FROM GUAHON TO ST. HELENA. ^(j'J 



house built by government, in which all the cocks 

 are permitted to fight, but only on Sundays and 

 holidays ; the spectators pay a real for admittance, 

 but the owners of the cocks are obliged to pay 

 four reals, and the king receives the profits. The 

 stage, on which nobody is allowed to come, is sur- 

 rounded by two rows of boxes. When the contest 

 is to begin, the sum betted for is deposited ; each 

 owner now puts his cock, which is furnished at 

 both feet with knives two inches long, upon the 

 stage, and the contest is often decided by the first, 

 but more frequently by the third or fourth, onset. 

 The vanquished cock is most cruelly treated by 

 his master ; for, to punish him, he immediately 

 plucks out all his feathers. Great sums are lost, 

 for the spectators sometimes lay wagers ; and even 

 if one of them were to lose the last piece of rai- 

 ment on his body, he quits the theatre as cheer- 

 fully as he entered it. 



The 12th of January, 1818. I rode to Manilla, 

 in order to inspect the provisions intended for us, 

 and resided at Dr. Amador^s, who had been re- 

 commended to me by the Governor of the Mari- 

 anes. The following day I visited the Archbishop 

 of Manilla, Don Juan Antonio de Zulaybar, and 

 gave the old man much pleasure, as he had never 

 seen a Russian, and yet, as he said, esteemed the 

 nation very much. At dinner the Governor told 

 me the following circumstance, which is said often 

 to happen here : sometimes horses run about at 



