RECOLLECTIONS
OF
MANILLA AND THE PHILIPPINES,

DURING 1848, 1849, AND 1850.

BY
ROBERT MAC MICKING, ESQ.

LONDON:
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET,
Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty.
1851.

INTRODUCTION.

The Philippines, in many respects situated most advantageously for trade, having long been governed by a people whose notions of government and political economy have never produced the happiest results in any of their once numerous and important colonies, appear at last to be slowly reaping the benefit of the new commercial maxims now in course of operation, in Spain, and show symptoms of progressing with increased speed in the march of civilization, encouraged by commerce. As such a state is always interesting, more especially to my countrymen, whose commercial and manufacturing welfare is closely bound up with the rate at which civilization advances in every part of the world, I have attempted to give some idea of the actual state and prospects of this valuable colony, as they appeared to me during a residence there of the three years 1848–9–50, with the double object of directing more attention to these islands than has hitherto been paid to them by our merchants and manufacturers, and of deriving some employment in doing so, during a tedious voyage from Singapore to Hongkong, when, being in a great measure debarred from personal activity, an interesting occupation was felt to be more than usually necessary to engage the mind.

There are many imperfections in the execution of my task; but for these the critical reader is requested to make some allowance, and entreated not to forget the inconveniences all landsmen are subjected to at sea.

September, 1851.

CHAPTER I.

About the time the Spanish arms under Hernan Cortez, Pizarro, and Almagro, were meeting with their most splendid successes in America, the thought occurred to Hernando Magallanes, a Portuguese gentleman in the service of King Charles the Fifth of Spain, that if by sailing south he could pass the new Western World, it would be possible to reach the famous Spice Islands of the East, which he supposed to contain untold-of wealth in their bosoms. This vast, and, in the state of their knowledge at the time, apparently hardy and even rash idea, met with approval by the King, who honoured Magallanes with the distinguished military order of Santiago, and appointed him to the command of a squadron which he immediately set about fitting out to accomplish the project, with the view of conquering and annexing these islands to his crown.

At length, when all the preparations were completed, on the 10th of August, 1519, six ships, no one of which exceeded 130 tons, and some of them being less than half that size, sailed from the port of San Lucan de Barrameda on this bold and perilous enterprise.

In the prosecution of their voyage, many obstacles were encountered; but everything disappeared before the ardour of their chief, who, discovering, passed through the Straits of Magellan, which alone immortalize his name, and spreading his sails to the gale, stood boldly with his squadron, now reduced to three crazy vessels, into the unknown and vast ocean which lay open before him, with all the hardihood characteristic of his time, traversing in its utmost breadth the Pacific, without, however, chancing to meet with any of the numerous islands now scattered throughout its extent. At last, the Mariana or Ladrone Islands were descried on the 16th of August, 1521, and a few days afterwards a cape on the east coast of Mindanao was seen.

Coasting along the shores of Caraga, the ships anchored off Limasna, where Magallanes was well received by the natives of the place; from thence steering towards Cebu, he managed to establish a good understanding with the country people, although upwards of two thousand of them had assembled, armed with spears and javelins, to oppose his landing.

Having constructed a house at this place, in order that mass might be decently said, he landed to hear it, accompanied by his crews.

The royal family of Cebu, curious to observe the manners of their strange visitors, attended its celebration, and, as the story goes, were so much edified by the sight, that they were baptized Christians, and an oath of allegiance and vassalage to the King of Spain administered to them; and their example being followed to a great extent by the nobles and people of Cebu, the Christian forms of faith and the symbolic cross were planted by the Spaniards in the country of the antipodes.

Some time afterwards, Magallanes met the end which best becomes a brave and good soldier, by dying in the battle-field in the cause of his new friends and allies.

But without his master-mind to direct them, things no longer went on so smoothly between the Spaniards and the natives; and under his successor, the hostile feelings then given birth to, soon found a tragical vent, which resulted in a number of the white men being cruelly massacred by their Indian hosts, and in the flight of their companions, who, fearful of their own safety, made all sail on their ships, and bore away, leaving their unfortunate countrymen to their fate, without attempting and even refusing to ransom such of them whose lives were spared, from having been less obnoxious to the Indians than the others. This fatal accident left the surviving crews so much weakened in numerical strength, that not having men enough left to work all the ships, the “Concepcion” was set fire to, and the survivors steered towards the Moluccas.

It were tedious to follow them through all their adventures; suffice it to say, that Juan Sebastian de El Cano was the only captain who succeeded in taking his ship home again round the Cape of Good Hope. After many anxieties and vicissitudes he entered the same port of San Lucar from which he had sailed about three years before; and as a memento of his skill and of his being the first navigator who had made the circuit of the world, the king granted him for an armorial bearing, a globe, with the legend, “Primus circumdedit me,” which he had thus so honourably gained.

At intervals of about four years between each other, three separate expeditions were fitted out from Spain and America for these islands, which were named ”Las Felipiñas” by Villalobos, commander of the last of these squadrons, in honour of the then Prince of Asturias, afterwards better known as King Philip the Second of Spain.

In the meantime the Portuguese, jealous of the vicinity of such powerful neighbours as the Spaniards, to their empire of the East which Vasco de Gama and Albuquerque had so brilliantly founded for their country, took advantage of the financial distress of the Spanish king, who was then arming against France and Germany, and for an inconsiderable amount purchased his right of conquest over all the Philippines.

But they did not long retain them; for on Prince Philip of the Asturias becoming King of Spain he regained the islands by breaking through the treaty which confirmed their sale. Having, in 1564, appointed Don Miguel Lopez de Legaspi commander of an expedition fitted out for the purpose of reacquiring them, and having made him Governor and Adelantado of all the countries he could conquer,—which now-a-days appears to be rather a vague commission, but was then a custom of that venturous time,—that dignitary reached the Philippines, which had been altogether neglected by the Portuguese, and without difficulty re-established Spanish supremacy over the group, of which he may be considered as the first governor.

Their favorable reception by the natives rendered the acquisition altogether, or nearly, a bloodless one, for the warriors who gained them over to Spain were not their steel-clad chivalry, but the soldiers of the cross:—the priests, who, going out among a simple but somewhat passionate people, astonished and kindled them by their enthusiasm in the cause of Christ; while the novel doctrines they taught so enthusiastically, aided by the usual splendid accompaniments of that religion, captivated their senses, and took possession of their imaginations.

Manilla was founded on the island of Luzon, the most important of all the islands in the group; and the situation of the new capital on the shore of a long bay, into which flow numerous rivers, bringing down from the interior of a fertile country through which they run, its varied and valuable produce, has secured for it prosperity and commercial importance. A trade with China sprang up, and its commencement was soon followed by many emigrants from that densely-peopled country, whose habits of industry and prudence very soon began to increase and develope the natural fertility of the soil, and whose numerous descendants have mingled with the native character some of those useful virtues which it seems scarcely probable they would possess but for this slight mixture of blood.

Alas, that priestly ambition and the desire of domination should in time usurp the place of those laborious, enthusiastic, and pious missionaries who, so happily for the natives, had managed to revolutionize their minds, and so spared their country those scenes of blood which blot with a fearful stain the history of Spanish power in America. But the influence of churchmen, as usual, in the Philippines, was not always to be well directed; for the merciless Inquisition having established itself at Manilla, commenced its terrible career. No one was safe, none were exempt from its powers; its emissaries penetrated even into the palace of the Governor. Moderation in religion, or remissness in its strictest observances, became crimes, punishable by the severest discipline of that fearful and cruel establishment. All attempts, even when aided or directed by the authority and influence of the highest officials, to lessen its power, proved unsuccessful; and frequently a Bishop was chosen to occupy the Governor-general’s place, to perform his civil and military duties! Everything was in the hands of the churchmen, the subsequent effects of which were demonstrated to the world by the easy success of the British expedition of 1762, which they permitted to enter the bay without opposition, having passed the fortified island of Corregidor at its entrance without a shot being fired to prevent them. And the same effects caused but a feeble resistance to be opposed to their arms, and the speedy surrender of Manilla by its priest-ridden and effeminate defenders.

CHAPTER II.

The Government of Spain has, ever since the period of their acquisition, shown itself ignorant or neglectful of the commercial importance of these islands, the commerce of which has long been subjected to regulations and restrictions as injurious in their tendency as can well be imagined,—they being framed, apparently at least, more for the purpose of smothering it in its earliest existence than with any kindly or paternal views of nourishing and increasing it.

But a change having at length once begun, a new era may be said to have commenced with regard to them, and it is to be hoped that increasing wisdom and liberality of ideas may clear away some of the remaining obstacles which for so long encumbered, and even yet impede and circumscribe within a very narrow circle, the natural course of their commerce. For the Spanish Government are far from following a similar policy to that of the great Henry the Fourth of France, who, as an encouragement to the manufacturing industry of the country, rewarded those silk manufacturers who had carried on business for twelve years, with patents of nobility, as men who by doing so not only benefited themselves, but deserved well of their country for their enterprise and commercial spirit. Don Simon Anda was about the first person who showed any desire to augment the trade of the islands; and his election to the highest offices of the colony, after its restoration by the English, was a most fortunate event for Manilla. Although, unluckily, many of the steps he took with the best intentions, notwithstanding being infinitely in advance of those of his predecessors in office, were not always in the right direction, and consequently unattended by the highest degree of success which he aimed at, partial good results were obtained by them, and a beneficial change began to regulate affairs.

The expulsion of the Jesuits from the Philippines in 1768, by throwing their immense estates out of cultivation, and also the wars and disturbances subsequent to the French Revolution, being felt even in this remote part of the world, were attended with the worst effects to the trade and agriculture of the islands. On the peace of 1814, the condition of the country was truly deplorable, as, during a long period of isolation and inactivity, abuses had multiplied to an alarming extent, and the minds of the Indian population especially had become divided between superstition and sedition, from each of which a sanguinary catastrophe resulted. Public opinion at the time fastened on the priests the guilt of the massacre of the Protestant foreigners at Manilla in 1820, and the growing discontent of the people blew into open rebellion in 1823, under a Creole leader, who then rose and attempted to shake off the Spanish authority.

To give the reader some idea of the commercial regulations then existing, which helped, no doubt, to bring about these disorders, it may be mentioned that among many other things, even after the port of Manilla was thrown open to ships of all nations, the vessels belonging to that port itself were not allowed to trade with Europe, or to proceed beyond the Cape of Good Hope; and Government yet further limited their intercourse with the only ports of China and India which were open to them, by issuing passes to all colonial ships, the conditions of which were perfectly incompatible with the usual course of commerce, as they were required to return home directly from the port to which they were destined from Manilla, and were not at liberty to touch at, or have any intercourse with, other places than those specified in their passport.

These absurd restrictions of course prevented a ship from profiting by any freight she might be offered at the port of her destination from Manilla, because the terms of her pass made it compulsory for her to return there before she could accept any new engagement such as might be offered her, and of course, in such a case, frequently forced them to decline most profitable business; consequently, the colonial shipowners found that they had to sail their vessels at a great disadvantage with all others who were free from such interference.

Neither was the trade with Spain open to them, for the Trading Company numbered among their many other privileges, that of having the sole right of placing ships on the berth for the Peninsula.

This state of things actually remained in force till 1820, when a royal order confirmed a decree of the Cortes exempting from all duties whatever any products of the Philippines which might be imported into Spain during the ensuing ten years; and this step may be considered as the first evidence of a desire shown by that Government to give an impulse to their colonial agriculture or to the manufactures and commerce of these splendid islands.

This good work, having once begun, was followed up by the enlightened and benevolent government of Don Pascual Enrile, who was Captain-General of the Philippines from 1831 to 1835, and whose entire administration has left behind it the happiest results for the people he governed.

Commencing his reform of the laws relating to navigation by giving passes to ships, for the period of two years, without requiring them to declare to what place or places they were bound, or might touch at during their absence from the port to which they belonged, he had an opportunity of satisfying himself of the good results ensuing from non-interference; and some time afterwards entirely loosed the fetters which burdened them, by giving colonial ships liberty to sail wherever they chose without restrictions as to time or place: and certainly, his doing so was an honour for the national flag, which then waved on every sea. These concessions proved alike wise and beneficent; and since the time of their being granted, the tonnage and commerce of Manilla has increased in an amazing degree, and still goes on prosperously augmenting Her Most Catholic Majesty’s treasury, besides improving the condition of the people and the agriculture of the country.

But this was far from being the only wise act of Governor Enrile, for under his administration a boon of even greater importance was secured to the country and the people of the colony, by the opening of internal communications throughout the Philippines. He established a comprehensive system of roads, and organised posts throughout the islands. Although most of the roads are now kept in most wretched order, yet being nearly always passable by horses, they are found to be of the utmost importance to the well-being of the country, even as they now exist.

But should a time come when more attention will be bestowed upon them than now is, and new ones judiciously constructed in districts where they have not yet been, the agriculture of the islands will improve to a great degree, and corresponding advantages will follow in its train to be reaped by the Government that is enlightened enough to undertake them, and which is sensible enough to know what is most for its true interests. May that day soon come, for it will be a happy one to the Philippines and all belonging to them.

CHAPTER III.

On approaching Manilla from the bay in one of the bancas—or canoes having a cover as a protection against the sun—which generally go off to all ships after their anchor has been let go, and the port-captain’s boat has boarded the new arrival, the spires, towers of churches, and lofty red-tiled roofs of houses or convents are all that can be seen over the walls, so that the first impressions of a stranger are not in general very vivid or interesting.

On reaching the múrallon, your banca enters the waters of the Pasig river, prolonged by two piers into the bay, on the extreme point of one of which is situated a small fort garrisoned by a company of soldiers, and on the other the lighthouse, a most insignificant and nearly useless building. Passing these, the boatmen pull up the river to the garrita, a small round house, where the banca is viséd by the people of the gun-boats, at all times stationed there for that purpose, and should there be any packages or baggage in it, the port-captain’s deputy, or aide-de-camp, puts a guard on board, who conducts you to the custom-house for the purpose of having it inspected there; but the examination is generally not a very minute one, and personal effects are for the most part passed merely by opening the boxes and showing the tops of their contents, although you may be asked whether it contains either pocket-pistols or a bible, both of which are prohibited and seizable.

The city of Manilla, ever since its foundation, which took place at a very early period of the Spanish power in Luzon, from the natural advantages combined in its situation—so judiciously chosen by them—continued to be the capital of the Philippines, whose history ever since may be said to have centered in the transactions which at various times have taken place under the shadow of its walls.

It is built at the mouth of the river Pasig, on the low-lying and sandy point formed by its junctions with the waters of the bay, between which and the ditch that surrounds the walls on the seaward side, a level sward stretches along the beach.

An Englishman, on arriving, perceives a marked difference between the place and people and any of his country’s Indian possessions; the air he breathes, and the habits he gradually falls into from seeing them the customary ones of other people, are not the same as those of his countrymen in British India. Should he be fortunate enough to have arrived towards the end of the year, in addition to the greater coolness of the weather then usually prevalent, and so delightful in the tropics, he will most probably not want opportunities for enjoying himself; as, after suffering a penitential confinement to the house during the long rainy season, for some time before Christmas, the cool nights and other circumstances induce the residents to break out into greater gaiety than is prevalent at other seasons of the year; and amusement, about that time, generally appears to be the order of the day.

The city is not unworthy of a curiosity seeker’s visit. The town, within the fortifications, although not of great size, is for the most part well planned, the streets being straight, regular, and some of them kept clean and in good order, although many of the smaller ones are allowed to fall into great disrepair. They are too narrow, moreover, for the heat of the climate, as the confined air and stench frequently existing in them, are principally generated by their closeness, and more especially during the cool of the evening and early morning, are far from conducing to the health of the population.

The latitude of the citadel, or Fuerza de Santiago, is 14° 36′ N., longitude 127° 15′ E. of Cadiz, or in latitude 14° 36′ 8″ N., and longitude 120° 53½′ E. of Greenwich.

The fortifications surrounding the town are regular, and apparently strong, defences; but although the walls and ditch look formidable enough in themselves, the want of sufficient good artillery to protect them would probably be felt in the event of an assault, and might render the place not a very difficult prize to a large attacking force. But no invader need now-a-days expect to meet with such very easy success as attended our expedition last century, at a time when weak and priestly notions not only ruled the church, but governed the people and the camp.

Very different feelings and modes of action are now prevalent among the white population, from those then in operation among them.

For some years past the influx of fresh blood from Europe has been very much greater than in former times, the consequence of which is that a change is creeping over the place, from the energy and enterprize of the new comers.

There is little doubt but that all this is for the best, and in the course of a few years more, I hope to hear that the Government, increasing in liberality and wisdom, will allow the natural capabilities of the Philippines to be developed, and their importance appreciated, by permitting foreigners to hold land and become planters, as without their capital and knowledge it will probably be a long time before the Spaniards of themselves attain these ends in the like perfection; such measures would ensure their doing so at once.

By far the most populous and important part of the town of Manilla is situated without the walls, and on the other side of the river from the fortified city, the intermediate communication being by a handsome bridge, one of the eight arches of which, having given way to the shock of an earthquake, has not been rebuilt, but is replaced by wood. It has been proposed to construct a drawbridge at this point, so as to allow the colonial shipping to proceed up the river above the bridge, which they cannot now do. And should the project be carried into effect, it is likely that the small sized coasting vessels, when nothing better offers for them to do, will go on to the Laguna, and supersede the clumsy cascos which now solely navigate the lake and bring down the produce of the fruitful country which surrounds it, to dispose of in the market of Manilla.

Without the walls nearly all the trade is carried on, the Escolta and Rosario, on that side of the river, being the principal streets, built however without any regard to regularity, so that they are not handsome, but in them nearly all the best Chinamen’s shops are situated. These are in general very small confined places, though crammed with manufactures, the produce of Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, and of many other European and Chinese manufacturing marts. Some of the shops may also be seen stuffed to the door with the valuable Piña cloth, husè, and other productions of the native looms.

The great object of the Chinese shopmen appears to be, to show the most varied, and frequently miscellaneous, collection of goods in the smallest possible space; as, their shops being for the most part not more than ten feet broad towards the street, leaves but little space besides the doorway to display the attractions of their wares, and every inch has to be made the most of by them. These China shopkeepers have nearly driven all competition, except with each other out of the market,—very few Mestizos or Spaniards being able to live on the small profits which the competition among themselves has reduced them to. A China shopkeeper generally makes his shop his home, all of them sleeping in those confined dens at night, from which, on opening their doors about five in the morning, as they usually do, a most noisome and pestiferous smell issues and is diffused through the streets. The Mestizos cannot do this, but must have a house to live in out of the profits of the shop; and the consequence has been, that when their shopkeeping profits could no longer do that, they have nearly all betaken themselves to other more suitable occupations, from which the energies of their Chinese rivals are less likely to drive them. The number of Chinamen in Manilla and throughout the islands is very great, and nearly the whole provincial trade in manufactured goods is in their hands. Numerous traders of that nation have shops opened throughout the islands, their business being carried on by one of their own countrymen, generally the principal person of the concern, who remains resident at Manilla, while his various agents in the country keep him advised of their wants, to meet which he makes large purchases from the merchants, and forwards the same to his country friends. Besides having many shops in the provinces, each of these head men is generally in the habit of having a number of shops in Manilla, sometimes upwards of a dozen being frequently all contiguous to one another, so that any one going into one of his shops and asking for something the price of which appears too dear, refuses it and goes to the next shop, which probably belongs to the same man, and is likely to buy it, as he is apt to think—because they all ask the same price—that it cannot be got cheaper elsewhere, so gives the amount demanded for it, although it is probably very much too dear.

There is another advantage which the Chinese have found from the system they pursue,—that large purchasers of goods from the merchants who import them for sale are frequently able to buy them for less money than those smaller traders who are not in the habit of making purchases to the same amount from the importers,—as the credit of a small dealer is not sufficiently good to induce a merchant to sell them more than he imagines he is likely to be paid for.

In these Chinese shops, the owner usually engages all the activity of his countrymen employed by him in them, by giving each of them a share in the profits of the concern, or, in fact, by making them all small partners in the business, of which he of course takes care to retain the lion’s share, so that while doing good for him by managing it well, they are also benefiting themselves. To such an extent is this principle carried, that it is usual to give even their coolies a share in the profits of the business in lieu of fixed wages, and the plan appears to suit their temper well; for although they are in general most complete eye-servants when working for a fixed wage, they are found to be most industrious and useful ones when interested even for the smallest share.

The amount of business done by some of these Chinamen with the principal importers of manufactured goods, who are the British merchants, is very considerable, some of them frequently making monthly purchases to the extent of ten or fifteen thousand dollars from one person, nearly all of the goods being sold to them on credits of three, four, or six months after the date of purchase and delivery of the merchandise. Occasionally, however, some of them break down, and those importers who have been trusting them for large amounts, of course burn their fingers; Chinamen, as a general rule, being honest and trustworthy only so long as it appears to be their own interest to remain so. Most of them at Manilla are people who have made everything for themselves, from nothing except their hands to begin with, as no rich Chinamen, such as are met with in their native country, and occasionally in Java and Singapore, are found at Manilla; for nearly all those who come there have originally arrived as coolies, earning their bread by manual labour, but very few of them indeed having inherited anything from their fathers, except the arts of reading and writing, which nearly the whole of them, however poor, understand and are able to perform. Whenever they make money, they invariably return to China, the Government holding out no inducements for them to remain in the Philippines, as they do elsewhere in the Archipelago, where greater freedom and protection are allowed them.

CHAPTER IV.

The streets of Manilla have at all times a dead and dull appearance, with the exception of the two already mentioned as being in the business part of the town. The basement-floor of the houses being generally uninhabited, there are no windows opened in their walls, which present a mass of whitewashed stone and lime, without an object to divert the eye, except here and there, where small shops have been opened in them, these being generally for selling rice, fruit, oil, &c., and entirely deficient in the glare or glittering colours of gay merchandise, nearly all of which is confined to the shops of the Escolta, Rosario, and Santo Christo.

The houses here, as elsewhere in hot climates, are arranged with great regard to ventilation and coolness, and are mostly large edifices; but are seldom well laid out, and are deficient in many respects. The entire white population, which amounts to upwards of 5,000, resides either in the city, by which is meant that portion of it within the walls, or in the principal part of the town outside the walls, and on the other side of the river from the city within the walls; and in this district is comprehended the great bulk of the population, which amounts to upwards of 200,000 souls.

Those resident within the walls are principally government servants, &c., induced, by the proximity of the public offices, regimental cantonments, &c., as well as a lower house-rent, to brave the greater heat usually felt there, from the confined space within the walls, and the narrow streets, not permitting so free a circulation of air as is enjoyed in the houses extra muros.

The largest description of houses, being the residences of Europeans, are spacious, and in many cases built on one plan, most of them being quadrangles inclosing a court-yard within their squares. Here the stables, &c., are usually situated; and, as may be supposed, the smell and view of them, should they happen to be in the least negligently kept, as they frequently are, afford but very little gratification to persons whose windows happen to be near.

The upper part of the house, or second story, as we would say in Scotland, is in general the only portion of the house inhabited by its residents. The rooms below, being considered unhealthy, are in general converted into warehouses or shops, if they can be let as such from happening to be conveniently situated, or serve as coach-houses, lumber-rooms, &c. &c. The masonry of the lower walls is usually very substantial and strong, being calculated to resist the shocks of earthquakes, which occasionally happen. Those of the upper stories, which rise from them, and form the habitable part of the house above, are much slighter than the lower ones, and the joists and wooden-work about the roof are adapted for security against such accidents, by their being fastened with bolts on either side of the masonry, thus enabling it to give a little play to the motion of the shock, without being displaced by it, and coming down, as thick and heavy walls would most certainly do.

However, on the occurrence of an earthquake, it is usual to run down stairs, and have the protection of the thick lower walls against any accident, such as that of the roof giving way. As the house I lived in while there may be taken as a specimen of many others, I shall describe it. After entering the gateway, the door of which is always very stout and heavy, and under the constant protection of a porter, for security’s sake, you reach a flight of steps leading to the habitable part of the house, and enter a gallery running from the top of the staircase, and a suite of rooms facing the street, to the gala or drawing-room at the other end of the house, and a suite of rooms facing the river. The entire length of the gallery is about a hundred feet, by twenty broad, and it looks into the open court-yard forming the centre of the building, on one side. There are several large and spacious bedrooms on the other side, the windows of which are lighted from a narrow street running to the river. Facing the gallery, and on the other side of the house, across the central court-yard, that entire side of the building is appropriated by the servants for cooking and sleeping-places.

The beams supporting the upper or habitable floor extend four or five feet beyond the outer wall, towards the street, forming a sort of verandah, or corridor, as it is called in Spanish as well as in English, round the entire building, affording a considerable protection against the sun’s rays. The outer side of this corridor is composed of coarse and dark-coloured mother-of-pearl shell of little value, set in a wooden framework of small squares, forming windows which move on slides. Although the light admitted through this sort of window is much inferior to what glass would give, it has the advantage of being strong, and is not very liable to be damaged by the severe weather to which it is occasionally exposed during some months of the year.

There are few buildings distinguishable for architectural beauty, and those few are for the most part churches. The governor’s house, or the palace, is a large and spacious building within the walls, and forms one side of the Playa, the other three being formed by the cathedral, the Cabildo, and some private houses, whose irregular height detracts considerably from the appearance of the square. In the centre of the square stands a statue of I forget what King of Spain, well executed in bronze.

It is usual for a military band to perform before the palace on Sunday and feast-day evenings, and on these occasions many carriages go there from the drive, about eight o’clock, to enjoy the music, and give people a good opportunity for either gossip or love-making, as their tastes or the moonlight may incline them.

The native Indians appear to have a good ear for music, and execute many of the finest operas with spirit and taste; and the amateur musicians in particular, who train the casino band, have brought the native performers to a very high degree of perfection in most of the pieces performed by them. A good deal more attention, however, appears to be paid to training these military bands, than in perfecting the troops themselves in their evolutions.

Religious processions are as frequently passing through the streets, as they are in all the Roman Catholic countries of Europe, but the features of all are very nearly identical, and so need not be particularly described.

When one of these processions takes place during the day, an awning is spread along the streets it will pass through, to protect the bareheaded promenaders from the sun, the canvass being attached to the house roofs along the streets; making them incredibly hot to pass along, so long as it remains there.

A good deal of display in silver and gold ornaments may be seen in some of the churches, the collections of many successive years, as every incumbent shows his piety and zeal by adding something to them during the time he holds the cure.

The jewels in some of the dresses of the figures, especially those of the Virgin, are valued at, or amount to, a considerable sum of money, and I have heard twenty thousand dollars mentioned as the value of those belonging to one church in Manilla.

The houses of the Indian and Mestizo population are for the most part in the outskirts of the business part of the town, those of the richer sort being built of stone, and those of the poorest class being composed of nipa, or attap. Among houses of this sort, when a fire takes place, great and rapid destruction is inevitable, and the only way of saving any portion of them from its fury is by throwing down all those in the direction of its advance.

Nearly every season, however, some fires happen among them, and hundreds of families are frequently burned out before its progress can be arrested. This, however, is not anything like so calamitous an event for them as such an occurrence would be to the poor of Europe, for as the chief cost of a nipa house consists in the labour of erection, after such a misfortune, they are soon replaced by their own personal labour—for whatever their usual trade or occupation may be, nearly all of the Indians are quite capable of constructing these houses for themselves, and often manage to complete them roughly in a few days. No nails need be used in their construction, everything necessary being produced in the islands, and easily attainable. Houses so constructed are very suitable for the climate, affording all the shelter requisite; and indeed the people appear to be much better lodged than many of the poor in England, where the cold and damp of the climate demand a substantial house, which too often they do not possess.

CHAPTER V.

The government of all the Philippine group, including the Mariana Islands, is intrusted to the charge of a Captain-General, who in virtue of his office is commander-in-chief of the forces, president of the Hacienda, admiral of marine, postmaster-general &c., &c. His power and authority, in short, extend to all those departments, over which his control, should he choose to exert it, is very absolute.

The civil department of Her Most Catholic Majesty’s service, so far as finance, &c., are concerned, is left to the administration of an officer who takes the title of Super-Intendente of the Hacienda; and who, putting the Archbishop aside, is regarded as the second official person at Manilla, or as ranking next to the Governor, the revenue, &c., being the branch he has principal charge of; but his acts are always subject to the control of the Captain-General.

A military officer under the title of segundo Cabo, is under the Governor as acting commander-in-chief of the forces, and, in the event of the governor’s absence from Manilla, is the person who fills his situation and succeeds him in his power. A post-captain of the navy is usually the rank of the person intrusted with the direction and management of the sea force, but he always has, I believe, the local or brevet rank of an admiral.

The internal administration of the country is carried on by officials subordinate to those above-mentioned, the whole of the islands being parcelled out or divided into several provinces, in each of which there is an Alcalde, or Lieutenant-Governor, receiving his orders from, and quite dependent on the Captain-General, to whose favour he generally owes his appointment.

These officers are invested with the chief civil and military authority in their own provinces; but although they have always a small guard of soldiers, the good order and quiet generally prevalent everywhere throughout the country render their military duties very unimportant, and their principal care is now required in the collection of revenue and the administration of justice within their several jurisdictions. These are not very arduous duties, owing principally to the efficient assistance derived from the authorities under them.

Every province is divided into districts or parishes, in which there is some village or town, and in each of these places there is an official whom I shall call the Major, or Capitan Gobernadorcillo, and also some Tenientes or Aldermen, as well as police alguacils. All of these have to report to the alcalde of the province any thing of importance occuring within their districts, and are commanded severally to assist and promote the views of the cura, or priest, by every means in their power. Most of the people who fill these situations are Indians or Mestizos, rather better off in worldly goods than the run of their countrymen.

These gobernadorcillos, or little governors, possess considerable authority over the natives, for, besides having the chief municipal authority in their own districts, they are allowed to decide judicially in civil cases, when the amount in dispute does not exceed the value of forty-four dollars, or about ten pounds sterling, and in criminal cases undertake the prosecution, collecting the evidence and ascertaining the charges against any delinquent within their district, all of which is remitted by them to the provincial-governor and judge for his decision. Their election takes place annually, on the commencement of the new year, all over the country, and their power is exactly defined in a printed commission which they all hold from the Governor of the Philippines.

The half-breeds, or people of mixed Chinese and Indian blood, known by the name of Sangleys, are usually permitted, in districts where their number is considerable, to elect a Major from among their own class, whose power over them is exactly similar to that of the captain of the village where they reside over the aboriginal Indians: they do not interfere with each other, and are quite independent of any one save the alcalde of the province. When there are two gobernadorcillos in the same village, they each look after their own class, whether Mestizos or natives.

In addition to these local officials there is another curious body of men, called Cabezas de barangay; each of whom has under his charge about fifty families, whose tribute to government he has to collect, and for the amount of which he is held accountable.

The persons who fill this office are usually resident in the immediate neighbourhood or in the same street with those from whom they have to collect the tribute, and have some slight authority over those who pay it to them, such as deciding petty quarrels and disputes among them, &c. The institution of this body is uncertain, and is said to have been originated by the aboriginal Indians themselves, and to have been found in full operation at the time of the earliest Spanish intercourse with them. The probability is, however, that at that period it was of a military nature, and their duties then were more to officer the armies of the native kings than for any of the uses it has been subsequently wisely put to by the white man. The office is hereditary in their families; but in the event of the person who exercises it changing his residence, or from other causes becoming unfit to discharge its duties, a successor is elected in his place.

They are recompensed for their trouble in collecting taxes, &c., by being themselves exempted from paying tribute to the state, and have several privileges by virtue of their office. As a body, they are always considered the principal people of their village, and only from among them, and by their votes alone, is the mayor or gobernadorcillo of the pueblo chosen; that is to say, they choose a list of three Indians from among their own number for that office, each of whom should by law be able to speak, read, and write Spanish; and this list being forwarded to the alcalde, he indicates which of them is to be chosen, by scratching his name and filling up his commission. The election of these candidates ought to be made with closed doors, and must be authorized by the presence of an escribano, or attorney, to note the proceedings. The parish priest is allowed to attend if he choose, in order that he may influence the election of fit persons for the office by speaking in their favour, but he has not any vote in the matter.

In the capital, owing to the number of Chinamen there, and in the neighbourhood, they are obliged to choose a capitan from among themselves, in order that he may collect their tribute and arrange their petty disputes with each other, which some one conversant with their customs and language is only fit to do.

There are some fees now attached to this office, but the duties are so troublesome that the industrious Celestials very frequently find them incompatible with the management of their own trade or business, and for the most part are not at all ambitious of the honour of filling the situation, even although some fees accompany it.

At the same time that the capitan is elected, his lieutenant and a head constable are also chosen by their countrymen.

All Chinese arriving at Manilla are registered in a book kept for the purpose, for, as they pay tribute according to their occupation, the amount of it, and their numbers, are at once ascertained from that. Should they leave the country, their passports have to be countersigned by their capitan, who is to some extent responsible for them while residing in it.

The emoluments of government offices are not very high; much too low, in fact, to recompense the class of men who are required to discharge them, and the consequence is, (as usual in such cases), that extortion and improper means are resorted to in order to increase their amount, all of which fall much heavier on the people than regularly collected taxes, sufficient to support their proper or adequate pay, would amount to.

In the province of Cagayan, for instance, the alcalde’s nominal pay is 600 dollars a-year, which sum is of course totally insufficient to recompense any educated man for undertaking and supporting the dignity of governor of a considerable province. But as the best tobacco is grown there, one of his duties is to collect and forward it to Manilla, for which he is allowed a commission, and this, with other privileges, is found to yield him in ordinary years about 20,000 dollars a-year, being in reality one of the most lucrative situations at the disposal of the Government.

I believe that most people will concur with me in the opinion that the system of reducing the fixed official pay below a remuneration that will induce men of standing and education to undertake the duties which their situation requires them to exercise, and to trust to exaction supplying its place, is extremely impolitic, and much more expensive to the country than a more liberal scale of pay would prove.

The alcaldes are allowed to trade on their own account, and for this their position affords them many facilities; but for the permission to do so, they are required to pay a considerable annual fee to Government, ranging from about one hundred to three thousand dollars.

The wisdom of granting them this permission is very doubtful, as it not unfrequently happens that the privilege is abused by rapacious men, eager to make the most of their time and collect a fortune, and occasionally it gives rise to much oppression.

The poor Indian cultivators of the soil, accustomed all their lives to look upon the alcalde of their native province as the greatest and most powerful man they know of, have very little redress for their grievance, should that person, in the pursuit of money-making and trade buy up all their crop of sugar, rice, or other produce, whatever it may be, and in a falling market refuse to receive the articles contracted for, or to complete the bargain agreed upon with them. On the contrary, however, should anything he may have contracted to buy be rising in value at Manilla, the poor Indian, who has sold it too cheap to him, has no chance of getting clear of the bad bargain he may have made with the alcalde, should it appear to that individual worth his while to keep him to it, as every means are at his command or beck, aided by all the force of the executive, and the terrors of a law administered by himself, to compel him to ratify his contract.

In these circumstances the alcalde never makes a bad bargain, or loses money on any of his transactions, and there is little wonder that rapid fortunes are made by men holding these situations, when such scandalous means are constantly resorted to by them, so that generally, after a very few years of office, these people are upon very easy terms with the world, although nominally only receiving a wretchedly low pay.

Notwithstanding these abuses, however, the government of the people is on the whole much more effective, and consequently better, than it is in many places of British India. No such thing was ever known as disaffection becoming so generally diffused among them as to lead to a rebellion of the people, or an attempt to shake off the leeches who suck them so deeply; and this can only be attributed to the sway the priesthood have over the minds of the Indians, as without their influence and aid, beyond a doubt, such an attempt would be made; and if it should ever come about, it would be no very difficult affair for the natives, if properly led, to overthrow the sway of the Spaniards. Although there is very little religion among the Indians, there is abundance of superstitious feeling, and fear of the padre’s displeasure; indeed, the church has long proved to be, upon the whole, by much the most cheap and efficacious instrument of good government and order that could be employed anywhere, so long as its influence has been properly directed. In the Philippines there appears to be little doubt but that it is one of the most beneficial that could be exerted as a medium for the preservation of good order among the people, who are admonished and taught to be contented, while it is not forgetful of their interests, as they very generally learn reading by its aid—so much of it, at least, as to enable them to read their prayer-books, or other religious manuals.

There are very few Indians who are unable to read, and I have always observed that the Manilla men serving on board of ships, and composing their crews, have been much oftener able to subscribe their names to the ship’s articles than the British seamen on board the same vessels could do, or even on board of Scottish ships, whose crews are sometimes superior men, so far as education is concerned, to those born in other parts of Great Britain. This fact startled me at first; but it has been frequently remarked upon by people very strongly prejudiced in favour of white men, and who despise the black skins of Manilla men, regarding them as inferior beings to themselves, as strongly as many of our countrymen often do.

CHAPTER VI.

From old prejudices, and other causes, the Spanish people have not as yet learned how to work the more liberal form of government now enjoyed by their country. But there is no doubt that the experience necessary to do so is daily being acquired by them at home, and when it becomes prevalent, its effects may be expected to be shown by the class of men selected to administer the government of their colonies, the white population of which are of considerably more advanced intelligence than their countrymen in Spain.

In most colonies the people appear to possess a superior degree of vigour or freshness of mind to those born in Europe, or in old and thickly inhabited countries. This may result in a great degree from their comparative freedom from conventional prejudices, the results of a long and insensible growth in families, which trammel nearly every mind in densely peopled countries, and more especially in places where commerce is languidly carried on. Perhaps also in some measure it may be owing to the greater facility the poorer classes have in all colonies of earning a livelihood, which, by freeing their minds from anxiety on that score, leaves some room for their speculations on other matters.

In the administration of government, they are even now guided essentially by the most imperative rules; but I hope that, ere long, in many cases, the very arbitrary proceedings of their chief authorities abroad, may become subject to approval by a council such as exists in our Indian possessions, and in Java among the Dutch, as there can be little doubt but that it would prove advantageous to the country did such a body exist.

As an example of the procedures of the Manilla government, I may mention the following facts, which occurred to an acquaintance of my own, and on which every dependence may be placed.

Don Francisco P. de O—— having been presented with the governorship of one of the best or most lucrative provinces in the Philippines, set out for his residency and commenced his duties, which he continued to fulfil satisfactorily to himself and the people for upwards of a year—about fifteen months, I believe. His commission as Governor embraced four years from the date of his appointment; however, at the end of the first year in his office, a nephew of the then Governor happened to arrive at Manilla, and it became an object of interest to his uncle to get him into some good place before the term of his appointment as Governor expired. Casting his eyes around on everything that might serve his turn, he happened to recollect Don Francisco’s alcalde-ship, and forthwith despatched an order to my unfortunate friend to return to Manilla, there to answer some complaints which, he alleged in the order of recall, had been made against his administration of the province, and at the same time told him to deliver over all authority to the person he sent for the purpose, that individual being neither more nor less than his own nephew.

Don Francisco, ignorant of committing any crime or fault, or of anything that could justify this very unceremonious recall, hastened to Manilla, and presenting himself at the palace, demanded what charges had been lodged against him, and by whom they had been made. But he could learn nothing of them, and was commanded by the Governor to wait in Manilla till he should be formally summoned to answer them. It is now, however, upwards of ten years since this happened, and from that day to this he has never been summoned, nor has he been even able to find out what the charges were on which he was recalled from his lucrative appointment, although repeated applications were made to the Governor who recalled him for a trial. All the subsequent Governors have professed their inability to give him the information, which, had such charges actually been framed, must have been found in the archives, so that no doubt can now exist but that this villanous trick was trumped up by the Governor to serve his own family by the bestowal of Don Francisco’s place. And as my friend has since filled other situations, (and, in fact, is an Alcalde,) having been selected by different Governors for office, the accusation does not in the least affect his character.

But, in truth, many of the natives of Spain who are even now selected to fill the highest offices, are about as despotic and as unscrupulous as any Asiatics in their notions of government and in their exercise of power, and as bad even as the Turks themselves are in their administration of justice and equity; while the Spanish government, and the political knowledge of the people, are infinitely behind the Turkish government in everything concerning their commercial policy.

During the time of electing members for the Cortes, or parliament in Spain, of course the existing government were anxious to secure the tide of the general election running in their favour—but what means do you, my courteous reader, imagine they took to secure this object? Why, neither more nor less than to order the police to seize all persons suspected of being likely to oppose their party actively at the ensuing elections throughout the country. Thousands of people were actually seized and hurried off to jail, to be confined there till the danger was past; and many of them, on the jails becoming too full to contain them all, were hurried to a seaport town and put on board ships sailing to Manilla, or, by hundreds at a time, sent out on a voyage of four months’ duration, to reconsider their political opinions, and then to find their road home as they best might.

These people were captured in all situations of time and place, and were not allowed to communicate with their friends while in prison in Spain, which must have given rise to at least as much distress and privation among as many persons as the numbers of those seized, for very many of them were people with families entirely dependent upon them for support.

About a thousand of these deportados reached Manilla in 1848–9, and being entirely destitute of all resources or means of subsistence, they had to be taken care of by the Colonial Government, who allowed them some rice and water every day, and had, finally, to charter vessels to re-ship them for the Peninsula. One of them was an Irishman, who having entered the Spanish service when a lad, had reached the rank of Colonel; his father was a general officer and K.C.B. of our own army, who, I believe, had married a Spanish lady, and after his death, his family had become resident in Spain.

The bad accommodation of a crowded ship, together with the want of change of clothes, which he was not allowed to procure from his friends, and the general filthiness of the people with whom he was obliged to be cooped up during the long voyage, acted on him so severely that it caused his death a very short time after his arrival at Manilla. Thus the poor fellow fell a sacrifice to this abominable stretch of arbitrary power, and dying destitute, was buried there, after having been maintained decently in a hotel during the remainder of his existence, at the expense of his countrymen then at Manilla.

When acts so atrocious as these can be done with impunity in any European country by a powerful minister of the crown, we may form some idea of its advance in the arts of self-government and the security of its people.

This young man was very far from being the only person who fell a victim to these acts, as many died from causes similar to those which deprived him of life; and his case is only mentioned to give some idea of the lengths men will proceed to when no checks are placed on the Government machine, to prevent its bursting, and damaging thousands. These abuses are so shameful, that they are scarcely credible in Britain; but they are easily capable of corroboration by inquiry and a little knowledge of Spain, where very frequently caprice is the only law in existence, or at least is the only one acted upon. I might multiply instances, but this is doubtless sufficient.

The orders of the Court at Madrid are not always laws in their colonies, for every now and then the most imperative commands come out from Spain which are refused obedience to at Manilla, where it is openly asserted that the home government gives orders in favour of importunate suitors, without the least expectation that they will be acted upon by those to whom they are addressed; granting them, in fact, merely to get rid of troublesome people who might annoy them at home if their demands were refused.

CHAPTER VII.

People are generally seen to most advantage in their own houses; and nowhere, I think, does any one appear to play the host better than an average specimen of a Spanish gentleman under his own roof.

Notwithstanding a great deal of ceremony and the customary exaggerated polite expressions used to every stranger, there is so much innate hospitality in the national character that it is not to be mistaken, and is perhaps one of their best and greatest virtues as individuals.

The modes of expression usual on occasions such as that of a first visit to a house appear rather strange to any one born under a colder sun than that of old Castile, and the first time that one is told, on taking leave of his host at a place he has been visiting for the first time, that the house, and every thing and person in it, are his, or at his disposal, he is apt to be puzzled by the exaggeration of the speech which contains such an unlimited offer, should he be ignorant that it is quite a usual expression. Of course it means nothing more than were any one to say or subscribe himself in English, “I am your obedient servant,” which he may be very far from feeling, and may be constantly in the habit of using to his inferiors, and even to people paid or employed by himself.

Some years ago an eccentric man, when this expression was used to him, was known occasionally to interpret the words in their literal sense, and in more than one instance he had the credit of having adroitly made his court to a lady in that manner. He would watch for an opportunity, or give a turn to the conversation, which would afford him a chance of expressing admiration of some ornament she wore at the time, when the fair owner would, as a matter of course, say that it was at his disposal. Much to her surprise, the offer would be accepted, and the swain would walk off with the ornament he had praised. However, next day he always returned it in person; and to soothe her irritation, which must have been excited by such conduct, he took the opportunity of presenting her with some other ornament, or complimentary gift of some description. This, if done as an atonement and peace-offering, would probably be accepted, and the way was paved for an entrance into her good graces, which he might have been quite unable to obtain by any more direct means.

Frankness or openness of manner is considered by the Spaniards to be the most desirable point of good breeding; and when any one possesses that quality, he is pretty sure to be well received by them.

It is the custom at Manilla for any respectably-dressed European passing by a house where music and dancing are going on, to be permitted to join the party, although he may be a perfect stranger to every one there; and should any one do so, after having made his bow to the master of the house, and said some words, of course about the liberty he was taking, and his fondness for music and dancing, &c., he is always welcomed by him, and is at perfect liberty to ask any lady present to dance; nor is she likely to refuse him, as her doing so would scarcely be considered well bred.

This degree of freedom is not, however, at all times acted on in the houses of the natives of Spain, or of any European foreigners, as any one going so unceremoniously into these might not meet with so cordial a reception as he would do from the rich Mestizos, who, when they give such fêtes on feast days, are in general well pleased to receive Europeans, although perfect strangers, in their houses.

These very free and unceremonious manners, among people who have such a reputation for the love of ceremony in all forms, are strange enough, for the same custom prevails in Spain, although to a more limited extent.

Some years ago a British merchant, resident at Manilla, was very much blamed by his countrymen for not conforming to the customs of the country in this respect. He broke through them in this manner;—

After the China war, a part of the expedition visited Manilla, including some of the principal officers both of the army and navy, who had just been so gallantly distinguishing themselves in that country. On their arrival at Manilla, the houses of their countrymen to whom they went provided with introductions were in a great measure thrown open to them; and of course, as their hospitable entertainers wished to show them something of the people and the place, a good deal of gaiety was got up to amuse them. Among others the gentleman in question gave a ball to General Lord Saltoun and the Admiral, including, of course, most of the other officers of the expedition. The party was a large one, and included nearly all the British residents there, together with his Spanish acquaintances.

Hearing the sounds of music and dancing in the street, a stranger entered the house and walked up stairs; and unperceived, I believe, by the landlord, entered the ball-room, where he engaged a Spanish lady to dance,—the girl whom he asked chancing to be the daughter of a military officer of rank, and a particular friend of the giver of the party. On leading her up to her place, the stranger was remarked, and recognised by some one present, who asked his host if he knew who the person was; but he, on looking at him, merely said that he did not, and was passing on without more notice or thought about him. Just at the moment, some one wishing to quiz him, said to the host, who was a man of hasty temper and feelings,—“So, D——, you have got my tailor to meet your guests,” pointing, at the same time, towards the stranger whom he had just been observing.

Of course, Mr. D—— was angry at the liberty taken by such a person in joining his party, and probably afraid of the laugh it would give rise to; for he walked up to the tailor, and asked him in a most angry manner by whose invitation he came there, and then, without waiting for any reply, catching his coat-collar, walked with him to the top of the stairs, and kicked him down. The man complained to the governor, and the consequence was that Mr. D—— was fined a considerable amount, and for some time banished to a place at a short distance from Manilla, which he was forbidden to enter. As he was a merchant, and of course had his business to attend to, this was a most severe punishment, which, by the influence of the Consul, however, was subsequently rescinded, and he was allowed to return to town.

In giving entertainments in honour of their saints, great sums of money are frequently spent by the richer class of Mestizos and Indians, every one appearing to vie with his neighbour, as to who shall be most splendid in his saint’s honour; and even among nearly the whole of the poor people there is always some little extravagance gone into on these occasions: some time previous to the feast taking place, part of their earnings are carefully set apart for the feast-night’s enjoyment.

At many of their fiestas, besides the devotional exercises, there is a great deal of amusement going on, the Mestiza girls being frequently good-looking, and nearly all of them addicted to dancing; many of them are passionately fond of waltzes, and dance them remarkably well—better, I think, than any women I have elsewhere seen in a private room.

Their dress, which is well adapted to the climate, is, when worn by a good-looking girl, particularly neat.

It consists of a little shirt, generally made of piña cloth, with wide short sleeves: it is worn loose, and, quite unbound to the figure in any way, reaches to the waist, round which the saya or petticoat is girt, it being generally made of silk, checked or striped, of gay colours, of husè cloth, or of cotton cloth. Within doors, these compose their dress, no stockings being worn, but their well-formed feet, inserted in slight slippers without heels, and embroidered with gold and silver lace, lose nothing in beauty from the want of them.

Out of doors, another piece of dress called the sapiz, composed of dark blue silk or cotton cloth, slightly striped with narrow white stripes, is usually worn over the saya.

No bonnets or hats of any sort are worn by them, their long and beautiful hair being considered a sufficient protection to the head, which they arrange in something like the European fashion, it being fastened by a comb, or some gold ornament in a knot at the back of the head.

On going out of doors, a handkerchief is often thrown over the head, should the sun be strong, or an umbrella or parasol is carried as a protection against it.

A similar dress, made of coarser and cheaper materials, is the usual costume of all the native women.

The men, both native and Mestizo, wear trousers fastened round the waist by a cord or tape, the fabric being sometimes silk of country manufacture, for their gala dresses, or of cotton cloth striped and coloured, for every-day use.

The shirt, which is worn outside the trousers, that is to say, the tails hanging loose above the trousers, and reaching to just below the hips, is generally made of piña cloth, or, among the poorest people, of blue or white cotton cloth. When of piña cloth, the pattern is generally of blue or other coloured stripes with flowers, &c. worked on them, and it is a very handsome and gay piece of dress. When worn outside the trousers, it is much cooler than when stuffed into them in the European manner. A hat and slippers, or sandals of native manufacture, complete their dress, and the only difference of costume between the rich and poor consists in the greater or less value of the materials which compose it. No coat or jacket is worn, but many of the men, and nearly all the women, wear a rosary of beads or gold round their necks; and frequently a gold cross, suspended by a chain of the same metal, rests between the bosoms of the fair. Many of them also wear charms, which having been blessed by the priest, are supposed to be faithful guardians, and to preserve the wearer from all evil.

CHAPTER VIII.

The honours paid to the saints by the celebration of their feast-days are nearly altogether practised by the Mestizo and Indian population, the richer or upper classes of Spaniards being for the most part too careless on such occasions, except when their turn comes to dance at the fêtes, or to eat the supper set out by their Mestizo neighbours on these anniversaries; and certainly, if their piety be judged by the alacrity usually displayed on such occasions, they will stand very forward in the race out of purgatory. For, strange to say, the modern Spaniards—at least those who come to the Philippines—are as little superstitious or priest-ridden as the people of any nation in Europe. Probably this is a symptom of their return to a more moderate degree of faith than they used to evince prior to the French Revolution, which has altered the tone of opinion and manners throughout the world. And after the severity and rigid observance of all the church high-days and holydays formerly prevalent among them, the tide of opinion appears to have run into the opposite extreme.

I have frequently been astonished at discovering the extent to which infidel notions are current among my Spanish acquaintances; their prevailing opinions on the subject being, that the priests and some of the tenets of the Catholic church are behind the age, and as such, are to some extent unworthy of the serious attention of well-informed people of the present day, and that those things are only suitable for women and children. Es cosa de mugeres, is the usual expression, should the subject be mentioned; and as regards the priests, the laity very generally fancy that they must be watched carefully, as they are certain to assume importance should an opportunity offer for thrusting their noses into any affair they can, military or civil—it matters not which to these ambitious men.

Among the native population, however, high church opinions, or a notion that virtue is inherent in the walls of the church and the priestly office, is very common, so that whatever the padre says is looked upon as indisputable by them. But I cannot say that any rational systems of religion, or feelings not associated so much with the padre’s office and dress, and with the stone and lime of the church, as with the more pure and immaterial subjects of religious belief, exist among them, or influence their conduct. Frequently one sees instances of this, which place their feelings in the grossest and worst light. For example, the first act of a courtesan in the morning is generally to repair to the church, and after, as a matter of course, having said her prayers, to pass the time in any species of debauchery or immorality her lovers may wish. I state this fact, to give some idea of the extent of superstition and of priestly influence over their conduct, which shows how powerfully mere habits and custom may influence our manners without improving our minds, when we are brought up in a formal routine of habits of respect for we don’t know well what; for they have no further acquaintance with the principles of religious belief than the habit of crossing themselves before figures of the Virgin and the crucifixion.

For even these women, infamous though they be, seldom omit the observance of such practices, and are in general as punctual in repeating diurnally the formal prayer which has been taught them in childhood, as any Christian can be, whenever the hour of oraçion is come, which is notified to all the population by the tolling of the church bells.

However, Manilla appears not to be quite singular as to these matters; for it has been frequently stated by visitors to the states of the Church, that nine months after the great religious festival of the Carnival there, a much greater number of illegitimate children are born than during other seasons of the year.

This statement, which I have seen mentioned as a statistical fact, is probably attributable to the idleness of the people, ignorant and uninstructed as to any higher devotional feelings than those which custom teaches; although, doubtless, religious admonition, having a tendency to unloose the mind, and withdraw it from its customary objects of interest, may induce these softer emotions, and among people in whom the animal passions preponderate over those of the mind, or of a spiritual nature, may frequently lead to conduct of this loose description.

Perhaps, also, the sense of satisfaction after having gone through the ceremony of attending church, and of having performed the humble duty which all are taught to practise there, disposes the people to this license, for they carry away no new idea with them from the sacred house. The formal exercise there being gone through by rote, without exciting new feelings, or touching new chords in their hearts, may cause them to break away from strictness, and give a rein to their passions after the exercise of their religious duties.

The Indians are people who, being bred up with a regard to observances which retain no hold over their minds—at least, over the reason which God has endowed them with—in order to judge for themselves, think religious observances derive their importance only from custom; but having been trained up with little regard to the sterner and self-denying mental duties or instruction usually held up to our admiration in Britain and other Protestant countries, they can scarcely be expected to practise them. In addition to this, the heat of the climate probably disposes them this way; as in all countries where the dolce far niente is most agreeable to them, or is generally practised by the inhabitants, those feelings are likely to prevail in a greater degree than where active habits are more congenial to the people and the temperature of the climate.

CHAPTER IX.

The habits of the Spanish residents at Manilla are exceedingly indolent. As persons in the government service form the great proportion of the white population, a sketch of the habits of one of them may not be uninteresting;—say those of an average officer of the Hacienda, for instance. He usually gets out of bed about six, or a little after, to enjoy the cool air of the morning, and sip his chocolate, with the aid of broas, without which he could scarcely manage to get through the day; he then dresses, and drives to his office, where he remains till twelve o’clock, which hour finishes his official duties for the day. While in his office the nature of his work is not very arduous, and does not appear to call into play any powers of the mind, as it appears to consist only in his remaining for about four hours in a cool and large room, generally seated at a table or desk, overlooking a number of native writers, occupied in making out and filling up forms which are required by the existing regulations for the government service. The Spaniard, however, has nothing to do with all that, only occasionally exerting himself so far as to sign his name, or merely to dash his rubrica, without taking the trouble to sign his name, to the papers presented to him by these native copyists; and should you enter his office, he generally appears to be just awaking from a nap, as he opens his eyes, and rouses himself to salute a visitor.

At noon the public offices are closed, and he drives home to dine about one or two o’clock, after which he generally sleeps till about five, for nearly all of the Spanish residents take a long siesta. About that time of the day, however, he is awakened to dress and prepare for the paseo on the Calyada, and for the tertulia after it, at the house of some acquaintance; or if he should by any chance happen to be without acquaintance, to saunter through the Chinamen’s shops, admiring walking-canes, cravats, or waistcoat-pieces; and while so engaged, he is pretty sure to meet some companion for a gossip, or other amusement. After this he sets off to sup at home, and to sleep till another day comes round, when the same routine must be gone through.

It would be hard to conjecture a mode of passing or sauntering through life with less apparent object than many of them have. Books are scarce and expensive, and are in little demand by most of the residents, even if they were worth reading, and cheaper, and more procurable than they now are; the library—if the term may be applied to their collection—of such people, generally only comprising one or two plays, and perhaps a novel—sometimes also Don Quixote’s adventures, which, with a volume of poetry, is about the average amount of learning and amusement on their book-shelves. But should the owner be a military man, he probably has, in addition to these, some Spanish standard book, equivalent to our “Dundas’s Principles,” or “Regulations for the Cavalry.”

Smoking, sleeping, and eating, are the labours of their days, and in all of these they are adepts. Their prevalent taste, however, as regards cookery, is not suitable to a British palate, as the favourite accompaniment of garlic is commonly used in such a quantity by their cooks, that they are very apt to spoil a dinner for a foreigner’s eating, unless they are checked or cautioned with regard to the use of it.

Their usual drink is wine of different kinds, which they take out of a glass or tumbler, as we would beer or water: the quantity consumed is moderate enough, about a pint being a usual allowance—and that is frequently mixed with about an equal quantity of water. Sherry, claret, priorato, pajarete, manzanilla, malaga, and muscatel, are the sorts most in request, all of them being of ordinary quality, to the taste of any one accustomed to drink good wine at home, from which the wines procurable here are as different as possible, and especially the sherry. But in that resides a mystery known best to the wine-merchants, who doctor up the wine consumed in Great Britain to suit the taste of those who buy it from them. Strange to say, even to this, a Spanish colony, there is not sent out a single pipe of wine, such as any one accustomed to drink the British composition would call good sherry.

Claret, or vino tinto, is very generally used in preference to tea or coffee at breakfast, but at that early time of the day it is mixed with a large proportion of water. This meal, however, is not a general one in the Philippines, as the custom of taking chocolate in the morning destroys all appetite for it, and the early dinner hour of the Spaniards in general, does not render it essential.

The want of interesting occupation, and the heat of the sun, preventing out-of-door exercise during the day, has doubtless originated these indolent customs, which have given rise to many bad habits, and the low scale of morality prevailing among them.

A large proportion of them being bachelors, are in the habit of selecting a mistress as a companion with whom they may forget the dullness, and shake off the apathy of their aimless existence; a very large proportion, in fact, nearly all of them, being in the habit of choosing such a household companion from among the Creole, Mestiza, or native girls, but generally from the last two races.

The native girls have the reputation of proving more faithful to their lovers than the other two, as they look upon such a connection in the light of a marriage, and consider themselves guilty of no immorality during its continuance. When a native beauty forms such a connection with a white man, her relations do not sunder all the former ties existing between her and them, by casting her off, but on the contrary are, as frequently as not, highly pleased at it, viewing the affair in the light of a fortunate marriage for her.

These feelings, however, are not universal, for some of the richer class of Indians would be highly displeased with a female relation forming such a connection.

Among the Indians themselves this arrangement frequently takes place, as very many of the poorest people are unable to save money enough to pay their marriage fees, and in the event of a couple living together without having had the ceremony performed previously, they regard themselves, and are considered by their neighbours, as not the less man and wife. As an instance of the extent to which this prevails among them, I may mention a circumstance which struck me much at the time:—

Being near the cathedral at Manilla one evening in April last, I entered an open door of the edifice and wandered into a room attached to it, where several people were in waiting, and among them several women with children to be baptized. I stopped to witness the ceremony, and had the curiosity to look into the register where their names were enrolled; in that book, two of them were described as illegitimate children, and the third was the only one born in matrimony.

Although the custom does not prevail to anything like the extent of two-thirds of the population, still it is a very frequent one, and proves among other things, that the sort of religion prevailing among the people is only that of forms, possessing no sufficient hold over their minds to regulate their conduct.

Compare their religious ideas with those of the old Scottish covenanters, or English puritans, and how different are the effects of faith; but perhaps they are not more dissimilar than the natures of the two races are. For there is no race in the world with all the good qualities of the Celtic breed crossed by the Saxon, and that again by the Norman; for depend upon it, blood tells in every human being—aye, and as much in men as in dogs or horses.

But, unfortunately for ourselves, men pay less attention to the innate qualities and virtues of blood and pedigree, when selecting a mate for themselves, than they do when their dogs or horses are in question, as then no trouble is spared to trace out and scrutinise the qualities of their sires, and to breed only from a good stock.

By pedigree, of course not the worldly station of men is meant, but the history of their lives and reputations, as good and useful men of their time. Of necessity both parents affect the character of their offspring, and so we frequently see a great and good man leaving behind him none in his family capable of supplying his place. Now, how is this? Why, it comes from the mistake he has made in selecting his mate, for if he had been more cautious in that respect the produce would have been equal to the promise.

How often do we see wise men with silly wives and tall men with short wives. The only wonder is, that the offspring of such couples are not worse than they are.

CHAPTER X.

The intercourse between the Spaniards and many of the foreigners residing at Manilla is not very great, as the British here, as everywhere else, appear to prefer associating with their own countrymen to frequenting the houses of their Spanish friends, even although quite sure of a cordial reception there. The time for visiting is in the evening, when there are numbers of impromptu conversaziones—or tertulias, as they are called—of which the Dons are very fond, and in which very many of their evenings are passed.

Any one having a few Spanish acquaintances is pretty sure to number among them some persons who, from their own character, or that of some member of their family, such as a pretty and pleasant wife, or a handsome daughter, has generally many visitors at his house, perhaps six, ten, or a dozen of an evening, who call there without any preconcerted plan, and sit down to play a round game at cards or gossip with each other for an hour. Should there be ladies of the party, music and dancing are probably the amusements for an hour or two; you may, of course, escape and go on to the house of some one else should the party turn out to be dull, which, however, is very seldom the case when Spaniards are the company, as every one appears to exert himself to amuse and be amused to the best of his power.

The time for evening visits is any time after seven o’clock, for till about that hour nearly all the white population are enjoying the cool air on the Calyada, or on some of the other drives, all of which are crowded with carriages from about half-past five till that time of the evening.

Some of these equipages are handsome enough, and are almost universally horsed by a pair of the country ponies, there being only one or two people who turn out with a pair of Sydney horses, and very few who drive a single-horse vehicle, although it is met with now and then. The only persons allowed to drive four horses in their carriages are the Governor and the Archbishop: this regulation is frequently grumbled at by the Spanish Jehus, and one gentleman, the colonel of a regiment, having applied to the government for permission to indulge his taste in this respect by driving a four-in-hand, was refused it, so he had to content himself with turning out with only three in his drag. With that number of quadrupeds, however, he did a good deal to frighten and amuse the world, apparently wishing to break his neck, in which he very nearly succeeded on more than one occasion; Spanish accomplishments in driving being by no means equal to those general at home.

A young Spaniard who fills an important office connected with the commerce of Manilla, a situation he is said to owe more to the frailty of his mother, a fair lady at the court of the late King of Spain, whom he exactly resembles in appearance, temper, and manners, than to any qualifications especially pointing him out for the post, used frequently to assert his royal blood by turning out a neat barouche and pair, accompanied by two outriders, and certainly he looked much smarter and better appointed than either of the authorities driving four horses.

The expense of keeping horses is very small, so that nearly all, except the very poorest people, keep carriages, which in that climate are considered more as necessaries of life than as luxuries, and to a certain extent really are so; for the sun most effectually prevents Europeans walking to any distance during the heat of the day, and should any one attempt doing so, a month of it is about time enough seriously to injure or perhaps to kill him. About sunset everybody is most glad to escape from the impure air of the town and the crowded narrow streets, to inhale the fresh breeze from the bay on the Calyada, which is the most frequented drive.

Formerly all the ladies turned out to drive without bonnets or coverings of any sort on the head, but bowled along, seated in open carriages, in about the same style of evening dress they would appear in at a tertulia or the theatre, or, in fact, at a ball-room. They were in the habit of spreading a sort of gum, which washed easily off, over the hair after it had been dressed, in order to keep out the dust, &c.; but within the last two years several bonnets have made their appearance in the carriages at the drive, and I fear their general use will supersede the former fashion, which from its simplicity allowed their most striking beauties of eyes, hair, &c., to be seen in a most charming manner.

Many of the Creole girls have very handsome countenances, and there are not a few who would be remarked upon as fine women by the side of any European beauty: but they are generally seen to most advantage in the evening, as their chief attraction does not consist in freshness of complexion so much as in fine features, which are often full of character and lighted up by eyes as brilliant as they are soft. Their figures are good, and their feet and ankles quite unexceptionable, being generally very much more neatly turned than those of my handsomest countrywomen.

As dress is a study which has a good deal of their attention, they appear to understand it pretty well, but show a marked fondness for gay colours, as no doubt their pale complexions require their aid more than when ruddy health is upon their cheeks. In the forenoon the skin of a Creole or Spanish beauty appears to be rather too pale to please the general taste; and sometimes their colour degenerates into sallowness, which I fancy may proceed from their fondness for chocolate, that being very largely consumed by all of them. This, and the want of exercise, communicated a somewhat bilious look to their appearance.

Many ladies, especially those from the northern provinces of Spain, have sometimes the beautiful white skins and the ruddy freshness of complexion so much admired in my countrywomen; but, unfortunately, that colour is not very lasting, as the first season they pass in the Philippines is generally sufficient to blanch their bloom, but it is very often succeeded by a soft and delicate-looking paleness, which is perhaps not a whit less dangerous to amatory bachelors than the more brilliant colours which preceded it.

Although lively and talkative enough, Spanish women seldom shine in conversation, which perhaps is more owing to the narrow and defective education they too often have in youth than to any natural want of the quickness and tact to talk well.

Their manners are peculiarly soft and pleasing, and their lively ingenuousness is extremely seductive. Their accomplished management of the fan has made it peculiarly their own weapon, and it has been converted into an important auxiliary to their natural good looks, both in attack and defence. There are few things more striking to a stranger than to see the ladies use it at the casino, when a number of them are together, and while there is no want of men to admire the graceful movement of the hand. Mere children are constantly seen using it. It is a ludicrous thing to watch one of these little creatures going through a set of flirting motions with a fan, should you look at her, copying no doubt the motions or play with it from those of some grown-up sister or gay mamma.

Foreign ladies seldom or never attain the same degree of dexterity and ease in the use of their fans, the climate they were born in not requiring that it should be placed in their hands at an early age.

The dress of Spanish ladies is becoming every day more like the French modes, although some elderly people still continue to use the country dress, which, from its coolness, is much more comfortable than the European habit; but it is rapidly going out, and young Spanish ladies never appear to wear it, as formerly they frequently did, within doors and in the country.

The mantilla is very rarely seen, except perhaps in the morning, when some fair penitent goes or returns from one of the churches, all of which are thrown open at a very early hour in the morning, at or before daylight, to give the people an opportunity of going there unostentatiously and unnoticed, to say their prayers and get home again before any one, but those on an errand similar to their own, is likely to meet them in the streets.

Nearly all the women, after reaching thirty years of age, get stout or fall off in flesh and become very thin, for there apparently is very little medium between the two degrees, as nearly all the old women one sees are either very fat or very thin. Of the two sorts the fat retain their good looks the longest; for after attaining a certain age, the thin women are seldom anything but atrociously ugly, probably caused by the climate more than anything else, as those Europeans who enjoy good health at Manilla appear to become stout in that climate, while those who get thin seldom appear to be well, and are unable to stand a lengthened residence there.

In youth, however, their natural elasticity of character prevents delicate girls getting sick, if moderate care be taken of them, and they are generally rather more slender figures than English girls, until reaching about twenty-five, when they begin to get fat or to become thin; at that age they look very matronly.

Apropos des dames. Even in these degenerate days, Spanish blood is as hot and Castilian gentlemen are as gallant as any of those of former times. Not long ago the following circumstance happened at the casino:—Don Camilo de T——, a natural son of the late King of Spain, after dancing with a female acquaintance, rejoined a group of acquaintances, who were standing together in a knot, criticising the appearance of their several fair friends, when just as he joined them some one happened to say to another that the lady he had just been dancing with appeared to have padded her bosom. On hearing this, Don Camilo took the speaker rather by surprise, by calling out “It is a lie,” in a tone loud enough to be heard by all near him, and by saying that as he had just been dancing with that lady, he knew that it was not so, and must resent the remark as a personal affront. A duel took place in consequence, in which the gallant was wounded in the sword arm, which, by letting out a little of his hot blood, may probably prevent a recurrence of such extreme devotion to his fair acquaintances.

CHAPTER XI.

As a body, such Spanish gentlemen as I have been acquainted with, appeared to be quite as remarkable for good breeding as they usually have the credit of being. They generally have a great appearance of candour or frankness of manner, which, although it is for the most part more studied than natural, is prepossessing, and makes them pleasant companions.

Here, however, I am afraid my praise must stop, because I have seen among a great number of them a good deal of dissimulation, or, to speak more plainly, of bad faith,—with regard to which their modes of thinking are very different from those prevailing at home; and among their mercantile people especially, they often appear to imitate, or unconsciously to act upon a smart Yankee trader’s modes of getting the best of a bargain, being very frequently rather too unscrupulous in their representations, when it appears to them that it is for their interest to be so.

To give an idea of their opinions about the subject of buying and selling, I will tell the reader a story. A lad, the son of a high government officer, sold an unsound horse to a companion as a sound one, which, on being discovered by the purchaser, of course made him very indignant, and he demanded his money back, complaining at the same time to the boy’s father, who passes for a person of high character and good sense, about the scurvy trick his son had played him. “Well,” said this respectable old gentleman, “I am glad to see that the lad is so sharp; for, if he could get the better of you so well, he will make a capital merchant, and be able to cheat the Chinamen!”

Without exaggeration this is a good deal the system on which the Spaniards carry on business. They always appear to be trying to take advantage of a purchaser, and if successful have very complaisant consciences; but should they themselves be taken in, or have the worst of a bargain, their virtuous horror and indignation on discovering it know no bounds. There is very little, or almost none, of that mutual confidence existing between them which exists between British merchants, and which is so necessary in large transactions, or in carrying on an extensive business, as they do.

The large number of government empleados residing at Manilla makes an important addition to the society of the place, as, from being idle men to a great extent, they seek how to amuse and be amused, and are cultivators of the society of the English, whose dinner tables are probably the chief causes of the intercourse which exists between them.

The entire white population in Manilla amounts to about 5,000, a large proportion of them being officers, sergeants, and corporals of the troops stationed either within the town, or in the immediate vicinity.

All the officers are not, however, persons of European descent, as occasionally a black may be seen in an officer’s uniform, and very frequently is to be found wearing a sergeant’s or corporal’s coat. But the natives promoted to the rank of commissioned officers are not many, and on the whole it is probably better for the army that few of them should be so, as were it a common occurrence, or were they allowed to rise to high rank, or to occupy important places, beyond a doubt the morale of the troops would suffer; for when those men do rise from the ranks, they are not considered on an equality by their European brother officers, nor in fact do they consider themselves to be so, and have little or no intercourse with them, beyond the routine of their military duties.

The appearance of the troops is good on the whole; but they appeared to me to be wanting in precision of movement, being by no means equal or similar to some of our best Sepoy soldiers. It is clear that frequently they have not been precisely drilled into all their attempted evolutions. The men, as individuals, are well and powerfully formed, although they are rather deficient in stature and soldierly appearance; they are naturally bold, and when lately tried against the Sooloos, evinced no want of resolution to follow, when their officers would lead them on. I have seen several of them suffer death with an admirable and even heroic composure, such as any man might envy when his last hour comes. It is not an unfrequent thing to see soldiers shot at Manilla for some misdemeanours, and I have not heard of one of them dying a poltroon; certainly, all those I have ever seen suffer, met their doom with the utmost calmness.

The cavalry force, for the purposes of actual conflict, is about the most inefficient branch of the military establishment, being mounted on the ponies of the country, which stand on an average about twelve hands. But as irregulars they might be of some use. It always appeared to me that a single well-mounted squadron of our heavy dragoons could, without any difficulty, ride down the entire regiment. The Government is aware of the inactive state of the horses, their attention having been called thereto by my friend Captain de la O——, an officer of the force, who, in conjunction with the colonel of the regiment, has for some time past been occupied in investigations, and in preparing estimates of the probable expense of an attempt to improve the breed of horses by crossing them with Arab stallions, which it has for some time been in contemplation to send for to cover the country mares.

It would probably be necessary for Government, in order to accomplish this successfully, to adopt a plan similar to that followed at the East India Company’s breeding stables in Bengal, and should the project be followed out and properly managed, there can be no doubt but that it will be of the most essential importance to the government service, and a boon to the country.

The horses of the Philippines are small, but for their inches uncommonly powerful, and sometimes fast. They do not appear to have any distinguishing peculiarity, except perhaps that the head of most of them is rather too large, and very rarely indeed is that feature quite perfect in any of the horses one meets with. At Manilla, and for a considerable distance round it, no mares are allowed to be used, which secures a higher and better looking horse in the neighbourhood of the capital than is met with in the interior of the country; none of them are geldings, and of course they are stronger and more playful in consequence.

But to return to the service and the officers of it whom one meets in society. They are not fond of being sent to the colony, and although with about double the amount of pay they would receive at home, most of them would infinitely prefer remaining in Spain.

After a term of service abroad they get a step in rank, which appears to be the main attraction to those who come to Manilla. Many of them are not very well educated men, and are therefore rather inferior to my countrymen of the same profession in that respect.

A considerable proportion of them, perhaps an equal ratio to those of our army, are gentlemen, or persons of good birth and family connections. They are in general, however, poor, or at all events not over burdened with the good things of this life, and like soldiers of all nations and times, some of them have a certain notoriety for outrunning the constable, or for spending all that they can, which is generally merely their pay. Soon after reaching Manilla, I was accidentally thrown a good deal into their society, from chancing to meet with Don Francisco Caro, a pleasant and lively young lieutenant, at the house of my Spanish teacher, where he was as eager to learn English as I was to be able to speak good Spanish. We became intimate, and agreed to visit each other, he to talk in English to me, and I to him in Spanish,—a practice which very soon enabled us to pick up the languages, and saved a world of trouble in getting up tasks for a teacher, whom we were soon able to do without. The fact of my going frequently to his house, and taking part in the conversation of himself and the many friends with whom he made me acquainted, gave me a considerable facility in talking the language, from having gained a knowledge of it in this way in place of from a pedantic teacher, whose purisms were quite thrown away on one whose wish it was to speak it fluently, although it might be at some sacrifice of elegance.

Here let me record my regret at the manner in which this old companion and friend met his untimely fate, which is not the less regretted because it proceeded from his own strong sense of duty and habitual gallantry of spirit—for this poor fellow was a true Spaniard in all his best qualities. Having been ordered into the provinces with a detachment on the very disagreeable service of hunting up a band of tulisanes, or robbers, the necessary exposure to the sun on such an expedition operated so severely on his constitution as to produce a very high fever; yet even in this state he would not succumb to it, but persisted in marching for several days at the head of his men, although they, on perceiving his condition, had several times endeavoured to persuade him to make use of a litter which they had framed for the purpose, and wished to carry him in. But he would not remain in it even when they almost forced him to use it, and would take no repose until after having accomplished his duty. In this he was successful, as he surprised and destroyed the robber band,—but the effort cost him his life, for he died solely from the effects of the unnatural exertion which he had undergone while the fever was raging within him.

Your many amiable and good qualities yet live, Francisco, in the fond memories of former friends, although you are no longer among them; and your heroic death, while it chastens grief, has added another memento, and a laurel leaf to the wreath your brave Castilian ancestors left behind them, bequeathed to the care of one who knew so well how to value and protect it, and to add to its honour.

CHAPTER XII.

The Church is under the regulation of an Archbishop and four Bishops. The present Archbishop of Manilla, whose reputation for piety and good feeling towards all men stands very high, is an old soldier, who, after serving his king when a young man as lieutenant of cavalry for several years, changed his master, and assuming the habit of a priest, devoted himself to religion for the remainder of his life.

There are about 500 parochial curacies throughout the islands under him in the four bishoprics, 167 of the curacies being situated in his own see; and several literary, charitable, and pious institutions at Manilla look up to him as their patron and head; among others may be mentioned the University of Santo Tomas, having chairs for students of Latin, logic, metaphysics, moral philosophy, canon law, theology, &c.

As a body, the ministers of religion in the Philippines are not apparently so well educated a class as those of Great Britain, even in the education of the schools, and are possessed of less general information, of course, from the want of any periodical literature equal to that which we have, from whose sources much of the information, and some of the apparent learning of my countrymen are derived, at little cost of time or expense.

However, many of the Spanish padres are men of general and varied attainments, such as would adorn any church or station in life; but the greater number of them can scarcely claim so much, as, although they are all respectably educated, their attention for many years of their life has been directed chiefly to the prosecution of such studies as would influence their advancement in the Church, such as the canon law, church history, theology, &c., on a knowledge of which their consideration for accomplishments among themselves principally depends, I believe.

Most of the priests I have been in contact with, appeared to be thoroughly convinced of, and faithful to their religion in its purity; and as a body, appear to be about as sincere and pious a class as clergymen at home.

Occasionally, however, you meet with startling exceptions to this rule, which astonish any one accustomed to see the high regard to outward decency observed by the same cloth at home; for instance, it would be considered most reprehensible at home, for any clergyman to keep a mistress; and if the fact became known, would occasion his instant dismissal from his cure, and his expulsion from the Church.

This is not so, however, in the Philippines, and may be seen at any time, especially among the Mestizo and native Indian priests, whose education is worse, and their ideas of religion much more vague, incorrect, and superstitious than those of the Spaniards; and sometimes, in the country parishes, an Indian or Mestizo padre is found openly living in the convento or parsonage-house with his mistress and natural children. But frequently, in cases where a sense of decency prevents them doing this openly, one occasionally meets in their houses young half-caste children, who pass for the family of some brother or sister, although these had never any existence, and there is in reality little or no doubt as to the priest himself being their father.

This state of things, however, is not the general state of the Church, although it may but too frequently be met with; and is not considered nearly so reprehensible as it would be, were they at liberty to marry, as Protestant clergymen are. In many cases its existence can scarcely fail to be known to their bishops, by whom however it appears to be winked at; and is not considered by the laity as being particularly scandalous, their notions on the subject being somewhat indefinite.

Within a very short distance of Manilla, I have been in a convento where the priest, his mistress, and family all lived together, the padre being a Mestizo. On the village feast-day, one of the party with whom I was in the country, hired some jugglers who had come down from Bengal to act their wonderful tricks in the theatre at Manilla, and sent them out to Mariquina on the feast-day, there to amuse the people, and to please the padre, as he knew it would do, he being an old acquaintance of his. Accordingly, in the afternoon they exhibited to an immense crowd of natives, just before the open church-door. A platform had been quickly erected for their accommodation, from which they were exhibiting their tricks to the intense astonishment of the Indians, most of whom had never seen anything of the sort before; and in the evening, the padre having asked leave for the jugglers to come to the convento, gave a great party to all the Spaniards, or white men, who were then in the pueblo, in order to watch their tricks more closely than could be done at a public exhibition.

Several Spanish ladies were present, and among them, quite as a matter of course, was the mistress of the priest. One or two of the ladies present were wives of high officials at Manilla, and all of them were persons of the best character and standing, yet they did not appear in the least discomposed by her presence, although none of them paid her any attention, or noticed her as the lady of the house; in fact, she appeared to be regarded by them as a sort of privileged housekeeper more than in any other light, although they were perfectly aware of the irregularity of her life. This may give some idea of their modes of thinking of such affairs, for all of them present perfectly understood the relation in which the spiritual adviser of so large a population as that of Mariquina stood to her.

Both the priest and she were elderly people, and their intercourse has, I understood, been of long standing; and during the course of it several children have been born. But the most wonderful thing appears to be, how such a man could direct the worship of his parishioners, or lay before them the scripture tenets of his and their faith, while openly violating it before their eyes. But the same thing has taken place in Europe not unfrequently, and quite as openly, without exciting excessive scandal in many places.

There is an immense deal more of immorality among the clergy of all denominations and countries than would be believed. Alas, for human nature!

CHAPTER XIII.

The site of Manilla is low-lying and level, and as the country in the vicinity of the capital is of the same nature, being covered by far stretching paddy fields, it presents few picturesque attractions, in order to enjoy which, and the verdure, freshness, and variety of an undulating landscape, excursions are frequently made to various places at some short distance from the town, and during some period of each year, most of the foreign merchants have latterly got into the plan of renting houses within driving distance, and of spending most of the dry season in them, going and returning frequently, or generally daily, to their counting-houses, so long as the roads are passable. The village of Mariquina, about seven miles from Manilla, is the most favourite place of resort, although the road to it is very bad, but it presents the attractions of very good pure air and water, and a bright landscape. Those persons who are not fond of horse exercise, make use of American light spider-carriages, drawn by a pair of ponies, as that sort of vehicle is found to be the only conveyance capable of standing the ruts and jolting over these country paths, which would to a certainty break the springs of any other description of carriage I have ever seen.

Owing to their great lightness and strength, these spider-carriages are favourite conveyances here, and these qualities render them by much the most suitable description for the country.

In the neighbourhood of Mariquina, the country is in many respects picturesque and fine; a more lovely coup d’œil is seldom seen, than that which may be witnessed from the road at the top of the hill just before beginning the descent leading past the old Jesuit Convent, a partly ruinous building, now known by the name of the Hacienda; from that point, looking down on the valleys which burst on the view at once, especially at the season when they are waving with the ripe and yellow grain, or clothed in a beautiful coat of green,—on the fine river, peacefully winding through them, on the splendid old trees covered with green and luxuriant foliage, which are interspersed and dot the scene, across to the distant hills, clothed in all the glories of a tropical sunset or sunrise, and varied by the many tints of light and shade of brilliant colours, it often is a sight truly worthy of being witnessed for its glowing beauty.

At Mariquina, there is a well, the water of which has the reputation of curing many sorts of disease, more especially those of the skin, and many are the sufferers who visit it in the hope that bathing in the trough into which the spring drops, may cure their ailments. The water is slightly tepid and not disagreeable to drink, being tasteless, and is recommended for diseases of the kidneys and stomach, by the Manilla doctors.

Some miles beyond Mariquina, there is a most curious cave, of great extent, at the village of San Mateo, which is well worthy of a visit by the curious. Shortly after entering it, the height of the cavern rises to about fifty feet, although it varies continually,—so much so, that at some places there is scarcely height enough for a man to sit upright. The formations within are of a singular character, resembling sometimes immense icicles pendant from the roof to within a few feet of the floor, or in some places rising from the ground like ever-growing pyramids, as from the dropping water they are continually increasing. These pillars of stalactite are extremely hard and difficult to splinter, even after repeated blows with a hammer, some of them being beautifully milk white, while others appear rather discoloured from some cause. Several of the columns hanging from the roof may measure about a yard or more in circumference, their forms being sometimes most curious and fantastic, one stalk expanding as it descended, looked not unlike a gigantic leaf springing from its slender arm.

From the main cave there are several openings diverging and leading to chambers similar to the main room, by some openings at the sides of which the dropping water is drained off.

The temperature within the cavern was 77°, and without 86°, being a very considerable change, even in the cool of the evening, on coming out of it, just after sunset. I am afraid to give an estimate as to the extent of this immense cave, it requires, however, five or six hours to partially see its curiosities, and of course would take far more time to investigate it properly. The only living creatures met within it, appear to be bats, which are not very numerous. Should a sportsman visit the place for several days, his gun will generally procure him some venison and wild pig to feast upon, or to present to the village priest, or to forward to his Mariquina or Manilla acquaintances. At Boroboso, also, some distance from Mariquina, he is sure of finding similar game, and in greater quantity than at San Mateo, where it is too much poached.

The great want he will experience is that of trained dogs, those used by the Indians being nearly useless, as after alarming the game by their noise, they can’t hunt it with any thing like spirit. Some few Kangaroo dogs, however, brought from Sydney, have been eagerly purchased by the Indian sportsmen, and are said to be an immense improvement on those of the country, although I have never seen their performances in the field; from their speed and strength, however, they appear more than a match for the deer of the islands, which are small-sized and greatly inferior in strength to those of the Highlands of Scotland.

The race of dogs formerly known as Manilla bloodhounds has become quite extinct, although some descendants of a half-bred progeny still remain, being a cross between them and the street curs. Although they possess some of the fierce and savage qualities of the old hound, it is in a much inferior degree to that of the genuine breed, whose size and appearance was very much finer than any of the mongrels now to be seen.

The old breed were so fierce as to be absolutely unsafe when at liberty, and always required to be chained up. Several years ago two fine dogs of the old breed were procured with considerable trouble, and at some expense sent to England, to a gentleman fond of dogs.

He gave orders to keep them at all times on the chain, during which they behaved so well, that a groom, going out to air a horse one morning, unloosed the chain of one of them, and took him along with him.

The dog remained quiet enough till happening to meet another man, also airing a pair of skittish horses,—the capering of the horses, or something else, roused the brute’s savage nature, and he sprang on one of them like a tiger, fastening on his flank, and sucking his blood so greedily that all the two men could do did not make the savage beast quit his hold, till gorged with the blood of the victim.

The horse was spoiled for ever, or, I believe, died from the hemorrhage, and as he chanced to be a valuable one, which, of course, the owner of the dog had to pay for, he was so disgusted at having to do so, that he made both of them be shot at once, in order to prevent any possibility of the recurrence of such an accident.

The only other dog at Manilla besides the worthless street cur, is a sort of ladies’ poodle, with long and silky white hairs; their fine coats only making them favorites, as they are good for nothing else than women’s pets.

The smaller these are, when full grown, the more they are esteemed; their white hair should be entirely free from any spots of black or brown, these being generally the mark of a mongrel breed.

They are so delicate, that few of them can stand a sea-voyage, and all those I have ever sent away from Manilla, to any distance, have died before reaching their destination. A well-bred dog of this breed of middling size, is about as large as a full grown tom-cat, or a little bigger.

It has always appeared to me a most curious and inexplicable fact, that when good dogs are sent out from home to a hot climate such as this, they invariably are found to deteriorate to an uncommon extent, the heat causing them to lose their spirit, and also their scent. But, in fact, the animal in perfection, or, as he has been truly called at home, “the most intelligent of beasts, and the companion of man,” is only found in some places of Europe to be such.

In all tropical countries he is no longer so, becoming, even should a good breed be introduced there from Europe, very much inferior in a few generations in all respects to what we have him in Great Britain, where they appear to be found in the greatest perfection.

In hot climates the dog has not the same strength or swiftness, nor is he of equal courage, sincerity, and gentleness of character which peculiarly distinguish him from all other animals at home. Among orientals he is no longer treated in the same manner as he is in Europe, nor in fact does his character, as it exists among them, deserve equal kindness to that usually shown this faithful animal in Britain; but in Asia he is driven from their households by the Mohammedans and Hindoos alike, being regarded by them all as useless, and a pest.

In China, he is fattened for the table, and the flesh of dogs is as much liked by them as mutton is by us, being exposed for sale by their butchers and in their cook-shops.

At Canton, I have seen the hind quarters of dogs hanging up in the most prominent parts of their shops exposed for sale.

They are considered in China as a most dainty food, and are consumed by both the rich and the poor.

The breeds common in that country are apparently peculiar to itself, and they are apparently objects of more attention to their owners than elsewhere in Asia, the Celestials perhaps having an eye to their tender haunches, which bad treatment would toughen and spoil. They do not appear to be of greater sagacity than the other tropical breeds, although more bulky and stronger-looking than most of the other sorts I have seen.

CHAPTER XIV.

All strangers coming to Manilla should endeavour to make an excursion to the great inland lake, or Laguna de Bay, as it is likely well to repay the inconvenience one has to stand in such an excursion from exposure to the sun, &c. The lake is of very considerable extent, measuring, I think, about twenty-eight miles at its greatest length, by about twenty-two at its extreme breadth; it is formed by an amphitheatre of mountains, the various streams from which feed it; and its opening or outlet forms the origin of the river Pasig, which, bathing the walls of the fortress of Santiago and the capital of the Philippines, flows into the arm of the sea called Manilla Bay.

About Christmastide there are many visitors to the lake, as from the then cooler season the necessary exposure to the heat of a midday sun in a slightly-covered boat is comparatively innocuous, and much less disagreeable than it would prove at any other time of the year.

Several foreigners are in the habit of making an annual excursion there from Manilla to spend these holidays, during which there is no other amusement in town than church-going and procession-staring.

Having made arrangements to visit the lake either by starting from Manilla in a large Pasig banca or prow, which although more tedious than driving to the village of Guadaloupe, near Pasig, and then taking the water, is, I think, the better plan of the two, as the river scenery is well worth seeing, and there are no inconveniences such as are inseparable from that of changing conveyances at Guadaloupe, &c. When I started, my companion, who luckily happened to be an experienced man in such affairs, having at different times of his life roamed through the backwoods of Canada, and over the plains of Australia, recommended the water conveyance for the whole distance, as we were not pushed for time; and the excursion turned out to be one of the pleasantest I have ever been engaged in, from the satisfactory nature of his arrangements and his own hilarity and good-natured usefulness; for of course he had not knocked about so much without acquiring some savoir faire, so desirable in a companion during such an excursion.

On Christmas eve we went together to a large dancing party or ball, given by an old and rich Mestizo, at whose house we kept up dancing and enjoying ourselves till about midnight; shortly before which all the men started, in company with the ladies, to the parish church of San Sebastian, there to hear a midnight mass, and welcome in the sacred anniversary by saying our prayers. The spectacle was rather a fine one; and on looking at the devout up-turned features of my fair companion, when kneeling at her devotions, I could scarcely believe that she was the good-natured, lively Mestiza girl I had been flirting with not five minutes before; but after half an hour’s worship, which, to do them justice, was apparently of the most sincere and heartfelt kind, the fair penitents returned to the supper room with a number of the heretics, and afterwards, notwithstanding all their prayers, danced with us, being quite as lively and as full of flirting as before their visit to church. We stopped till about three o’clock in the morning, when, being thoroughly tired of the heated rooms, my companion and I resolved to enter the boat which had been engaged for the occasion, and in which clothes, provender, &c., had previously been embarked, and left under charge of a servant, Fernando, at a landing-place from the river, near the house where we had been invited to pass the evening. Taking the precaution to eat a hearty supper, to keep out the night air, on arriving at the boat, and wrapping ourselves up in our blankets, we both very speedily began to enjoy the rest necessary for next day’s exertions; and having previously secured our crew of five picked men to pull, we were rapidly approaching the Laguna when we awoke, and daylight had just rested on their oars next morning; after breakfast, and a bath in the cool and delicious water of the river above Pasig, we quickly passed by the pateros or villages for breeding ducks, situated among the swamps at the outlets of the lake, and the beginning of the river.

Several of these duck villages can scarcely be said to be situated on terra firma, as many of the nipa or attap-houses are founded on the supporting trunks of trees growing out of the sedgy swamp. The houses have a small lower platform of bamboo on two sides, for a cooking-place and for landing from a boat, below and around being trees or bamboos growing out of the water. Many of these clumps of bamboo, some of which attain a great height, occasionally, perhaps, as much as 150 feet, are from their numbers a peculiar feature in the landscape of the Philippines, and form some of the most beautiful objects of luxuriant vegetation that can be imagined for a landscape. They are found growing wild, very grand and fresh-looking in all parts of the country, and are of many varieties, some of which any one may be acquainted with who takes the trouble to consult the good old Padre Blanco’s book on the flora de Filipiñas.

At the pateros, near the entrance to the Laguna, the people breed large flocks of ducks to supply the Manilla market, to the exclusion of all other employment except, perhaps, catching and drying enough fish to season their rice, which most of them purchase, and very few of them grow. These Indians, although few in number, are to a considerable extent isolated from the people of the country, from what cause I know not, but they very rarely associate or intermarry except with each other. The ducks they breed for the market are well trained, being perfectly obedient to the call of their different masters, and on hearing his signal come quickly sailing back, should they have gone too far away. They get fat on the fish and tender sedgy grass, and when placed on the dinner-table are very good eating.

After entering the lake, which is studded with wooded islets, the largest of which is named Talim, the gun is called into requisition, as the immense flocks of wild duck breeding here afford a constant sport, and the advantages of their acquisition are not likely to be overlooked either by the gourmand or the hungry tourist. They are, however, rather wild, and the best mode of shooting them appears to be to dress in a blue cotton shirt and trousers like an Indian, and paddle off as near the flock as they will permit; and then for a chance among them. If there is more than one person in the grass-boat, which is a very small and unhooded banca, which the natives use for carrying small quantities of grass for horses, &c., the ducks are apt to take the alarm, although I have sometimes been successful in getting near them with an Indian paddling the boat.

Besides the ducks there are several other kinds of wild fowl, and on coasting round the shores of Talim, an alligator basking in the sun, frequently offers a mark for a ball, which, however, seldom proves fatal. I struck one on the scales without producing any apparent damage, the distance being probably about thirty yards, and he merely shook himself a little and tumbled into the water from off the rock he had been sleeping on, without seeming much startled or to be in the least wounded. They are said to reach an immense age, and the most incredible stories are told, and apparently believed, by the natives themselves of their traditional longevity.

On Talim some deer and pigs may now and then be seen, although it is too much frequented and disturbed to be at all a sure cover for them; my companion shot a very beautiful variety of the hawk on the island. After enjoying the hospitality of M. Vidie, an old French planter at Jalajala, we set off in the direction of Tanay, whence we had heard good reports of the game.

During a strong monsoon there is sometimes a heavy swell on the water of the Laguna, and occasionally boats are swamped or upset, so that frequently when we used to go out in our Pasig banca it was against the will of our boatmen; but like true and stubborn Britons, we always insisted upon having our own way, although the boatmen, who certainly knew most about it, used to predict that we should all be swamped to a certainty, but a well-trimmed and moderately well-handled boat can go through any sea, and it is generally from want of care that accidents occur. On one occasion in Manilla Bay, I have been swamped solely from that cause, and the fright of a companion, whose alarm induced the catastrophe by diverting the men’s attention. However, as an American whaler was luckily near and saw our situation, they lowered a whale-boat and picked us up.

At the lake, in stormy weather, we used to go out with two men steering the boat, each with a powerful paddle, and the remainder of the crew managing the sail. Sometimes we got half full of water, which it was the duty of the boy Fernando to bale out, but when he got seasick and tired, we both set to to keep her free. On one occasion of the sort, my chum Adam, taking pity on the forlorn condition of the puking Fernando, recommended to him frequent sips from a bottle of brandy, to keep away the retching; the hint was not thrown away, and the lad lay down in the bottom of the boat, looking as miserable as possible, and quite sick, utterly forgetful or unconscious of the soiled condition of the splendid piña shirt which he wore at the time; although in his hours of ease it commonly attracted a large proportion of his regard and self-complacency. After many sips, apparently, the brandy produced the desired effect, as my follower ceased to project his mouth, every now and then, over the side of the banca, but had sunk into a sound sleep, caused, we imagined, by the exhaustion and lassitude subsequent to sea-sickness; and so he remained till our approaching Tanay, when the sail was lowered, and he roused up and left to bring our luggage up to the Casa Real, or townhouse, where there is always a chamber and bedstead for strangers. For that place we started, leaving him to follow.

After waiting some time impatiently, we were rather surprised to see two of the boatmen marching up with Fernando, who gave tokens of extreme lassitude and unsteadiness of gait, showing at times, when he raised his drooping head, an attempt to shake off his conductors, who were on these little manifestations reinforced by two of their companions, who followed them, bearing our portmanteaus; and at length the procession would move on again. After some difficulty they got him into the Casa Real, where one of the men, spreading a mat upon the floor, laid him down on it, staring wildly about him. After contemplating him for a few seconds, he turned to me, and, inverting the mouth of an empty bottle, to prove satisfactorily that it was empty of the vieux cognac, which was marked on the label, laid it down beside him, saying, “Es muy boracho, Senor, pero es valiente.”

And so resulted the cure of sea-sickness by brandy, of which the lad had taken such a dose as to shake him severely, although a strong young fellow, for several days after it; in fact, we both became afraid of him, and vowed never again to recommend the medicine, except in quantities less than a bottle at a time.

CHAPTER XV.

Adam W—— having on a former shooting expedition been at Tanay, had at the time made the acquaintance of some of the townspeople, who had shown him all the attentions in their power; so that soon after our arrival, having dressed and refreshed at the Casa Real, we sallied out together to call on several of his old acquaintances, hoping to obtain from some of them such information and assistance as would help us discovering the whereabouts of a good huntsman and guide, in order that we might avail ourselves of his local knowledge in selecting the best district of the neighbourhood for sport.

On entering the house of the Fiel of Tobacco, we were most hospitably received and warmly invited to take quarters there during our residence in Tanay; and as the offer was much too good to be refused, even had it been less warmly backed by the unequivocal demonstrations of welcome than those which they evinced, it was at once accepted, with not the less good-will because there was only the Casa Real to sleep in had we chosen to refuse it, which assuredly no one who had the fear of bugs, fleas, or musquitoes before his eyes would do, these animals being of the utmost size and activity in every one of the Casas Reales I have ever slept in.

After some conversation with our host, who was rather a fine-looking Spanish Mestizo, as to our plans, &c., he most good-naturedly set off to seek a huntsman whom he recommended as a guide, leaving us in the meantime to the society of his wife—a strapping native beauty, although somewhat swarthy, full of good nature and the gossip of the place. From her, Adam soon learned all about his former acquaintances, and among others of the Capitan Tomas, his buxom wife, and pretty daughter, who we were told was considered the beauty of the town.

After their names had been mentioned with that addition, he got rather impatient all of a sudden for a stroll about the town; so we started together, after paying a visit to our portmanteaus and the still insensible Fernando, at the town-house, where my friend armed himself with a bottle of eau de Cologne, a box of which I found that he carried about with him for distribution among such native beauties as he was ambitious of standing well with, for they were sure to like this perfume, which his experience of the country taught him was seldom procurable in such out-of-the-way places, and to a dead certainty always procured him favour in the eyes of the unsophisticated fair, whom he taught how to use it.

For this it was that he had hinted something about thieves and the state of Fernando, and proposed looking in to see if the portmanteaus were still safe at the Casa Real, so I resolved to be revenged for the double dealing of his proposal upon seeing the top of the Cologne bottle peeping out from his shooting-jacket pocket. I watched a chance, and snatched it away without being noticed, determined that the half-caste beauty whose praises he was so eloquent in during our promenade, should not have him to thank it for at all events.

We reached the house, and were well received by the Capitan, who pressed us to stop with him, and when he found we were engaged, invited us to pass next day with him, which, as the beauty was looking her very best, there was great risk of our doing, in preference to prosecuting our pig-shooting scheme, as had been originally intended. Poor Adam was evidently smitten by her attractions. After talking with these good people for some time, I observed that his attention was engrossed in watching Rita’s movements, when, as the Capitan, his wife, and myself were all standing at an open window, looking at the flowers in his garden, and talking away, and their daughter, occupied in some household duty, was leaving the sala, Adam, who had been watching like a lynx for such an opportunity, seized it on the moment, and managed to slip away from us, and get out of the room after her, in the hopes of being able to snatch a kiss or something of the sort, and to present the scented water, which he had not missed from his pocket, although as he slipped away in all the agitation of pursuit, I saw first one hand and then the other slipped into the pockets of the coat where it should have been; but he was so much engaged in getting out of the room quickly and silently, that he did not miss it. Reaching the open door just as she had gone out, when about two paces beyond it, he popped his head over her shoulder unobserved, and stole a kiss; I heard the smack, then a rustle, and then a titter, during which Adam was searching his pockets for the missing bottle, which of course he did not find there; and when he said something or other about the kiss, he foolishly, in his search for it, told her that he had lost so very desirable a present; upon which, as he afterwards told me, the beauty looked saucy, and very plainly did not believe a word about it, but fancied he had invented the story to excuse the kiss, and pretended to get a little angry with the liberty taken with her blooming cheek; so she walked off, and left him quite at a loss to account for its disappearance.

Before leaving, I took an opportunity of presenting the missing bottle at a time when the owner of it was not by, and fancied, from the blush which gave additional beauty to her cheek as I did so, that with the natural quickness of a woman and a beauty, she had read the stratagem played off on poor Adam; so she frankly offered me the same reward, by presenting her blooming lips to be kissed, even by so very recent an acquaintance.

On making arrangements for a shooting party, it is quite necessary to hire beaters to drive the game, which there would be little chance otherwise of sighting, without undergoing more walking than most people find pleasant under a tropical sun.

Having had the precaution to bring our own saddles with us, some miserable-looking ponies were procured, and started with a guide at an early hour in the morning, along a path formed for the most part, up and down thickly wooded hills, the road being sometimes a dry watercourse, or mountain stream.

However, we got over the ground, passing through a beautiful country, and arrived at the meet after a four hours’ ride, the place appointed being a hut belonging to the huntsman, and surrounded by three paddy fields, which he tilled, with his family, but did not live there, except at planting and reaping time, or for about six weeks of the year, from fear of the tulisanes, who, he said, frequented this wild and uninhabited neighbourhood. This is a frequent effect of the bad police of the Philippines, as much of the country that might be most advantageously cultivated, is abandoned to the jungle, solely from fear of these robbers, who sometimes add to their plundering propensities crimes of a more atrocious dye.

After some good sport with deer and pigs, which constituted the supper of ourselves and all the beaters, night was very welcome, and seldom, indeed, did either of us enjoy repose more than in this hut, although through the holes in the grass walls of it the wind was whistling, and near us the beaters were noisily carousing, miscellaneously, upon sherry, cognac, and beer, it mattered not which to them, for we had presented some bottles of each, in order to celebrate the good day’s sport.

Next morning we heard of a wild cimmarone (or buffalo) having been seen in the neighbourhood some days previously, and endeavoured to find out his whereabouts, but none of the scouts could get a trace of him. Although these splendid animals are occasionally found in the country, they are not very common, and their reputation for savage ferocity is so great, that few of the Indians like to shoot them, because, if merely wounded without being disabled, they are certain to charge the hunter, which is more than Oriental nerves are fond of.

Monkeys chattering in the trees are very common; but I never shot any of them, having, in truth, an antipathy to kill a brute with a shape so nearly human.

Near this end of the lake few Europeans ever go, as it is quite out of the beaten track, which leads them in an opposite direction, to look down the crater of a volcano, generally simmering, but seldom boiling over to such an extent as to spout lava to any distance.

Calamba and Calawan are also places they usually go to see; at the latter of which, there is a cotton-spinning mill, the property of a Mestizo, who dresses like a Spaniard, and no doubt wishes to be considered such. The machinery employed is of Belgian or French make, and of a very simple construction, and far from being equal to the sort now used at home for the purpose; but is considered by its owner to be the only sort that would answer well there, as it can be kept in order, and even, I believe, put into repair on occasion by a native blacksmith, who acts as engineer, which could not, of course, be the case were machinery of a finer and more complex and elaborate construction employed, as that would render a staff of good European workmen essential to keep it in order and good repair, and their pay in this climate, would run away with all the profits of the adventure.

The yarn produced is of the coarser descriptions, and is only saleable to the native weavers of cotton cloth, by the excessive duty put on grey cotton twist of British manufacture, which is 40 per cent. on a high ad valorem valuation if imported by a Spanish ship, and 50 per cent. if by any foreign vessel, amounting virtually to a prohibition on its importation.

At the village of Los Baños, on the shores of the laguna, there are some hot springs, flowing into baths cut out of the natural rock.

The temperature of the water as it issues from the rock is sufficient to boil an egg; but not having a thermometer, we were unable to ascertain it more exactly. As it mixes with the cool water of the laguna, however, the heat decreases, and at sunrise on a cool morning forms just there a very pleasant bath. The baths, from which the place is named, having for long been little frequented by invalids, are now in a semi-ruinous state. In cases of debility they are said to be most beneficial, and the old Manilla doctor, Don Lorenzo Negrao, whose long experience of the country and of the diseases incidental to it is most valuable, in such cases sometimes recommends his patients to try these baths for some peculiar diseases, and once recommended them to me.

The great mistake of our doctors in India is dosing their patients with calomel, which, although necessary in some cases, where it is the only medicine powerful enough to arrest the rapid strides with which disease advances in tropical countries, is too often had recourse to, when simples would be just as effective. And this mistake of theirs is equalled, in bad effects only, by the practice of the Spanish doctors, who will never administer calomel at all, even in the most urgent cases, as they prefer trusting altogether to simple remedies for a cure, and if a patient dies who has had calomel administered to him, do not hesitate to tell the practitioner who gave it that the medicine killed him.

Within the tropics lengthened residence is the most essential qualification in a medical attendant, as although old men may not be so well up to the latest improvements of the science as those fresh from college, yet they have from practice found out the best way of treating tropical diseases, to which the treatment applicable in a London, Edinburgh, or Paris hospital in similar cases, would be quite out of place when practised in so different a climate as the tropics, where the symptoms vary and succeed each other with ten times the rapidity they do in Europe.

CHAPTER XVI.

Before leaving Manilla on a lengthened country excursion, it is always desirable to procure introductions to the priests of the district you are going to visit, which may be effected with very little difficulty by almost any of your Spanish acquaintances. As although they are in general a most hospitable class of men, and usually invite any respectable looking European whom chance may throw in their way, to sleep at the convento if he be passing the night at their village, yet without an introduction one remains always a stranger to them, and sees nothing of their usual habits or modes of life.

Sometimes their good-nature is put to a trial by the eccentricities of their British guests, and some odd incidents happen. A good story is told of one of the former British merchants of the place, who having taken it into his head to make an excursion, before starting provided himself with letters of recommendation from the Archbishop of Manilla, to whom he paid court by loans of newspapers, addressed to the parish priests, and set off with these in his pocket, finding them of the greatest service in insuring a welcome wherever he went, being described therein in the most favourable colours, by the high church dignitary.

One day, after a long and fatiguing ride, he arrived, about two in the afternoon, in a very ravenous state, at a convent or parsonage. On ascending the stairs of the convento, the first thing which met the eyes of the hungry traveller was a table neatly arranged for the padre’s dinner, who, he was informed by the servants, would be back in about an hour to dine. An hour still—why it seemed to be a century since he had broken his fast; however, he waited for what appeared to a hungry man to be a long time, but in reality was probably ten minutes, when, losing all patience at the non-appearance of the priest, whose house he had so coolly taken possession of, he told the boys to put something to eat on the table, and they, apparently mistaking his meaning, in a trice served up the good priest’s half-cooked dinner, which, without the delay of asking any questions, he proceeded to devour. In a very short space of time he had cleared away the best part of it, and was beginning to relax in his exertions, as the good effects of a hearty meal began to mollify his craving stomach, in fact he was just beginning to attack the last relic of a fat capon, which formed the main battle of the dishes set out before him, when a heavy footstep was heard on the stairs, and in another instant the gaunt figure of the priest himself stood before the empty plates on the dinner table, and the unknown and unexpected guest, whose jaws were at the moment occupied in masticating the last morsel of the fat fowl, which the father had ordered for himself, and looking forward to it had caused him to take a lengthened promenade, in order to promote appetite. Imagine the scene—but whether the good padre’s momentary wrath, and then utter astonishment and indignation, or the guest’s embarrassment, were greatest—or the most ludicrous, it would be hard to determine. For some time they merely looked at each other, without speaking—the priest, probably, because he could not articulate—and his guest, perhaps, because his mouth was full—till the absurdity of the whole affair apparently striking them both at once, they mutually broke out into laughter, the violence of which threatened to convulse them. From this, however, the padre was the first to recover, when the intruder, mastering his muscles, regained his countenance so far as to be able to mutter something in the shape of an apology, in which, probably, the word “starvation” was the only one intelligible; after it had been good-humouredly received, and the priest had welcomed the strange guest, the Archbishop’s letter was produced as his credentials, but not till then. And afterwards they passed the evening together in the old convento, which, as the evening advanced, rang to many a merry laugh and jest about the affair in which both had figured so awkwardly.

The caprices of all the visitors to the country are not, however, so harmless; it is not long since a party of young men, headed by one notorious for his love of fun, and what are called practical jokes, chartered a chatta, or covered cargo boat, of from 25 to 30 tons, and having put two carronades on board of her, set sail for the laguna, and while there amused themselves by bearing down, after nightfall, on the villages and towns on its banks, and bombarding them with the guns, taking care, however, not to do harm or to kill any one, either by not shooting the guns, or if there was a ball in one of them, by aiming it a little over the houses, so as not to damage them. On the noise made by the guns being heard, and the flash seen so close to them in the dark nights, the whole male population of the place would turn out in haste to repel the attack of this supposed band of tulisanes, arming themselves with any sort of weapon, and getting the women and children out of harm’s way by sending them off—and probably an urgent despatch would be forwarded by the gobernadorcillo of the village to the governor of the province, if he lived within some few miles of him, requesting assistance—or detailing the flight of the robbers, who, on seeing the determination and force of the villagers prepared to defend their hearths, had not ventured to attempt landing, but had sailed away without having been able to do any damage to the pueblo.

These midnight bombardments were repeated so frequently as to lead the local authorities to make great efforts to put down the daring troop of robbers who bearded them at their very doors at the town of Santa Cruz, near which the Governor lives, and kept the country people, who had begun to talk about them, in a state of constant alarm.

Notwithstanding all their efforts to discover the hiding-place of the band, nothing could be found out about them, no one ever imagining that the party of gentlemen in the chatta could be at all mixed up with them—in fact, the well-intentioned alcalde of the province, hearing that such a party was visiting the lake, sent off a ministro to give them information about the desperate band of tulisanes who were lurking in the neighbourhood, and advised them to be upon their guard against an attack; for which attention they of course thanked him, and assured the envoy that it was for that reason only they had provided themselves with the two formidable looking pieces of ordnance which he saw in the boat.

They were not found out to have been representing the parts of the supposed tulisanes, till, on their return to Manilla, where people had heard of the disturbances in the province of the Laguna by these robbers, and were talking about it, the story somehow got wind, and, when it was known who had caused so much trouble, of course there was a general laugh at the local authorities.

Lucky enough it was, however, that the affair rested there, as all of the party might have suffered severely for their amusement and fondness for carronading. It only caused the government to increase their strictness in giving passports to the country, which now were only conceded on the pleas of urgent business, or of ill health when that was backed by a medical certificate; the alcalde also became more strict in seeing that all travellers through the province were provided with these documents.

CHAPTER XVII.

In the course of these excursions to the country, the native Indians, with a stray half-breed, generally of the China Mestizo race, are nearly the only people met with, as few Europeans are settled in the provinces, except in the provincial capitals, or near the alcalde, whose dependents they generally are. Should a stranger be able to speak to the natives in their own language, he has a much better opportunity of becoming acquainted with their character, habits, and feelings, than if he is merely able to speak Spanish, a language which only a very small proportion of them understand in the country, although most of those in the neighbourhood of Manilla can speak it after a fashion. For although the law makes it requisite for the Capitan of every pueblo to be able to speak as well as to read and write Spanish, yet this is not always the case, as I have frequently met with these officials, more especially in out-of-the-way places, who did not understand it.

Nearly the whole, certainly above three-fourths of the population, make use of the Tagala or Tagaloc language, which, so far as I am aware, is quite peculiar to these islands, having little or no similarity to Malayee, so that it does not appear to have been derived from a Malay root, although some few Malay words have been engrafted on it, probably from the circumstance of that language being made use of in the province of Bisayas, which is the only place in the islands where it is spoken.

In Pampanga province, the natives speak a distinct language, differing entirely from Tagaloc, quite as much as Welsh does from English, although many of the Pampangans, on growing up, find it useful to know how to speak the Tagaloc, which most of them understand a little of.

The Negritos, who are found in some parts of the islands, are a peculiar race, with features exactly resembling the African negro, although in general smaller made men, but formed with all the characteristics of the African. They also use a distinct language, and have very little intercourse with either of the other races—many tribes of them living, even up to this day, independent of, and unsubdued by, the Spaniards, whose active missionaries have however of late years been making every effort to reduce them to allegiance to the government of Manilla, as well as to the religion of the cross.

These good men have penetrated, where soldiers dare not enter with arms in their hands, and in their case, truly, the sword has given place to the gown, with good effects to all concerned in the reduction of these wild Indians to the Roman Catholic faith, and the arts of civilized life; for many hundreds of them, nay, I believe thousands, are now peaceful cultivators of the soil, which, these good fathers have taught them how to till, instead of living, as they formerly did, at warfare with mankind, and solely on the produce of the chase.

How these differences of race and language have arisen, it is probably impossible now to discover, at least I have never heard any one of the many theories on the subject, for they are nothing more than speculations, which could sustain all the requirements necessary to account for their existence in their present state.

In the character of the native Indians there are very many good points, although they have long had a bad name, from their characters and descriptions coming from the Spanish mouths, who are too indolent to investigate it beyond their households, or at the most beyond their city walls; as very few, indeed, of all the Spaniards I met with have ever been in the country any distance from Manilla, except those whose duty it has been to proceed to a distance, as an alcalde of the province, or as an officer of the troops scattered through the islands,—very many of whom remain at home in the residency or in their quarters, smoking or drinking chocolate, and bewailing their hard fates, which have condemned them to live so far away from Manilla, from the theatre, and from society. They come and go without knowing, or caring to know, anything about the people around them, except when a feast-day comes, when they are always ready enough to visit their houses, dance with the beauties, and consume their suppers.

The most noticeable traits in the Philippine Indians appear to be their hospitality, good-nature, and bonhommie which very many of them have. Their tempers are quick; but, like all of that sort, after effervescing, soon subside into quiet again.

Very frequently have I been invited to enter their houses in the country, when loitering about during the heat of the sun, under the protection of an immense and thick sombrero which prevented me suffering much from the exposure; and on going into one of them, after the host or hostess had accommodated me with a seat on the banco of bamboo, a cigarillo, or the buyo, which is universally chewed by them, and composed of the betel nut and lime spread over an envelope of leaf, such as nearly all Asiatics use, has been offered by the handsome, though swarthy, hands of the hostess or of a grown-up daughter: or, if their rice was cooking at the time, often have I been invited to share it, and have sometimes so made a most excellent and hearty meal, using the natural aid of the fingers in place of a spoon, or other of the customary aids for eating. After eating they always wash their hands and mouths, so cleanly are their habits.

So long as any white man behaves properly towards them, and treats them as human beings should be treated, their character will evince many good points; but should they be beaten or abused without a cause, or for something that they do not understand, as they but too frequently are when composing the crews of ships, the masters of which are seldom able to speak to them in their own language or in Spanish: who can blame them if the knife is drawn from its sheath, and their own arm avenges the maltreatment of some brutal shipmaster or his mates for the wrong they have suffered at their hands? In all I have seen or had to do with them they have never appeared as aggressors, and it has only been when the white men, despising their dark skins, have ventured on unjustifiable conduct, that I have heard of their hands being raised to revenge it.

When they know that they are in the wrong, however, should the harshest measures be used towards them, I have never known or heard of their having had recourse to the knife, and I have frequently seen them suffer very severe bodily chastisement for very slight causes of offence.

They are easily kept in order by gentleness, but have spirit enough to resent ill-treatment if undeserved. Not long ago an instance of the kind happened to a person who has the character of being a violent and irascible man. He one day fell into a passion about something or other, and fastened his ill-nature and passion on an inoffensive servant who chanced to be near him at the time, and ended some abuse by ordering the man to go into a room, where he followed him, and after locking the door and putting the key into his pocket, took up a riding switch and began to flog the servant, who bore it for a while, until, losing his temper completely, he seized his master by the throat, and, taking the whip from him, administered with it quite as much castigation as he had himself received.

Their general character is that of a good-natured and merry people, strongly disposed to enjoy the present, and caring little for the future.

So far as regards personal strength and mental activity or power, they are much superior to any of the Javanese or Malays I have seen in Java, or at Batavia and Singapore. But, to our modes of thinking, the greatest defect in their character is their indolence and dislike to any bodily exertion, which are the effects of the sun under which they live; but their native maxims and their habits, although we may disapprove of them now-a-days, when everything goes by steam, might be dignified by a great poet’s verse into the truest and best philosophy; for does he not sing,—

Otium bello furiosa Thrace,

Otium Medi pharetra decori

Grosphe, non gemmis, neque purpura venale, nec auro.

Vivitur parvo bene, cui paternum