THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 67 



was aftenvai'ds rebuilt and consecrated in 3 879. There 

 is a small nmseuni and a pulilic library, which are not too 

 crowded. The Manilan prefers the promenade in the 

 Paseo de la Liineta, whither he drives at top speed in his 

 calesa when business is over for the day. Here the whole 

 world of the city, from the cigarcra to the wife of the 

 Governor, meets to chat and listen to the band, of which 

 Manilans are justly proud. IMusic of some sort — good, 

 l)ad, or indifferent — the Filipirio must have. Other amuse- 

 ments are scanty enough. There is a European theatre, 

 and two or three others where the performances are in 

 Tagalog, but the evenings are chiefly devoted to tertulias, 

 or " At Homes," of wdiich, as is not infrequently the case 

 in other countries, it may be said that they are more 

 numerous than amusing. 



The population of the old town in 1879 was 17,950, 

 and that of the immediate suburbs 116,070, making a 

 total of 134,620, but it appears that there has been some 

 decrease of late years, since the official returns of 1891 

 give the number of inhabitants of the town and subuiljs as 

 107,171. There is apparently no agreement, however, 

 as to wdiat should be described as IManila. The outlying 



iiig, after a day of tremendous lieat, while all Manila was busy in its prepara- 

 tions for the festival of Corpus Christi, the ground suddenly rocked to and 

 fro with great violence. The firmest buildings reeled visibly, walls 

 crumbled, and beams snapped in two. The dreadful shock lasted half a 

 minute ; but this little interval was enough to change the whole town 

 into a mass of ruins, and to bury alive hundreds of its inhabitants. Tlie 

 cathedral, the government house, the barracks, and all the public build- 

 ings of ^lanila, were entirely destroyed, and the few jirivate houses which 

 remained standing were seriously damaged. Subsequent examination 

 showed that 46 public and 570 private Iniildings were thrown down, 2S 

 public and 528 private buildings were nearly destroyed, while all left 

 standing were more or less injured. Four hundred persons were killed, 

 and two thousand injured, and the loss of property was estimated at eight 

 millions of dollars." 



