ops. In passing up the Escolta (which is the
longest and main street in this district), the cabinet-makers, seen
busily at work in their shops, are first met with; next to these come
the tinkers and blacksmiths; then the shoemakers, clothiers,
fishmongers, haberdashers, etc. These are flanked by outdoor
occupations; and in each quarter are numerous cooks frying cakes,
stewing, etc., in movable kitchens; while here and there are to be seen
betel-nut sellers, either moving about to obtain customers, or taking a
stand in some great thoroughfare. The moving throng, composed of
carriers, waiters, messengers, etc., pass quietly and without any noise:
they are generally seen with the Chinese umbrella, painted of many
colours, screening themselves from the sun. The whole population wear
slippers, and move along with a slip-shod gait.

The Chinese are apparently far more numerous than the Malays, and the
two races differ as much in character as in appearance: one is all
activity, while the other is disposed to avoid all exertion. They
preserve their distinctive character throughout, mixing but very little
with each other, and are removed as far as possible in their civilities;
the former, from their industry and perseverance, have almost
monopolized all the lucrative employments among the lower orders,
excepting the selling of fish and betel-nut, and articles manufactured
in the provinces....

Of all her foreign possessions, the Philippines have cost Spain the
least blood and labour. The honour of their discovery belongs to
Magalhaens, whose name is associated with the straits at the southern
extremity of the American continent, but which has no memorial in these
islands. Now that the glory which he gained by being the first to
penetrate from the Atlantic to the Pacific has been in some measure
obliterated by the disuse of those straits by navigators, it would seem
due to his memory that some spot among these islands should be set apart
to commemorate the name of him who made them known to Europe. This would
be but common justice to the discoverer of a region which has been a
source of so much honour and profit to the Spanish nation, who opened
the vast expanse of the Pacific to the fleets of Europe, and who died
fighting to secure the benefits of his enterprise to his king and
country.

Few portions of the globe seem to be so much the seat of internal fires,
or to exhibit the effects of volcanic action so strongly as the
Ph