Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/165

CH. X.] they are, at the same time, of so kind and peaceable a disposition, that nothing but a direct violence to their religious feelings would be likely to excite their opposition; and, hence, amongst the numerous foreigners who had visited the capital, within the last twelve months of my arrival, (more it is supposed than had visited it within the last three centuries,) no one, as I could find, had been questioned or in any way slighted upon the grounds of having professed a faith, the tenets of which might differ from those of the established religion.

I subjoin a few remarks on the state of the church, translated from a short report furnished me by the Canon Castillo; I have every reason to believe it, from collateral evidence, to be worthy of credit.

There are in the republic of Central America 300 parishes, most of which contain from two, three, to four settlements; each parish having its curate, and these one with the other, may be reckoned to