The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 12 of 55 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 307 pages of information about The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 12 of 55.

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 12 of 55 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 307 pages of information about The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 12 of 55.
and examples to persuade him that what these deceivers said was false, and that he should beware of them; all this your Majesty may see, if you are so pleased, by the documents, which I send translated into Castilian.  But the devil, who seeks his opportunity, furnished these evil men with a king so filled with greed and so overpowered by it that he is almost mad on the subject; and his actions indicate this, for he has had men made of gold and women of silver, and has them at his feasts and gives them drink.  He sent to every one of his realms one of his eunuchs, who, in order to secure gold and silver for the king, exacted great tributes from the vassals.  The empire of China feels very much oppressed by this, as the Chinese here tell us, without any secrecy, that they believe that there will be within two years, more or less, conspiracies and rebellion in China.  As the king is such a man, and the adventurers furnished the said sureties, he was not willing either to follow the advice of the viceroys and their councils, or entirely to reject it.  He commanded certain judges and mandarins to come to examine Keit personally, and see whether what was said of it was true or false.  Accordingly, there came this year, in this month of May, three mandarins in all their majesty, to this city of Manila.  Governor Don Pedro de Acuna received them and treated them very courteously and very prudently, although to some persons this seemed unreasonable; and it certainly was an irregular proceeding to give them permission to go to Cabite to see whether there was gold or not.  They went there, and took with them the said chair-maker and carpenter Tienguen, whom they brought from China for this purpose.  The mandarins commanded Tienguen, when they arrived at Cavite, to show them where the gold was and have done with it.  The man answered with good courage, in a word, and said to them, “If you choose that this be gold, gold it will be; but if you do not, it will not be gold.  I tell you that you should cut off the heads of the Indians of this country, and you will find their necks all covered with chains and necklaces of gold; and this is the gold that I told you of.”  Finally the governor sent back the said mandarins, apparently satisfied; and he wrote to the viceroy, the eunuch, and the inspector of the town and kingdom to which the Chinese who came here belonged.  By one of these men Governor Don Pedro de Acuna wrote a very discreet letter concerning the matter.  Now we are waiting to see how the greed of the king of China and of his eunuch will be affected by these things, and what measures the captain of the guard and the sureties will take to right their falsehood and save their lives; for, if they are declared impostors, they will lose their lives.  We hope in the Lord, that He will look upon this Christian community which is being founded here, and will calm the feelings of the Chinese in this region; and that, if they come, they will find that the governor has the country so well prepared
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The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 12 of 55 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.