Thus the Bonza passed on to another question in his own despite; and asked Father Xavier, "Why he allowed not of those bills of exchange which they gave in favour of the dead, since the rich found their account in them, and that they had their return of their money, with usury, in heaven?" The Father answered, "That the right we had to a better world was founded not on those deceitful letters, but on the good works which are practised with the faith and doctrine which he preached: That he who inspired it into our souls was Jesus Christ, the true and only Son of God, who was crucified for the salvation of sinners; and that they who preserved that living faith till death should certainly obtain eternal happiness: That for what remained, this holy law was free from worldly interest, and that it excluded not from heaven either the poor or women; that even poverty, which is patiently endured, was a means of gaining the kingdom of heaven; and that the weaker sex had greater advantages than ours, by reason of that modesty and piety which is almost inherent in their nature." The applause which followed this discourse was general; only Fucarandono and his companions, who had not wherewith to reply, and yet were too obstinate to recant, kept a discontented silence. It was judged that Xavier's opinion was the more reasonable, and the dispute adjourned to the day following. These ill successes would have driven the Bonza to despair, if his presumption had not kept up his spirits. He returned at the time appointed; but, as if he distrusted his own strength, as presuming as he was, he brought with him six other Bonzas, the most learned amongst them, and chosen out of all their sects, not to be bare spectators of the combat, but to relieve each other, and to charge every one in his turn. At the first they propounded very subtile questions concerning the mysteries of our faith. Father Xavier was surprised at the hearing of them; and as those questions, which are not reported by the Portuguese particularly, were in all likelihood above the knowledge of the Pagans, he was almost induced to think the devil had suggested them; at the least he acknowledged, that to solve them he needed an extraordinary assistance from above, and desired the Portuguese to second him with their prayers during the disputation. Whether he received that supernatural assistance, or that those difficulties did not so much surpass his knowledge as he had thought, he answered to the satisfaction of the whole assembly. When judgment was passed that those questions were fully decided, one of the Bonzas, whose heart was wholly set on riches, and who believed that there was nothing more charming in the world than gold and silver, undertook to prove, that God was an enemy to the poor: "For," said the Bonza, "since he denies them those blessings which he bountifully gives the rich, and, in causing them to be born in a mean condition, exposes them to all the