BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS, F.G.S., &C. 725 



colonised island, nor probably was it seen, except at a distance, at 

 the time of the discovery of the group in 1519. Manila was 

 founded in 1571, but we do not find any detailed account of the 

 island for more than 100 years after that. It is said by Sefior 

 Centeno, though he does not cite any authorities, that there are 

 ancient documents in existence which would seem to indicate, 

 though not in a very reliable manner, that the volcanic activity 

 was, at the time of the Spanish conquest, confined to the north-west 

 extension of the island in the now extinct crater of Binintiang 

 Malaki. So recent an activity is hardly borne out by the appear- 

 ance of the rocks, but inasmuch as there are still some signs of 

 eruption visible, such as the emanation of gases, steam and heat, 

 the thing is just possible. We know from experience how very 

 rapidly these subsidiary craters form and disappear. To cite no 

 other instances, the parasitic cones of Etna and Ischia are good 

 examples of this sort of formation. 



When at the end of the 16th century, says Centeno, the 

 principal towns of the province of Batangas were founded, there 

 did not exist amongst the inhabitants of those localities any tradi- 

 tion worthy of credit, of eruptions or notable cataclysms from this 

 volcano. If there were such they have not been registered in 

 historical documents. The most ancient chronicle that he was able 

 to consult was that written in 1680, by Dr. Fray Gasper de San 

 Agustin, preserved in the ancient library of the Augustinian 

 monastry at Manila. I visited this establishment, which is one of 

 the splendid architectural curiosities of the city, and whose library, 

 church, and traditions are historical monuments of extraordinary 

 interest and value. Through the kindness of the Provincial, the 

 muy Rev. Padre Fray Felipe Brabo, and the Rev. P. Fray 

 Raimundo Lozano, the Definidor of the order, I was able to visit 

 the library, and make some investigations amongst the valuable 

 chronicles which they possessed. It is not of much importance to 

 cite the whole of the quotation from Fray Gaspar, who relates the 

 precautions taken by the parish priest of Taal to deliver the 

 inhabitants from certain supernatural inconveniences which were 

 supposed to be connected with the volcano of Taal. The important 



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