cos, from the
name of the province where the bishop lives. The names of the bishops
until 1849 follow, and the article ends with information identical
with that concluding the article on the bishopric of Nueva Caceres.]

CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE OF THE FRIARS

[From Feodor Jagor's _Reisen in den Philippinen_ (Berlin, 1873),
pp. 95-100.]

Chapter Twelve

Travels in Camarines Sur. Description of the province. Spanish
priests. Alcaldes and mandarins. [125]

The convents are large, magnificent buildings, whose curas at that
time--for the most part, elderly men--were most hospitable and
amiable. It was necessary to stop at each convent, and the father in
charge of it had his horses harnessed and drove his guest to his next
colleague. I wished to hire a boat at Polangui to go to the lake of
Batu; [126] but there was none to be had. Only two large, eighty-foot
_barotos_, each hollowed from a single tree-trunk and laden with rice
from Camarines, lay there. In order that I might not be detained,
the father bought the cargo of one of the boats, on condition that
it be immediately unladed; thus I was able to proceed on my journey
in the afternoon.

If the traveler is on good terms with the cura, he will seldom have
any trouble. I was once about to take a little journey with a parish
priest directly after lunch. All the preparations were completed at
a quarter after eleven. I declared that it was too bad to wait the
three-quarters of an hour for the repast. Immediately after, it struck
twelve, and all work in the village ceased. We, as well as our porters,
sat down to table; it was noon. The [following] message had been sent
to the bellringer: "The father ordered him to be told that he must
surely be sleeping again; it must have been twelve o'clock long ago,
for the father is hungry." _Il est l'heure que votre Majeste desire._
[127]

Most of the priests in the eastern provinces of Luzon and Samar
consist of Franciscan friars, [128] who are trained in special
seminaries in Spain for the missions in the colonies. Formerly,
they were at liberty to return to their fatherland after ten years'
residence in the Philippines. But since the convents have been
suppressed in Spain, [129] this is no longer allowed them; for there
they would be compelled to renounce the rules of their order, and
live as private persons. [130] They know that they must end their
days in the colonies, and regulate themselves accordingly. At t