The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-19
HoMEWARD BOUND FROM MANILA.
Last Glimpses OF the Town rs the Ship
Turns Her Bow Northward.

"
Last Glimps of the Town ms tho Ship
Turns Her Bow Northward.
STEAMSHIP YuEN SUNG. Dec. 2S.-Toil. tu-
multi. hustle and then delay marked the begin
ming Of the American occupation OF Manila.
There was a wild rush to catch the transports,
a tremendous straining OF nerves to get them
loaded. a wonderful march through the streets
OF San Francisco when the first troops went
aboard. and then the transports lay in the
river nearly a day waiting for somebody else
to move. Lying in a long chair on the hurri-
cane deck OF the Yuen Sung night before last
and watching the lights of Manila and Cavite
fade out into the moonlit distance. all that
riot Of beginning came back to mind
wildly again in the marked similarity Of
the performances attendant upon leaving
Manila and starting home. Always. in Manila.
home seemed not only very. very far away.
but also up a very. very steep hill, extremely
difficult to climb. 1t needed a lot OF packing up
and arranging. All kinds of tent eratures are
to be met on the journey. and ones blood,
thinned out by the tropic living. will need con-
siderable comforting In the way OF warm cloth
ing. Packing with reference to all the consid-
~erations OF the forty days journey can hardly
be done in a short time. but If there is only a
short time in which to do 1t. why then 1t must
be done. If it takes all night. and 30 it did.
III blOu6i nv uEIullllR pIODlpI0 OF
transporting all the boxes. bags. bundles. and
trunks to the steamer. anchored in the deep"
as the Spaniards say. distinguishing from ships
In the Pasig. 1t was a case OF caution, and
symphony of the Angels" the No. . boy was
sent to look for the bullcart. "Symphony"is
a good boy with a long upper lip and a large
mouth full OF white teeth. His name, as he wrote
1t down so that he should not be called out OF
tin his recommendation. is Sinforoso de los
Angeles. Looking at him one recalls the twelfth
century angels on the walls OF the Cologne
gallery, and wonders II connecting links
have not been misplaced. Those twelfth CEN
fury angels remind one OF the big giraffe
with asthmatlc laugh, and legs all out OF joint"
So does Sinforoso. He Is a rectangular sort Of
angel. When he walks his joints move for
ward first and the rest OF him follows aft err In
jerks. 1t suggests the motion OF a broken
cornstalk wabbling in the wind. But he is
sure, and we knew Of a certainty that ~ we
sent him for that bull-cart at 7 In the morning
he would keep after It all day. II necessary.
That was because when we sent him to look
for a guiles one night and he came back
and reported mo hay" we sent him to
stand on the corner until some should hay"
We called him Symphony. because that was
what he was. When he fitted the floor cloths
on his big splay feet at $40 every morning
and began to scrub up the front room floor it
was n perfect symphony. He danced. he
hoped, he skipped. he glided. he slid over the
polished hardwood until 1t glistened with mir
ror surface. He did jigs In the corners. plrou-
cited In the open. and wigeled his toes under
the big chairs. All the time his body was erect
and n seraphlc grin exposed his teeth no
betel nut had ever denled.
At the end Of the morning Sinforoso brought
the bull cart. The carttonero loaded on two
truDka "a hnakaf and n III ~ or hot 90 H.
whore he should go. The answer grieved him.
Thon he unloaded the hat and the basket, sur
veyed the pile OF duffie In the yard and remarked
" no puede." The entire flock OF boys OF the
house flew at his head at once. As a precau-
tionary measure In the matter OF insuring their
loyalty. not one OF them had been paid for
his months work. and they were keen In their
service on the last day. Such n deal OF mixed
Tngalog and Spanish arose that the yard was
filled with it, but it had its effect. for very soon
the boxes and bundlos began to go aboard the
cart. and In a short time. as such things go in
Manila. the cart was disappearing down the
Luneta road toward the mole.
UThere were a thousand things to door fewer
and men to see. and the last launch left at
2:3O sharp. There was no time for thin; IL
was dash at top speed to place after place.
Headquarters could not be cut short. 40 most
OF the others were dropped out completely.
E"on friends were missed entirely, and Just at
the last momentthe launch was caught. Away |
we went down the muddy Pasig for the last
time. The sun shone brightly on the pic
turcsque old wall. Fort Santiago stood out in
the afternoon sun. It's gray. musty old wall
beautiied by patches OF brilliant green. Over
1t flew the bright new flag with which the
Twenty-Five Infantry had replaced the one
Lieut.. Brumby hoisted on Aug 10. That flag
had gone to add TO the innumerable trophies
collected by the Oregon looters on that mem
orable day.
Atlastthe launch was alongside the steamer.
Our luggage was aboard. everything was
ready and the Stars and Stripes flew from the
foretruck as a "homeward bound" But we
did not go. We were waiting for the shipping
cleTk-the one who had told us that the last
launch would leave at $50 sharp. We sat on
the hurricane deck and watched the sun drift