The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines Part 20

We were invited for dinner at half after seven, but it was an hour later before we sat down to the long table in the large and rather empty room, with its handsome Venetian mirrors at either end, and its sliding shutters wide open to the night. There were no ladies present except those of our party. We could never tell how things would be arranged,--sometimes there would be Filipina ladies, and sometimes there would not; sometimes the ladies would all be placed together at one side of the table, and again they would be seated next to the men. While waiting for dinner to be announced, we sat about in an airy room, with half-dressed servants peeping in at us, and a phonograph playing Caruso records.

[Ill.u.s.tration: VIEW IN ILOILO, ILOILO, SHOWING HIGH SCHOOL GROUNDS.]

After dinner we had a long drive out through the town, which seemed quite business-like and prosperous. They had rebuilt some of the fine, large, wide-open houses, most of which had been destroyed by the insurrectos. (On the nearby island of Negros, we were told, there were many fine _haciendas_ with great houses full of carved work which I was sorry not to see.) Pa.s.sing through suburbs of nipa houses standing up on their stilts in the moonlight, we came to a plaza gaily illuminated, and to our destination, a mansion approached by a triumphal arch. In the best houses the living rooms are on the second floor, just as in the poorer ones they are raised above the ground on stilts. So here we went upstairs to a great room hung with festoons of flags, where the little women in their bright and varied dresses pa.s.sing and repa.s.sing made a gay scene. It was here, indeed, that we saw some of the prettiest and best dressed women whom we met on our trip.

Most of the following day was spent cruising along the coast of Panay, pa.s.sing between its fine outlying islands, which reminded us of the Inland Sea of j.a.pan. In the afternoon we came to the entrance of the river on which Capiz is located. The Secretary crossed overland on the first train to run on the new railway, in order to drive in the silver spikes that completed the line.

No dinners had been planned there for those of us who had come by s.h.i.+p, so we did not start up river until half after eight. Capiz is only four miles from the mouth, but they were the longest miles we had ever experienced, for by some mistake the pilot did not arrive, so we went in a _Rizal_ launch without one. We just struggled along as well as we could in the dark till the moon came up, which only mystified us the more with its deceptive shadows. Half a dozen times we ran deep into mud banks, and the sailormen were forced to jump overboard and shove us off.

They did not appear to enjoy doing this, and no wonder, for it was a crocodile river.

Swarms of fireflies, which gathered on favourite trees, made a very Christmas-like effect with their throbbing lights. They were lovely, too, in the dark sh.o.r.e shadows, and made sparkling reflections in the black river stream. Watching them we could almost forget our troubles.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE OLD AUGUSTINIAN CHURCH, MANILA.]

Finally, after much winding round and backing off, we turned a bend and saw a line of little twinkling lights strung along the sh.o.r.e and on floating barges, giving quite a Venetian effect and showing us the town by their reflection. Landing, we walked across the gra.s.sy square to the provincial building, with its open courtyards, where there was to be a ball. We danced a riG.o.don as usual, and stopped late with the Governor General, who liked to show his interest in these functions, of which the Filipinos think so much. There were three bands, which vied with each other for applause.

Next morning we got away early on our last leg for Manila and the end of our never-to-be-forgotten journey in the Land of Pine and Palm--that far-away, unfamiliar country where your head gets full of strange thoughts, your body of queer feelings, and your heart has great longings.

We crowded everything we could into those few last days in Manila, for we were loath to think of leaving anything undone. Besides packing and shopping, there were teas and dinners, and the army and navy reception.

This was lovely, for it was held in the courtyard filled with trees which were hung with dim lanterns. The good looking officers with their white duck uniforms and bra.s.s b.u.t.tons added to the attractiveness of the scene. The men of our party were even busier than we, for they had several banquets to which we were not invited. In my husband's journal I find the chronicle of a typical day. After describing the events of a busy morning, he says: "In the afternoon, there was a reception to meet the constabulary, at four; the opening of the new hospital, a most complete and wonderful one, at half after four; the laying of the corner stone at five for the new hotel, which is a very ambitious project and will make all the difference in the world as far as touring in the Philippines is concerned; in the evening, a dinner, and after that a reception, and a dance."

Manila seemed more picturesque, and to have even more atmosphere, as I came to know it better. The old walls and churches and plazas and corners and quarters; the Pasig with its cascos and bancas plying about; the narrow streets winding through the suburbs, with old moss-covered walls, and peeps of tangled gardens within, and bal.u.s.traded terraces, and the bowers of the pink blossoming "chain of love." It is indeed well-named the Pearl of the Orient.

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