jtew projects. 
7 
and. the king reccived'mc graciously. I explained to him tLe 
motives which led mo to undertake a voyage to the new 
world and the Philippine Islands, and I presented a memoir 
on the subject to the secretary of state. Sefior de Ur- 
quijo supported my demand, and overcame every obstacle. 
, obtained two passports, one from the first secretary of 
s a e, the other from the comicil of tho Indies. Never had 
no 6X . a P^^ission been granted to any traveller, and 
,i„ ver llac \ an J T foreigner been honoured with move eonfi- 
nco on the part ol the Spanish government. 
n „„ might have induced us to prolong 
able for thAv Sp ! lLU ' c ?- lle Cavanilles, no less remark- 
licence At v lety l" 3 attainments than liis acute intel- 
botanht Y 10 ’. 1:o f? cthcr with M. Hsenko, bad, as 
who lnrl f Y *] ie expedition of Malaspina, and 
in Pm" 0lalc d one ol the greatest lierbals ever seen 
Hip Iph ° P °i’ Casimir Ortega, the ablie Pourret, and 
p ‘ ln ?, 1 au lhors of the Flora of Peru, Messrs. Ruiz and 
Hp n ’ iir 0 P enp( l l *s without reserve their rich collcc- 
*• . We examined part of the plants of Mexico, dis- 
ci r . e •' Messrs. Sesse, Mocino, and Cervantes, whose 
u lavmgs hafi been scut to the Museum of Natural History 
" c, , f h J? I reat establishment, the direction of which 
gemmed to befior Clavijo, author of an elegant translation 
i the works ot Buffon, offered us, it is true, no geological 
representation of the Cordilleras, but III. Proust, so well known 
oy tne great accuracy of bis chemical labours, and a distin- 
guished mineralogist, M. llergen, gave us curious details 
on several mineral substances of America. It would have 
peen useful to us to have employed a longer time in stink- 
ing the productions of the countries which were to bo the 
objects ol our research, but our impatience to take advan- 
ge ot the permission given us by the court was too great 
o suffer us to delay our departure. For a year past, 1 bad 
experienced so many disappointments, that I could scarcely 
fenglh frdB tUat my most arrlollt wi ^ lics xi’ould bo at 
n f pu'rf Madrid about the middle of May, crossed a part 
! V* stlle ’ the kingdoms of Leon and Galicia, and 
reached Corunna, whence wc were to embark for Cuba, 
me winter having been protracted and severe, we enjoyed 
