of rallying the few Christians who had escaped the persecution. Unfortunately, the persecution had abridged the number of their fellow labourers by, at least, one third; although the deficiency had been partly supplied by the ordination of several native priests, with an early prospect of further reinforcement from the seminary of Pula-Pinang. The number of missionaries, however, after all, was insufficient to ensure the visitation of all the stations once a year, whilst the necessities of the faithful required even a much more frequent attendance.
In 1821, Dr. Perocheau had the happiness of performing the visitation of several stations, without meeting with any interruption: after which, in obedience to the orders of his bishop, who thought it not prudent that both of them should be, at the same time, exposed to danger, he went into a place of concealment, and spent his time in the education of some youths for the ministry.
A slight relaxation in the execution of the laws in 1822, gave the missionaries an opportunity of visiting distant parts of the province, into which it had, for some time previously, been impossible for them to penetrate. Their labours were rewarded with much consolation from the faith of the christians, and the eagerness manifested by them to approach to the sacraments of which they had so long been deprived. Numbers, who had had the weakness to apostatize, returned to the bosom of the church, and many fresh converts were made from Paganism. In two months the number of adults baptized amounted to 254 and 259 were admitted to instructions. Much charity had always been exercised by the missionaries in enquiring for and baptizing the children of pagans in danger of death, the permission to do which they were, in most cases, compelled to purchase with money. During this year they baptized 8,076 infants, of whom 5,808 passed from this life into the kingdom of heaven. This success was principally owing, under Province to a considerable legacy bequeathed for that purpose by a priest at Macao.
The vice-roy and many of the mandarins now began to shew less hostility to the christians than in former years;
