rds the north I could perceive the huge crater of the Iriga,
which, in the distance, appeared like a truncated cone. I had the
curiosity to ascend one of the hillocks, which, seen from its summit,
looked like the remains of some former crater, which had probably
been destroyed by an earthquake and split up into these small mounds.

[Advertising.] When I got to Buhi the friendly priest had it
proclaimed by sound of drum that the newly-arrived strangers wished
to obtain all kinds of animals, whether of earth, of air, or of water;
and that each and all would be paid for in cash. The natives, however,
only brought us moths, centipedes, and other vermin, which, besides
enabling them to have a good stare at the strangers, they hoped to
turn into cash as extraordinary curiosities.

[A church procession.] The following day I was the spectator of a
gorgeous procession. First came the Spanish flag, then the village
kettle-drums, and a small troop of horsemen in short jackets and
shirts flying in the wind, next a dozen musicians, and finally, as
the principal figure, a man carrying a crimson silk standard. The
latter individual evidently was deeply conscious of his dignified
position, and his countenance eloquently expressed the quantity of
palm wine he had consumed in honor of the occasion. He sat on his
horse dressed out in the most absurd manner in a large cocked hat
trimmed with colored paper instead of gold lace, with a woman's cape
made of paper outside his coat, and with short, tight-fitting yellow
breeches and immense white stockings and shoes. Both his coat and his
breeches were liberally ornamented with paper trimmings. His steed,
led by a couple of cabezas, was appointed with similar trappings. After
marching through all the streets of the village the procession came
to a halt in front of the church.

[Papal concessions to Spain.] This festival is celebrated every year
in commemoration of the concession made by the Pope to the King of
Spain permitting the latter to appropriate to his own use certain
revenues of the Church. The Spanish Throne consequently enjoys the
right of conferring different indulgences, even for serious crimes, in
the name of the Holy See. This right, which, so to speak, it acquired
wholesale, it sells by retail to its customers (it formerly disposed
of it to the priests) in the estanco, and together with its other
monopolies, such as tobacco, brandy, lottery tickets, stamped paper,
etc., all t