not merited even 

 this mention. 



M. de Paw thinks he has gained the argument, and 

 demonftrated the truth of the common opinion, from the 

 teftimony of Roderigo Diaz de Ida, a phyfician of Seville, 

 whom he calls a contemporary author, as he thinks his 

 teftimony decifive ; but Diaz was neither a contemporary 

 author, having written fixty years after the difcovery of 

 the French evil, nor does his account merit any faith. 

 He fays, that the firft Spaniards, when they returned 

 with Columbus from Hifpaniola, in 1493, carried the 

 contagion to Barcelona where the court was then held ; 

 that this city was the firft infected ; that it made fuch 

 havoc there, that prayers, fading, and almfgiving were 

 appointed to appeafe the anger of God ; that Charles of 

 France, having gone the year after into Italy, certain 

 Spaniards who were infected there, or many regiments 



as 



