The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-09-07
Life In Manila.

century. MI. mml0 says;
"Our firm had a mess-house in which
the partners lived, and which was open
to ell their American and English en-
ployees. Should the latter prefer to live
elsewhere, one thousand dollars q year
was allowed as the equivalent. lived
at the mess, finding it much the more
comfortable. Indeed, 1t would have
been hard to be dissatisfied with our
way OF living; and as it will show the
style in which the great American
houses in the East are Conducted
think it worth telling with some detail.
The mess was a fine house, handsomely
furnished, in one of the pleasantest
parts of the city. The table was sup
piled by a Chinese cook. He was allow
ed five hundred dollars a month, and
given certain of the heavier groceries,
such as flour, rice, etc. He paid his
undercooks; and was responsible Nor
meals at the mess, and for breakfast
Qike the French dejeuner a la four
chette) and afternoon tea, which were
taken at the Office by all the employees,
except OF Sundays and festas. Then
there was a majordomo, who had con-
troll of all the servants and had charge
of the house. There was also an extra
house-servant, and a Chinese porter,
who opened and shut the great house
doors, filled the baths, pulled the pun
ka, n watered the street in the dry
season. Then every one had a person.
al servant, who took care Of his room,
attended to his clothes, waited on him
at table, prepared his early breakfast
(about seven A.. M and so on. Every
body also owned a horse or horses,
which involved n more servant at
least. Being a junior, l contented my
self with one pony and a two-wheeled
trap something like a dog cart. The
others drove victorias and pairs. Three
of our mess owned racing ponies,
which Injured to my benefit, as it gave
me as much riding as l wished. After
the bath and an early breakfast came
the drive to the office, between eight
and eight-thirty; then work till twelve
fifteen, at which hour breakfast was
served at the office; then work again
till %ive-thirty, interrupted between
three and four by afternoon tea; than
to the bungalow to dress, to drive, and
back to dinner at seven-thirty.
To q lover of music Manila is a
charming place. The natives have
wonderful musical talent, and there
were numerous bands. Those OF the
three regiments then stationed there
were remarkably good; and four after
moons each week they played in turn
on the "Luneta" a sort of plaza on the
shores Of the bay just outside the old
walls. l recall wildly the open-air
concerts, by three hundred instruments
given in honor of Prince Oscar of
Sweden. The glorious full moon of the
tropics, far brighter than in more north
ern lands, shining on the quiet waters
of the bay, the innumerable lights, the
brilliantly dressed crowd, and the
thrilling music of the mighty bands,
softened in volume on the great plain
combined to make it an occasion to be
remembered. The "Battle of Castle
jos" which they played, was inspiring
and the effect was heightened by the
repetition of the trumpet-calls by
soldiers who were stationed at inter-
walls far off upon the plains, while the
guns IN the city walls added a touch of
reality.
During the height of the rainy sea-
son, from about the middle of June to
the middle of September, all out door
pursuits are suspended. The violence
of the downpour is hardly to be imagin-
ed by jewellers in higher ATTITUDES.
The streets in Manila, and some of the
roads for a few miles outside, are fair
ly good during the dry season, but
quickly become nearly impossible
when the rains set in. As l have al
ways mentioned Manila is intersected
in all directions by creeks, which are
traversed by hundreds of canoes
These canoes are dugouts, often of
great size, and the natives are experts
in handling them. They are indispens-
able in times when vast floods come
down from the great lake, about thirty
miles from Manila, of which the river
and Pasig is the outlet. One storm
will sometimes raise the river and
overflow the city. After a few hours
rain I have gone direct from our steps
into a banca (canoe) and then padded
through the streets to the office.
THE HORSES OF MANILA.
Among the first things to impress a
stranger are the horses. Descend
ed from horses brought from Mexico,
they have become much smaller, while
they are also much more shapely. In
fact, Ihavel never seen a better looking
breed. There is nothing of the pony
about their shape, though in size they
range between forty-eight and ifty-two
inches. AT first it looked absurd to see
them ridden by big men whose stirrups
hung down to the horses knees; but l
soon found out that they easily carried
a rider weighing two hundred pounds.
The foreigners have a jockey club,
which holds two meetings a year at the
beautiful turf track at Santa Mesa. To
avoid sharp practice, members of the
club only are eligible to ride. This
necessitates a scale of weights at n
hundred and thirty-two pounds and
rising to one-hundred and fifty-four
pounds. 1t demonstrates the speed
and strength of these miniature horses
that a mile has been run in two minutes
and ten seconds by a pony carrying
one hundred and fifty pounds. Only
stations are used. Mares cannot even
be brought into the city. Nobody
walks; everybody rides; and on any
special fiesta, thousands of carriages