and inclined to boast of the obligations of nobility, some Portuguese gentlemen usually return quite destitute of funds--as occurred this year to Juan Tabora, a cavalier of the Order of Christ. He spent the wealth which he brought here, which was much, in elegant gallantries and in bull-fights; for he arrived here at a time when these and other sports were very frequent in Manila--not only on account of the prosperity and peace which were experienced during the entire term of office of Don Manuel de León, but through the jovial disposition of his favorite and secretary, Don José Castellar, who was a very witty and courtly man, and very fond of such pastimes. In these he spent whatever he was able to acquire, and when he came to die he was so poor that he was buried, through charity, in a chapel of St. Roque in the village of Mambong, belonging to the doctrina of Malolos in the province of Bulacán, which is in our charge. Not only was the commerce with China, Cantón, and Macán set free in the time of the fortunate governor Don Manuel de León, but another was begun--indeed, almost discovered--which was very large and profitable, which has greatly increased the wealth of the citizens of Manila. This is the trade and traffic of the coast of Coromandel or Malabar [59] in Eastern India. This is the coast which extends from the mouths of the river Ganges, at the beginning of the large kingdom of Bengal, as far as the cape of Comorin; it is inhabited by Malabars, a people very shrewd and intelligent, and fond of work, and so crafty that when it is worth their while they deceive [even] the Chinese, who excel in the ability to cheat. The Malabar and Bengal people are unsurpassed in the art of spinning and weaving cotton cloth; for they weave pieces more delicate than the finest cambrics and Dutch linens, and gauzes so fine that when they are spread upon a table, the thread can hardly be discerned, it is so thin and delicate. But that in which they most excel, and have been alone and inimitable, is in their very fine cotton cloth dyed exquisitely with the finest colors; and this has another quality most excellent and admirable, which is that the more it is washed, the finer and more lustrous the colors appear, and they never are washed out or become dull. Without doubt these so rare colors are those which Job mentions in the twenty-eighth chapter, when making comparisons with Wisdom, he says: Non conferetur tinctis Indiæ coloribus. [60] On this coast of Coromandel the English, Dutch, French, and Danes maintain their factories, and possess an extensive commerce in cotton cloth, which is consumed throughout Europa--and much more in the regions of the north, because cotton is so good for protecting them [from the cold]. But the largest settlement, and the one most frequented for commerce, is that which the English have, named Madrastapán, or Fort St. George; [61] it is peopled with innumerable dwellers of all nationalities, not only those of