THE PADRES. 



115 



liberal spirit of this bull, or of some other that I am 

 not aware of, the good padres have relaxed consider- 

 ably the tightness of the cord that binds them to cel- 

 ibacy. 



I am about making a delicate and curious com- 

 munication. It may be considered an ill-natured at- 

 tack upon the Catholic Church ; but as I feel in- 

 nocent of any such intention, this does not trouble 

 me. But another consideration does. I have a 

 strong liking to padres. I have received from them 

 nothing but kindness, and w^herever I have met with 

 them I have found friends. I mean barely to men- 

 tion the subject and pass on, though I am afraid that 

 by this preface I am only calling more particular at- 

 tention to it. I w^ould omit it altogether, but it forms 

 so striking a feature in the state of society in that 

 country, that no picture can be complete vrithout it. 

 Without farther preface, then, I mention, but only 

 for the private ear of the reader, that, except at Mer- 

 ida and Campeachy, w^here they are more immedi- 

 ately under the eyes of the bishop, the padres through- 

 out Yucatan, to relieve the tedium of convent life, 

 have compagneras, or, as they are sometimes called, 

 hermanas politicas, or sisters-in-law ; or, to speak 

 with the precision I particularly aim at, the propor- 

 tion of those who have to those who have not is 

 about as the proportion in a well-regulated commu- 

 nity of married to unmarried men. 



I have now told the worst ; the greatest enemy of 

 the padres cannot say more. I do not express any 



