"El Alcalde de aqui Señor! (said an old Indian to the writer at Zebú), le quitará los dientes de la boca a S. Md." "The Alcaldé here, Sir!--He'll take the teeth out of your worship's mouth." This was not too strong an expression. [68] They are well aware of the extent of their influence, and even at times speak of it. "Si aqui manda su tropa el Rey, se vayan los Indios al monte, pero si yo cerro las puertas de la Iglesia los tengo todos a mis pies en veinte quatro horas." "If the king sends troops here, the Indians will retire to the mountains and forests. But if I shut the church doors, I shall have them all at my feet in twenty-four hours," was the remark of an intelligent "frayle" to the writer. [69] Le Gentil says (Voyage, ii, p. 2): "Every order of religious has, then, taken possession of these provinces, which they have, so to say, shared among themselves. In some sort, they command therein, and they are more kings than the king himself. They have been so shrewd as to learn the dialects of the various peoples among whom they reside, and not to teach the Castilian language to them; thus the religious are absolute masters over the minds of the Indians in these islands."--Eds. [70] Those who can see only inquisitors in Catholic bishops will be a little incredulous of one of them checking an attempt to convert a Protestant! This happened to the writer, who found himself one evening seated between an Indian clerigo and the bishop of Zebû, an aged and most worthy prelate. The Indian father, to show his zeal for the faith, attacked me on the subject of religion with the usual arguments of ignorant friars, till I was on the point of quitting the room to avoid answering. "My son," said the old prelate to the Indian--"we are here to convert the Indians, not to annoy the strangers who may visit us. I will send this gentleman some books, and I doubt not they will duly prepare his mind to see the errors of the Protestant church, and then we may hope for success with him!" [71] "Yo hé llorado de ansias de ver à un Europeo!" "How often has the desire of seeing an European made me weep!" was the pathetic remark of a most worthy minister to the writer of these remarks.--This man had been 27 years on one small island!