Robert MacMicking

“ Should there be ladies of the party, music and dancing are probably the amusements for an hour or two; you may, of course, escape and go on to the house of some one else should the party turn out to be dull, which, however, is very seldom the case when Spaniards are the company, as every one appears to exert himself to amuse and be amused to the best of his power. ”

“ It is a curious scene to walk through such a place for the first time, especially after sunset, when the red glare of the torches or lamps shows to perfection the sparkling eyes, swarthy features, and long hair, which, waving about over the foreheads of the men, gives them a wildness of look, which their sombre dress, consisting of a dark blue shirt and [164] trousers, having nothing to attract the attention from the sparkle of their eyes, makes all the more striking. ”

“ Many of these clumps of bamboo, some of which attain a great height, occasionally, perhaps, as much as 150 feet, are from their numbers a peculiar feature in the landscape of the Philippines, and form some of the most beautiful objects of luxuriant vegetation that can be imagined for a landscape. They are found growing wild, very grand and fresh-looking in all parts of the country, and are of many varieties, some of which any one may be acquainted with who takes the trouble to consult the good old Padre Blanco’s book on the flora de Filipiñas. ”

“ It appears to me to be as unwise to attempt to restrain the course of nature and its fruits, aided by the energies of man to develop or to use them, as it would be to bind down the mind of a man of genius, or of a poet, in order to prevent their operation, or to hinder the great conceptions of their muse, or the scientific research which a bright genius renders serviceable to his fellow mortals, from ever seeing the light. ”

“ Without exaggeration this is a good deal the system on which the Spaniards carry on business. They always appear to be trying to take advantage of a purchaser, and if successful have very complaisant consciences; but should they themselves be taken in, or have the worst of a bargain, their virtuous horror and indignation on discovering it [90] know no bounds. There is very little, or almost none, of that mutual confidence existing between them which exists between British merchants, and which is so necessary in large transactions, or in carrying on an extensive business, as they do. ”

“ No one will defend the justice or wisdom of the time which forbade Galileo to publish, or even himself to believe in, his great discoveries; but is that more unjust than the policy of rulers, who shut up from the beings whom God has created to use them, the fruits of our common mother, the earth? ”

“ Now, when I call a quarter of a dollar per diem a high rate of labour, I may be misunderstood if it is not stated that this rate, when paid to the slow and careless Indian labourer, is fully equivalent to three times that sum to a white or British labourer working at home; as an able-bodied man at home would do about three times as much work, and would perform it in a highly superior manner. ”

“ People are generally seen to most advantage in their own houses; and nowhere, I think, does any one appear to play the host better than an average specimen of a Spanish gentleman under his own roof.
Notwithstanding a great deal of ceremony and the customary exaggerated polite expressions used to every stranger, there is so much innate hospitality in the national character that it is not to be mistaken, and is perhaps one of their best and greatest virtues as individuals. ”

“ An Englishman, on arriving, perceives a marked difference between the place and people and any of his country’s Indian possessions; the air he breathes, and the habits he gradually falls into from seeing them the customary ones of other people, are not the same as those of his countrymen in British India. Should he be fortunate enough to have arrived towards the end of the year, in addition to the greater coolness of the weather then usually prevalent, and so delightful in the tropics, he will most probably not want opportunities for enjoying himself ”

“ The village of Mariquina, about seven miles from Manilla, is the most favourite place of resort, although the road to it is very bad, but it presents the attractions of very good pure air and water, and a bright landscape. Those persons who are not fond of horse exercise, make use of American light spider-carriages, drawn by a pair of ponies, as that sort of vehicle is found to be the only conveyance capable of standing the ruts and jolting over these country paths, which would to a certainty break the springs of any other description of carriage I have ever seen. ”

“ They are in general, however, poor, or at all events not over burdened with the good things of this life, and like soldiers of all nations and times, some of them have a certain notoriety for outrunning the constable, or for spending all that they can, which is generally merely their pay. Soon after reaching Manilla, I was accidentally thrown a good deal into their society, from chancing to meet with Don Francisco Caro, a pleasant and lively young lieutenant, at the house of my Spanish teacher, where he was as eager to learn English as I was to be able to speak good Spanish. ”

“ As a body, such Spanish gentlemen as I have been acquainted with, appeared to be quite as remarkable for good breeding as they usually have the credit of being. They generally have a great appearance of candour or frankness of manner, which, although it is for the most part more studied than natural, is prepossessing, and makes them pleasant companions. ”

“ But, in truth, many of the natives of Spain [51] who are even now selected to fill the highest offices, are about as despotic and as unscrupulous as any Asiatics in their notions of government and in their exercise of power, and as bad even as the Turks themselves are in their administration of justice and equity; while the Spanish government, and the political knowledge of the people, are infinitely behind the Turkish government in everything concerning their commercial policy. ”

“ It used to be a very favourite sport to make up a bathing party of ladies, who, dressed in their long gowns, bathed with their male friends equipped in parjamas, or in short bathing trousers, without hesitation, swimming about in a retired part of the river for a long time, generally stopping at least an hour in the water, on leaving which, and dressing, all reunited to breakfast, or amuse themselves in some way, with dancing or music. ”

“ For it is evident that before designs of new styles can reach Great Britain, and the goods be manufactured there, and shipped off to Manilla, many months must elapse, during which the native manufacturers have been supplying the market with these new and approved styles of goods, and of course reaping all the advantages of an active demand, exceeding the supply, by the high prices obtainable for the new designs. For the market of Manilla varies as much, and the tastes of the people are as inconstant and capricious with regard to their dress, as the natives of almost any country can be. ”

“ Under proper management and increased facilities for the planter to rear opium, the Philippines, merely from their situation, would rule the China market for the drug, which would employ multitudes of people in its growth and manufacture, and be a source of immense wealth to the country.
Some one will object that it is an immoral trade, which caters to the worst passions of the nature of the Chinese. Let it be proved so; let us see something more than mere prejudice; let [304] it be shown to be worse than the conduct of the farmer, at home, who raises and sells barley to make whiskey ”

“ In that country, where manufacturing industry has so much energy of character in those carrying it on to back it up, and to secure a satisfactory result, it appears very strange that we should be able to beat them in the manufacture of their own produce.
But although many efforts have repeatedly been made by speculative and sanguine men to weave all the descriptions of cotton cloth made in Great Britain by the power-loom, they have never been able to do so in the United States. ”

“ To secure a good quality of indigo, great attention must be paid to the clearness of the water, and the proper mixture and quantity of the lime, as too much or too little is equally pernicious; also the time during which the bruising takes place, which, it appears, is a matter of very nice judgment, as it is usual to explain or account for the cause of the bad quality of a lot by saying that the planter has beat it for too long or too short a time, and that he did not know exactly when to stop. ”

“ In addition to the people so gaining a livelihood by their industry, there are scattered throughout the islands many Indians, without any occupation, and apparently altogether dependent on the fruit of the plaintain-tree for subsistence, and indulging all their natural laziness and indolence of disposition by its aid, preferring to subsist on the fruit of this most productive plant, which they can do, from its being always procurable and at all times of the year in season, without an effort towards its cultivation, to undertaking the labour and attention necessary to grow rice. ”

“ I firmly believe that no human being can in cold blood look upon another’s death by violent means without being forced to think about it for some time, greater or less, according to his or her temperament. ”