fuch activity, perfeverance, and knowledge of the fubject, to which his attention was turned, as have filled me with no lefs aftonishment than fatisfaction. He procured for me the greater part of the Spanish books, which I have confulted, and as many of them were printed early in the fixteenth century, and are become extremely rare, the collecting of these was fuch an occupation, as, alone, required much time and affiduity. To his friendly attention I am indebted for copies of several valuable manufcripts, containing facts and details which I might have fearched for in vain, in works that have been made publick. Encouraged by the inviting goodwill with which Mr. Waddilove conferred his favours, I tranfmitted to him a fet of queries, with refpect both to the customs and policy of the native Americans, and the na ture of feveral inftitutions in the Spanish fettlements, framed in fuch a manner, that a Spaniard might answer them, without difclofing

any thing that was improper to be communicated to a foreigner. He tranflated thefe into Spanifh, and obtained from various perfons who had refided in moft of the Spanifh colonies, fuch replies as have afforded me much inftruction.

Notwithstanding thofe peculiar advantages with which my inquiries were carried on in Spain, it is with regret I am obliged to add, that their fuccefs muft be afcribed to the beneficence of individuals, not to any communication by publick authority. By a fingular arrangement of Philip II. the records of the Spanish monarchy are depofited in the Archivo of Simancas, near Valladolid, at the distance of a hundred and twenty miles from the feat of government, and the fupreme courts of justice. The papers relative to America, and chiefly to that early period of its hiftory, towards which my attention was directed, are fo numerous, that they alone, according to one account, fill

the largest apartment in the Archivo; and according to another, they compofe eight hundred and feventy-three large bundles. Confeious of poffeffing, in fome degree, the industry which belongs to an hiftorian, the prospect of fuch a treasure excited my moft ardent curiofity. But the profpect of it, is all that I have enjoyed. Spain, with an excefs of caution, has uniformly thrown a veil over her transactions in America. From ftrangers they are concealed with peculiar folicitude. Even to her own fubjects the Archivo of Simancas is not opened without a particular order from the crown; and after obtaining that, papers cannot be copied without paying fees of office fo exorbitant, that the expence exceeds what it would be proper to beftow, when the gratification of literary curiofity is the only object. It is to be hoped, that the Spaniards will at laft discover this fyftem of concealment to be no lefs impolitick than illiberal. From what I have experienced in the

courfe of my inquiries, I am fatisfied, that upon a more minute fcrutiny into their early operations in the New World, however reprehenfible the actions of individuals may appear, the conduct of the nation will be placed in a more favourable light.

In other parts of Europe very different fentiments prevail. Having fearched, without fuccefs, in Spain, for a letter of Cortes to Charles V. written foon after he landed in the Mexican empire, which has not hitherto been published; it occurred to me, that as the Emperor was fetting out for Germany at the time when the meffengers from Cortes arrived in Europe, the letter with which they were intrufted might poffibly be preferved in the Imperial Library of Vienna. I communicated this idea to Sir Robert Murray Keith, with whom I have long had the honour to live in friendship, and I had foon the pleasure to learn, that, upon his application, her Imperial Majefty had been gracioufly

pleafed to iffue an order, that not only a copy of that letter (if it were found), but of any othe papers in the library, which could throw light upon. the Hiftory of America, fhould be tranfmitted to me. The letter from Cortes is not in the Imperial Library, but an authentick copy, attefted by a notary, of that written by the magiftrates of the colony planted by him at Vera Cruz, which I have mentioned, vol. iihaving been found; it was tranfcribed and fent to me. This, no lefs curious, and as little known as the letter which was the object of my inquiries, I did not receive until that part of the hiftory to which it relates was printed; but I have given fome account of what is moft worthy of notice in it, at the end of Notes and

Illuftrations, vol. iii.

Together with it, I

received a copy of a letter from Cortes, containing a long account of his expedition to Honduras, with refpect to which, I did not think it neceffary to enter into any particular detail;