[32] Francisco Vaez was born at Segovia in 1543, and received into the Jesuit order in 1566.  After his ordination he was sent to Mexico, where he filled various responsible offices, among them that of provincial.  He died at Mexico, July 14, 1619.  Sommervogel does not mention his presence in the Philippine Islands.  The letter by Vaez is translated from the Latin version published by John Hay (1546-1607—­a Jesuit of Scotch birth, noted for his disputes with Protestants), under the title De rebus Iaponicis, Indicis, etc., as seen in the title-page herewith reproduced (Antverpiae, M. DC. v).  But the letter had already been printed, two years earlier, in the Relatione breve of Diego de Torres, S.J. (Milano, MDCIII), the title-page of which is also given here.  Torres held various high official positions in his order in Peru, Paraguay, and other South American countries; and Sommervogel says (Bibliotheque Comp.  Jesus, viii, col. 132):  “Father Torres, having been sent to Rome as procurator of his province, profited by his sojourn in Rome to have his relation printed; it is dated at Rome, February 25, 1603.”  It is not certain whether either of these versions is the original production of Vaez; but as he was a Spaniard, and writing to the general of his order, it seems probable that he wrote in Latin, and that the Latin version which we follow is Vaez’s own composition, rather than the Italian—­which latter may have been Torres’s translation from the Latin original, to suit better his own account written in Italian.

The Latin title-page reads thus in English:  “Recent letters on affairs in Japan, India, and Peru; collected in one volume by John Hay, a Scot, of Dalgatty, of the Society of Jesus.  Antwerp; from the printing-house of Martin Nutius, at the sign of the two storks; in the year 1605.”

The Italian title-page is thus translated:  “A brief relation by Father Diego de Torres, of the Society of Jesus, procurator of the province of Peru, regarding the fruit which is being gathered among the Indians of that realm; for the consolation of the religious of that Society in Europe.  At the end is added the annual letter from the Philippine Islands for 1600.  At Milan; by the heirs of the late Pacifico Pontio, and Giovanni Battista Piccaglia, partners; 1603.  By permission of the superiors.”

[33] Pedro Lopez de la Parra was a native of Salamanca; entering the Jesuit order, he completed his studies and was ordained at Mexico—­where for some years he was both an instructor and preacher, being regarded as an unusually eloquent orator.  Desiring to be a missionary in the Philippines, he came to the islands, but found that he could not master the language of the natives; discouraged by this, and finding that no other employment was available, he obtained permission from the visitor Garcia to return to Mexico; and on the voyage perished by shipwreck, as here related. (La Concepcion, Hist. de Philipinas, iii, pp. 391, 392.)