which so over-tops the others, that
malicious, perhaps envious, neighbours say it is sure to topple down
some day on to the footway. The shops are of the usual description,
grocers, bakers, butchers, and drapers; and the most frequent style of
shop is a store, containing everything from a pickaxe and tin dish
(for gold washing) to Perry Davis's patent Pain-killer. We have of
course our inns--the Imperial, where the manager of the bank and
myself lived; the Harp of Erin, the Irish rendezvous, as its name
imports, even its bar-room being papered with green; the German Hotel,
where the Verein is held, and over which the German tri-coloured flag
floats on fete-days; and there is also a Swiss restaurant, the
Guillaume Tell, with the Swiss flag and cap of liberty painted on its
white front.

I must also mention the churches, standing off the main street, which
are the most prominent buildings in Majorca. The largest is the
Wesleyan Chapel, a substantial brick building, near which still stands
the old wooden shanty first erected and used in the time of the rush.
Then there is the Church of England, a neat though plain edifice, well
fitted and arranged. The Presbyterians worship in a battered-looking
wooden erection; and the Roman Catholics have a shed-like place, which
in week days is used as a school.

Our inns and our churches will give you some idea of the population of
Majorca. I should say the most of it--the substance--is English. The
Irish are hard workers, but generally spendthrifts, though there are
some excellent exceptions. The Irish hold together in religion,
politics, and drink. The Scotch are not so numerous as the Irish, but
somehow they have a knack of getting on. They are not clannish like
the Irish. Each hangs by his own hook. Then there are the Germans, who
are pretty numerous, a very respectable body of men, with a sprinkling
of Italians and Swiss. The Germans keep up their old country fashions,
hold their Verein, meet and make speeches, sing songs, smoke pipes,
and drink thin wine. Lager-beer has not reached them yet.

The building in Majorca in which I am, of course, most of all
interested, is that in which I officiate as "Accountant," the only
other officer in the bank being the "Manager." You will thus observe
that there are only officers in our establishment--all rank and no
file. Let me give you an idea of our building. Its walls are wooden,
with canvas inside, and its roof is of corrugated iron. T