I  knew  a  money-grabbing  parish  priest — a  friar — who  publicly
announced  raffles  from  the  pulpit  of  the  church  from  which  he  pi'eached
morality  and  devotion.  On  one  occasion  a  SOO-peso  watch  was  put  up
for  P.500 — at  another  time  he  raffled  dresses  for  the  women.  Under  the
pretext  of  being  a  pious  institution,  he  established  a  society  of  women,
called  the  Association  of  St.  Joseph  {Confradia  de  San  Jos^\  upon
whom  he  imposed  the  very  secular  duties  of  domestic  service  in  the
convent  and  raffle-ticket  hawking.  He  had  the  audacity  to  dictate  to
a  friend  of  mine— a  planter — the  value  of  the  gifts  he  was  to  make  to
him,  and  when  the  planter  was  at  length  wearied  of  his  importunities,
he  conspired  with  a  Spaniard  to  deprive  my  friend  of  his  estate,  ailing


Monastic  persecution  205

that  he  was  not  the  real  owner.  Failing  in  this,  he  stirred  up  the  petty-
governor  and  headmen  against  him.  The  petty-governor  was  urged  to
litigation,  and  when  he  received  an  imfavourable  sentence,  the  priest,
enraged  at  the  abortive  result  of  his  malicious  intrigues,  actually  left  his
vicarage  to  accompany  his  litigious  proUgi  to  the  chief  judge  of  the
province  in  quest  of  a  reversion  of  the  sentence.
