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the Island of Margaretta and the isthmus of 

 Araya. The Mission of Catuaro is situate on a 

 very wild spot. Trees of full growth still sur- 

 round the church, and the tigers come by 

 night to devour the fowls and hogs belonging 

 to the Indians. We lodged at the dwelling of 

 the priest, a monk of the congregation of the 

 Observance, to whom the Capuchins had confid- 

 ed the Mission, because priests of their own 

 community were wanting. He was a doctor of 

 divinity, a little meagre man, and of petulant 

 vivacity. He talked to us continually of the 

 law-suit in which he was engaged with the su- 

 perior of his convent, of the hatred of his bre- 

 thren, and the injustice of the alcaides, who, 

 without any respect for the privileges of his 

 rank, had* thrown him into a dungeon. Not- 

 withstanding these misadventures, he retained 

 an unfortunate predilection for what he called 

 metaphysical questions. He wished to know 

 what I thought of free-will, of the means of dis- 

 engaging spirits from their corporeal prison, 

 and, above all, my opinion on the souls of ani- 

 mals, of which he had formed the most singu- 

 lar ideas. After having just traversed forests 

 in the rainy season, a man feels little taste for 

 these kinds of speculations. Every thing, how- 

 ever, was extraordinary in this Mission of Ca- 

 tuaro, even the house of the vicar. It had two 

 stories, and, on this account had been the object 



VOL. III. N 



