some days from those interior exercises; depriving them, by way of penance, of an honour which their negligence has made them unworthy to enjoy; and such indeed is that of communicating with God in prayer, to the end, that, being ashamed to stand excluded from that celestial commerce, they may desire more ardently to be re-admitted to it.  I recommend extremely to you, that you pay an extraordinary respect to my lord the bishop; and that you be obedient to him.  Beware of doing any thing which may displease him; endeavour, on the contrary, to serve him in all things according to your power; and acknowledge, by all manner of good offices, those infinite obligations which we have to so charitable a father and benefactor.  Command those fathers who are out of Goa, to write to him from time to time, but not too prolixly; and to give him an account of the fruit of their labours.  That they mention in their letters, as far as truth will give them leave, the commendation of his vicars; and omit not the other good actions of the religious; and if they can say no good of them, let them be silent of them; for we are not to imagine that our duty obliges us to complain to the bishop, of the ill conduct of his vicars, or of other gospel-labourers; there will never be wanting those who will ease us of that trouble.  Beware, not to trouble yourself with the management of worldly business; nor even to encumber your inferiors with it, on any occasion whatsoever.  When secular men shall desire to engage you in the employments of civil life, return this answer, ’That the time which remains free to you from preaching, and the administration of the sacraments, is scarce sufficient for your studies and devotions, which are yet necessary to you before you go into the pulpit, or appear in the tribune of penance; that you cannot prefer the care of worldly things, before the cure of souls, without perverting the order and rule of charity.’  By this means you shall disengage yourself from all those sorts of encumbrances; and without this circumspection, you will do great prejudice to the Society; for you ought to understand, that the world often enters by this door into religious houses, to the extreme damage both of the religious, and of religion.

“In the visits which are made to you, endeavour to find out the bottom and end of their design, who come to see you.  For some there are, the least part of whose business is to be instructed in spirituals; it is only temporal interest which brings them to you:  there will even be some, who will come to confession, on no other motive, than to acquaint you with the necessities of their family.  The best counsel I can give you, is to stand upon your guard with such; and, to be rid of them, let them know from the very first, that you can neither furnish them with money, nor procure them any favour from other men.  Be warned to have as little discourse with this sort of people as possibly you can; for most commonly they are great talkers, and if you trouble yourself with