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 obstinately to his former opinion, answering them that it was still too early, because our friendship with the Chinese was but slight; and that already the Augustinians had tried to effect an entrance to China many times, but had been unable to attain their desire--on the contrary, the Chinese who took the latter with them had left them deceitfully on some islands--until the opportunity afforded by the pirate Limahon and the coming of the captain Omoncon. Then the latter had conveyed them, with the good news of the straits to which the pirate was come; and notwithstanding this they were ordered to return from Aucheo without being allowed to remain in the country to preach the holy gospel. And