Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 1.djvu/141

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 Spanish process of conversion.—Apprenticeship to religion.—Indian girl's filial piety.—The chain of indulgence.—Inquisitorial spirit in Mexico.—Wealth of the church.—Number of ecclesiastics and religious establishments.—Priestly methods of making money.—Pursuits of the priests.—Scene in the market-place.—Procession of the host.—Adoration.—Priest's visit to a sick man.—Costly Viaticum.—A bereaved family.

first ecclesiastics from Spain, who settled in this country, distinguished themselves by a most praiseworthy desire to convert the ignorant Indian inhabitants to their own faith. The natives, however, being warmly attached to their old superstitions, and jealous, for obvious reasons, of the new comers, the most powerful means were employed to convince them of their errors. The weak minded were terrified into submission, the credulous were enticed into belief by promises of benefits and privileges, and the refractory were treated