Sanctuario de Guadalupe. 145 



As I have not described any of the convents of the city, I 

 shall make up for this negHgence by speaking more at length 

 of the most holy place in the whole empire, only one league 

 from Mexico ; it is the Sanctuario de Guadalupe. Before 

 describing it, I must first state the miracle from which it origi- 

 nated. 



What effective means the conquistadores employed in con- 

 vincing the Indian heathens of the truth of Christianity I have 

 mentioned already, and many Indians, though not very well 

 understanding all the mysteries of the religion, found it not 

 hard to change their ugly idols for the Holy Virgin and the 

 saints, whose images looked far more attractive. 



It was ten years after the Conquest, in the year 1531, when 

 there lived in the village of Tolpetlac a recently-converted 

 Indian, who had received in baptism the name of Juan Diego. 

 I-Ie v\^as a good man, and frequently went to Santiago Tlalti- 

 luclo, where the Franciscans taught the Christian religion. 

 Once, when crossing a mountain ridge, which ended near the 

 lake of Texcoco, in a point, called the ' Nose of the hill,' — in 

 Spanish ' Nariz del cerro,' and in Indian 'Tepetlyecaczol,' — 

 he heard some extremely sweet music, of a kind that he had 

 never heard either amongst the Spaniards or his own people. 

 Looking wonderingly around he saw a rainbow, far more bril- 

 liant than he had ever seen, and, framed by it, and in the mid- 

 dle of a white transparent cloud, a very sweet-looking hand- 

 some lady, dressed like one of the court ladies of his late 

 heathenish Emperor. The poor ignorant man did not guess 

 who she was, but was not afraid, and approaching her, she told 

 him that she was ' the Mother of God,' and wanted the erec- 

 tion of a temple in her honour on that very spot, promising 

 protection to all those who would pray there, and ordering 

 Juan Diego to tell the Bishop what he had seen and heard. 



Fray Don Juan de Zuniiirraga; a Franciscan, and Bishop of 

 Merico, would not believe in the story, and sent the Indian 

 away. The Holy Virgin, however, was not satisfied with this 

 and appeared to him three times again. Troubled in his 

 mind, and not daring to go again to the Bishop, he resolved 

 to confide in a confessor, whom he would consult also about 

 his uncle, Juan Bernardino, who was very dangerously ill. 

 Afraid of encountering again ' the Mother of God,' he took 

 another road ; but at a place, which is still to be secognised, 



