from
the savages for a mere bagatelle, and enshrined it in their Catholic
chapel as the Santo Nino of Cebu. Blessed by the presence of so holy
a thing, the little chapel grew and prospered until a handsome stone
church and _convento_ were built, the church being the very one where
the image now stands.

Other stories have it that some time during the sixteenth century,
a Spanish sailor found the Santo Nino cast up on the eastern coast
of Cebu after a terrific storm. On picking it up, he was rejoiced
to find that the use of his left arm, long withered by palsy, was
miraculously restored, whereupon he carried the image into Cebu with
him. There numberless wonderful things were accomplished by the Santo
Nino, till at last the sailor, half frightened at possessing so sacred
an object, turned it over to the priests, who promptly enshrined it
in the one Catholic church of the place. Some fifty or sixty years
later, the church was burned to the ground--for both stones agree as
to a destructive fire--and all was lost save the Santo Nino itself,
which escaped by a miracle only.

Whatever may have been its origin, many wonderful things are attributed
to the Santo Nino of Cebu. It is to him that childless women pray
for offspring; to him that mothers bring their little ones, and beg
a thousand blessings upon them; from him that distracted parents
beseech renewed health and strength for their children, ill unto
death with diseases that baffle the doctors, for the Santo Nino,
being but a child himself, is especially tender toward the little ones.

It is said that once an attempt was made to send the Santo Nino to
Rome, as the Pope had expressed a wish to see the much talked of
Philippine image. Very tenderly was it packed away in soft wrappings,
after which it was placed in a wooden box, fitted with an intricate
lock, the key of which was carried by the old bishop who was to
accompany the Santo Nino on its travels. To ensure the safety of
so valuable a thing, the wooden box was put into a metal casket,
which in turn was fastened securely. Then the ship sailed for Italy,
and the little niche in the wall of the cathedral which had been
the Santo Nino's shrine was boarded up, and the natives came to the
church but seldom, so bitter were they that the Holy Child had been
taken from them.

Hard times followed; crops failed; there was an epidemic of sickness;
and Cebu was shrouded in gloom, a gloom which deepened when word came
fro