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 toimitate, 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 itknow 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 governmentempleadosresiding 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 themoraleof 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 shouldthe 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 attractionto 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 oftulisanes, 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 thepurpose, 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 theUniversity 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 Spanishpadresare 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 Mestizopadreis found openly living in theconventoor 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 immensecrowd 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 thespiritual 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 lovelycoup d’œilis 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 ripeand 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 someplaces 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 afraidto 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 andstrength, 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 hasbecomequite 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 happeningto 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 treatmentwould 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 excursionturned 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 somesavoir 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, notwithstandingall 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 onterra firma, as many of thenipaor 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 theflora 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, whichmost 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 thegourmandor 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 isa 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 thehospitality 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 apowerful 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 thevieux 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 youngfellow, 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 warmlyinvited 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 societyofhis 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 asudden 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 receivedby 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 engagedin 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 offeredme 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 thebad 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 merelywounded 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 couldnot, 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 highad valoremvaluation 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 longbeen 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 medicalattendant, 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 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 toimitate, 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 itknow 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 governmentempleadosresiding 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 themoraleof 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 shouldthe 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 attractionto 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 oftulisanes, 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 thepurpose, 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.
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 toimitate, 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 itknow 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 governmentempleadosresiding 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 themoraleof 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 shouldthe 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 attractionto 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 oftulisanes, 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 thepurpose, 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 theUniversity 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 Spanishpadresare 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 Mestizopadreis found openly living in theconventoor 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 immensecrowd 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 thespiritual 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!
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 theUniversity 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 Spanishpadresare 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 Mestizopadreis found openly living in theconventoor 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 immensecrowd 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 thespiritual 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 lovelycoup d’œilis 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 ripeand 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 someplaces 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 afraidto 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 andstrength, 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 hasbecomequite 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 happeningto 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 treatmentwould 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.
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 lovelycoup d’œilis 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 ripeand 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 someplaces 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 afraidto 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 andstrength, 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 hasbecomequite 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 happeningto 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 treatmentwould 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 excursionturned 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 somesavoir 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, notwithstandingall 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 onterra firma, as many of thenipaor 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 theflora 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, whichmost 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 thegourmandor 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 isa 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 thehospitality 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 apowerful 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 thevieux 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 youngfellow, 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.
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 excursionturned 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 somesavoir 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, notwithstandingall 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 onterra firma, as many of thenipaor 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 theflora 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, whichmost 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 thegourmandor 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 isa 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 thehospitality 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 apowerful 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 thevieux 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 youngfellow, 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 warmlyinvited 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 societyofhis 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 asudden 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 receivedby 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 engagedin 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 offeredme 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 thebad 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 merelywounded 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 couldnot, 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 highad valoremvaluation 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 longbeen 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 medicalattendant, 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.
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 warmlyinvited 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 societyofhis 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 asudden 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 receivedby 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 engagedin 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 offeredme 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 thebad 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 merelywounded 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 couldnot, 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 highad valoremvaluation 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 longbeen 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 medicalattendant, 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.