Dr. Palma is one of the best known writers of South America, as well as a devoted bibliophilist, and his knowledge of Spanish literature has been gained through years of acquaintance with the best authors of Spain and Spanish-America. In restoring the National Library, he has given particular attention to the acquirement of noted works and rare editions. With especial pride in the genius of his compatriot, Don Pablo Olavide, whose literary productions had a tremendous influence in stimulating liberal thought among the Spanish-Americans a hundred years ago, Dr. Palma is now engaged in getting together a complete collection of the eleven existing editions of that author’s _El Evangelio en Triumfo_, the greater part of which he had already secured. Don Pablo Olavide was a native of Lima, where he was born in 1725. When a young man, he went to Europe, became an enthusiastic friend of Voltaire and an admirer of the Encyclopædists, and was a special mark for the surveillance of the Holy Office until his death in 1803. His books were read with avidity by the youth of Peru and the other Spanish colonies, and they may be said to have prepared the way for the patriotic movement which later won the independence of Spanish-America. During the last days of the viceroyalty the sentiment of freedom was the predominating note in the national literature, and the stirring period of the independence brought many gifted orators and writers into prominence. In the columns of the _Mercurio Peruano_, politics and poetry were themes that divided honors about equally, the style in which a political essay was written in those days being hardly less flowery than the language of verse. In this periodical also appeared articles on philosophy, history, and science. Don Hipólito Unánue, of Arica, one of the editors of the _Mercurio Peruano_, exerted a powerful influence in favor of republicanism during the last years of colonial rule. He wrote under the pseudonym of “Ariosto,” and, after the inauguration of the republic, continued to contribute to the national literature, at the same time taking an active part in the government as Minister of Finance in the cabinet of President Riva-Agüero. Contemporary with Unánue, Bernardo Alcedo, a noted writer and musician, fought in the war of independence and celebrated the victory for the patriot cause by composing the national hymn of Peru, the music of which is inspiring and triumphant. Mariano Eduardo de Rivero, the author of _Antiguëdades Peruanas_, José Gregorio Paredes, a celebrated astronomer and mathematician, Mateo Aguilar, whose panegyric on Ignatius Loyola has been translated into several languages, and Manuel Lorenzo Vidaurre, an eminent jurist, the first president of the Supreme Court of Peru, were among the celebrated writers who flourished during the early years of the republic. Miguel Garaycochea, author of _Calculo Binomial_, was a noted scientist of that time.