132 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I02 



tions for the fabric of this grand and holy church, they came upon 

 tombs of giants whose bones were of remarkable size. This city has 

 many very sumptuous convents of friars : that of the Dominicans ; 

 the Franciscan, in the ward called San Francisco, which is an exten- 

 sive suburb lying at the entrance to the city as one comes from Vera 

 Cruz to Mexico; there is a very holy image there called Nuestra 

 Sefiora de los Remedios (Our Lady of Refuge), which the first 

 pioneers brought with them ; and by the means of this most holy 

 image God wrought great miracles in favor of the Spaniards and 

 of the Indians, toward their conversion ; and so it enjoys the great- 

 est veneration from everyone because of its great miracles. In this 

 splendid convent lies the body of the sainted Brother Aparicio [blank] , 

 a lay friar through whose intercession God our Lord wrought many 

 miracles during his life and after his death ; since there is a book 

 written in copious detail about them and his most holy life and his 

 simplicity, I do not recount them, desiring to keep within my intent. 



373. The Augustinian convent is splendid, and remarkable archi- 

 tecturally. The convent of Los Remedios of the order of Barefoot 

 Carmelites is one of the finest to be found in that kingdom; that of 

 Sts. Cosmas and Damian, of the Jesuit order, has large buildings and 

 considerable revenues and property ; there they give courses in Latin, 

 Arts, and Theology; in all these convents mentioned, courses at- 

 tended by many students are given with great care and solicitude ; 

 besides which, the Jesuits have another college for students and a 

 novitiate, founded by the Bishop of that city, Don Alonso de la Mota, 

 with large revenues, with the purpose of creating a university there, 

 and other convents. 



374. This famous city contains 8 nunneries, which are very sump- 

 tuous and wealthy ; these are La Concepcion, La Trinidad, Santa 

 Catalina, Santa Clara, Santa Teresa of nuns of the order of Bare- 

 foot Carmelites, San Jeronimo, another new convent of San Marcos, 

 and Jesus Maria, all very devout. There is a general hospital en- 

 titled San Roque, rich and with much revenue ; this is run by the 

 Brethren of Huaxtepec, who wear dark brown habits, like those of 

 the general hospital of this court ; here they care for the indigent 

 sick and assist the recovery of poor cachupines (newcomers) re- 

 cently arrived from Spain. Every year these Brethren and those of 

 the splendid hospital of Mexico City and that of Huaxtepec, go 

 down to Vera Cruz for the arrival of the fleets ; they take along 

 200 mules loaded with provisions, biscuit, preserves, and other deli- 

 cacies, which they keep leaving at the stage posts along the road, and 

 they load the mules with all the indigent sick and needy and take 



