Chapter VI: Part 6

The said gentleman reached this city on the thirty-first of July in the year 17; and from the outset it seemed, with his disposition--unquiet, changeable, petulant, and with inordinately bad tendencies--that he directed all his efforts to the ruin of these islands. He persecuted the citizens, arresting some, exiling others with pretexts of embassies, conquests, and new expeditions, and causing others to seek refuge for themselves, fearful of his harsh treatment; and he fattened on the wealth of all the people.

To these evil beginnings corresponded like ends; and from so mischievous causes were experienced the effects in the unlooked-for and miserable death which he, with his eldest son, encountered on the eleventh day of October in the past year. At that time the common people rose in rebellion, and, going to his palace, deprived him of life, without his having at his side any person who would defend him, even among his own servants. This is a proof that he was hated by all; and it is notorious confirmation of the truth of this statement that the great precautions which he had taken since the tenth [of that month] for his safety in his own palace availed him nothing; he had provided soldiers, both infantry and cavalry, who, as they affirmed to me, numbered more than three hundred. In the general opinion this success [in killing the governor] was gained by especial permission of His [Divine] Majesty, who by this act of providence, through His lofty and venerable judgments, chose to furnish relief when it could not be looked for so soon from human sources.

This tumult was caused by the arbitrary nature of the governor's proceedings; for, without conforming to laws, either human or divine, it seems as if he had--according to my judgment before God, in whose presence I speak--no other law than his own will, from which proceeded his despotic decisions, directed to his own advantage and not to the general and public welfare, which ought to have been his chief care.

With this consideration [i.e., his own advantage], and in order to find the goods of the master-of-camp Don Esteban de Higuiño (whom he had kept a prisoner since the beginning of August), he gave orders that the chief notary of the municipal council of this city should demand, at the end of September, the official records of a notary-public who had taken refuge in my cathedral on the same day when the arrest of the said master-of-camp occurred. The consultation which he held and the petition which he presented to the ad interim fiscal of the Audiencia were merely formal; the matter was referred to the royal Audiencia, without stating whether it was by a consultory or a decisive vote; and the papers were considered in the royal Audiencia, which was composed of only one official, who had for associate judge the counselor [asesor] of the government. This auditor was commanded to despatch officially a royal decree for the surrender of those notarial records; and I was notified of this on the twenty-sixth of September, and the papers offered to me with a view of the decree of August 11, in which the said auditor was qualified for [transacting] the business of the Audiencia--a copy of which decree I send with this. There were various difficulties in regard to the fulfilment and observance of this decree [49] on account of the serious injuries which might result to the administration of justice in the ecclesiastical estate, and to the sheep of my flock. Obliged as I am in conscience to attend to their relief, I conferred regarding these doubts with persons in whom I had confidence, and with the [heads of the] two universities of this city--in whose opinions I tried to find ground for the decree which enabled this single auditor to have his abode in the royal hall [of justice]; because for this he had exchanged the imprisonment in which he had remained in the fort and castle of Santiago. Their uniform reply to me was, that I ought not to consider the Audiencia which was formed in this manner as a royal Audiencia, or the decree which was issued [by it], with the royal name and the seal of his Majesty, as a royal decree. I did not [at once] come to a decision in a matter so important, and on which so many things depended; and moreover, in order to show my profound veneration for the royal prerogatives of his Majesty and my earnest desire for the public tranquillity--to which I have given attention from my first entrance into this archbishopric, as also to the amicable relations which I have maintained with the royal officials of his Majesty (especially with the governor of these islands), since this contributes much to the service of God and of his Majesty--I presented my doubts, with a copy of the replies given by the universities, to the said deceased governor, at a conference which was held on the seventh of October. I charged him as his friend that, considering these questions with the careful reflection which is demanded by the strict account of our deeds which we must render to God, he should do what was most safe for the discharge of our consciences in the service of God and his Majesty. To this advice he gave me no answer, either written or verbal; and when I was waiting for one, in order to choose the safest [course] and avoid consequences which always are injurious to the public welfare, on October 8 (which was Sunday), a little before twelve o'clock, I was annoyed by a second royal decree--in which, professing not to understand the reasons which I had for doubts, he insisted on the surrender of the said records. Having answered that in order to make my decision I was waiting for his reply, I pressed him for it [on the next day,] the ninth, with another [written] communication of substantially the same tenor as the first one, exhorting him to make the best decision, that is, the one which he would at the hour of death wish to have made; but he declined to receive it for that morning, on the pretext that he was ill--although it was plain to me that he was well [enough] to hold conferences with the single auditor of whom the Audiencia was composed. In the afternoon, he gave orders to receive my communication, at the repeated insistence of the chief notary of my archbishopric, who carried it; but he would not allow the notary to enter the palace or to see him.

From this stoppage of friendly relations and lack of civility which I began to experience in regard to this matter, and on account of the news that I had of the repeated deliberations that he held [with the auditor], I could only expect very evil results in the banishment of myself and of the ecclesiastics--which I mistrusted from the twenty-seventh day of September, when I had sent my provisor with the cura of Balayan, for them to certify to the said governor the information which on this very point had been privately given to the said cura by an alférez named Antonio de Torres, who had much familiar intercourse with the said governor. This information was reduced to the statement that a certain alférez had told how his Lordship had resolved to banish me from this city by the middle of October, because he had made ready to demand from me, about that time, that he might remove to the most distant of these islands all the persons who had taken refuge in these churches, both within and without this city; and, taking for granted, at the start, that I would not permit it, with that ground for action he would proceed to carry out the said banishment. When I learned that the said alférez, when summoned to the governor's presence, confirmed his statement, although he exculpated himself with frivolous pretexts; and when I did not see any punishment inflicted on him for this insolence, and knew, moreover, that they only gave him orders that the matter should be kept secret (as it was): I had sufficient grounds for the said suspicion. And as it was quite consonant with prudence to prevent the dangers and obviate the measures from which might result these evil consequences, having assured myself of the only arguments [50] with which I could prevent this act--to command the single minister in this Audiencia and his associate, under penalty of major excommunication and [a fine] of five hundred ducados in silver, to abstain and refrain from sitting as judges and transacting the affairs of the Audiencia, the formation of which, in my judgment, had been invalid--I acted accordingly, in conformity with the opinions for which I had obtained confirmation by the vote of my cabildo and the superiors of the holy religious orders. Availing myself of this means for ending the controversy, as conducive to the public tranquillity for which I was striving, without intermeddling with the governor I issued two monitory decrees, in which I gave orders as above, in order that at the very same time they might be notified, to the said minister and his associate; and I committed this business to the doctoral canon of my church, in order that, as a discreet and capable person (since he is morning professor of canon law for his Majesty), he might conduct it with the judgment and the precautions which are desirable in a matter so delicate. He went to execute this commission in the hall of the Audiencia, in which building this single minister of that court has his abode, abandoning the obligations of his rank, and trampling on both human and divine laws. Hardly had he heard my name, when the notification of this decree was begun, when he snatched it from the hands of the doctoral canon and tore it to pieces; he demanded a sword and buckler, and the protection of the king; and he uttered so many cries, and left his room with so much noise, that he disturbed the entire palace of the governor. He goaded on the governor so that, without any warrants and without a session of this so-called royal Audiencia, he seized the said canon and the prebend Doctor Don Juan de la Fuente, who accompanied him, in the porch of the court prison; and there they remained, surrounded by soldiers with pikes and naked cutlasses, during all the night of October 10. At that time he gave orders to surround his entire palace with a guard of infantry, and would not allow that three ecclesiastics should go up to see him, whom I sent with a courteous message, in order to obtain information as to the motive of this singular proceeding. The governor gave orders to detain them in the guard-house, where they remained among the rabble of soldiers, exposed to the inclemency of the wind and of the rain which fell that night, until the morning; and then they locked up the ecclesiastics in a small room which was connected with the guardroom of the halberdiers, without any food--at which the city began to be disquieted. The doctoral canon and the prebend were conveyed by an escort of soldiers with an officer to the castle and fort of Santiago, where the castellan kept them confined under a guard of his soldiers, and without any communication [with other persons]; and as soon as they reached this place, at daybreak, the military watchword was changed, [accompanied] with [the firing of] a cannon loaded with balls, and [the beating of] war-drums; and the bells were rung as a summons for the entire city. Disturbed at this signal--which, by an edict published in the preceding year, was given for their attendance at the royal palace--all the citizens gathered there; and when they were assembled the late governor addressed to them a vigorous exhortation that they should defend the royal jurisdiction, which he assumed that I had injured and usurped. He censured the opinions of the two universities, and berated the persons who signed them, saying that they did not understand the laws, and that they were disturbing the church just as one Molinos [51] and one Luther had disturbed it.

After six on the morning of October 11, as it was evident to me that the notification had been actually made--by the information which by my order was received; and by a brief letter which they brought me from the said doctoral canon and prebend, in which they assured me of their imprisonment on account of the notification to the single minister of the Audiencia of the monitory decree (which was made ipso voce) warning him that his name would be placed on the list of excommunicates [tablilla]--as also to the eldest son of the governor (who was sargento-mayor of this army) and his adjutant, I gave orders that they he posted as publicly excommunicated, about seven o'clock in the morning.

At that hour the superiors of the holy religious orders, with other prominent religious who were under their direction, assembled at my archiepiscopal palace in order to console me in the trouble that had come upon me from such noisy preparations and violent demonstrations; and while we were discussing these matters, and inferring from these premises the evil consequences which openly were dreaded for the ecclesiastical estate, through the doors of my archiepiscopal palace (which were open) entered military officers, armed, with a great number of soldiers; and, having filled the palace and surrounded it with infantry, the officers came upstairs, with the adjutant who had been publicly excommunicated, until they reached the room where I was with the said superiors and religious. A captain named Don Pedro de Velasco said that he came in behalf of his Majesty, and by order of his governor and captain-general, in order that I might go with him to the royal court; and he would not accept the reply which I gave him in writing, assuring me that he was under penalty of death if he acted differently. Although I did not consider the court to which he summoned me as the royal court, since the single auditor who composed it was execrable, I resolved to go (as I solemnly declared) in consideration of the public tranquillity and the respect due to the royal name of his Majesty. But as soon as I left my palace, the military officers and soldiers surrounded me; and when we reached the door of the governor's apartments, by which I had to enter, I saw that it was locked. I recognized the deceit and malicious subterfuge by which they had drawn me [from my house]; and I declared this, as well as that I would not go of my own will to any other place than the royal court. I tried to shelter myself in the royal seminary of San Felipe, in order not to be wet by the heavy rain that was falling, but the military officers would not allow me to do this; and therefore I leaned against the lintel of a door that stood open in a private house. The sargento-mayor, who was a son of the governor, apologized for taking part with his father in this deceit, since it was required from him. Don Benito Carrasco, an alcalde-in-ordinary, came to tell me of the order of his Lordship that I must go wherever the military officers and the soldiers carried me. They, seeing my unwillingness, lifted the chair in which I was sitting, and by force carried me to the public street, where my sedan-chair was--which I had to enter, in order to avoid even more disgraceful, scandalous, and sacrilegious acts; and I allowed myself to be carried--surrounded by armed soldiers, as if I were a criminal who had committed atrocious offenses--through the public streets to the fort and castle of Santiago. There they delivered me as a prisoner to the castellan, Don Ygnacio Navamuel, and he received me as such, and kept me in his dwelling-house; nor would the sargento-mayor, who remained in command at my archiepiscopal palace, permit them to bring me the bed and small chest of clothing which the members of my household tried to send me for my personal comfort and cleanliness.

After seizing me, they proceeded to convey other prisoners with a guard of soldiers: my secretary, who was confined in the same castle; the commissary of the Crusade; the schoolmaster and a prebend of the cathedral; the commissary and secretary of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, with two other religious of St. Dominic; the prior of the convent of San Agustin; the rector of the college of the Society of Jesus, together with the master Father Avina; and my provisor--placing them in the infantry barracks and the quarters of the royal accountancy, with orders that no one should speak to them. [52] They would have carried away, in the same manner, all the persons who were in my palace, if the common people had not opposed them; for it seems that the intention of the governor was, as his corresponding secretary has deposed, to seize all the persons who signed the opinions which the universities gave me.

For this so execrable deed there was no cause on my part, since I did not prosecute any determination of my own that was opposed to the royal laws of his Majesty; nor was the monitory decree of that character, which was notified to the single auditor of whom the royal Audiencia was composed--for with that document I aimed, as a prelate, to deprive the governor of the pernicious means which he was employing in order that he might not have in his government any other law than his own ambitious and depraved will. Nor for carrying out my seizure, under the pretext of banishment, did he previously take the steps which the royal laws provide; for the royal writs were not issued which should have been, to know whether there had been any failure of obedience on my part--a proceeding which is required in order that the penalty of [loss of] the temporal revenues may be applied to ecclesiastics--as the auditor himself and his associate have testified. For it was resolved, in a session which they held on October 9, that an official of the royal Audiencia should go to confer with me over the difficulties about which I had consulted the governor; but this formality was not carried out. On the other hand, availing himself of his administrative [53] power--to which, at the time, they likewise agreed--for use in case of any emergency, when that arose of the outcry which this single auditor made at the time when he was notified of the said monitory decree, the governor compelled them [i.e., the auditor and his associate] to dictate an act, assuming that it was one proceeding from the royal court (although it was not such), on the night of October 10, in which they decided that what had been agreed upon the day before should be carried out, in regard to the use of the [governor's] administrative power against my person and those of the other ecclesiastics. Although, in order to excuse themselves for the many offenses that they committed in this so discordant session [acuerdo], they undertake to avail themselves of the fear and coercion in which they say the governor kept them, I know not whether this evasion which they use as an excuse can assist them, when as Christians they know that they ought to die rather than sin; and when, since they could have availed themselves of the privilege of sanctuary (as others did) to prevent injury to their souls, they did not do so, through caring for the comfort of their bodies.

After the unfortunate event which I have related had occurred, all the people hastened to the castle where I was, and, without my being able to resist their impetuosity, they liberated me from that place, generally acclaiming me as their governor in the name of his Majesty. This was the greatest blow that could happen to me, and I protested against it before God [saying that], if my imprisonment and its previous hardships could serve as a mortification to me, this demonstration grieved me far more, without comparison, as being so entirely contrary to my own judgment and disposition. But the people, who still remained under arms, cried out that they would not lay down their weapons, until I should accept, in the name of his Majesty, the government over them. At this I made all possible protests, and efforts to resist this, with the prominent and learned persons of the city, not only ecclesiastics but laymen; but as they were unanimously agreed, with the general feeling and opinion that I ought in conscience and justice to accept this post, for the sake of quieting this community which otherwise would run great risk, and the disturbances would increase, and be the cause of greater misfortunes and more violent deaths--I was obliged to accept [54] the said government, sacrificing my own [mode of] life to the service of God our Lord and that of his Majesty (whom may God preserve), and for the welfare of the people.

It is impossible, even with the greatest care and attention, to relate this affair with all its circumstances, so marvelous and mysterious were many of them. Likewise, it is impossible to explain the ruined, wasted, and unsettled condition in which everything remains; therefore, I will only say to your Paternity that I ask you to have compassion on me, and that you will earnestly commend me to God our Lord in your prayers, that He may grant me light, and judgment, and strength for the great task in which I am engaged. I remain, as I should, entirely at your Paternity's orders, continually entreating that His [Divine] Majesty may preserve you for happy years, as I desire. Manila, June 28, 1720.

[Francisco, archbishop of Manila].

LETTER BY A SPANISH OFFICER

Cousin, friend, and sir:

At the coming of the galleon which arrived here from Nueva España at the end of July in last year, 1729, I received two letters from your Grace of the same tenor, dated April 19, 1728. While they gave me most special pleasure, on account of the consolation which is afforded me by all the letters from your Grace which I am so fortunate as to see, I have not been and am not able to express my feelings at the news contained in them of the grievous illness, the inflammation in the chest, from which your Grace has suffered for so long a time; and I am very anxious that you should continue to improve, so that your Grace may be entirely free from it (as I hope you now are), and restored to the excellent health which I earnestly hope you may experience for many years. In the midst of so much vexation as has surrounded me, God has been pleased to grant me the favor of good health, so liberally that it seems as if He had cast me in bronze; for He has preserved me in the midst of so much trouble without the slightest headache, contrary to my usual condition, for which I give thanks without number to His great goodness--remaining, as I always shall, so devoted to your Grace as you must well know.

The governor of these islands, Don Fernando Baldes Tamon, arrived here safely in the above-mentioned galleon, and accordingly took possession of this office, in which he continues to show the earnest zeal which, with a desire for what is most conformable to right, actuates him. From the place from which the mails which came in the same galleon were despatched to this city he wrote to me--on account of the news which they gave him there of my troubles--with very cordial expressions of affection; and as soon as he arrived here he began to confirm this impression, not only by his confidences on various matters, and by having cared for the comfort of some of my dependents--about whom unfortunately, doubtless on account of my lack of means, I am nevertheless being undeceived, by experiencing [from them], in return, that ingratitude which always more than abounds here--but by manifesting to the public that he valued above others [even] my uselessness. [He did so] in such a manner that, recognizing this, envy and prejudice were aroused, especially that of the licentiates and auditors, to see how they could deprive me of this gentleman's protection. Not only to show my gratitude for his kind intentions above mentioned, but in order to carry out the prudent counsel which your Grace is pleased to give me, I endeavored to follow from those beginnings the line of returning his kindness, as is proper, manifesting my feeling of obligation as well as I was able, and even in the midst of the many pecuniary losses that I have experienced--which have been caused not by extravagance, since I have tried to live as plainly as a religious, but by the unfortunate result of fairs in which everything has been lost, besides the unlooked-for destruction of property [55] when the galleon was wrecked in the year 726. The day before he took possession of the government, I waited on him with a batôn [of office] made of gold, with a diamond which I caused to be set in its tip, which was valued at more than six hundred pesos. Don Fernando still continues in his kind regard for me, although these knaves have not relaxed in their perverse designs. Your Grace may rest assured that, on my part, not only will not the slightest cause be given to him for growing cool toward me, but I shall, on the other hand, endeavor to secure the opposite result, in whatever concerns the behavior that is due him. Your Grace will please say the same to all your honored friends, who, influenced by the [same] affectionate loyalty [fina ley] which I acknowledge toward your Grace, have always favored us, pledging themselves to advance my interests with him--especially Señors Legarra and Maturana. [56] The latter himself has told me that Don Fernando is under obligations of great friendship to them, and that they will take especial pains to talk with him in my behalf. While on my part I give them grateful thanks, suited to the extraordinary obligation to them under which I shall always remain, I am meantime fulfilling that obligation without [unnecessary] delay, for the next galleon (since the [brief] time does not give me leisure for this one), in attending to the affairs of the above-mentioned gentlemen, Señors Legarra and Maturana--and in regard to the others. In virtue of the knowledge that your Grace can do me the pleasure of facilitating those which are, I trust that you will be pleased to continue to me the much that I owe to you, and for which I shall always remain under great obligation to you, by asking them that on the first occasion, or in reply to this, they will deign to confer on us the new favor of returning thanks to this knight; for that will be a circumstance which will gratify him, and will certainly be very apropos. And in case they consent to bestow on us this new honor, I trust that your Grace will please arrange that the letters come through my hand, in order that I may deliver them to him.

By the letters which I wrote to your Grace, in the aforesaid last year, you will be fully informed of the extraordinary quarrel in which I was involved by the bad counsel and selfish designs of the father of my wife Doña Maria Josepha, encouraged by the mischief-making partisans that he has. On this topic I ought to add that, soon after the galleon which carried the aforesaid letters had sailed from this place, the said Doña Maria Josepha with great eagerness made known her desire to return home with me, urgently entreating that I would enable her to do so as soon as possible. Such being the relations between us, and the lawsuit being then near its final limit [estar en terminos de concluirse] (since all the evidence [necessary] for deciding it had already been furnished), and since, to judge by what was coming out in the suit, much annoyance could be occasioned by my side to her father, in order that it might serve as a warning and correction to the malice and evil design with which he undertook this quarrel, I resolved, responding to the good-will of the said Doña Maria Josepha, to give her the satisfaction of [granting] her petition. By way of correlative [to this], I performed the feat of overlooking, in regard to that same father of hers, the injury that in every way he has tried to do me; so that, although I could, while awaiting the decision [of the lawsuit] which, as the saying goes, was already in my hands--inflict on him most grievous injury, notwithstanding all this, from that time I formed the steadfast resolve that in case Doña Maria Josepha and I were reunited, as we were expecting, not only would I do my share to secure that from it not the slightest [harm] should result therefrom to him, but that we should maintain such harmony that this matter should no longer be remembered. In pursuance of this resolve, and because it seemed to me that this was the best way in order to live in conformity to the commands of God, I spoke upon this subject to the former governor, and to the archbishop [57]--who, on account of their earnest desire, as heads of the commonwealth, that this result might be secured, were unspeakably delighted that Doña Maria Josepha and I should come to so good a resolution. Immediately they held a conference in regard to the measures that should be taken in order that this reunion might be accomplished as soon as possible; and as it seemed best to them that it should be done through a conference with her father, since she had asked me that the matter might be thus arranged, they agreed to talk with him about it; this business was attended to by the archbishop, in his own name and in that of the governor. Although that gentleman [i.e., Doña Maria's father] answered the archbishop with plausible arguments, to the effect that our union did not depend upon himself, but upon the aforesaid Doña Maria Josepha, but that he would, nevertheless, speak to her with the aim of promoting it, he acted so deceitfully that, in place of devoting himself to carrying out that promise, what he did was to go, a short time after he had left the presence of the archbishop, to the place where (as I told your Grace in my previous letters) Doña Maria Josepha was staying. [There], like a lion unchained--goaded by the idea of what the archbishop had given him to understand, to the effect that Doña Maria Josepha and I would certainly come together in a very short time, and by his own notion that we had been communicating with each other with that object--he began to threaten her in the most extravagant terms, in order not only to break up her purpose of reconciliation, but to prevent her from having the slightest communication with me. Not halting at this alone, his preposterous behavior went so far that he visited the provincial of St. Dominic; and the latter, being a good friend of his, and a man of so excellent judgment as he has shown in this affair, complied with his demand--which was, that the provincial should carry into effect whatever orders he [i.e., my wife's father] should give to the prioress of the house where Doña Maria Josepha was. [58] The prioress obliged that lady to leave the rooms in which she was living, which had a view of the street, and placed her in others where I could not possibly speak to her on any side of them. They placed such constraint upon her that she experienced inexpressible affliction, through this and other most improper measures which they took--even going so far that [they would not admit] the daughter whom I had by Doña Rafaela (whom may God keep), when they learned that this girl had on previous occasions gone to that house on account of the request that the said Doña Maria Josepha had made to me, that I would send my daughter to her; for they made arrangements to deprive her of the pleasure of having the girl with her, availing themselves of the same means which Herod used when he published the edict for the slaughter of the Innocents, so that the death of Christ our blessing might be included therein. For, not shooting openly at the window they aimed at, in order to attain their object orders were given by the provincial that in no case should any young girl be allowed to enter the house--notwithstanding the fact that until then not the slightest objection had been raised to the admission of any of the girls who were of my daughter's age, and even when they had been going to that house for a longer time than she. When I learned of all these and other wrongful acts, I brought them to the notice of the archbishop, who was amazed--modifying the idea that he had formed of my wife's father from his previous actions, and being equally surprised at the provincial for his actions in contributing to proceedings in which he ought [rather] to feel so great scruples at following the lead of this man. The archbishop administered to him an exceedingly severe rebuke, nor was the provincial left without others, which to a person less carried away by passions would have served for his entire correction. At last, when the father of Doña Maria Josepha saw that these and other malicious and unusual measures--of which he secretly availed himself in order to attain the purpose which guided him to actions, in regard to the lawsuit, which were improper and unjust--were continually failing him, and that consequently the affair of our reconciliation was steadily taking such shape that it would very soon be accomplished, he yielded in outward appearance, through his fear that this would occur without his having the least intervention in the matter. Through the agency of that same provincial, the affair was discussed with the archbishop and the governor; and thus the conclusion of it was arranged, so that, a few days after the middle of July, Doña Maria Josepha and I were reunited, the former governor having brought about a reconciliation, two or three days before, between her father and myself.

Auditor Martinez--who, as I informed your Grace, had charge of the lawsuit, in virtue of the commission which the aforesaid former governor, Marqués de Torre Campo, gave him for that function--as soon as the news reached this city that the present governor was coming in the galleon, made on his part incredible efforts to have this affair settled. He eagerly endeavored, with especial activity, not only that this settlement should be effected, but that all the official acts should be burned--a proceeding which every one here [dis]approved; [59] for without doubt the purpose that more than any other directed him was, that, knowing his own guilt in the mad acts which in his passion he had committed, he desired to repair it, or [rather] cover it up, by this means--fearing that if this business were not completed before the governor arrived here, the latter would do with it what was right; moreover, almost the same idea had been entertained on account of what concerns the preceding governor, by means of its having been known or found out in the same manner. The auditor exerted remarkable activity in the settlement [of the lawsuit] from the time when the said galleon usually met very little delay in reaching these islands, and did so with far more briskness as soon as he learned that the galleon, with the present governor, was already within them; and in fact, if the latter had arrived in this city before this affair had been settled, it is not to be doubted that he would have given them much trouble, by means of it and the knowledge which with great precision he obtained, from the time when he entered the islands, of the outrages and wrongs which had been practiced against me to judge by the great pain which he felt at these, and hinted to me on the first occasion when I went to see him. This was immediately after he arrived outside the walls of this city, where he was obliged to remain until he took possession of the government, in consequence of the custom which prevails here in this regard.

The director whom my wife's father had for the [business of the] lawsuit, or for drawing up his allegations in court [escriptos], took refuge in one of the churches near the city, as soon as he knew that the governor had arrived here. The latter, having understood the many wicked acts which this man had committed, besides those that he practiced in that affair [of mine], desired that--since for the present he could not be punished in proportion to what he deserved, on account of his being in that asylum--he be sent to some military post, not only in order that this might serve as a correction to him, but with the intention that this community be freed from a person of so utterly perverse practices, and that he be not given the opportunity to continue in them. He therefore held a consultation in regard to this point with the archbishop, who, having the same knowledge as the governor, in regard to the perversity of this man, and the great expediency of sending him to a military post, and assured that the sanctuary which he enjoyed would not be violated by another punishment, very readily agreed to the plan, and caused that man to be removed from that sanctuary in order to secure him (as he did) in the prisons of the archbishop. [There he remained] until he was carried thence, some two months ago, by command of the same governor, to the military post that is most remote in this jurisdiction. The efforts which this knave made to see whether he could escape being sent away from here were many; and they were so singular, unusual, and culpable that they seem incredible--as your Grace will recognize from one of them. This is, that he feigned that he was sick, and so skilfully that, the governor having sent two physicians to examine him, they were persuaded at seeing him that really he must be very ill. At that time he practiced the stratagem of having acted the part of a dying man, so skilfully that they even tolled the passing bell for him; but the fact is, that a little while after this had been done--when the physicians had gone away, as also had a religious who had been summoned and had hastened to him--it was learned that he ordered the women to bring him some food, and that he performed his part as well as a good gravedigger could. This trick caused much amusement here as soon as it was discovered, as might be expected from its singularity.

The father of Doña Maria Josepha frequently came to our house after we were reconciled, and consequently I went to that in which he lived, and on my part showed to him the same kindness as before--not only because my good-will had forgiven him, but on account of the promises that we had given each other on the occasion when the previous governor made us friends, or rather reconciled us, that we would go on in the future without the least change. Notwithstanding this, [he acted strangely]--I know not whether it were because his perverted mind was, as a result of the ill-success of his evil designs, permanently impaired; or because he had formed the opinion that I had some share in the removal of the above-mentioned director of his from the church, in order to banish him to the military post. This [latter] idea was contrary to the facts in the case; for it is certain that I had not even the slightest shadow of complicity in that incident. It is he [i.e., my wife's father] who (at the time when the said his director was in the aforesaid archiepiscopal prison), coming on foot through a street in which I was riding in a forlon [60] on the opposite side [from him], began when I approached close to him to fling himself about like a madman, and to utter such insulting terms that, although I could not, on account of the noise made by the forlon, distinguish what he meant by them, they compelled me, notwithstanding that I was going forth on pressing business, to order that the forlon halt, in order to ascertain what was the cause of that outcry, or what was the matter with him. Immediately he advanced like a wild beast to the side of the forlon, where he began, with the same wild behavior as before, to break out in extravagant utterances, such as "What knavery and wickedness is this?" with others that were equally or even more disrespectful. When I saw this, although I could not help growing hot within [at conduct] so unusual, discourteous, and besides without cause, I maintained outwardly a countenance without the least change; and in that attitude I expostulated with him--saying that he should tell me what caused him to act thus, since I was ignorant of the cause; and that he must endeavor to moderate his behavior, and not apply such language to me, but must use such terms as were proper. With these and other arguments, and the mild way in which I stated them to him, it was to be expected that he would, unless he were blind with passion, cease from his mad behavior; but he was so contrary that he displayed even much more excitement, and broke out into even wilder utterances. Notwithstanding that so great provocation was enough to have made me alight without the least delay from the forlon in order to obtain satisfaction from him, I was so patient that I again expostulated with him aiming therein to avoid all violence, and for my part to keep the promise which at the time of the reconciliation we had each given to the governor and also to the archbishop, in order that there should not be the least trouble between us. The return that he made for this was, to tell me, still more angrily, to alight from the forlon, and that down there I would find out what I wanted to know. At this new and extreme provocation, [given] in his evil and malicious manner, my patience was exhausted and I sprang out of the forlon; but before I had set my feet on the ground he came toward me with a naked short sword [espadin] which he wore, with a blade of the size prescribed for a sword, as was afterward found. At this I drew my own sword (which is one of the regular style); but as it was necessary for me to make unusual exertions in using it, as it was quite rusty, he wounded me at this time with his weapon, in two fingers of the left hand. We made thrusts at each other several times, during which--either through the blindness in which his furious passion kept him, or for some other reason, I know not what--he several times afforded me sufficient opportunity to have taken his life, if I had chosen to do so. Notwithstanding this, as I had drawn my sword with no other intention than to defend myself, and not to injure him seriously, I behaved toward him accordingly; so I proceeded to disarm him, and, throwing him to the ground, I drew my own short sword, in order that he might more clearly recognize the kindness that I was doing him. At this point different persons came up to separate us; and the governor, when he heard of this occurrence and the excessive provocation which I had had, gave orders to the sargento-mayor to convey my antagonist to the castle of this city. As for me, on account of the legal formalities [necessary] until the judicial investigation of the affair was made, he sent me a message directing me to remain under arrest or detention at home. Before the said sargento-mayor could reach him [i.e., my wife's father] to conduct him to the castle, the professor of laws who is an honorary auditor--a native of Leganès, of whom I told your Grace in my previous letters, and who was a great friend of his--carried my wife's father, half-covered with mud as he was, to the presence of the governor; and he pleaded so urgently that in place of sending him to the castle they should transfer his prison to his own house, that the governor had to comply with his request. [Santisteban's account of the settlement of this affair is too prolix to be repeated here in full. The substance of it is, that an investigation was made by Auditor Martinez, and by him referred to the Audiencia, where it was decided that the difficulty should be smoothed over, and the parties again reconciled to each other; the governor is obliged to agree with this decision, but remains the firm friend of Santisteban. The latter is willing to forgive his assailant, but wishes to avoid the recurrence of such troubles; he confers thereon with the archbishop, who promises to arrange matters with the governor, but dies before he can attend to this matter. Later, Santisteban and his father-in-law are nominally reconciled, but with the proviso that they do not go to each other's houses; but Santisteban is obliged to be on his guard against the secret machinations of the other.]

A little while after the governor took possession of his dignity, the necessity arose for making a change in one of the offices in the regiment, for a reason which rendered such a change unavoidable. On this occasion the governor directed that I should propose three names of meritorious persons whom I should find to be suitable tor that position, in order that from these he might select the one whom he thought best--determining that in future this practice should be observed in regard to all the military offices to which he had to make appointments. Although this regulation is so eminently proper--not only because it had been the usage here until, in the last few years, the inexperience and despotism of some of the governors broke up this method of procedure; but because it is in all countries the inviolable usage that the masters-of-camp or the colonels (which is the same thing) have always proposed [appointments for] the vacant posts in their organizations--it caused much surprise (or, to speak more correctly, envy) in the licentiates or auditors. For, as soon as they heard of it, they went to see the governor, and with as much energy and eagerness as if some great advantage could thus result to them, addressed him, endeavoring to dissuade him from the observance of this method--availing themselves, in order to incite him not to allow this regulation to take effect, of the artful argument that it was opposed to his own authority. But the governor, knowing their good intentions and how very proper are those proposals of names (as above stated), sent them away more offended than they were when they came into his presence, on account of his answer to them that he could not permit the appointments to be made as they wished, since it was the prerogative of all masters-of-camp to propose them--saying that no one could have a better knowledge than these officers have of the merits and fitness of persons for their command, in order that those who were necessary for military employments might be judiciously selected. From this your Grace will understand how far the prejudice of these licentiates can extend, and their exceeding ill-will, and that I shall find myself badly off and can ill remain here with these and other knaves, who are in more than abundant numbers in this goodly land, and of so evil, or even worse, intentions; and the good intentions of those licentiates not stopping at this only, I will relate to your Grace another case in which they show no less their proved enmity.