shall speak presently,
are principally composed of ruined gamesters. [48]

[Feminine attractiveness.] In the comeliness of the women who
lend animation to its streets Manila surpasses all other towns in
the Indian Archipelago. Mallat describes them in glowing colors. A
charming picture of Manila street life, full of local color, is given
in the very amusing Aventures d'un Gentilhomme Breton. [49]

[Mestizas.] How many of the prettiest Filipinas are of perfectly
unmixed blood, it is, I confess, difficult to decide. Many of them
are very fair and of quite an European type, and are thereby easily
distinguished from their sisters in the outlying provinces. The
immediate environs of Manila can boast many beautiful spots, but
they are not the resort of the local rank and fashion, the object
of whose daily promenade is the display of their toilettes, and not
the enjoyment of nature. In the hot season, all who can afford it
are driven every evening along the [The Luneta.] dusty streets to
a promenade on the beach, which was built a short time back, where
several times a week the band of a native regiment plays fairly good
music, and there walk formally up and down. All the Spaniards [The
Angelas.] are in uniform or in black frock coats. When the bells ring
out for evening prayer, carriages, horsemen, pedestrians, all suddenly
stand motionless; the men take off their hats, and everybody appears
momentarily absorbed in prayer.

[Botanical gardens.] The same governor who laid out the promenade
established a botanical garden. It is true that everything he planted
in it, exposed on a marshy soil to the full heat of a powerful sun,
soon faded away; but its ground was enclosed and laid out, and though
it was overgrown with weeds, it had at least received a name. At
present it is said to be in better condition. [50]

[Pretty girls in gay garments.] The religious festivals in the
neighborhood of Manila are well worth a visit, if only for the sake
of the numerous pretty Filipinas and mestizas in their best clothes
who make their appearance in the evening and promenade up and down
the streets, which are illuminated and profusely decked with flowers
and bright colors. They offer a charming spectacle, particularly
to a stranger lately arrived from Malaysia. The Filipinas are very
beautifully formed. They have luxuriant black hair, and large dark
eyes; the upper part of their bodies is clad in a homespun but often
costly material of tr