l church, of poor construction and meagrely furnished
with the necessaries for celebrating the religious offices. One of the
new Bishop's first disciplinary acts was to summon the three vagrant
priests to Ciudad Real, where he might constrain them to a more sacerdotal
life under his immediate authority. Las Casas lived according to the
strict rule of his Order, eating only fish, eggs, and vegetables, and,
though he permitted meat to the others who sat at his table, there was so
little to tickle the palate of the epicure that two out of the three
renounced allegiance to their Bishop and betook themselves beyond the
confines of his diocese where they speedily fell into evil ways. His life
at this period was one of truly apostolic simplicity; although seventy
years old, his habits were as frugal and austere as those of any
anchorite. Towards the Spanish colonists he at first manifested mild and
affectionate sentiments, which blinded them so entirely to the indomitable
energy and fearless spirit that animated him, that they, on their part,
showed themselves obsequious and generous. The deception was mutual, and
disillusion only awaited the moment when the material interests of the
Spaniards should be touched, to declare itself. Slavery flourished
throughout the diocese, to the great affliction of the Bishop: he first
sought by private conversations with the principal persons of the colony,
by arguments, explanation of the New Laws and of the Emperor's wishes, to
effect the liberation of the Indians, but failing in this, he next
preached publicly on the subject. No headway was made by one or the other
means employed, while shocking cruelties were of daily occurrence and the
Indians, who recognised the Bishop as their only protector and advocate,
brought him tales of their sufferings which left him no choice but to have
recourse to stronger measures.

The Easter season of 1545 was approaching, and the fulfilment of the
precept of confession, which marks the farthermost frontier of Catholic
observance, within which even the most lax must remain under penalty of
excommunication ipso facto, afforded the Bishop his opportunity. He
withdrew from all his clergy, except the dean and canon of his cathedral
church, their faculties for granting absolution, reserving to himself all
questions involving the relations of the Spaniards to the Indians. He
furnished the two appointed confessors with a detailed list of cases in
which no