EXCURSIONS ON SHORE AND UP THE PASIG
The Pasig flowed from east to west in the city; and landing on the north
side of the stream, the tourists soon came to the Escolto, which
extended both ways parallel to the river. It was the principal street
for shoppers and promenaders, and was exactly what they wished to find,
as they had informed Mr. Webb and Mr. Gollan, the two consuls who had
brought them there.
The avenue was filled at this hour with a motley variety of people of
all the races known in the islands, from the Tagal Indian up to the
native-born of Spain. Some of them were disposed to laugh at the
strangeness, not to say the absurdity, of some of the costumes which
confronted them; but all of them were too well bred to indulge their
mirth, or to stare offensively at the subjects of their suppressed
merriment. One young man excited their attention especially; and Louis
at the side of Miss Blanche, and the rest of the quartet of young
Americans, were also interested.
"He is one of the swells of the city," said Scott, looking industriously
at the clear blue sky.
"He looks like it," replied Louis, as he and his female companion each
gazed with one eye into a shop window while they fixed the other upon
the native, who was sporting a cane in fantastic twirls, and evidently
believing he was worth looking at.
The subject of their mirth, variously concealed, was what would be
called a colored man at home, though not a negro; but he was not many
removes in complexion from the original Negrito. He was toying with a
cigar, and wore a monocle and a "stovepipe" hat. His trousers were a
sort of plaid; and his upper works were covered with what looked like a
blouse, though it was really his shirt, with a linen bosom, secured with
studs. At the base of his figure was a pair of patent-leather shoes,
though he did not affect the luxury of stockings.
The party observed his magnificent movements till he was out of sight;
but their attention was immediately attracted by a feminine
water-carrier, who was standing on the opposite side of the street. On
her head was a good-sized earthen jar, which she poised on the summit of
her cranium without support from either hand, one of which she employed
in coquetting with a banana leaf instead of the national _abanico_, or
fan, of the Spanish ladies.
"That girl has a very fine form," said Dr. Hawkes, who was standing near
the boys. "She is not a Spanish maiden, but her complexion is quite as
fair as any of them."
"She has an abundant crop of dark hair, and she puts it to a good use;
for it is braided and rolled up so that it makes a cushion for the
water-jar," said Scott.
"She is much taller than the natives we have been in the habit of
seeing," added Louis.
By this time the entire party had halted, and, taking their cue from the
surgeon, were looking at the water-bearer. The girl had been observing
the strangers before any of them saw her; but as soon as she realized
that she was the object of their scrutiny, she smiled, and her pretty
face lighted up as though she did not object to being stared at. Her
under garment, with long sleeves, was all the covering she wore above
the belt; and below it her skirt of uneven length reached just below the
knees. She wore neither shoes nor stockings, and her feet looked as
though they had been "Trilbied."
"I suppose that man over there is carrying that rooster to market," said
Mrs. Belgrave, who was walking between the commander and Mr. Webb.
"Not at all, madam; that is a game-bird. The national amusements of
Spain are bull-fighting and cock-fighting," returned Mr. Webb. "I was in
Madrid one Sunday, and the programme for the day was a cock-fight at
one, a bull-fight at three, and the Italian opera at six; and I went to
all of them."
"On Sunday?" queried the lady.
"I was there to see the sights, and learn the customs of the people;
and a bull-fight could be seen only on Sunday, and the cock-fight was
patronized on that day by the high admiral of the navy. In Madrid, as in
other cities of Continental Europe, Sunday is not regarded as it is in
England and the United States; and their failure to observe it as we do
is not an evidence that they are irreligious. The next day was All
Saints' or All Souls' Day, I forget which; and every shop was closed.
The noise and confusion of Sunday and all ordinary days were silenced.
The churches were all open and well filled, and the people went to the
cemeteries to deposit flowers on the graves of their dead. In Stockholm,
which is a Protestant city, people went to church in the forenoon; but
at one o'clock the band struck up, and the rest of the day was given up
to frolicking."
"I prefer to live in Von Blonk Park," added Mrs. Belgrave, with a smile.
"But cock-fighting is vastly more prevalent here than in Spain, or any
other country I have visited. Wealthy people have their games, and all
the poor people also," continued the consul. "About every man who can
raise money enough to buy one owns a game-cock, and many take them with
them when they go out.
"Observe that man and woman approaching us; they are Spanish métis. Both
of them wear rather gay colors. On the other side of the street is a
pair of Chinese métis; and one couple is not much different from the
other, except, if you are an expert, you can see something of the high
cheek-bones of the Chinese. Both of the men wear stovepipe hats, which
seems to be the fashion among that class. Some of them are quite
wealthy."
"Do all these different grades fraternize, Mr. Webb?" asked the
commander.
"In business they do, but not socially. The pure Spaniards look down
upon all the native and half-caste people; and in turn all the other
classes do considerable looking down upon some other grades, till you
get to the Tagals, who are so unfortunate as to have no other class to
look down upon."
The tourists walked along this Broadway of the city till they were
tired, and then turned into a side street to observe some of the
dwelling-houses. The first thing that they noticed was that most of the
houses were covered on the roof with red tiles, as in Spain and in other
countries. They all had very small windows, with sliding sashes; and the
panes, of oyster-shells instead of glass, were smaller in proportion
than the windows. Most of them had a balcony of some sort, which was an
out-door sitting-room, used during leisure hours by the people.
The consuls then conducted the party to a stand for carriages, and
enough of them were engaged to accommodate all. They were taken for two
hours, with the proviso that the passengers were to be set down at the
landing by the bridge.
[Illustration: NATIVES PREPARING TOBACCO IN MANILA.
_Page 285._]
"You must pay in advance," said Mr. Webb. "That is the custom here.
The drivers were cheated so often in some former time, that it became
'no pay, no ride.' I bargained at five pesetas an hour for each
vehicle."
The captain, Mrs. Belgrave, and Mr. Webb occupied the first carriage;
and the consul directed the driver where to go.
"Five pesetas," said the lady when they were seated. "How much is that?"
"About one dollar. A peseta is the legal unit of the currency, and is of
the same value as the French franc and the Italian lira, or nineteen
cents, three mills of our money, as estimated by the director of the
United States Mint. The real is a quarter of a peseta, but the escudo of
ten reales has been suppressed. The Spanish dollar, the same as ours,
though not on a gold standard, is the usual medium of trade here."
The tourists were driven to the cathedral, the palaces of the governor
and the archbishop, and to several of the public squares; but they found
little occasion to describe them in their note-books, though they were
all worth looking at. They were taken through some of the streets
occupied by the poorer classes and to the great cigar factories. Then
they went a little way into one of these, where thousands of women of
all the lower grades of the city were employed, so that they obtained a
good idea of the establishment.
They were taken to the landing-place as agreed, and embarked
immediately in the Blanchita for the ship, where all were to lunch,
feeling that they had seen all of the city that they wished to visit.
The consuls went with them, but all were tired enough to rest during the
hour given them for the luncheon. At the expiration of the hour, the
commander remorselessly drove them on board of the steam-yacht for an
excursion up the Pasig to _Lago de Bahia_, which is Spanish for Lake of
the Bay.
Some of the party were tired; but the captain declared that they could
rest in the little steamer, and remain seated all the afternoon if they
chose. A skilful pilot for the river and lake had been obtained by Mr.
Gollan, who devoted himself especially to the pacha and the princess,
for they were the passengers of the English steamer, though he was very
kind and polite to all the company. Above the bridge the passengers
began to open their eyes, for they had explored the river below this
point.
The captain and Mrs. Belgrave (of course), with Miss Blanche, Mr. Webb,
and the "Big Four," were all in what had been called the fore cabin in
the Borneo cruises. It was as handsomely and comfortably fitted up as
the after cabin, with an awning overhead, and curtains at the side,
which were regulated by the relative positions of the boat to the sun.
Two of the English sailors, dressed in their white uniforms, were on
board to adjust these curtains, and do any other work required of them.
"There's a dead man on a raft!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, pointing ahead.
"The man is not so dead as he might be," replied the consul, laughing.
"But the raft is something worth looking at for you. The affair is
simply a native going to market with his cocoanuts. Ask the engineer to
whistle sharply," he added to one of the sailors; and it was done.
Suddenly the man on the raft sprang to his feet, and looked around him.
The launch was stopped to enable the party to see his craft.
"You can see that his boat is a lot of cocoanuts, a hundred or more,
strung together with lines. The raft easily floats the man, with the
current, down to the city, where he sells his fruit, and then walks
back, or rows in a passage-boat for his fare," Mr. Webb explained
forward, and Mr. Gollan aft.
Presently they came to a little village where half a dozen dark-colored
girls, with their long hair dragging in the water, were swimming in a
small bay at the side of the stream like so many nymphs. It was an
aquatic frolic, and the Naiads were enjoying themselves to their hearts'
content. By the riverside was a house on stilts, with an open door, from
which the tourists saw two girls dive into the stream, and swim away as
though the water were their natural element. They cut up all sorts of
capers, to the great amusement of the party; and then two of them swam
to the launch, and held out their hands. They received a couple of
pesetas each from the captain and the pacha. Then all the rest of them
followed their example, and were rewarded in like manner.
The Blanchita resumed her course up the river at her usual speed; and
the voyagers found enough to interest them, and enough in the
explanations of the consuls to instruct them. The boat rushed by the
barges and passage-boats as though they were at anchor. The villages and
the houses reminded them of those they had seen on the Menam in the
vicinity of Bangkok.
"Do you notice the horned cattle?" asked Mr. Webb. "They call them
buffaloes here."
"They are what we should call broad-horns at home," replied the captain.
"I never saw any such wide-spreading and long horns as I see here."
"I am told that you have a quartet of Nimrods in your company; and I am
sure they would find plenty of sport in the country beyond the lake,
where the wild buffalo is to be found in herds as on our Western
prairies formerly. But they are a dangerous beast to hunt; for they will
fight like tigers, and not a few hunters have been killed by them."
"We should like to try them; and with rifles good for nine shots, I
think we could take care of ourselves," replied Louis.
They found plenty of buffaloes on the shores of the river, but they were
as tame as doves. At one place on the bank they saw a naked boy of ten
fooling with one of them, jumping over him, and being dragged by his
tail. It was but a short trip to the lake for the Blanchita, and the
party sailed all around it. They were all delighted with the excursion;
and the launch was hurried down the river, and reached the Blanche,
where they were to dine at seven o'clock.