and a few soldiers, if the latter wished to accompany them. He was confident in the good news he carried, by virtue of which he hoped that he would run no risk by doing this, and that the viceroy of Aucheo would not take it ill; for he had learned and heard from the Augustinian fathers, that his Excellency, and the governor's predecessor in office, Adelantado Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, had desired many times to send some religious to the Chinese kingdom, to engage in the preaching of the gospel, and to study the affairs of that kingdom. They had, however, never been able to attain their desire, because of the unwillingness of the Chinese merchants trading at that port to take anyone--although whatever sum they should ask would have been given them--as they feared the punishment that would be inflicted upon them, according to the law of the kingdom. For security that no ill-treatment would be showed to these men, he offered to leave pledges to their satisfaction. The governor was very glad at this offer, for this was what he and all the inhabitants of the islands had been eagerly desiring for a long time. Therefore he accepted it immediately, telling Omoncon that he absolved him from his promise and pledges, for he was quite well satisfied as to his worthiness, and that he would commit no act unbecoming his person or office. The governor, very joyful over this news, at once summoned the Augustinian provincial, Fray Alonso de Alvarado, [27] who had been elected to this office but a few days previously. The latter was a man of very holy life, and one of those despatched by the emperor, our master, in search of Nueva Guinea. The governor informed him of the offer of the captain Omõcon, whereat he greatly rejoiced, exclaiming that, notwithstanding his age, he himself would go. To this the governor wonld not consent, because of his age, and for other personal reasons. They consulted together as to who should go and who was most suitable for the matter in hand--namely, as we have said, to effect the entrance of our holy Catholic faith into that kingdom. They resolved to send only two religious, for there were but few of them in the islands, together with two soldiers. The two religious selected were father Fray Martin de Herrada, a native of Pamplona, who had but lately been provincial, and was moreover a most erudite and holy man, who, with this very desire, had learned the language of the said kingdom, and who, to attain his desires, had offered himself many times as a slave to the Chinese merchants, in order to be taken to China; and as his companion father Fray Geronymo Marin, likewise a very erudite religious, and a native of the City of Mexico. The soldiers selected to accompany them were named Pedro Sarmiento, chief constable of the city of Manila, a native of Vilorado, and Miguel de Loarcha, [28] both of as high rank and of as good Christian life as were requisite for this matter. These latter the religious intended to take so that,