faithful and elegant French versions of the Munoz manuscripts; and that
of my friend Don Pascual de Gayangos, who, under the modest dress of
translation, has furnished a most acute and learned commentary on
Spanish Arabian history,--securing for himself the foremost rank in that
difficult department of letters, which has been illumined by the labors of
a Masdeu, a Casiri, and a Conde.

To the materials derived from these sources, I have added some
manuscripts of an important character from the library of the Escurial.
These, which chiefly relate to the ancient institutions of Peru, formed
part of the splendid collection of Lord Kingsborough, which has
unfortunately shared the lot of most literary collections, and been
dispersed since the death of its noble author. For these I am indebted to
that industrious bibliographer, Mr. O. Rich, now resident in London.
Lastly, I must not omit to mention my obligations, in another way, to my
friend Charles Folsom, Esq., the learned librarian of the Boston
Athenaeum; whose minute acquaintance with the grammatical structure
and the true idiom of our English tongue has enabled me to correct many
inaccuracies into which I had fallen in the composition both of this and
of my former works.

From these different sources I have accumulated a large amount of
manuscripts, of the most various character, and from the most authentic
sources; royal grants and ordinances, instructions of the Court, letters of
the Emperor to the great colonial officers, municipal records, personal
diaries and memoranda, and a mass of private correspondence of the
principal actors in this turbulent drama. Perhaps it was the turbulent
state of the country which led to a more frequent correspondence
between the government at home and the colonial officers. But,
whatever be the cause, the collection of manuscript materials in reference