se
who wished to guard against the malady which was attacking many of
them--and perhaps not a few that they might profit, at little cost,
by the presence of the new confessor in their village. I passed on to
Balete and found that it had become a hospital. I went through all the
houses to hear confessions, but could not finish them on that day; so
I continued this task on the following day, and then went to Dinglas,
where I found the same needs. All, both the sick and those in health,
were greatly consoled by my visit; and finally I returned to Silang
in the night, with the fiscal and others, who accompanied me. I had
occasion to make other and shorter trips among the plantations in
the vicinity of Silang, as they contained sick persons who were in
need; I also desired to ascertain what houses and persons were in
those country districts. Moreover, I thus did something to further my
plan of removing them to the village and to have them carry thither
their rice and their little possessions, desiring to accomplish what
your Reverence so desires, and which is so expedient for the proper
instruction of those people. The great activity and solicitude of
the father, who is my companion, was of great value to me in this as
in all other matters; and the coming of the father rector and Father
Diego Sanchez, who assisted us here until Lent, was most valuable,
adding more energy and ability to our forces, and consoling and
encouraging those people with suitable instruction.

"After Christmas I was summoned back to Manila, but in Lent was sent
again to the village of Silang. At that time I found the mission
greatly increased by the many natives whom the fathers had recently
brought together; they were coming to us each day from other villages
(the entire village of Indan had joined us), all of them very needy,
and almost half of them unbaptized. On the feast of St. Gregory I
baptized twenty-five persons, only one of whom, a sick woman, was of
adult age, and on the feast of the Annunciation twenty-one, of whom
nineteen were adults; at present another goodly number of them are
being prepared. The number of those baptized this year is about two
hundred, and the confessions very numerous; and the number of those
admitted to communion is about fifty, the choicest of whom are members
of the confraternity. We erected our altar of the sepulchre [25] as
skilfully as we were able, and celebrated the offices [appropriate to
the occasion], by t