i9°5-] METZGER— THE FILIPINO. 27 



hundreds of others, unclaimed and forgotten, upon the so-called 

 bone-pile. Every necropolis has its bone-pile. It is an institution 

 of the church and like the potters-field is the final resting place for 

 many a departed being destitute of friends or kin. 



Sunday in the Philippines, as in all Spanish countries, is the 

 great theater day and all the large towns of the islands have their 

 various play-houses. The dramatic composition is always in the 

 native dialect and usually melo- dramatic in character. To the 

 European the plays are highly ludicrous and extremely tiresome, as 

 the several parts are not memorized by the actors but are repeated 

 after a prompter, who is seated in front of the stage and' not infre- 

 quently in full view of the audience. The plot is always some sup- 

 posed conflict of times past between the Mohammedans of the south 

 and the early Christians. There is much palavering with painful 

 attempts at oratory and brandishing of knives. Then comes the 

 bloody conflict, the wild beast of the forest puts in its appearance, 

 the ghost walks and the curtain is finally drawn amidst the loud 

 applause of the audience. These plays, like those of the Chinese, 

 not infrequently run for days before the climax is reached and the 

 plot unraveled. 



The matter of bathing practiced by this beople is worthy of men- 

 tion. Notwithstanding the filth of the average native's house and 

 the unsanitary surroundings these same people may be seen each 

 morning bathing in the waters of a nearby stream. If this is not 

 accessible they will find a pool in which to bathe, even should this 

 pool be nothing more or less than a composite of all manner of 

 filth. He must take his daily bath no matter in what or with what 

 and not infrequently this latter resolves itself into nothing more 

 than a bowl of water and a gourd for a dipper. His bath like his 

 siesta is, I believe, more a habit than a sanitary necessity in the 

 eyes of this people. Men and women bathe together and with little 

 or no respect for modesty. 



The Filipino, as a people, wash their linen as do the East 

 Indians by beating them with a pamalo upon the rocks. Needless 

 to say the clothing suffers no little in consequence of this treat- 

 ment. 



Being naturally prone to superstitious beliefs the early native 

 accepted all the fantastic tales of the early missionaries, and the 

 modified heathen rites adopted by the Church were received will- 



