Page:The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 (Volume 06).djvu/133

 God to work for the salvation of their neighbors. Neither all this argument, nor the example of the excellent spirit of the recently-christianized Chinese, was sufficient to persuade the governor; on the contrary he clung obstinately to his former opinion, answering them that it was still too early, because our friendship with the Chinese was but slight; and that already the Augustinians had tried to effect an entrance to China many times, but had been unable to attain their desire—on the contrary, the Chinese who took the latter with them had left them deceitfully on some islands—until the opportunity afforded by the pirate Limahon and the coming of the captain Omoncon. Then the latter had conveyed them, with the good news of the straits to which the pirate was come; and notwithstanding this they were ordered to return from Aucheo without being allowed to remain in the country to preach the holy gospel. And now to make this attempt would give the Chinese opportunity to make daily jests of the Spaniards. Therefore they should wait until God should open the door for this entrance, at such time as His holy will should determine, which could not be much delayed. The father custodian having received the governor's reply, and seeing that he persevered in his obstinacy in not seeking means whereby they could effect their desired entrance upon the mainland, commenced secret negotiations, with the object of procuring, by all available means, some way of making the journey—even without the said governor's order, if no other way were possible. They set about this at once, for the father custodian and father Fray Estevan Ortiz—a religious, who with this intention had learned the Chinese language, and could now speak it reasonably