Alvear was formerly a director of Buenos Ayres, and is a very active man. In the early part of his life, he narrowly escaped destruction, when going to Spain in one of the Spanish frigates captured, in 1804, by Captain Graham Moore. The frigate in which he had taken his passage was one that blew up, and he had only left it prior to the action, to pay a visit on board another ship: some of his nearest relatives perished in the explosion. Should Alvear harbour any dislike to our country, it may be attributed to this shocking catastrophe; but, I am persuaded, his good sense has, long ere this, made him view it as one of the accidents inseparable from the quarrel of nations. At eight o'clock in the evening of the 21st January, 1825, an express entered Buenos Ayres with news of the battle of Ayacucho, in Peru. A victory so decisive and unexpected caused a tumult of joy: people crowded round the coffee-houses, listening to the different orators describing the victory; it brought to one's recollection the crowds at the newspaper offices in London, upon similar occasions. At ten o'clock at night, a triple salute was fired from the Fort, which was answered by another from the _Aranzazu_ brig of war, anchored in the inner roads, and a Brazilian brig of war. Partial illuminations and fire-works took place the same evening. On the 22d January, there was a performance at the theatre, when the national hymn was sung, amidst loud _vivas_ for Bolivar, Sucre, &c.; and Colonel Ramirez read the official detail to the audience from the boxes. The theatre was decorated with silks and national emblems, and illuminated with extra lights: an ode upon the victory was sold at the doors, and a military band stationed there. The rejoicings continued for three nights, with bonfires, illuminations, and military music in the gallery of the Cabildo; the pyramid in the Plaza was illuminated, and surrounded by transparencies, &c. The people seemed mad with joy; I could scarcely have believed them capable of such enthusiasm; and though, perhaps, these ebullitions are not at all times to be taken as a test of patriotism, yet I am persuaded, the mass of the people sincerely rejoiced.