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the remains of their hiftorical monuments." He perfifted nine years in his researches, with the enthusiasm of a projector, and the patience of an antiquary. In 1746, he published at Madrid, Idea de una Nueva Hiftoria General de la Ame

rica Septentrional, containing an account of the refult of his inquiries; and he added to it a catalogue of his American Hiftorical Museum, arranged under thirty fix different heads. His idea of a New Hiftory appears to me the work of a whimsical credulous man. But his catalogue of Mexican maps, paintings, tribute - rolls, calendars, &c. is amazing. Unfortunately a

ship, in which he had fent a confiderable part of them to Europe, was taken by an English privateer in the war before laft; and it is probable that they perifhed by falling into the hands of ignorant captors. Boturini himself incurred the displeasure of the Spanish court, and died in an hospital at Madrid. The hiftory, of which the Idea, &c. was only a profpectus, was never publifhed. The remainder of his Museum feems to have been dispersed. Some part of it came into the poffeffion of the prefent archbifhop of Toledo, when he was primate of New Spain, and he publifhed from it that curious tribute-roll which I have mentioned.

The only other collection of Mexican paintings, as far a I can learn, is in the Imperial Library at Vienna. By order of their Imperial Majefties, I have obtained fuch a fpecimen of

these as I defired, in eight paintings, made with fo much fidelity, that I am informed the copies could hardly be diftinguifhed from the ori ginals. According to a note in this Codex Mexicanus, it appears to have been a prefent from Emmanuel King of Portugal to Pope Clement VII. who died A. D. 1533. After paffing through the hands of feveral illuftrious proprietors, it fell into thofe of the cardinal of Saxe Eifenach, who prefented it to the empe ror Leopold. These paintings are manifeftly Mexican, but they are in a style very different from any of the former. An engraving has been made of one of them, in order to gratify fuch of my readers, as may deem this an object worthy of their attention. Were it an object of fufficient importance, it might, perhaps, be poffible, by recourfe to the plates of Purchas, and the archbishop of Toledo, as a key, to form plaufible conjectures concerning the meaning of this picture. Many of the figures are manifeftly fimilar. A. A. are tar gets, and darts, almoft in the fame form with those published by Purchas, p. 1070, 1071, &c. B. B. are figures of temples, nearly refembling those in Purchas, p. 1109 and 1113; and in Lorenzano, Plate II, C. is a bale of mantles, or cotton cloths, the figure of which occurs in almost every plate of Purchas and Lorenzano. E. E. E. feem to be Mexican captains in their war drefs, the fantastick orna

ments of which refemble the figures to Purchas, p. 1110, 111, 1113. I should fuppofe this picture to be a tribute-roll, as their mode of noting numbers occurs frequently, D. D. D. &c. According to Boturini, the mode of computation by the number of knots, was known to the Mexicans as well as to the Peruvians, p. 85. and the manner in which the number of units is reprefented in the Mexican paintings in my poffeffion, feems to confirm this opinion. They plainly refemble a ftring of knots on a cord or flender rope.

Since I publifhed the former Edition, Mr. Waddilove, who is ftill pleased to continue his friendly attention to procure me information, has difcovered, in the Library of the Escurial, a volume in folio, confifting of forty fheets of a kind of pafte board, each the fize of a common fheet of writing paper, with great variety of uncouth and whimfical figures of Mexican painting, in very fresh colours, and with an explanation in Spanish to moft of them. The first twenty-two fheets are the figns of the months, days, &c. About the middle of each fheet are two or more large figures for the month, furrounded by the figns of the days. The last eighteen fheets are not fo filled with figures. They feem to be figns of Deities, and images of various objects. According to this Calendar in the Efcurial, the Mexican year contained 286 days, divided into 22 months

of 13 days. Each day is reprefented by a different fign, taken from fome natural objects, a ferpent, a dog, a lizard, a reed, a house, &c. The figns of days in the Calendar of the Efcurial are precisely the fame with those mentioned by Boturini, Idea, &c. p. 45. But, if we may give credit to that Author, the Mexican year contained 360 days, divided into 18 months of 20 days. The order of days in every month was computed, according to him, firft by what he calls a tridecennary progreffion of days from one to thirteen, in the fame manner as in the Calendar of the Efcurial, and then by a feptenary progreffion of days from one to feven, making in all twenty. In this Calendar, not only the figns which diftinguifh each day, but the qualities fuppofed to be peculiar to each month, are marked. There are certain weakneffes which feem to accompany the human mind through every ftage of its progrefs in observation and science. Slender as was the knowledge of the Mexicans in Aftronomy, it appears to be already connected with. judicial Aftrology. The fortune and character of perfons born in each month are fuppofed to be decided by fome fuperior influence predominant at the time of nativity. Hence it is foretold in the Calendar, that all who are born in one month will be rich, in another warlike, in a third luxurious, &c. The pafteboard, or whatever fubftance it may be on which the

Calendar in the Efcurial is painted, feems, by Mr. Waddilove's defcription of it, to refemble nearly that in the Imperial Library at Vienna. In feveral particulars, the figures bear fome likeness to thofe in the plate which I have published. The figures marked D. which induced me to conjecture, that this painting might be a tribute-roll fimilar to these published by Purchas and the Archbishop of Toledo, Mr. Waddilove fuppofes to be figns of days; and 1 have fuch confidence in the accuracy of his obfervations, as to conclude his opinion to be well founded. It appears, from the characters in which the explanations of the figures are written, that this curious monument of Mexican art has been obtained, foon after the conqueft of the Empire. It is fingular that it fhould never have been mentioned by any Spanish Author.

NOTE XXVII. p. 187.

The firft was called, the Prince of the deathful Lance; the fecond the Divider of Men; the third, the Shedder of Blood; the fourth, the Lord of the Dark-Houfe. Acofta, Lib. vi. c. 25.