The troubles of Las Casas, however, were not yet over, nor did the opposition to his projects relax; on the contrary, the arrival at Barcelona in 1519 of Fray Juan Quevedo, the first Bishop of Darien, brought a new combatant into the field against him. On his way from Darien to Spain, Quevedo had stopped in Cuba, where he had heard the complaints of the enraged colonists, who declared that unless his mad campaign against his fellow-countrymen was stopped Las Casas would ruin the island, impoverish them all, and destroy every source of revenue. It was thought that Diego Velasquez paid Quevedo to controvert the representations of Las Casas and to plead the cause of the colonists at Court. As he was a man of considerable weight and an excellent preacher, Velasquez hoped he might win the King to his way of thinking. Arriving at Court, thus prepared to advocate the interests of Velasquez and the colonists, Quevedo was no mean antagonist. The first meeting between him and Las Casas took place in the royal ante-chamber where, on being told who the newly arrived prelate was, the clerigo approached saying, “My lord, since I am interested in the Indies it is my duty to kiss your hand.” The Bishop asked who the strange priest was and, on being told, exclaimed with some arrogance, “Oh, Señor Casas! and what sermon have you got to preach to us?” Had he known Las Casas better he would have adopted other tactics, for the clerigo was not the kind of man to attack. He answered: “Certainly, my lord, since some time I have wished to hear your lordship preach, but I assure your lordship that I have a pair of sermons ready, which if you wish to hear and consider them, may be worth more than all the money you have brought from the Indies.” This exchange of thinly veiled hostilities was cut short by the appearance of the Bishop of Badajoz, who came out from audience with the King, and took Quevedo off with him to dinner. To forestall any unfavourable influence which Quevedo might seek to exercise on the Bishop of Badajoz, who was friendly to Las Casas, the latter made a point of going after dinner to the Bishop’s house, where he found an illustrious company comprising, amongst others, the Admiral, Don Diego Columbus, playing chequers. Somebody remarked that wheat was grown in Hispaniola, to which Quevedo replied that it was impossible. Las Casas, who happened to have in his pocket-book some specimen grains which he had gathered in the garden of the monastery of St. Dominic, mildly observed, “It is certain, my lord, for I have seen it of excellent quality in that island, and I may even say, look at it yourself, for I have some with me.” The Bishop lost his temper and answered with great asperity: “What do you know? This is like the affairs you manage! What do you know about the matters you handle?”