coldly, and put them off with hopes.  Mindful of the fact that their chief purpose in coming from Espana had been, to attempt to effect an entrance into that kingdom to preach the gospel, and having their desires heightened by their intercourse with the Chinese themselves, since they were a nation of ability and discretion, and of excellent understanding—­which quickened their desire, and persuaded them that it would be easy to make them understand the things pertaining to God—­they determined to employ other methods, since that which they were trying to attain with the good will of the governor was so uncertain.  It happened that, after several days, when they had discussed the matter, and had petitioned God with great urgency to guide and direct it as should be most to His service, and for the gain of those souls, a Chinese came to the Filipinas, who was, as they heard, one of the priests and religious of that kingdom, of whom a great number exist in all the towns of China.  This man went to the monastery of the said fathers several times, and discussed with them the creation of the world, and other things which opened the way for the latter to declare to him matters pertaining to God, which he was much pleased to hear.  After having told them in great detail of the magnificence and secret things of the great kingdom of China, for whose conversion the fathers had so great a desire; and after he had asked many careful and keen questions about the Christian faith, he begged them urgently, at the end of several days, to baptize him, as he wished to become a Christian.  Inasmuch as he had instruction in the tenets of our Catholic faith, they granted his pious desire, to the incredible joy of all the inhabitants of the city, and to his own joy also.  After becoming a Christian, he became an inmate of the monastery, and would never eat anything but uncooked herbs; and when he discovered that all the religious arose at midnight for matins, and that they disciplined themselves, and spent much of the night in prayer before the holy sacrament, he failed no whit in imitating them, and in doing all he saw them do, and with proofs of very great devotion.  All this aroused in the father custodian and all of his associates the longing to attain what they so greatly desired, as stated above.  Therefore they had recourse once more to the governor, and once more was explained, in most urgent terms, what had been already asked him so often; namely, in regard to his effecting some arrangement whereby the religious might go to the kingdom of China to preach the law of God, the father custodian offering himself as one of these.  They stated that, if leave were not given them, they would go without it, on the first occasion that offered, relying on that given them by their superiors and by God to work for the salvation of their neighbors.  Neither all this argument, nor the example of the excellent spirit of the recently-christianized Chinese, was sufficient to persuade the governor; on the contrary he clung