El Inca (Jarcilasso de la Vega. By Julia Fitzmaurice-Kelly. (Hispanic
Society of America : H. Milford. 5s. net.)—This is an attractive little essay by a competent hand on " the first South American who has won for himself a permanent place in the history of Spanish literature." Garcilasso was the son of one of the conquistadores of Peru by the Indian princess Chimps Ocllo, the granddaughter of Tupac Inca Yucanqui, who had escaped from the massacre of most of her royal kinsfolk at the hands of the Inca Atahualpa. Garcilasso was born at Cuzco in 1539, and lived there until 1559, when his parents died. He then went to Spain and served in the army for many years. In his retirement he wrote his famous history of the conquest' of Peru and a history of the first Spanish expedition to Florida. As a half-breed he could do justice both to the Incas and to their conquerors. The late Sir Clements Markham found a copy of Garcilasso in a remote Indian village in Peru, and discovered that the Indian owner knew the book well.
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