This was indeed a valuable reenforcement; for, combined with that of the year before, they made a sufficient force to begin the extension of the Society throughout the islands which were assigned to it as a province, and to care for the humble souls who begged for bread and had no one to give it to them.  Father Ramon de Prado, who had succeeded to the office of vice-provincial, thus obtained people to employ in this work, conformably to his great zeal for the salvation of souls.  How he did this we shall see later, each subject in its proper place.  First, I will say that the facility with which many ministers of the Lord in the four religious orders learned the languages used in their respective missions, even so as to preach and hear confessions in them, seems a gift from heaven.  The most tardy student of them, if he apply himself moderately, spends no more than six months; and one of Ours, Father Cosme de Flores, learned and mastered this language, so that he could preach and hear confessions, in seventy-four days—­to the astonishment of our people, as well as of the Indians themselves.  The latter, seeing this facility, say that God, without doubt, bestows it upon us, recognizing their needs.  In truth these languages are not very difficult, either to learn or to pronounce—­and more especially now, since there is a grammar, a vocabulary, and many writings therein.  The most difficult is the language of Manila (which they call Tagal)—­which, I have already said, Father Martin Henriquez learned in three months; and in three more, he used it fluently.  This was the first of the native languages that I learned, to which and to the others I shall profitably devote another chapter. [68]

Of the Languages of the Filipinas.  Chapter XV.

There is no single or general language of the Filipinas extending throughout the islands; but all of them, though there are many and different tongues, are so much alike that they may be learned and spoken in a short time.  Consequently if one is learned, all are almost known.  They are to each other like the Tuscan, Lombard, and Sicilian dialects of Italia, or the Castilian, Portuguese, and Galician in Espana.  Only the language of the Negrillos is very different from the rest, as, in Espana, is the Vizcayan [i.e., Basque].  There is not a different language for each of the islands, because some of them—­as, for example, Manila, and even Panai, which is more than four hundred leguas smaller—­contain several languages; and there are languages each of which prevails in several islands.  In the island of Manila alone, there are six different tongues; in Panai, two; in some others, but one.  The languages most used, and most widely spread, are the Tagal and the Bisayan; and in some regions of the Pintados another tongue is also prevalent, called Harayan.  The Tagal embraces the greater part of the coast and interior of the islands of Manila, Mindoro, Luban, and some others.  Bisaya is in use through all the islands