hools are under the inspection of the parish
priests. Reading and writing in Spanish are taught, or at least it
is so ordered; but the schoolmaster himself usually does not know
it, and on the other hand the Spanish government employees do not
understand the vernacular. Besides, the curates, in order to preserve
their influence intact, do not look favorably upon the spread of
Castilian. About the only ones who know Spanish are the Indians who
have been in the service of Europeans. The first reading exercise
is some devotional book, then the catechism; the reader is called
_Casaysayan_. On the average half of the children between seven and ten
years attend school; they learn to read fairly well and some to write
a little, but they soon forget it."--Jagor, _Viajes por Filipinas_
(Vidal's Spanish version). Jagor was speaking particularly of the
settled parts of the Bicol region. Referring to the islands generally,
his "half of the children" would be a great exaggeration.--TR.

[64] A delicate bit of sarcasm is lost in the translation here. The
reference to _Maestro Ciruela_ in Spanish is somewhat similar to a
mention in English of Mr. Squeers, of Dotheboys Hall fame.--TR.

[65] By one of the provisions of a royal decree of December 20,
1863, the _Catecismo de la Doctrina Cristina_, by Gaspar Astete,
was prescribed as the text-book for primary schools, in the
Philippines. See Blair and Robertson's _The Philippine Islands_,
Vol. XLVI, p. 98; _Census of the Philippine Islands_ (Washington,
1905), p. 584.--TR.

[66] The municipal police of the old regime. They were thus described
by a Spanish writer, W. E. Retana, in a note to Ventura F. Lopez's
_El Filibustero_ (Madrid, 1893): "Municipal guards, whose duties are
principally rural. Their uniform is a disaster; they go barefoot;
on horseback, they hold the reins in the right hand and a lance in
the left. They are usually good-for-nothing, but to their credit it
must be said that they do no damage. Lacking military instruction,
provided with fire-arms of the first part of the century, of which one
in a hundred might go off in case of need, and for other arms bolos,
talibons, old swords, etc., the cuadrilleros are truly a parody on
armed force."--TR.

[67] Headman and tax-collector of a district, generally including
about fifty families, for whose annual tribute he was personally
responsible. The "barangay" is a Malay boat of the kind supposed to
have been used by the first