Market. The country around 

 Manilla. 



MANILLA. 



Campo Santo or cemetery. 

 Government of the Philippines. 



323 



cases no sleeves, and over this a richly embroidered 

 cape. The feet are covered with slippers, with 

 wooden soles, which are kept on by the little toe, 

 only four toes entering the slipper, and the little one 

 being on the outside. The effect of both costumes 

 is picturesque. 



The market is a never-failing place of amuse- 

 ment to a foreigner, for there a crowd of the com- 

 mon people is always to be seen, and their mode of 

 conducting business may be observed. The canals 

 here afford great facilities for bringing vegetables 

 and produce to market in a fresh state. The vege- 

 tables are chiefly brought from the shores of the 

 Laguna de Bay, through the river Pasig. The meat 

 appeared inferior, and as in all Spanish places the 

 art of butchering is not understood. The poultry, 

 however, surpasses that of any other place I have 

 seen, particularly in ducks, the breeding of which 

 is pursued to a great extent. Establishments for 

 breeding these birds are here carried on in a sys- 

 tematic manner, and are a great curiosity. They 

 consist of many small enclosures, each about twenty 

 feet by forty or fifty, made of bamboo, which are 

 placed on the bank of the river, and partly covered 

 with water. In one corner of the enclosure is a 

 small house, where the eggs are hatched by artifi- 

 cial heat, produced by rice-chaff in a state of fer- 

 mentation. It is not uncommon to see six or eight 

 hundred ducklings all of the same age. There are 

 several hundreds of these enclosures, and the num- 

 ber of ducks of all ages may be computed at mil- 

 lions. The manner in which they are schooled to 

 take exercise, and to go in and out of the water, 

 and to return to their house, almost exceeds belief. 

 The keepers or tenders are of the Tagala tribe, who 

 live near the enclosures, and have them at all times 

 under their eye. The old. birds are not suffered 

 to approach the young, and all of one age are kept 

 together. They are fed upon rice and a small 

 species of shell-fish that is found in the river, and 

 is peculiar to it. From the extent of these esta- 

 blishments we inferred that ducks were the favourite 

 article of food at Manilla, and the consumption of 

 them must be immense. The markets are well sup- 

 plied with chickens, pigeons, young partridges, 

 which are brought in alive, and turkeys. Among 

 strange articles that we saw for sale, were cakes of 

 coagulated blood. The markets are well stocked 

 with a variety of fish, taken both in the Laguna and 

 bay of Manilla, affording a supply of both the fresh 

 and salt-water species, and many smaller kinds 

 that are dried and smoked. Vegetables are in great 

 plenty, and consist of pumpkins, lettuce, onions, 

 radishes, very long squashes, &c.; of fruits, they 

 have melons, chicos, durians, marbolas, and 

 oranges. 



The country around Manilla, though no more 

 than an extended plain for some miles, is one of 

 great interest and beauty, and affords many agree- 

 able rides on the roads to Santa Anna and Mara- 

 quino. Most of the country-seats are situated on 

 the river Pasig; they may indeed be called palaces, 

 from their extent and appearance. They are built 

 upon a grand scale, and after the Italian style, 

 with terraces, supported by strong abutments, 

 decked with vases of plants. The grounds are or- 

 namented with the luxuriant, lofty, and graceful 

 trees of the tropics; these are tolerably well kept. 

 Here and there fine large stone churches, with 

 their towers and steeples, are to be seen, the whole 



giving the impression of a wealthy nobility, and a 

 happy and flourishing peasantry. 



In one of our rides we made a visit to the Campo 

 Santo or cemetery, about four miles from Manilla. 

 It is small, but has many handsome trees about it; 

 among them was an agati, full of large white 

 flowers, showing most conspicuously. The whole 

 place is as unlike a depository of the dead as it well 

 can be. Its form is circular, having a small chapel, 

 in the form of a rotunda, directly opposite the gate, 

 or entrance. The walls are about twenty feet high, 

 with three tiers of niches, in which the bodies are 

 enclosed with quicklime. Here they are allowed to 

 remain for three years, or until such time as the 

 niches may be required for further use. Niches 

 may be purchased, however, and permanently 

 closed up; but in the whole cemetery there were 

 but five thus secured. This would seem to indi- 

 cate an indifference on the part of the living, for 

 their departed relatives or friends; at least such 

 was my impression at the time. The centre of the 

 enclosure is laid out as a flower-garden and shrub- 

 bery, and all the buildings are washed a deep buff- 

 colour, with white cornices; these colours, when 

 contrasted with the green foliage, give an effect 

 that is not unpleasing. In the chapel are two 

 tombs, the one for the bishop, and the other for the 

 governor. The former, I believe, is occupied, and 

 will continue to be so, until another shall follow him ; 

 but the latter is empty, for since the erection of the 

 cemetery, none of the governors have died. In 

 the rear of the chapel is another small cemetery, 

 called Los Angelos; and, further behind, theOsero. 

 The former is similar to the one in front, but 

 smaller, and appropriated exclusively to children ; 

 the latter is an open space, where the bones of all 

 those who have been removed from the niches, 

 after three years, are cast out, and now lie in a con- 

 fused heap, with portions of flesh and hair adhering 

 to them. No person is allowed to be received here 

 for interment, until the fees are first paid to the 

 priest, however respectable the parties may be; 

 and all those who pay the fees, and are of the true 

 faith, can be interred. I was told of a corpse of a 

 very respectable person being refused admittance, 

 for the want of the priest's pass, to show that the 

 claim had been satisfied, and the coffin stopped in 

 the road until it was obtained. We ourselves wit- 

 nessed a similar refusal. A servant entered with 

 a dead child, borne on a tray, which he presented 

 to the sacristan to have interred ; the latter asked 

 him for the pass, which not being produced, he was 

 dismissed, nor was he suffered to leave his burden 

 until this requisite could be procured from the 

 priest, who lived opposite. The price of interment 

 was three dollars, but whether this included the 

 purchase of the niche, or its rent for three years 

 only, I did not learn. 



The government of the Philippines is in the 

 hands of a governor-general, who has the titles of 

 viceroy, commander-in-chief, sub-delegate, judge 

 of the revenue from the post-office, commander of 

 the troops, captain-general, and commander of the 

 naval forces. His duties embrace every thing that 

 relates to the security and defence of the country. 

 As advisers, he has a council called the Audiencia. 



The islands are divided into provinces, each of 

 which has a military officer with the title of gover- 

 nor, appointed by the governor-general. They act 

 as chief magistrates, have jurisdiction over all dis- 



Y2 



