elescopes on stands, and comfortable
arm-chairs. It was a place where the friars put aside their religious
and austere character or appearance, and sought amusement. It was
a delightful spot, so far as coolness and the freshness of the sea
air were concerned, and its aspect gave me an insight behind the
curtain of these establishments that very soon disclosed many things
I was ignorant of before. All the friars were of a rotund form,
and many of them bore the marks of good living in their full, red,
and bloated faces. It seems to be generally understood at Manila,
that they live upon the fat of the land. We visited several of the
rooms, and were warmly greeted by the padres, one of whom presented
me with a meteorological table for the previous year.

The revenues of all these religious establishments are considerable;
the one I visited belonged to the Dominicans, and was very rich. Their
revenues are principally derived from lands owned by them, and the
tithes from the different districts which they have under their charge,
to which are added many alms and gifts. On inquiry, I found their
general character was by no means thought well of, and they had of
late years lost much of the influence that they possessed before the
revolution in the mother country.

Among the inhabitants we saw here, was a native boy of the Igorots,
or mountain tribe. He is said to be a true Negrito. (Another confusion
of facts.--C.)

[Mountaineers.] The Spaniards, as has been stated, have never been
able to subdue this tribe, who are said to be still as wild as on
their first landing; they are confined almost altogether to the plains
within or near the mountains, and from time to time make inroads in
great force on the outer settlements, carrying off as much plunder
as possible. The burden of this often causes them to be overtaken
by the troops. When overtaken, they fight desperately, and were it
not for the fire-arms of their adversaries, would give them much
trouble. Few are captured on such occasions, and it is exceedingly
difficult to take them alive, unless when very young. These mountains
furnish them with an iron ore almost pure, in manufacturing which
they show much ingenuity. Some of their weapons were presented to
the Expedition by Josiah Moore, Esq. These are probably imitations
of the early Spanish weapons used against them. From all accounts,
the natives are of Malay origin, and allied to those of the other
islands of the extens