Four Young Explorers Part 33

The avenue was filled at this hour with a motley variety of people of all the races known in the islands, from the Tagal Indian up to the native-born of Spain. Some of them were disposed to laugh at the strangeness, not to say the absurdity, of some of the costumes which confronted them; but all of them were too well bred to indulge their mirth, or to stare offensively at the subjects of their suppressed merriment. One young man excited their attention especially; and Louis at the side of Miss Blanche, and the rest of the quartet of young Americans, were also interested.

"He is one of the swells of the city," said Scott, looking industriously at the clear blue sky.

"He looks like it," replied Louis, as he and his female companion each gazed with one eye into a shop window while they fixed the other upon the native, who was sporting a cane in fantastic twirls, and evidently believing he was worth looking at.

The subject of their mirth, variously concealed, was what would be called a colored man at home, though not a negro; but he was not many removes in complexion from the original Negrito. He was toying with a cigar, and wore a monocle and a "stovepipe" hat. His trousers were a sort of plaid; and his upper works were covered with what looked like a blouse, though it was really his s.h.i.+rt, with a linen bosom, secured with studs. At the base of his figure was a pair of patent-leather shoes, though he did not affect the luxury of stockings.

The party observed his magnificent movements till he was out of sight; but their attention was immediately attracted by a feminine water-carrier, who was standing on the opposite side of the street. On her head was a good-sized earthen jar, which she poised on the summit of her cranium without support from either hand, one of which she employed in coquetting with a banana leaf instead of the national _abanico_, or fan, of the Spanish ladies.

"That girl has a very fine form," said Dr. Hawkes, who was standing near the boys. "She is not a Spanish maiden, but her complexion is quite as fair as any of them."

"She has an abundant crop of dark hair, and she puts it to a good use; for it is braided and rolled up so that it makes a cus.h.i.+on for the water-jar," said Scott.

"She is much taller than the natives we have been in the habit of seeing," added Louis.

By this time the entire party had halted, and, taking their cue from the surgeon, were looking at the water-bearer. The girl had been observing the strangers before any of them saw her; but as soon as she realized that she was the object of their scrutiny, she smiled, and her pretty face lighted up as though she did not object to being stared at. Her under garment, with long sleeves, was all the covering she wore above the belt; and below it her skirt of uneven length reached just below the knees. She wore neither shoes nor stockings, and her feet looked as though they had been "Trilbied."

"I suppose that man over there is carrying that rooster to market," said Mrs. Belgrave, who was walking between the commander and Mr. Webb.

"Not at all, madam; that is a game-bird. The national amus.e.m.e.nts of Spain are bull-fighting and c.o.c.k-fighting," returned Mr. Webb. "I was in Madrid one Sunday, and the programme for the day was a c.o.c.k-fight at one, a bull-fight at three, and the Italian opera at six; and I went to all of them."

"On Sunday?" queried the lady.

"I was there to see the sights, and learn the customs of the people; and a bull-fight could be seen only on Sunday, and the c.o.c.k-fight was patronized on that day by the high admiral of the navy. In Madrid, as in other cities of Continental Europe, Sunday is not regarded as it is in England and the United States; and their failure to observe it as we do is not an evidence that they are irreligious. The next day was All Saints' or All Souls' Day, I forget which; and every shop was closed.

The noise and confusion of Sunday and all ordinary days were silenced.

The churches were all open and well filled, and the people went to the cemeteries to deposit flowers on the graves of their dead. In Stockholm, which is a Protestant city, people went to church in the forenoon; but at one o'clock the band struck up, and the rest of the day was given up to frolicking."

"I prefer to live in Von Blonk Park," added Mrs. Belgrave, with a smile.

"But c.o.c.k-fighting is vastly more prevalent here than in Spain, or any other country I have visited. Wealthy people have their games, and all the poor people also," continued the consul. "About every man who can raise money enough to buy one owns a game-c.o.c.k, and many take them with them when they go out.

"Observe that man and woman approaching us; they are Spanish metis. Both of them wear rather gay colors. On the other side of the street is a pair of Chinese metis; and one couple is not much different from the other, except, if you are an expert, you can see something of the high cheek-bones of the Chinese. Both of the men wear stovepipe hats, which seems to be the fas.h.i.+on among that cla.s.s. Some of them are quite wealthy."

"Do all these different grades fraternize, Mr. Webb?" asked the commander.

"In business they do, but not socially. The pure Spaniards look down upon all the native and half-caste people; and in turn all the other cla.s.ses do considerable looking down upon some other grades, till you get to the Tagals, who are so unfortunate as to have no other cla.s.s to look down upon."

The tourists walked along this Broadway of the city till they were tired, and then turned into a side street to observe some of the dwelling-houses. The first thing that they noticed was that most of the houses were covered on the roof with red tiles, as in Spain and in other countries. They all had very small windows, with sliding sashes; and the panes, of oyster-sh.e.l.ls instead of gla.s.s, were smaller in proportion than the windows. Most of them had a balcony of some sort, which was an out-door sitting-room, used during leisure hours by the people.

The consuls then conducted the party to a stand for carriages, and enough of them were engaged to accommodate all. They were taken for two hours, with the proviso that the pa.s.sengers were to be set down at the landing by the bridge.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NATIVES PREPARING TOBACCO IN MANILA.

_Page 285._]

"You must pay in advance," said Mr. Webb. "That is the custom here.

The drivers were cheated so often in some former time, that it became 'no pay, no ride.' I bargained at five pesetas an hour for each vehicle."

The captain, Mrs. Belgrave, and Mr. Webb occupied the first carriage; and the consul directed the driver where to go.

"Five pesetas," said the lady when they were seated. "How much is that?"

"About one dollar. A peseta is the legal unit of the currency, and is of the same value as the French franc and the Italian lira, or nineteen cents, three mills of our money, as estimated by the director of the United States Mint. The real is a quarter of a peseta, but the escudo of ten reales has been suppressed. The Spanish dollar, the same as ours, though not on a gold standard, is the usual medium of trade here."

The tourists were driven to the cathedral, the palaces of the governor and the archbishop, and to several of the public squares; but they found little occasion to describe them in their note-books, though they were all worth looking at. They were taken through some of the streets occupied by the poorer cla.s.ses and to the great cigar factories. Then they went a little way into one of these, where thousands of women of all the lower grades of the city were employed, so that they obtained a good idea of the establishment.

They were taken to the landing-place as agreed, and embarked immediately in the Blanchita for the s.h.i.+p, where all were to lunch, feeling that they had seen all of the city that they wished to visit.

The consuls went with them, but all were tired enough to rest during the hour given them for the luncheon. At the expiration of the hour, the commander remorselessly drove them on board of the steam-yacht for an excursion up the Pasig to _Lago de Bahia_, which is Spanish for Lake of the Bay.

Some of the party were tired; but the captain declared that they could rest in the little steamer, and remain seated all the afternoon if they chose. A skilful pilot for the river and lake had been obtained by Mr.

Gollan, who devoted himself especially to the pacha and the princess, for they were the pa.s.sengers of the English steamer, though he was very kind and polite to all the company. Above the bridge the pa.s.sengers began to open their eyes, for they had explored the river below this point.

The captain and Mrs. Belgrave (of course), with Miss Blanche, Mr. Webb, and the "Big Four," were all in what had been called the fore cabin in the Borneo cruises. It was as handsomely and comfortably fitted up as the after cabin, with an awning overhead, and curtains at the side, which were regulated by the relative positions of the boat to the sun.

Two of the English sailors, dressed in their white uniforms, were on board to adjust these curtains, and do any other work required of them.

"There's a dead man on a raft!" exclaimed Mrs. Belgrave, pointing ahead.

"The man is not so dead as he might be," replied the consul, laughing.

"But the raft is something worth looking at for you. The affair is simply a native going to market with his cocoanuts. Ask the engineer to whistle sharply," he added to one of the sailors; and it was done.

Suddenly the man on the raft sprang to his feet, and looked around him.

The launch was stopped to enable the party to see his craft.

"You can see that his boat is a lot of cocoanuts, a hundred or more, strung together with lines. The raft easily floats the man, with the current, down to the city, where he sells his fruit, and then walks back, or rows in a pa.s.sage-boat for his fare," Mr. Webb explained forward, and Mr. Gollan aft.

Presently they came to a little village where half a dozen dark-colored girls, with their long hair dragging in the water, were swimming in a small bay at the side of the stream like so many nymphs. It was an aquatic frolic, and the Naiads were enjoying themselves to their hearts'

content. By the riverside was a house on stilts, with an open door, from which the tourists saw two girls dive into the stream, and swim away as though the water were their natural element. They cut up all sorts of capers, to the great amus.e.m.e.nt of the party; and then two of them swam to the launch, and held out their hands. They received a couple of pesetas each from the captain and the pacha. Then all the rest of them followed their example, and were rewarded in like manner.

The Blanchita resumed her course up the river at her usual speed; and the voyagers found enough to interest them, and enough in the explanations of the consuls to instruct them. The boat rushed by the barges and pa.s.sage-boats as though they were at anchor. The villages and the houses reminded them of those they had seen on the Menam in the vicinity of Bangkok.

"Do you notice the horned cattle?" asked Mr. Webb. "They call them buffaloes here."

"They are what we should call broad-horns at home," replied the captain.

"I never saw any such wide-spreading and long horns as I see here."

"I am told that you have a quartet of Nimrods in your company; and I am sure they would find plenty of sport in the country beyond the lake, where the wild buffalo is to be found in herds as on our Western prairies formerly. But they are a dangerous beast to hunt; for they will fight like tigers, and not a few hunters have been killed by them."

"We should like to try them; and with rifles good for nine shots, I think we could take care of ourselves," replied Louis.

They found plenty of buffaloes on the sh.o.r.es of the river, but they were as tame as doves. At one place on the bank they saw a naked boy of ten fooling with one of them, jumping over him, and being dragged by his tail. It was but a short trip to the lake for the Blanchita, and the party sailed all around it. They were all delighted with the excursion; and the launch was hurried down the river, and reached the Blanche, where they were to dine at seven o'clock.

CHAPTER x.x.xI

HALF A LECTURE ON CHINESE SUBJECTS