Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/311

Rh were sent to instruct the natives in the science of agriculture.

On the 16th of June 1718, while returning from the procession of corpus christi in company with the oidores, an attempt was made on the viceroy's life. When about to ascend the stairs of his palace, a man named Nicolás Camacho grasped at Valero's sword, drew it half way from the scabbard, and would probably have plunged it into his body had he not been seized by the attendant halberdiers. On being questioned as to his motives it was found that the would be assassin was a lunatic, and after a brief trial he was sent to the hospital of San Hipólito.

During the remainder of the viceroy's administration, which lasted until the 15th of October, 1722, the provinces of New Spain were in a prosperous condition. The mines were unusually productive, the yield of quicksilver being especially large; the crops were abundant; and the volume of trade was greatly increased.

The sole drawback to this flourishing condition of affairs was the outbreak of hostilities between France and Spain, occasioned by a dispute between the duke of Orleans, who was appointed regent during the