ry who conducts them is not a man
of great prudence, so that he can gild and smooth over this annoyance,
it is certain that not one of them will go farther. Much more is it
true that, if the rule should become known in the provinces of Castilla
and Aragon, whence the religious for these missions usually go, no one
would enter them; for if a man is required to leave his own country
and his relatives and friends, and exile himself to the end of the
world, at the risk of being excluded from the missions by the Council
of the Indias, that would be the same as to put on him an eternal
_sanbenito_ [11] in his order. Indeed, who would voluntarily subject
himself to an interrogation of this sort? May it please God that,
even if the bridge be made of silver, they shall be willing to go,
all the more for so long and hard a voyage as that to the Philippinas,
which in itself involves so many difficulties that only the arm of
God can overcome them. It would be well to entrust to the commissary
who conveys them this examination into their life and habits, for,
if he is a conscientious man, he knows well that he lays a burden
upon his conscience if he conducts ministers who will not unburden
the conscience of the king; and, if he is not conscientious, these
ordinances are ineffective, for, as they are so rigorous, he will
evade them with very little trouble and at no expense to himself,
for the whole matter must rest upon the honesty with which he is
willing to act.

_Registry fees in Sanlucar._ In Sanlucar is the third
stopping-place. Here, however well a man may have managed his business
in getting out of Sevilla, there are never lacking hindrances;
for whenever religious are registered there for passage they always
meet with some obstacle, if it be nothing more than being asked for
fees. These fees are demanded by the clerk of the registry and by
the inspector of the ships, who is usually an official of the House
of Trade at Sevilla. This demand for a fee for every religious who
goes through is a very base thing. As for me, I was asked for three
reals apiece by the clerk. As I thought that the act was an injustice,
I went to the accountant and reported the case to him; it seemed even
worse to him, and he told me that he would correct it. He did so by
telling me on the following day that I should give the clerk what he
asked for, and a real and a half more for every one; and that, if I
did not do so he would not permit me to go abo