Chapter II: Preface (1)

The present volume, covering the years 1649-66, is mainly ecclesiastical in scope. An appendix, showing the judicial state of the islands in 1842, is added. A number of the documents are from Jesuit sources, or treat of the affairs of that order. Among these are an account of the Jesuit missions in the islands, and their protest against the erection of the Dominican college at Manila into a university. The archdiocese of Manila strives to gain more authority, both in the outlying islands of the Eastern Archipelago and over the administration of parishes by the regular orders; and effort is made to strengthen the power of the tribunal of the Inquisition at Manila. The question of episcopal visitation of the regular curas is already vital, and the later conflicts over this question are plainly foreshadowed, and even begun. The history of the Recollect missions for the above period shows their prosperous condition until the time when so many of their laborers die that the work is partially crippled. As for secular affairs, the most important is the Chinese revolt, of 1662; this and other disturbances greatly hinder and injure the prosperity of the islands.

Reverting to the separate documents: a curious pamphlet (Manila, 1649) describes the funeral ceremonies recently solemnized in that city in honor of the deceased crown prince of Spain, Baltasar Carlos. Solemn and magnificent rites are celebrated, both civil and religious; and a funeral pyre, or chapelle ardente, is erected in the royal military chapel, the splendors of which are minutely described.

The Manila cabildo send a letter (June 20, 1652) to the king, praising the work of the Jesuits in the Philippines, and urging the king to send thither more men of that order. Their services as confessors, preachers, missionaries, and peacemakers are recounted, and their poverty is urged; they are sending an envoy to Spain, to ask for royal aid, a request supported by the cabildo.

The Jesuit Magino Sola represents, in a memorial (September 15, 1652) to Governor Manrique de Lara, the needs of the Philippine Islands. The greatest of these is men and arms; and with these must be provided money to pay the soldiers. Sola enumerates the many misfortunes which have reduced the islands to poverty, and urges that the aid sent from Mexico be greatly increased.

An account of the Jesuit missions in the islands in 1655 is furnished by Miguel Solana, by command of Governor Manrique de Lara. He enumerates the villages administered by Jesuits, with the names of the priests in charge. To this we append a similar report, made the year before, enumerating the missions in Mindanao and the population of each.

The archbishop of Manila, Miguel Poblete, writes to the king (July 30, 1656), making some suggestions regarding diocesan affairs: that the bishopric of Camarines be discontinued, and its prelate assigned to the Moro and heathen peoples farther south; and that ministers be sent from Manila to outlying islands for their spiritual aid, as thus far these have been dependent on Goa. Poblete asks whether he shall ordain Portuguese priests who come to him for this office; on this point the royal Council ask for further information.

Two memorials presented (1658) by the Jesuits to the king ask that a tribunal of the Inquisition be established at Manila, and that the religious jurisdiction of Ternate be vested in the archbishop of Manila.

A memorial to the king is presented (1658?) by Miguel Solana, procurator-general at Madrid for the Jesuits of Filipinas, protesting against the erection of Santo Tomás college at Manila into a university, claiming that this will interfere with the rights already granted to the Jesuit college of San Ignacio there. Solana accuses the Dominicans of trickery and bribery in having obtained privileges for Santo Tomás; and maintains that the rights of his order have been legally granted and authenticated, while the claims of the Dominicans are mere assertions. Nevertheless, the latter are scheming to secure new letters and bulls granting their pretensions; Solana adduces various arguments to show that they should not be allowed the privileges of a university in Santo Tomás, and that such a foundation should rather be made in San Ignacio, which "will be subject in all things to the behest and commands of your Majesty and your Council." The king is asked to examine certain documents in the case, which show that the students of Santo Tomás are obliged to swear allegiance to the doctrines taught by Aquinas, and are not allowed to teach other branches than philosophy and theology; moreover, that college has "no teachers who are acquainted with the first principles" of medicine and law; and the curious statement is made that there is no graduate physician in the Philippine Islands, since one could not obtain a living, and the sick are treated by Chinese. There is no need and no room there for a regular university, and the burden of its support should not be imposed on the treasury; but, if one be founded, it should be in San Ignacio.

From a document of 1658 relating to the Inquisition we extract a description of the Philippines, written in Mexico from data furnished by the Jesuit Magino Sola. It outlines very briefly the government of Manila, civil and ecclesiastical; mentions the convents, hospitals, and other public institutions there; and enumerates the villages of that archbishopric, with mention of the missions conducted therein by the several orders. Similar information is given about the towns and villages of the suffragan bishoprics; and the location, extent, government, and missions of the principal islands in the archipelago, including the Moluccas. At the end is a statement regarding the number of commissaries of the Inquisition who are needed in the islands.

The Recollect historian Luis de Jesús relates in his Historia (Madrid, 1681) the holy life and death (1646) of Isabel, a native beata of Mindanao; and the foundation in 1647, in the City of Mexico, of a hospice for the shelter and accommodation of the Recollects who pass through that city on their way to Filipinas. The history of the discalced Augustinians for the decade 1651-60 is found in the Historia of Fray Diego de Santa Theresa (Barcelona, 1743), a continuation of the work begun by Andrés de San Nicolas and Luis de Jesús; such part as relates to the Philippines is here presented (partly in synopsis). It begins with the troubles of 1647 in the Recollect mission at Tándag, in Mindanao, when its convent was destroyed by the military authorities, as dangerous to the fort at that place in case the convent were occupied by an invading enemy. Accusations against the Recollect missionary there are sent to the king, who warns the provincial of that order to see that his religious aid the civil government in keeping the natives pacified. Santa Theresa here prints letters from the civil and ecclesiastical authorities at Manila, praising in high terms the Recollect missionaries in the islands and their great services in all directions, and asking royal aid for them in their great poverty. The life of Fray Pedro de San Joseph is sketched. In the village of Linao, Mindanao, a revolt occurs (1651) among the natives, which is related in detail; it arises from an order issued by Governor Faxardo requisitioning from each of the islands a number of native carpenters for the government service at Manila. A Manobo chief, named Dabáo, fans the flame of discontent among the converted natives of Linao, and by a stratagem brings conspirators into the fort, who kill nearly all the Spaniards. Troops are sent to that region who punish severely even the natives who surrender; and the people, although overawed, are filled with resentment. The Recollect missionaries do much to aid the natives, overlooking the fact that the latter had killed one of those fathers; and one of them, "Padre Capitan," secures an order from the Audiencia liberating all the Indians who had been enslaved in consequence of the above revolt. This is followed by a sketch of Fray Santa María's life; he was slain by the insurgents in that same year. The writer recounts the difficulties met by the Recollect province of Filipinas, and the coming to Manila (1652) of a body of Recollect missionaries. The lives of many of these are sketched.

Considerable space is devoted to the subjection of religious to the episcopal visitation, when they act as parish priests. Santa Theresa describes the plan on which the missions have always been administered in the Philippines by the various orders, and their relations to the diocesan authorities. His account is a brief for the orders in their controversy with the bishops over this question of visitation, and presents the main points in its history; he writes it for the purpose of refuting the slanders that have been current in Europe regarding the attitude of the orders toward the diocesans, and discusses at length the arguments against the episcopal visitation of the regulars in parishes. These are advanced in behalf of all the orders in general, and then the writer adduces special reasons, which concern the Recollects in this matter. He enumerates the villages administered by that order in different islands, and the spiritual conquests made by his brethren; in their missions the number of Christians has been steadily increasing, and the hostile heathen element much reduced. Santa Theresa relates the dangers and sufferings experienced by the Recollects in their missions, which lie on the very frontier toward the Moro pirates; many of these devoted missionaries have even lost their lives in the Moro raids. Have not these religious, then, deserved the exemption from episcopal supervision that was granted to the religious in Nueva España? Moreover, the missions need more laborers than can be supported by their incomes (the royal grant from the tributes), and the order itself must maintain these additional men. It will become necessary for the order to abandon the missions if these are to be placed under diocesan control; nor, in such case, can it do more than sustain its leading convents in the islands. Finally, the writer presents sketches of some illustrious Recollects who have labored in the Philippines.

In a rare pamphlet by the Franciscan Bartholomé de Letona--bound in with his Perfecta religiosa (La Puebla, Mexico, 1662)--occurs an enthusiastic description of the Philippines, which we here present (in translation and synopsis). He describes the voyage thither, the location and distribution of the islands; the various provinces of Luzón; the climate, people, and products; the city of Manila, which Letona describes as the most cosmopolitan in the world; and the Chinese Parián. Letona relates the downfall of Venegas (the favorite of Fajardo), and the achievements of Manrique de Lara; enumerates and describes the various churches, colleges and seminaries, convents and hospitals of Manila; and gives a sketch of each of the various religious orders there, with special attention, of course, to his own, the Franciscan.

One of the Jesuit documents preserved in the Academia Real de la Historia, at Madrid, relates in detail the embassy sent to Manila by the noted Chinese leader Kue-sing (1662) to demand that the Spaniards submit to his power and pay him tribute. This demand being angrily refused by the Spaniards, the Chinese in Manila, fearing evil to themselves, and hearing of their intended expulsion from the islands, undertake to flee from the Parián and other neighboring settlements, blindly endeavoring to save their lives. The Jesuit missionary at Santa Cruz hastens to the governor, to secure pardon for these poor fugitives; and other priests second his efforts. Meanwhile, the other Sangleys in the Parián are so terrified that many are drowned in trying to swim across the river, others commit suicide, and most of those who remain flee to the hills. The Spaniards in Manila, in fear of an attack by the Chinese, are ready to slay them all; and a repetition of the horrors of the Chinese insurrection in 1639 is averted only by the prudence and good sense of Governor Manrique de Lara, who, with mingled sternness and humanity, calms the fear of the Chinese and the anger of the Spaniards. Granting protection to all who return to Manila by a certain day, he allows a specified number to remain there for the aid and service of the Spaniards, and obliges the rest to return at once to China. The fugitives who do not come back to Manila are hunted down and slain by the Spanish troops, aided by the natives. The two chief leaders of the Sangleys in their flight are executed in public, and those who remain in Manila are kept in the Parián under heavy guards of Indian troops; afterward these Chinese are set at forced labor on the fortifications of Manila and Cavite, thus taking a great part of that burden from the shoulders of the natives. The same ambassador sent by Kue-sing returns to Manila in April, 1663, this time with news of that corsair's death, and a request from his successor for an amicable arrangement between them and the maintenance of their trade. Our writer gives an interesting sketch of Kue-sing's career, especially of his conquest of Formosa (1660-61), the first occasion when Chinese had defeated a European nation in war. The death of this formidable enemy relieves the fears of the Manila colony; and the authorities decide to allow a moderate number of Chinese to reside in the islands, since their services are so necessary to the Spaniards.

Governor Salcedo sends to a friend (July 16, 1664) some account of the affairs of the colony at his arrival in the islands--the treasury almost empty, the soldiers unpaid, commerce paralyzed, and the natives "irritated by cruel punishments." He takes vigorous measures, at once, to improve the condition of the colony.

An unsigned document (1666?) gives the reasons why the civil authorities have not executed the royal decrees subjecting the Philippine friars in charge of parishes to the episcopal visitation. Apparently written by a friar, it gives the reasons why the missions must be administered by the religious orders rather than by secular priests, and why the friars ask that they be not placed under the episcopal authority. They allege that there are still many heathen and Mahometans to be converted, throughout the islands; that the missions are full of hardship; that the courage and strict observance of the religious would grow lax under diocesan supervision; and that the most able of them would not consent to such subjection. Difficulties, also, must necessarily arise in the attempt of a religious to obey his superiors when these are both religious and ecclesiastical, and from interference by the civil authorities. All sorts of scandals and irregularities are liable to spring from these causes, affecting not only the missionaries but the natives, as well as the many heathen peoples who surround Manila.

The present volume is terminated by a short appendix taken from Sinibaldo de Mas, showing the condition of the judiciary of the Philippines in 1842. Justice is administered by the royal Audiencia, by the alcaldes, and by the gobernadorcillos, the last being Filipinos. The action of the alcalde-mayor is very limited and dependent on the Audiencia. Mas draws a vivid picture of some of the alcaldes which shows that the system is honeycombed with graft. The great evil arises from the fact that alcaldes are allowed to trade, and hence business absorbs all their energies for the six years of their office, for during that time they must become rich. As one does not need to be a lawyer to become an alcalde, those posts generally being assigned to military officers, the incumbent of such post needs an adviser. This results in great delay, and often justice is completely subverted. By advancing money at usurious rates the alcalde bleeds those who borrow from him, and in fact such unfortunate people can almost never get square with the world again. The gobernadorcillos in turn lash the alcaldes, for they are necessary to the latter, and good terms must be maintained with them. For the general legal business the alcalde depends on his clerk, a native, who runs things to suit himself, and in his turn makes his office an occasion for graft. The parish priests who formerly had so great influence in the villages have now been ordered by the governors to cease meddling with secular matters, and some of them even are in collusion with the alcalde, whom they endeavor to aid in order that they may gain their own ends. Notwithstanding the alcaldes are few who are not often fined during their term. The government is most to blame for this state of affairs for its course implies that the alcaldes are expected to be rogues. Crime has increased greatly of late years. Punishments are too light, and many criminals even get off scotfree. This produces only bad results. The officials are slow to arrest because the criminal will soon be released as a general rule, and will always take vengeance if possible. Although he argues that the death sentence ought to be abolished as an unnecessary cruelty, Mas urges that the lash be not spared, for a good beating will correct more faults than anything else. The jail only acts as an allurement for the majority of Filipinos, for it is generally better than their own houses. The laws in force in the islands are a confused mass, consisting of the Leyes de Indias, royal decrees and orders, the decrees and edicts of the governors, a portion of the laws of the Siete Partidas, parts of Roman law, etc. Mas advocates strenuously the prohibition of trade granted to alcaldes and an extension of their term of office. One common native language, could such be established, would be very useful. There should be a commission after the manner of that in British India, to advise revision in the existing laws.

The Editors

March, 1906.

DOCUMENTS OF 1649-1658

Royal funeral rites at Manila. [Unsigned;] 1649.
Royal aid for Jesuits asked by Manila cabildo. Matheo de Arceo,
and others; June 20, 1652.
Condition of the Philippines in 1652. Magino Sola, S.J.;
September 15, 1652.
Jesuit missions in 1655. Miguel Solana, S.J.; June 30, 1655.
Letter from the archbishop of Manila. Miguel de Poblete;
July 30, 1656.
Two Jesuit memorials. Francisco Vello, S.J.; [1658].
Jesuit protest against the Dominican university. Miguel Solana,
S.J.; [1658?].
Description of the Philipinas Islands. [Ygnacio de Paz;
ca. 1658]

Sources: The first of these documents is taken from Retana's Archivo, ii, pp. 105-158; the second and sixth, from Pastells's edition of Colin's Labor evangélica, iii, pp. 786, 787, and 804, 805; the third and fourth, from the Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer library), ii, pp. 385-389. The following are obtained from original MSS. in archives as follows: the fifth, in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; the seventh, in the Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid; the eighth, in the Archivo general, Simancas.

Translations: The fifth document is translated by Robert W. Haight; the seventh, by Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.; the remainder, by James A. Robertson.

ROYAL FUNERAL RITES AT MANILA

Funeral ceremonies and the royal pyre of honor erected by piety and consecrated by the grief of the very distinguished and ever loyal city of Manila, in memory of the most serene prince of España, Don Balthassar Carlos (may he dwell in glory). By license of the ordinary and of the government. [Printed] at Manila, by Simon Pinpin, in the year 1649.

[This document is presented in translation and synopsis, because of the light it throws on the religio-social life of Manila in the middle of the seventeenth century. It is preceded by the license to print given (June 5, 1649), for the archbishop by Doctor Don Juan Fernandez de Ledo, precentor of Manila cathedral, judge-provisor, official and vicar-general of the archbishopric; by that of the government, given (May 27, 1649), on recommendation of Joseph de la Anunciacion, prior of the Recollect convent in Manila; and by a letter (dated Manila, December 15, 1648, and signed by Lucas de Porras, Gabriel Gomez del Castillo, and Diego Morales) addressed to the governor Diego Faxardo y Chacon, which amounts to a dedicatory epistle. The relation begins with the grief that comes to the city of Manila with the announcement of the sudden death (at the age of seventeen) of the prince Balthasar Carlos, heir to the throne and son of Felipe IV and Isabel of Bourbon, who had died but a short time before. The document continues:]

The first rumors of this so sad event reached this city in the middle of December, 1647, by means of the Dutch, who were harassing these islands at that time with a large fleet of twelve galleons, which sailed from Nueva Batavia with the intention of capturing this stronghold. But they, after having experienced the valor and boldness of our Spaniards in the severe and obstinate combat in the port of Cabite, of which a full relation has been written in former years, [1] attempted to terrify the hearts and take away the courage of those whom they had not been able to resist by hostilities, by sending a letter to Don Diego Faxardo, knight of the Order of Santiago, member of the War Council, and president, governor, and captain-general of these islands; and with it part of a gazette printed in the Flemish characters and language, which contained a copy of a letter from his Majesty to the Marqués de Leganés, in which was mentioned the heavy grief of his royal heart because of the sudden death of his son and heir, Don Balthassar Carlos. The minds of so loyal vassals were alarmed, and their hearts chilled, on hearing so sad news; and those who had not given way before the violent attack of cannon-balls yielded to the tenderness of grief, and to the sighs of sorrow; and they bore in their faces the effects of their dismay and the marks of their pain, as if the prince were seen dead in each one.... There was no doubt of the truth of that news, for its arrival with the superscription of misfortune gave it the credit of truth. But neither the condition in which we found ourselves, with arms in our hands, nor prudence allowed us to proceed with public demonstrations and funeral ceremonies until we received a letter from his Majesty, and with the letter the order, direction, and prudent management which so serious a matter demanded.

[The royal announcement arrived in July, 1648; and by his decree the king ordered the demonstrations of sorrow to be made on the same scale as if intended for his own person.]

In conformity with that decree, and in order that they might obey it, the auditors called a meeting, and resolved to publish the mourning, and to prepare the things necessary for the splendid celebration of the funeral ceremonies. At the same time they elected as the manager of that solemn function the fiscal auditor, Don Sebastian Cavallero de Medina, who was as vigilant and punctual in the affairs of his office as attentive to the service of both Majesties--guaranteeing by the completeness of his arrangements the entire success which so serious a matter demanded. As his assistants in carrying out that commission were named the treasurer, Lucas de Porras Ontiberos, alcalde-in-ordinary, and Captains Gabriel Gomez del Castillo and Don Diego Morales, regidors. At a suitable time, the mourning rites were heralded, in fulfilment of the above resolution; and all the provinces were notified to make the same demonstrations, so that the external conduct of so faithful vassals should correspond to the sorrow which palpitated in their hearts and saddened their breasts. Scarcely was the word given before the obedient people changed the precious and fine appearance of their attire with somber mourning garments; and this whole community became a theater of grief--each one showing the loyalty which was as much evinced by his grief as it was wondered at by the barbarous nations who trade in these islands, when they saw in so remote a part of the world so extreme piety, so intense love, and so faithful allegiance to their king, that distance does not make it lukewarm, or absence weaken the affection that these deserving vassals have ever had for their Catholic kings.

The day set for their expressions of condolence arrived, Monday, November 9, 648; for the direction of the ceremonies, Admiral Don Andres de Azcueta and Captain Don Pedro Diaz de Mendoza were appointed managers. The halls of the Audiencia and royal assembly were made ready with the funereal adornments and other preparations significant of so melancholy an occasion. At two in the afternoon the bells of all the churches began to ring, in so sad and doleful tones that they filled the air with sorrow, and the hearts of those who heard their plaints with bitterness and grief, learning from the very bronze to grieve for so considerable a loss. At that same time all the religious communities assembled, with their crosses, priests, deacons, and subdeacons, clad in their vestments, in the royal chapel of the garrison. That temple, although small in size, has all the characteristics of a great one in its beauty, elegance, and arrangement. There, architecture was employed to the best effect, and genius was alert in erecting a royal tomb and mausoleum proportionate to the grandeur and sovereign rank of the person; and one not at all inferior to the one erected during the funeral rites and pageant of our lady the queen, [2] by the direction and advice of Doctor Don Diego Afan de Ribera, auditor of this royal Audiencia, and auditor elect of that of the new kingdom of Granada. The royal assembly entrusted the arrangements of that solemnity to him. Each community in succession chanted its responsary, with different choirs of musicians, so well trained that they could vie with those of Europa. While that pious action was going on, the ecclesiastical and secular cabildos were assembling, as well as the tribunal of the royal official judges, the superiors of the orders, the rectors of the two colleges--San Joseph, which is in charge of the fathers of the Society of Jesus; and San Thomas, which is ruled by the fathers of St. Dominic--and the members of the bureau of the Santa Misericordia (as was determined and arranged two days previously, the place of each being assigned) in the hall of the royal Audiencia. There the managers assigned them their position, observing toward each one the order of his seniority and precedence. They left that place in the same order, to express their condolences to Don Diego Faxardo, governor and captain-general of these islands, who stood in the hall of the royal assembly. He was covered with mourning, which well manifested his grief and represented very vividly in his majestic appearance the royal person--in whose name he received the condolences for the death of the royal son and heir, Don Balthassar Carlos, the prince of España. First entered the royal Audiencia, in company with their official, as grave in the pomp of their mourning as adequate in the demonstrations of their grief. Don Antonio de Castro, senior auditor and auditor-elect of Mexico, spoke in the name of all, expressing in brief and impressive sentences the universal grief of all the community and the special grief of that royal Audiencia. His Lordship listened to him attentively, and answered him gravely and concisely, with words suitable to the subject, thanking him in the name of his Majesty for the demonstrations of grief which servants so loyal were making on an occasion so consecrated to sorrow. Having finished their oration, the royal Audiencia gave place successively to the ecclesiastical cabildo, the secular cabildo, the tribunal of the royal official judges, the superiors of the orders, the colleges, and the bureau of the Santa Misericordia--each one taking its proper place as regards precedence. All of them observed the courtesies and punctilious forms due to the decorum and seriousness of that function. After these had signified by the gravity of their words, and by the seriousness and sadness of their countenances, the heavy weight of the sorrow which oppressed their hearts for a loss so worthy of immortal lament, and after his Lordship had answered with equally apposite speech what good judgment dictated and sorrow forced out, that act of mourning came to an end. It was no less dignified than refined; and no accompaniment or ceremony was lacking in the decorum of that action--the daughter of the affection with which so faithful vassals serve their king and sovereign.

That parade was followed by another of no less gravity, namely the accompaniment of the royal crown to the chapel of the royal camp for the solemnity of vespers and the funeral oration which was prepared [for this occasion]. For that purpose, after the condolences the members of the royal Audiencia returned to the hall of the royal assembly, where the august crown reposed with all authority and propriety, signifying, in the somber mourning with which it was covered, a sorrowing majesty and a monarchy grief-stricken at beholding itself without the head from whose glorious temples it had fallen--Cecidit corona capitis nostri. [3] His Lordship handed the crown to General Don Pedro Mendiola y Carmona, entrusting to his hands the honor of so great a Majesty, and thus crowning the great services which the latter had rendered to his king in the lofty posts that he has occupied in these islands. This was the opening act of the parade, which commenced at the palace, encircled the entire plaza of arms under the galleries, and ended at the royal chapel--the theater, as we have already remarked, destined for the magnificence of that funeral celebration. That act was arranged by the care and foresight of the royal assembly, and carried out by means of the managers with so great brilliancy, gravity, and propriety that it corresponded in all things with the majesty of the [dead] person. The orphan boys of the college of San Juan de Letran--who number more than one hundred and fifty, and are reared at the expense of his Majesty, in charge of the fathers of St. Dominic--marched first of all, two by two (the universal order that was observed in that act by all the tribunals and communities) holding their candles of pure white wax, which were distributed, that day and the following, with magnificence and liberality by this illustrious city. The alguaçils followed, and then the ministers of justice, the attorneys, the judges' secretaries, the notaries, public and royal, with their gowns and cloaks trailing behind. Next to them came the confraternities with their pennants and banners, and after these the parishes from the suburbs of this city, with their crosses, and their curas clad in black cloaks. Next in the line was the college of Santo Thomas, and following it that of San Joseph, with their badges [becas] turned back at the collar as a sign and token of grief. Then followed the bureau of the Santa Misericordia (which is composed of the most noble persons of this city) all clad in their black surtouts and hats, with heads covered, bearing their small bells, and the standard with their insignia in front. The holy families also marched: the brethren of St. John of God, the Recollects of St. Augustine, the Society of Jesus, the hermits of St. Augustine, the seraphic family of St. Francis, and that of the Preachers. These were not so splendid by reason of the candles which they carried in their hands as by the gravity and modesty of their manner, showing in the seriousness and composure of their faces the religious sorrow and pious grief that oppressed their hearts. The ecclesiastical cabildo followed with their black choir-cloaks, with the skirts extended and their heads covered; and altogether with so grave and majestic a demeanor that they commanded the eyes and also the applause of all the people. The city [cabildo] followed, together with the tribunal of the royal official judges, bearing their maces and insignia. They were accompanied by the nobility of the city with flowing black mourning cloaks, and with heads covered; but very apparent was the grief and manifest the sadness which their love and good-will towards their unfortunate prince brought to their faces. The royal standard of the city was carried by Captain Gabriel Gomez del Castillo, assisted by the two alcaldes-in-ordinary, who carried it between them, as authorizing the action. The royal Audiencia with their president, the governor of these islands, crowned all that grave and religious concourse with all the splendors of authority. They were followed by the government and court secretaries, and by the gentlemen and pages of the palace, clad in all display of grandeur in funeral garb, thus manifesting in somber grays the sharpness and depth of the wound which they had received by the sudden death of the most serene and very august prince, Don Balthassar Carlos, the clear and resplendent light of the Spanish monarchy, at whose taking away all the world was darkened. Between the city cabildo and the royal Audiencia was carried the Cæsarean crown, with two kings-at-arms, on a cushion of rich cloth, with the gravity and decorum which is due to the head [that it adorns], to which all the people who were present that day rendered humble veneration. So sad a spectacle was made by all that splendid parade, that never was more bitter grief represented, never was Majesty seen more afflicted, never was sorrow seen more at its height. All the Plaza de Armas was occupied, while that brilliant procession was going round it, by the royal regiment of the Spanish troops, the governor of which is Sargento-mayor Manuel Estacio Venegas. It consisted of four hundred and eighty-six infantrymen formed in a body with four fronts, each of which was commanded by two captains and one alférez. The regiment marched to take position in five lines, with fifty artillerymen in the rear with their campaign linstocks. They all maintained so great order and discipline that the military art was seen in practice in all its splendor--a glorious proof of the diligence of their commandant and the loyalty and devotion of so valiant soldiers; for notwithstanding the excessive heat of the sun they remained immovable on that and the following day, their zeal and love for their king, which burn most brightly in their hearts, being preponderant in them. The parade having passed, all the soldiers fell in behind, captained by the sargento-mayor himself, the commandant of the regiment. They entered by one door of the royal chapel and went out by the other, with drums muffled and banners trailing, and the soldiers carrying their arquebuses under the arm with the butt-ends reversed, with an order so regular and so in keeping with military rules that that action deserved the acclamation and even the admiration of all. The father chaplain-in-chief of the regiment, namely, the presentado father Fray Joseph Fayol, of the Order of Nuestra Señora de la Merced, was present, as were also all the royal chaplains, at the door of the royal chapel, with cross and wax tapers [ciriales] held aloft while the procession was entering. After they had entered, the royal crown was placed on its royal catafalque--or rather a funeral pyre of fire, crowned with candles as is the firmament with stars, where the brilliant and the majestic glowed in competition. I leave the description of that for the crown of this historical compilation. Those in the procession took possession of and even filled all the seats which were provided for the tribunals and the communities, distributing themselves therein according to the same order of their seniority. With this began the vespers for the dead, which was in charge of the chaplain-in-chief, assisted by the royal chaplains, with all the requisites of solemnity and pomp, accompanied by the piety, devotion, and silence of so grave an assembly who were present, at the verge of tears. They paid with fervent suffrages the debt of their love and the obligations of their loyalty to the prince, their deceased sovereign, whose obsequies they were performing; and they refreshed their memories with his heroic virtues, and his brilliant deeds in the tender and flowery years of his age--gifts that assured us that he was glorious and triumphant in the court of Heaven. The complement of the solemn splendor of that day was the reverend father, Fray Vicente Argenta, of the seraphic order, and past provincial of this province of San Gregorio. He, occupying the pulpit, took up the space of an hour with a funeral panegyric, where his eloquence had an opportunity to exercise itself in all its colors, and in a beautiful variety of erudition, both divine and human. He roamed through the spacious and extensive field of the virtues of our most serene prince, with so impressive discourse adjusted to the gravity and meaning of the subject, that he softened the hearts of the people and even drew tears from their eyes, the faithful witnesses of their grief. That solemn function ended with a responsary; and then the procession was again formed, in the same manner and method, until they left his Lordship at the palace. After having performed the due courtesies, the gentlemen of the royal Audiencia, and of the cabildos, tribunals, and religious communities bade one another farewell, and returned to their houses, for the night had set in.

The following day, Tuesday, November 10, before sunrise, the care and anxiety of the sacred families were awake, and all went to the royal chapel with different choirs of musicians. There, at the various altars assigned to them, they sang first each their mass, and afterward the responsary in front of the royal catafalque. The mingling of so many voices with the dead silence and serene quiet of the night made an indistinct harmony and a confusion of echoes pleasant and agreeable to the listeners, awakening at the same time in their hearts tender affection and loving grief, which they consecrated to the glorious memory of the prince whose obsequies were being celebrated. After having performed this pious action they went to the palace, where they waited until all who had taken part in the parade of the preceding day had assembled. The parade was arranged and directed at the appointed hour, with the same order and brilliant display as on the preceding day, and took the same course until they entered the chapel of the royal camp. There having filled the seats, and the order and arrangements of the day before having been observed, the office for the dead was commenced, and then the mass was sung. Doctor Juan de Ucles, the venerable dean of the holy church, officiated, accompanied with all solemnity and pomp, at an altar which was erected near the center of the catafalque in front of the urn. He was clad in his vestments, with precious ornaments; and on that day the music was better than ever before, the musicians outdoing themselves in heightening its beauties, and with the consonance and harmony of their voices rendering it suitable to the majesty and high dignity of him who filled their thoughts at that moment. The reverend father Francisco Colin, outgoing provincial and present rector of the college of the Society of Jesus, and qualifier of the Holy Office, sealed the glory of that day. He mounted the pulpit, where he preached a sermon so well suited to the subject in its eloquence, the depth of its arguments, the gravity and maturity of its discourse, the profundity and erudition of its fundamental proofs, and the solidity and thoroughness of its learning, that he arrested the attention and even the admiration of those present. Not less learnedly did he instruct them than he melted them to affection and sorrow, quickening in them all, with his intellectual vigor and his well-known pulpit eloquence, grief at having lost a life so filled with virtues and so crowned with merits. Some responsaries followed the sermon, and with that ended the funeral ceremonies for our prince, whose memory will live immortal in our hearts. During those two days was shown the devotion and loyalty of vassals ever attentive to the service of their Catholic monarch, in recognition of the rewards that they receive from his august hand. The same parade was formed once more; and, leaving his Lordship at the palace, they bade one another farewell, and returned to their houses.

The sumptuous and royal mausoleum, which was erected by the piety of this noble community, occupies the last place in this brief relation. In the description of it, one finds his eloquence fail and he is dismayed, and he can find no excellence in his art that is proportionate to the measure of its grandeur and majesty. The said alcaldes-in-ordinary and two regidors assisted the fiscal auditor as managers in the construction of that catafalque. They urged forward the work, and attended to what was done by the best workmen and those who were most skilled in the matter. Beyond doubt they saw fulfilled the object of their vigilance, in the applause and admiration of all. It was a work that seemed born of nature rather than a contrived invention of art. In it gravity was surpassed, richness gleamed forth, majesty was displayed, and method excelled; and its brilliancy was dazzling, with so beautiful an arrangement and display of lights, without proving an obstacle by their number or the lights paling, that grandeur was never seen to greater advantage or majesty more resplendent.

Its ground space and arch occupied all the space of the principal chapel, until it met the very ceiling of the temple; and had the capacity of the place allowed more, the execution of so extensive a contrivance would not have been confined to so narrow limits. The height of the socle was six feet, and it was thirty-nine feet wide. In the center of it arose the catafalque, which was octagonal in form. It was composed of two structures made after the best ideas of architecture. The first structure was composed of sixteen columns, with foundations on a like number of bases and pedestals crowned with beautiful and curiously wrought capitals. On top of them arose the entablatures with their friezes, architraves, fluted mouldings, and pediment of the arch crowned with balusters--all regulated to the requirements of art without detracting one jot from the idea [that they expressed]. That structure ended in a cupola, [4] which well supplied the place of the sky, when it was seen reflecting the lights, and bathed in splendor. The cornices, mouldings, representations of fruit, mouldings above, and brackets, were of a bronze color, so cunningly done that they appeared rather the work of nature than the imitation of art. The pedestals and capitals, touched with beaten gold, heightened the fiction of the bronze which the brush and hand of the artist feigned and imitated. The shafts of the columns, with their pedestals, friezes and architraves were so vivid an imitation of jasper that one would believe them to have been cut from that mineral; or that they had stolen the confused variety of its colors, so that one's sight was mistaken in it. Their beauty was heightened by the brilliancy of silver work or broken crystals with which they were wreathed. In the center of that structure shone forth majestically the urn, which was placed under a canopy of solid silver covered with a rich violet cloth of gold, with two cushions of the same material, and and her of white cloth of gold, on which reposed the royal crown. On its pedestal was seen a stanza of ten verses, as follows:

"Esta fatal urna encierra This fatal urn encloses a
fallîda vna Magestad: ayer dead majesty, but yestreen
temida Deidad, oy breve a reverenced deity, now a mere
montón de tierra. heap of earth. Little gains
he, and much he errs, who,
Poco alcança, y mucho hierra cautious, does not note the
quien prevenido, no advierte mutability of his lot; for
lo inconstante de su suerte; Fate does not exempt the
pues no reserva la Parca al successor of a monarch from
Sucessor de un Monarca del the tribute of death." [5]
tributo de la muerte."

At the four corners of the urn, outside the circumference of the catafalque, were seen four kings-at-arms, of beautiful appearance with their headpieces pulled down and gold maces on their shoulders, with which one hand was occupied, while with the other they held up the escutcheon of the royal arms embroidered with gold. The royal arms were also stamped upon their breasts on their black corselets, girdled with a beautiful variety of bands and edgings of gold. In the niches of the first columns, which formed the front and faced the urn, upon their fretted pedestals and spattered with gold rose the figures of Grammar and Rhetoric with their emblems--so excellent in their workmanship and lifelike in attitude that, although mute, the excellence of their sculpture and make-up instructed [the beholder]. I do not describe the grace of their shapes, the beauty of their features, the easy flow of the hair, the undulations of the drapery, spangled with bits of glass, and the other accompaniments of beautiful ornaments and fantasies of art, in order not to weary [my readers] with prolixities. They were significant of the excellent progress which the prince made in both of those branches of study, and an illustrious trophy of his early genius and marvelous intellect. Grammar had the following attached to the placard of her pedestal:

"La primera, que dictò al "The first to dictate to Prince
Principe Balthassar Preceptos Balthassar the rules of
de declinar, y de construir, declension and construction was
fuy yo. I. At death he declined in his
last lesson; for it is a sure
A la muerte declinó en su conclusion that in the art of
postera licion, porque es dying the construction of
cierta conclusion; que en living ends in declension."
el arte del morir, la
construccion del vivir acaba
en declinacion."

Not less pithily and elegantly did Rhetoric explain her thought in another stanza, of ten verses, as follows:

"Yo enseñé lo figurado, y lo "I taught the figures and
terso del estilo al Principe, polish of style to the
aquiem el hilo cortò de la Prince, whose thread of life
vida, el Hado Fate cut short. But now
already lies he disfigured
Mas ya está desfigurado en in that dark tomb. Look at
aquesta tumba oscura: mirale him, robbed of his beauty;
sin hermosura; y desde tus and, from thy tender years,
tiernos años, Rhetoricos learn in that figure
desengaños aprende en esta rhetorical errors."
Figura."

The second structure was built upon the first, and it was no less grave and majestic. There symmetry and proportion vied with beauty and variety of colors, which the brush usurped from nature. It was composed of twelve columns, made in imitation of jasper, with their pedestals, architraves, and flying cornices; and these were closed above with a cupola, adorned with spirals and volutes, which happily completed the work. In the space between the columns of the facade or front, and occupying their own pedestals, were set majestic and pleasing figures of Arithmetic and Geometry, with their emblems. These statues faced each other, and corresponded to Grammar and Rhetoric who were in the first structure--in both their location and altitude, and in the proportions and excellence of their sculpture. It was a glorious blazon for our prince, who, although of so tender years, was able, having cast aside sloth and childish amusements, to give himself up to the exercise of branches of learning so useful, thus preparing for success in the monarchical government of his kingdoms. Arithmetic had an inscription on the placard of her pedestal, which read as follows:

"A guarismo reducida la cuenta "Reduced to a cipher is
de Balthassar, no vino mas que the account of Balthassar,
a sumar diez y siete años de who at last added up but
vida. seventeen years of life.
The entry was concluded, and
Concluyóse la partida, y la the account having been
cuenta rematada se hallò la ended, death was found to
muerte pagada: porque se be paid. For he so balanced
ajustó de suerte, en la vida his accounts with death in
con la muerte, que no quedó life that he did not remain
a dever nada." at all indebted."

Geometry had a corresponding placard on her base, which read as follows:

"Balthassar con mi medida el "Balthassar estimated the
orbe entero midio: y no whole world with my measure,
contento passó a medir la and, not content, he passed
eterno vida. to measure eternal life. It
is better to be able to
La indistancia conocida, measure the unknown distance
que ay del vivir al morir; between life and death
es mejor saber medir lo (which must endure eternally)
que eterno a de durar con with the rule of good works
regla del bien obrar, con and the compass of good
compas del bien vivir." living."

The space between the columns of this structure was occupied by the prince (or rather, our sovereign)--the glorious shoot from the Austrian trunk, and the beautiful flower which was the most brilliant ornament of the august lily of Francia--who, because he had no room in the entire sphere of his extensive monarchy, mounted gloriously, by means of the wings of his brilliant and heroic virtues, to rule in the heavens. His statue was so well conceived, and so commensurate with the beauty of the architecture, that one would think it had a soul, for it gave soul to the entire work. Not only did it take possession of the eyes but also of the hearts [of the people] who rendered humble adoration to the image of their prince. The prince was armed, with breastplate and shoulder-piece embroidered with beautiful edgings of gold, and his clothing was elegant and showy. In his right hand he held an imperial and Cæsarean crown. In his left hand was another and royal crown, indicating him as sworn prince of the kingdoms of España and of the empire of the Indias. On the base of the image was an inscription which read as follows:

"Iurado Principe fui; y Rey, "I was the sworn prince, and
y Emperador fuera: mas ay would have been king and
que la Parca fiera, embidia emperor, had it not been that
tuvo de mi! Hiriome cruel, y savage Fate was envious of me.
perdi el ser Rey, y Cruelly did she wound me, and
Emperador: mas orto Imperio I lost the kingship and the
mejor por el perdido he empire. But I have gained
ganado: porque crece el another and better empire
embidiado, quanto la embidia instead of the one that I lost;
es mayor." for greater does the envied one
become when the envy is greater."

By way of a finial, there was displayed on the ball at the center of the cupola a proud and spirited figure of Monarchy--armed gracefully but heavily with breastplate, shoulder-plate, greaves, cuisses, gorgets, and bracelets; and wearing skirts of bronze color edged with gold. Her head was encased in a morion surmounted by waving plumes and beautiful crests. Over her breast was a rich sash that hung loosely with airy grace and splendor. She was clad in a military cloak, flowing in beautiful lines, and ornamented here and there with embroidery in silver. In her right hand she gracefully held a general's baton subduing with it by the jaw a rampant lion of wonderful fierceness. With the left hand she clasped an escutcheon of the royal arms, bound about with many spirals of gold edging and beautiful ornaments. Massed about her feet were various military instruments, and at her side were the standards and devices of her glorious triumphs. All that variety composed a collection of beauties which was the crown of the entire work. Two finely carved pyramids arose gloriously at the two extremes of the socle, which they confronted. They were as high as the catafalque, and were painted in various colors, and spangled with bits of crystal, and on them were many rows of candle-sockets. There were, besides, other triumphal obelisks which were erected upon the cupola, and garlanded the upper structure, which accompanied Monarchy as glorious monuments. Many escutcheons of the royal arms and of the city were seen hanging at regular intervals--some of them embroidered and others in bas-relief, and all with much ornamentation of ribbons and resplendent in colors. The brilliant display of candles, (more than one thousand two hundred in number), enhanced all this splendor. Most of the lights were candles of two, three, four, five, or six libras, and were placed in their silver candlesticks, sockets, and holders. Besides, there were a great number of codales, [6] which were made for that purpose and filled the entire space of the plinth.