rder of St. Francis began their eight-day
fiesta. Another was held at the port of Cavite, in which, as in
Manila, all the orders took part--except one, which during all
this time did not leave its house, enter the cathedral, nor display
illuminations. About this there was no lack of gossiping in the city.

The effects of last year's comets have been very frightful this year,
especially in two provinces of the Filipinas, Ilocos and Cagayan--the
former of which is entirely under the instruction of the fathers of
St. Augustine. The earthquakes in Ilocos have been so violent and so
continuous that the people have gone about with severe headaches, as
if seasick. At noon on St. Andrew's day, in the village of Batano,
the church, the house, and the granary (a very substantial one)
fell because of the vibrations. The friars cast themselves from
the windows and thus escaped with their lives, although they were
badly injured. In Dinglas a large portion of the church fell, and the
prior of the convent leaped through a window. In Sinai the church was
overturned Great cracks have opened up in the ground in which men fall,
but only one has lost his life in this way. In the mountains of Bigan
two distant ranges came together and caught between them two heathen
villages. All the people were buried, only one man escaping. In the
province of Cagayan, which is included within the island of Manila
and which is under the instruction of the fathers of St. Dominic,
the earthquakes were even more horrible. On the same day, that of
St. Andrew, it seemed that the prophecy of the Evangel had come
true. On the following day, which was the day of Judgment, the earth
tossed the people with such violence that men were not able to keep
their seats; and they walked about as dizzy and as dazed as if they
were intoxicated. In Nueva Segovia, the capital of that province,
the church was demolished, as well as a part of the convent, which
was a very handsome and substantial structure built entirely of
stone. The religious there were injured, although all escaped in
different directions with their lives; only two boys perished. The
same thing happened in the church of St. Vincent of Tocolano, which
also had very strong walls. Many other temples and stone buildings
in this province likewise fell; but in order to make my story short,
I will not mention them separately. Large forests were overthrown;
great springs opened up; rivers changed their courses; and ma