Unwieldy lighters3 and strange-looking cascos now surround the transport, and the new arrival sees the Filipino for the first time. Under [10]the woven helmet of the nearest casco squats4 a shriveled woman, one of the witches from Macbeth, stirring a blackened pot of rice. A gamecock struggles at his tether in the stern, while the deck amidships swarms5 with wiry brown men, with bristling6 pompadours and feet like rubber, with wide-spreading toes. With unintelligible7 cries they crowd the gunwale, spurning8 the iron hull9 of the transport with long billhooks, as the heavy swell10 sucks out the water, leaving the streaming sluices11 and the great red hull exposed, and threatening at the inrush of the sea to bump the casco soundly against the solid iron plates of the larger ship. A most disreputable-looking crew it is, the ragged12 trousers rolled up to the knee, the network shirts, or cotton blouses full of holes drawn13 down outside. Highly excitable, and yet good-natured as they work, they take possession and disgorge the ship, while Chinamen descend14 the hatchways after dirty clothes.
Off in the hazy15 distance lies Cavite, or “the port,” with its white mist of war ships lying at anchor where the stout16 Dutch galleons17 rode, in 1647, to attack the Spanish caravels, retiring only [11]after the Dutch admiral fell wounded mortally; where later, in the nineteenth century, the Spanish fleet put out to meet the white armada, the grim battleships of Admiral Dewey’s line. Where now the lazy sailing vessels18 and the blackened tramps are anchored, lay, in 1593, the hostile Chinese junks, with the barbaric eye daubed on the bows, the gunwales bristling with iron cannon19 that had scorned the typhoons of the China Sea and gathered in Manila Bay.
This bay has been the scene of history-making since the sixteenth century. Soon after the flotilla of Legaspi landed the first Spanish settlers on the crescent beach around Manila Bay, the little garrison20 was put to test by the invasion of the Chinese pirate, Li Ma Hong. The memory of that brave defense21 in which the Spaniards routed the Mongolian invader22, even the disaster of that first of May can never drown. In 1582 the little fleet put out against the Japanese corsair, Taifusa, and returned victorious23. In 1610 the fleet of the Dutch pirates was destroyed off Mariveles. Those were stirring days when, but a few years later, the armada of Don Juan de [12]Silva left Manila Bay again to test the mettle24 of the Dutch. Another naval25 encounter with the Dutch resulted in a victory for Spanish arms in 1620 in San Bernardino Straits. And off Corregidor, whose blue peak marks the entrance to Manila Bay, the Dutchmen were again defeated by the galleons of Don Geronimo de Silva. Now, near the Cavite shore, is seen the twisted wreck26 of one of the ill-fated men of war that went down under the intolerable fire from Dewey’s broad-sides. And in 1899 the Spanish transports left Manila Bay forever under the command of Don Diego de los Rios, with the remnant of the Spanish troops aboard.
The city of Manila lies in a broad crescent, with its white walls and the domes27 of churches glowing in the sun. On landing at the Anda monument, you find the gray walls and the moss-grown battlements of the old garrison—a winding28 driveway leading across the swampy29 moat and disappearing through the medi?val city gate. This portion of Manila, laid out in the sixteenth century by De Legaspi, occupies the territory on the south side of the Pasig River at the mouth. [13]The frowning walls of the Cuartel de Santiago loom30 above the bustling31 river opposite the customs-house.
Here, where the young American army officers look out expectantly for the arrival of the transport that is to bring them their promotions32, or to take them home, Geronimo de Silva was confined for not pursuing the Dutch vessels after the sea fight off Corregidor. The crumbling33 walls still whisper of intrigue35 and secrecy36. The fort was built in 1587, and became the base of operations, not only against the pirate fleets of the Chinese, the Moros, and the Dutch, but also in the riots of the Chinese and the Japanese that broke out frequently in the old days. At one time twenty thousand Chinamen were beaten back by an alliance of the Spaniards, Japanese, and natives. On this historic ground the treaty was made in 1570 between the Spaniards and the rajas of Manila, Soliman and Lacandola. The walls survived the fire of 1603. The earthquake causing the evacuation of Manila could not shake them. Another prisoner of state, Corcuera, who had fought the Moros in the Jolo Archipelago, was [14]locked up in the Cuartel de Santiago at the instance of his Machiavellian37 successor. In 1642 the fort was strengthened by additional artillery38 because of an expected visit from the Dutch. Today a soldier in a khaki uniform mounts guard at the street entrance. The courtyard is adorned39 by pyramids of cannon-balls and tidy rows of bonga-trees. The soldiers’ quarters line the avenue on either side, and bugle-calls resound40 where formerly41 was heard the call of the night watchman.
A number of elaborate but narrow passages—dim, gloomy archways, where the chain and windlass stand dust-covered from disuse—connect the walled town with the extra-muros sections. The Puerto del Parian, on the Ermita side, is one of the most imposing42 of these gates. Near the botanical gardens on the boulevard, at the small booth where Juliana sells cigars and bottled soda43, following the turnpike over the moat, you come to the Parian gate, crowned by the Spanish arms, in crumbling bas-relief. Beyond the drawbridge—lowered never to be raised again—where rumbling34 pony-carts crowd the pedestrians44 to the wall, the passage opens into gloomy dungeons45, with [15]barred windows looking out upon the stagnant46 waters of the moat. With an involuntary shudder47, you pass on. A native policeman, in an opera-bouffe uniform, stands at the further end in order to dispatch the vehicles that can not pass each other in the narrow gate. Windowless, yellow walls, upon the corners of the streets, make reckless driving very dangerous, and collisions frequently occur. A vacant sentry-box stands just within the city walls, and, turning here into the long street, you immediately find yourself in an old Spanish town.
Here the grand churches and the public buildings are located; the cathedral, after the Romano-Byzantine style of architecture; the Palacio, built after Spanish notions of magnificence, around a courtyard shaded by rare trees; and many other edifices48, used for official and ecclesiastic49 purposes. The streets are paved with cobblestone and laid out regularly in squares, in accordance with the plan of De Legaspi, so that one side or the other will be always in the shade. Beautiful plazas50, with their palms and statues, frequently relieve the glare of the white walls. The sidewalks [16]are narrow, and are sheltered by projecting balconies.
The heavily-barred windows, ponderous51 doors, and quaint52 signboards give the streets an old-world aspect, while Calle Real is spanned by an arched gallery, like the Venetian Bridge of Sighs. Tailor-shops, laundries, restaurants, and barber-shops, where swinging punkas waft53 the odor of bay rum through open doors, suggest a scene from some forgotten story-book or the stage-setting for an Elizabethan play. In the commercial streets the absence of show-windows will be noticed. Bookstores display their wares54 on stands outside, while of the contents of the other shops, one can obtain no adequate idea until he enters through the open doors. The interesting signboards, whether they can be interpreted or not, tend to excite the curiosity. “Los Dos Hermanos” (The Two Brothers) is a tailor-shop, a Sastreria; and the shoestore a Zapateria. The family grocery-store, El Globo, is advertised by a huge globe, battered55 from long years of service; and La Lira, or the music-store, may be known by the sign of the gold lyre. [17]
These streets have been the scene of many a drama in the past. Earthquakes in 1645, in 1863, and 1880, caused great loss of life and property. The plague broke out in 1628, when Spaniards, Filipinos, and Chinese were swept off indiscriminately. Later, epidemics56 of smallpox57 and cholera58 have made a prison and a pesthouse of Manila. Only in 1902 the city suffered from a run of cholera, and the Americans, in spite of all precautions, could not stop the spread of the disease. The streets were flushed at night; districts of native houses were put to the torch, and the detention-camp was full of suffering humanity. The natives, in their ignorance, went through the streets in long processions, carrying the images of saints, chanting, and burning candles, and at night would throw the bodies of the dead into the river or the canal. The ships lay wearily at quarantine out in the bay, and the chorus of bells striking the hour at night was heard over the quiet waters. Officers patrolled the streets, inspected drains and cesspools where the filth59 of ages had collected, giving the forgotten corners of Manila such a cleaning as they never had received before. [18]
But there were days of triumph and rejoicing—days such as had come to Greece and Rome; days when the level of life was raised to heights of inspiration. Not only have the streets re-echoed to the martial60 music of the victorious Americans when Governor Taft or the vice-governor were welcomed, but the town had rung with shouts of triumph when provincial61 troops had come back from the conquest of barbarians62, or when the fleets returned from victories over the Dutch and English and the Moro pirates of the southern archipelago. And the streets reverberated63 to the sound of drum and trumpet64 when, in 1662, the special companies of guards were organized to put down the rebellion of the Chinese in the suburbs. But in 1762 the town capitulated to the English, and the occupation by Americans more than a century later, was a repetition of the scenes enacted65 then.
Because of the volcanic66 condition of the island, the houses can not be built more than two stories high. The ground floor is of stone, and contains, besides the storehouse or a suite67 of living rooms, [19]the stables, arranged around a tiled courtyard, where the carriages are washed. A broad stairway conducts to the main corridor above. The floor, of polished hardwood, is uncarpeted and scrupulously68 clean. Each morning the muchachos (house-boys) mop the floor with kerosene69, skating around the room on rags tied to their feet, or pushing a piece of burlap on all fours across the floor. The walls are frescoed70 pink and blue; the ceiling is often of painted canvas. The windows, fitted with translucent71 shell in tiny squares, slide back and forth72, so that the balcony can be thrown open to the light. Double walls, making an alcove73 on one side, keep out the heat of the ascending74 or descending75 sun. The balcony at evening is a favorite resort, and visitors are entertained in open air. In the interior arrangement of the houses, little originality76 is shown, the Spaniards having insisted upon merely formal principles of art. The stiff arrangement of the chairs, facing each other in precise rows, as if a conclave77 were about to be held, does not invite conviviality78. There are few pictures on the walls,—a faded [20]chromo, possibly, in a gilt79 frame, representing some old-fashioned prospect80 of Madrid, or the tinted81 portrait of the royal family.
The Spanish residents and the mestizos entertain with great politeness and formality. Five o’clock is the fashionable hour for visiting, as earlier in the afternoon the family is liable to be in négligée. The Spanish women, in loose, morning gowns, or blouses, and in flapping slippers82, present a rather slovenly83 appearance during morning hours; also the children, in their “union” suits, split tip the back, impress the stranger as untidy. During the noon siesta84 everybody goes to sleep, to come to life late in the afternoon. At eight o’clock the chandelier is lighted and the evening meal is served. This is a very formal dinner, consisting of innumerable courses of the same thing cooked in different styles. A glass of tinto wine, a glass of water, and a toothpick whittled85 by the loving hands of the muchacho, finishes the meal. The kitchen is located in the rear, and generally overlooks the court, and near by are the bathroom and the laundry.
In the walled city small hotels are numerous, [21]their entryways well banked with potted palms. The usual stone courtyard, damp with water, is surrounded by the pony-stalls, where dirty stable-boys go through their work mechanically, smoking cigarettes. The dining-room and office occupy most of the second floor. This is the library, reception-room, and ladies’ parlor86, all in one; the guest-rooms open into this apartment. These are very small, containing a big Spanish tester-bed, with a cane87 bottom, and the other necessary furniture. The sliding windows open out into the street or the attractive courtyard, and the room reminds you somewhat of an opera-box. My own room looked out at the hospital of San José, where a big clock, rather weatherbeaten, tolled88 the hours.
Manila to-day, however, is a contradiction. Striking anachronisms occur from the confusion of Malayan, Asiatic, European, and American traditions. Heavy escort-wagons, drawn by towering army mules89, crowd to the wall the fragile quilez and the carromata( two-wheeled gigs), with their tough native ponies90. Tall East Indians, in their red turbans; Armenian merchants, soldiers in khaki uniforms, and Chinese coolies [22]bending under heavy loads, jostle each other under the projecting balconies, while Filipinos shuffle91 peacefully along the curb92.
The new American saloons look rather out of place in such a curious environment, and telegraph wires concentrated at the city wall seem even more incongruous.
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1
inspectors
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| n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官 | |
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veranda
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| n.走廊；阳台 | |
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lighters
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| n.打火机，点火器( lighter的名词复数 ) | |
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squats
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| n.蹲坐，蹲姿( squat的名词复数 )；被擅自占用的建筑物v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的第三人称单数 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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spurning
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的现在分词 ) | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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sluices
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| n.水闸( sluice的名词复数 )；（用水闸控制的）水；有闸人工水道；漂洗处v.冲洗( sluice的第三人称单数 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸 | |
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12
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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galleons
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| n.大型帆船( galleon的名词复数 ) | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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21
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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invader
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| n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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mettle
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| n.勇气，精神 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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swampy
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| adj.沼泽的，湿地的 | |
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loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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bustling
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| adj.喧闹的 | |
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promotions
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| 促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传 | |
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crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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machiavellian
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| adj.权谋的，狡诈的 | |
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38
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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resound
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| v.回响 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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43
soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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44
pedestrians
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| n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 ) | |
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45
dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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46
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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47
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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48
edifices
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| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
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49
ecclesiastic
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| n.教士，基督教会；adj.神职者的，牧师的，教会的 | |
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50
plazas
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| n.（尤指西班牙语城镇的）露天广场( plaza的名词复数 )；购物中心 | |
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51
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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52
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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53
waft
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| v.飘浮，飘荡；n.一股；一阵微风；飘荡 | |
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54
wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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55
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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epidemics
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| n．流行病 | |
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57
smallpox
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| n.天花 | |
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58
cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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59
filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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60
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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65
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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68
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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69
kerosene
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| n.(kerosine)煤油，火油 | |
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70
frescoed
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| 壁画( fresco的名词复数 )； 温壁画技法，湿壁画 | |
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translucent
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| adj.半透明的；透明的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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alcove
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| n.凹室 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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77
conclave
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| n.秘密会议，红衣主教团 | |
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conviviality
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| n.欢宴，高兴，欢乐 | |
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79
gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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80
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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81
tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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82
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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83
slovenly
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| adj.懒散的，不整齐的，邋遢的 | |
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84
siesta
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| n.午睡 | |
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85
whittled
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| v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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86
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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87
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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88
tolled
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| 鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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89
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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90
ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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91
shuffle
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| n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走 | |
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92
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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