Recollections of Manilla and the Philippines | Page 8

displaced
by it, and coming down, as thick and heavy walls would most certainly
do.
However, on the occurrence of an earthquake, it is usual to run down
stairs, and have the protection of the thick lower walls against any
accident, such as that of the roof giving way. As the house I lived in
while there may be taken as a specimen of many others, I shall describe
it. After entering the gateway, the door of which is always very stout
and heavy, and under the constant protection of a porter, for security's
sake, you reach a flight of steps leading to the habitable part of the
house, and enter a gallery running from the top of the staircase, and a
suite of rooms facing the street, to the gala or drawing-room at the
other end of the house, and a suite of rooms facing the river. The entire
length of the gallery is about a hundred feet, by twenty broad, and it
looks into the open court-yard forming the centre of the building, on
one side. There are several large and spacious bedrooms on the other
side, the windows of which are lighted from a narrow street running to
the river. Facing the gallery, and on the other side of the house, across
the central court-yard, that entire side of the building is appropriated by
the servants for cooking and sleeping-places.
The beams supporting the upper or habitable floor extend four or five
feet beyond the outer wall, towards the street, forming a sort of
verandah, or corridor, as it is called in Spanish as well as in English,
round the entire building, affording a considerable protection against
the sun's rays. The outer side of this corridor is composed of coarse and

dark-coloured mother-of-pearl shell of little value, set in a wooden
framework of small squares, forming windows which move on slides.
Although the light admitted through this sort of window is much
inferior to what glass would give, it has the advantage of being strong,
and is not very liable to be damaged by the severe weather to which it
is occasionally exposed during some months of the year.
There are few buildings distinguishable for architectural beauty, and
those few are for the most part churches. The governor's house, or the
palace, is a large and spacious building within the walls, and forms one
side of the Playa, the other three being formed by the cathedral, the
Cabildo, and some private houses, whose irregular height detracts
considerably from the appearance of the square. In the centre of the
square stands a statue of I forget what King of Spain, well executed in
bronze.
It is usual for a military band to perform before the palace on Sunday
and feast-day evenings, and on these occasions many carriages go there
from the drive, about eight o'clock, to enjoy the music, and give people
a good opportunity for either gossip or love-making, as their tastes or
the moonlight may incline them.
The native Indians appear to have a good ear for music, and execute
many of the finest operas with spirit and taste; and the amateur
musicians in particular, who train the casino band, have brought the
native performers to a very high degree of perfection in most of the
pieces performed by them. A good deal more attention, however,
appears to be paid to training these military bands, than in perfecting
the troops themselves in their evolutions.
Religious processions are as frequently passing through the streets, as
they are in all the Roman Catholic countries of Europe, but the features
of all are very nearly identical, and so need not be particularly
described.
When one of these processions takes place during the day, an awning is
spread along the streets it will pass through, to protect the bareheaded
promenaders from the sun, the canvass being attached to the house

roofs along the streets; making them incredibly hot to pass along, so
long as it remains there.
A good deal of display in silver and gold ornaments may be seen in
some of the churches, the collections of many successive years, as
every incumbent shows his piety and zeal by adding something to them
during the time he holds the cure.
The jewels in some of the dresses of the figures, especially those of the
Virgin, are valued at, or amount to, a considerable sum of money, and I
have heard twenty thousand dollars mentioned as the value of those
belonging to one church in Manilla.
The houses of the Indian and Mestizo population are for the most part
in the outskirts of the business part of the town, those of the richer sort
being built of stone, and those of the poorest class being composed of
nipa, or attap. Among houses