tte with his long finger-nail as he
stands by while the gay-colored jockeys are being weighed in. Up in the
grandstand, in a private box, a party of _mestiza_ girls, elaborately
gowned, are sipping lemonade, or eating sherbet and vanilla cakes,
while one of the jockeys leans admiringly upon the rail. The silver
_pesos_ stacked up on the table in the center of the box are given
to a man in waiting to be wagered on the various events. The finishes
are seldom very close, the Filipino ponies scampering around the turf
like rats. A native band, however, adds to the excitement which the
clamor at the booking office and the animated chatter of _duenas_,
_caballeros_, jockeys, and _senoritas_ in the galleries intensifies.

Manila, the City of churches, celebrates its Sabbath in its own
peculiar way. The Protestant churches suffer in comparison with the
grand church of San Sebastian--set up from the iron plates made in
Belgium--and the churches of the various religious orders. Magnificence
and show appeal most strongly to the Filipino. He is taught to look
down on the Protestant religion as plebeian; the priests regard
the Protestant with condescending superciliousness. Until the
transportation facilities can be extended there will be no general
coming together of Americans even on Sunday morning, as the colony
from the United States is scattered far and wide throughout the city.

As his salary increases, the young Government employee looks around
for better quarters. These he secures by organizing a small club
and renting the upper floor of one of the large Spanish houses. As
the young men in Manila are especially congenial, there is little
difficulty in conducting such an enterprise. The members of a lodging
club thus formed will generally reserve a table for their use at one
of the adjacent boarding-houses or hotels.

The fashionable world--the heads of departments, general army officers,
and wealthy merchants--occupy grand residences in Ermita or in San
Miguel. These houses, set back in extensive gardens, are approached by
driveways banked luxuriously with palms. A massive iron fence, mounted
on stone posts, gives to the residence a certain tone of dignity as
well as a suggestion of exclusiveness. Those situated in _Calle Real_
(Ermita) have verandas, balconies, and summer-houses looking out upon
the sea.

The prosperous bachelor has his stable, stable-boys, and Chinese
cook. At eight o'clock A. M. the China ponies will