These good men have penetrated, where soldiers dare not enter with arms in their hands, and in their case, truly, the sword has given place to the gown, with good effects to all concerned in the reduction of these wild Indians to the Roman Catholic faith, and the arts of civilized life; for many hundreds of them, nay, I believe thousands, are now peaceful cultivators of the soil, which, these good fathers have taught them how to till, instead of living, as they formerly did, at warfare with mankind, and solely on the produce of the chase. How these differences of race and language have arisen, it is probably impossible now to discover, at least I have never heard any one of the many theories on the subject, for they are nothing more than speculations, which could sustain all the requirements necessary to account for their existence in their present state. In the character of the native Indians there are very many good points, although they have long had a bad name, from their characters and descriptions coming from the Spanish mouths, who are too indolent to investigate it beyond their households, or at the most beyond their city walls; as very few, indeed, of all the Spaniards I met with have ever been in the country any distance from Manilla, except those whose duty it has been to proceed to a distance, as an alcalde of the province, or as an officer of the troops scattered through the islands,--very many of whom remain at home in the residency or in their quarters, smoking or drinking chocolate, and bewailing their hard fates, which have condemned them to live so far away from Manilla, from the theatre, and from society. They come and go without knowing, or caring to know, anything about the people around them, except when a feast-day comes, when they are always ready enough to visit their houses, dance with the beauties, and consume their suppers. The most noticeable traits in the Philippine Indians appear to be their hospitality, good-nature, and _bonhommie_ which very many of them have. Their tempers are quick; but, like all of that sort, after effervescing, soon subside into quiet again.