of Luzon, a title hereditary,
according to tradition. Three sons were the issue of this marriage,
one of whom, Maximino Molo, was the father of Pedro. Averse to indolent
pleasure during his father's lifetime, Maximino, with his own scant
but independent resources, started active life with a canoe and a
barge, conveying goods out as far as Corregidor Island to secure the
first dealings with the ships entering the port. In this traffic
he made money so fast that he opened an office, and subsequently
a store of his own, in the _Escolta_. His transactions attained
large proportions, and by the time this kind of trade in the bay
became obsolete, he was already one of the most respected middlemen
operating between the foreign houses and provincial producers. His
Christian name was abbreviated to Maximo; and so proverbial were his
placidity and solicitude for others that his friends affectionately
nicknamed him Paterno (paternal), which henceforth became the adopted
cognomen of the family. His unbounded generosity won for him the
admiration of all his race, who graciously recognized him as their
_Maguinoo_. Sympathetic in the ambitions and in the distress of his
own people, he was, nevertheless, always loyal to Spanish authority;
but whether his fortune awakened Spanish cupidity, or his influence
with the masses excited the friars' jealousy, the fact is that in 1872
he was banished to the Ladrone Islands, accused of having taken part
in the rising of Cavite. Ten years afterwards he was again in Manila,
where I had the pleasure of his acquaintance, and on his decease,
which took place July 26, 1900, he left considerable wealth.

Born in 1857, Pedro A. Paterno, at the early age of 14 years, was
sent for his education to Spain, where he resided 11 years. The
preparatory period over, he entered the University of Salamanca, and
later on that of Madrid, where, under the protection and tutelage of
the Marquis de Heredia, he was introduced into aristocratic circles,
in which he became a great favourite. Amongst his college companions
was the Marquis de Mina. At one time it was proposed that he should
wed the daughter of the Marchioness de Montolibar, a suggestion which
he disregarded because his heart already inclined towards the Filipina
who is now his wife.

His assistance to the Home Government was of no mean importance. In
1882 he supported the abolition of the Government Tobacco Monopoly. In
1893 he again rendered valuable serv