_ 438 
dians, who inhabit the mountainous ter- 
ritory, and by the {kill of the Ceamatas f, 
the fucceffors of the ancient Azzautas. 
The government of the Caciques over 
feveral of the tribes, which they ruled 
abfolutely, their inflexible juftice, and the 
order and economy they obferved, are il- 
luftrative of the mild fway exercifed in 
every part of Peru by the yncas, during 
the exiftence of their monarchies. 
_ if to all thefe foundations, the exami- 
nation of the-Quechua tongue were to 
be added, the degtee of civilization they 
had attained, and alfo the duration of 
their empire, might be eftimated. Words 
are the images of thought ; the {weet- 
nefs and tafte with which they delineate 
it, and the vivacity with which they re- 
prefent it, point out the the ratio of the 
ftate and the cultivation of the human 
mind, j 
With thefe materials, we fhall embel- 
lifh the hiftorical part of the Mercury, 
which will treat occafionally of the he- 
roical times of Peru. We indulge a 
hope, that all the lovers of antiquity will 
afford us their help, and thar the man 
whofe curiofity equally pants after the 
future and the paft, will receive with 
complacency this part of our labours. 

To the Editor of ibe Monibly Magazine. 
SIR, 
_ proceedings of the National Infti- 
tute of France, form net one of the 
feaft valuable parts of your popular Maga- 
zine; and I truft that they will not only 
be continued, but that you will endeavour 
to extend your obfervations to the pro- 
ceedings of foreign focieties in general. 
Tam of opinion, that as the proceedings 
of the Englith focieties, particularly thoie 
af the Royal Society, are regularly publifh- 
ed,,and afterwards analyfed in various 
reviews, they are aot fit objects of notice 
in a mifcellany, which only treats its 
readers with novelties. Perhaps, how- 
ever, a fhort account of the prefent flate, 
&c. of the Royal Society may not be 
unacceptable to mof of your numerous 
country readers, and, in that expeCtation, 
I have added a few particulars relpedting 
it, which are not commonly known. 
The Royal Society, at prefent, holds 
its Meetings in apartments in Somerfet- 

+ Thefe are Indians of the province of 
Choque -Ceamata, fituated in the intendency of 
la Paz, who, in imitation of the earlier phyfi- 
cians of Greece, travel over the kingdom, pro- 
vided with heibs, drugs, &c. curing, empiri- 
cally, but oftentimes with great fuccels. 
Eaglifh Royal Society. 
[ Dec. 
Place, the term of feffion being from the 
beginning of November till the conclufion 
of Trinity term, the fucceeding fummer. 
The meetings are once a week, for one 
hour, on the Thurfday evening of each 
week, from eight till nine o'clock. There 
are two fecretaries, one on each fide of - 
the prefident, the minuting or elder 
fecretary on the right, and the reading 
fecretary on the left fide of him. The 
bufinefs of the evening commences by the 
former reading the minutes he has made 
of the proceedings at the laft week’s 
meeting, noting the ftrangers prefent, the 
ballots for candidates, the admiffions and 
prefents, if any, and laftiy, a very neat 
and circumftantial detail of the contents 
and-particulars of fuch new communica- 
tlons or papers as were read at the laft_ 
meeting. Thefe minutes and papers are 
always heard with great -pleafure and 
attention, as embracing a clear and com- 
prehenfive account of the papers, fepa- 
rated from their, extraneous and lefs 
material parts, and are commonly better 
adapted for underftanding the fubjeé& 
than the papers themfeives.. For which 
reafon, it would be, perhaps, an acceptable 
fervice to have the whole colleGtion of 
thefe minutes of papers publithed in a 
feparate work, efpecially thofe of the 
prefent and laft minuting. fecretaries, 
which we have often attended to with 
much pleafure and improvement. 
The minutes of the former meeting 
having thus been gone through, the other, 
or reading fecretary, begins, and reads, 
at full length, fuch other papers as have 
been communicated to the fociety, either - 
by its members, or ftrangers, till, the. 
clock ftrkke nine, when he is immedi-: 
ately Ropped, and the meeting is con- 
cluded. : 
In this way the whole routine of buf- 
efs at the ordinary meetings is conduét- 
~ed. The next moft material duty of the - 
fociety, is the feleéting and publifhing the 
beit and fitteft of the papers that have thus 
been read at the weekly fittings. For 
this purpofe, and for managing the other 
concerns of the fociety, a committee of 
the members meet once a month, where 
the papers are reconfidered and feleéted 
for publication, by ballot; thofe that are 
not deemed worthy that honour, are de- 
pofited with the archives of the fociety. 
The fele€ted papers are then delivered to 
the reading fecretary for publication, he 
having the charge of that bufinefs. 
Notwithftanding this official determina. 
tion of the fate of the papers, the fociety 
difclaims alt refponfibility’as to the aceu-— 
racy 
