The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-12-28

less one is willing to be rudelys awak- ened from the pleasing impression of the first sight from the railroad he had better no draw closer. The apse is used as a pig pen and he sanitary in- spector has not had time to call lately The nave is still used as a church, but is in 8 woefully dirty and neglected condition.
 The church at Malabon presents an imposing appearance from the front, the great Grecian pillars of the facade being we'll executed. The church back of this modern front is in absurd re" lation to the modern part, however. The interior is most interesting. From the door to the altar is quite 200 feet and the total width is 80 feet. The great nave is beautiful in it's massive proportions and simple design. The l convent and east aisle were burned in | insurgent days, out of hatred, it Is said for the Spanish friar, who was very unpopular. To this day-none but a Fiji 1 ipno priest dares enter the church. While the old stairway stands, the gallery is out of repair. The bare convent walls extend along the church 1 as if they would not destert their tenn 1 pie in its day of diversity and decay. | Along the river from Malabon, in the barrie of Navotas, stands an interest | ing relic of the days when the frier ruled the land. A retreat was main tained in fine two-story stone build- l ing facing the bay and commanding one of the finest views in the country. A broad stone quay still skirts the bay, and here the resting padres took their evening smoke and view the western 1 glories. The walls still stand intact, and so strong are they that they might serve for new building with little re- pair.
 The church at San Pedre Macati is a familiar mark to any one who has dri- ven to Fort William Mckinley. The tower stands apart from the church 1 and contains the bells. The church and ruins of the convent are grouped on a low hill and in front of the church
 door is the old burying ground. In | the rear is a garden where vegetables are raised and an impromptu road
 meanders down to the village by the
 river. The walls of the old convent l are fine examples of the construction of those who biult to last, and the
 arches are in good condition.
 l It any one word could describe the
 present atmosphere of the place it would be some synonym of peace. Some elegy might well be written in 1 this country churchyard and under the
 shadow of this silent sentinel tower.
 But there are men in Manila to-day
 who think of very different things l when they remember the church at San
 Pedro Macati. Then the place was fill- l ed with insurgents and the sloping hin
 was the death couch of American sol- tliers who fought that peace might pre-
 vail. San Pedro Macati has her recod 1 of blood and if her cloistered arches 1 are roofless to-day there is reason, for here was the scene of some Of the most
 persistent and determined attacks of the entire war of the insurrection, the ene- my concentrating their strongest forces
 at this point.
 The queen of all the ruins and the capital of all the broken cities of the
 past is the old monastery of Guadalupe
 Situated on hill above the river, the site commands @ wide view in all direc-
 tions, and is thoroughly typical of the retreats chosen by the builders of the famous European monasteries. If the visitor is world-weary and seks lodge in some quiet wilderness he can find it
 at Guadalupe.
 Many and varied have been the for tunes of the historic spot In 1901, BOA years ago, the foundations were laid under the direction of Fr. Antonio Her rera, son of the Spanish architect of
 the famous Escurial. The church and
 convent were of massive construction
 and so we'll built that the walls will
 stand as the great builder left them.
 They successfully withstood all the heavy earthquakes of three centuries
 and have lived through practically the
 whole of the known history of the Phili ppine Islands,
 Many years were occupied in finish ing the first walls, and they were sev- eral times afterWard extended, and some of the buttresses were greatly
 strengthened.
 These walls," said the missionary
 architect, shall stand for ages to
 come that the generations following
 may look on them and worship God"
 And old Antonio's words kept true
 till the bloody day of insurrection. What the fury of six earthquakes and
 the ravages of 300 years could not
 overthrow at last fell before the fierc