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208 by the Indians, that no government, however "advanced" in religious thought, has dared to interfere with certain rites and ceremonials, pieced upon their ancient garment of faith, in the earliest time of the first viceroys and bishops. The "twelve apostles," godly men who devoted their lives to Christianizing the Indians, have themselves become objects of tradition, and their deeds, as handed down from generation to generation, are as miraculous as any of those they revealed in their day to the simple and credulous Aztecs.

Of all the Apostles the memory of good Fray Martin de Valencia is most highly valued, and many are the traditions concerning his life and works.

An early history of the Indians of New Spain, written in 1541, tells of his life in Amecameca, an Indian village several hours by rail south of the capital, which still preserves all the simplicity of its earliest days. It was in existence long before the Conquest. The Spanish army stopped there a couple of days on their first approach to the city, kindly received by the Cacique in "large commodious stone buildings." Of these latter we must doubt. Near here, Fray Martin loved to dwell "because," as the narrative relates, "it is a very quiet place, most appropriate to prayer, for it is in the side of a little mountain, and is a devout hermitage. Close to this house is a cave devoted to and very suitable for the service of God. In this he used at times to give himself to prayer; and at times he used to go out of the cave into a grove, and amongst those trees there was one which was very large, under which he went to