FROM MANAOS to TARAPOTO 15 
am indebted to my friend Mr. Young, a good artist, 
for strengthening the shading, defining the outlines, 
and putting in the foreground, so as to render the 
drawing suitable for reproduction to half the original 
size.] 
Don Silverio makes an admirable priest for the 
Indians, as indeed he would for people of any 
colour. Low in stature and not stout, but firmly 
knit, with a rather dark but ruddy complexion ; a 
small well- formed mouth, which even in its most 
severe expression speedily relaxes into a benevolent 
smile ; a sonorous and untiring voice ; added to 
this an irreproachable conduct very unusual in 
South America, and an untiring vigilance over the 
moral and physical condition of his parishioners. 
Every day, both morning and afternoon, he has in 
his house all the boys, both Indians and Mestizos, 
whose parents will allow them to be taught, and 
takes all possible pains to teach them to read and 
write, with such success that nearly all can do 
both intelligibly. Their writing-books are mostly 
nothing but slips of plantain-leaves, on which when 
fresh the ink-strokes are very distinct. He is 
much put about to find them reading -books, in 
lieu of which old newspapers, letters from his 
friends, and, in fact, any scraps of MSS. or print 
are made to serve. He finds it, however, very 
difficult to get them to speak Spanish, as out of 
school they speak only Lingua Inca with their 
families and playmates. Every evening, except 
Sundays, all the young girls present themselves in 
the corridor of his house, where they repeat to him 
the Doctrina " at length. 
At feast times there is mass every morning, and 
