port of Cavite,
about three leagues to the southwest, at the entrance of the bay,
which is perfectly secure. Here the government dockyard is situated,
and this harbor is consequently the resort of the few gunboats and
galleys that are stationed here.

[Twin piers.] The entrance to the canal or river Pasig is three hundred
feet wide, and is enclosed between two well-constructed piers, which
extend for some distance into the bay. On the end of one of these is
the light-house, and on the other a guard-house. The walls of these
piers are about four feet above ordinary high water, and include the
natural channel of the river, whose current sets out with some force,
particularly when the ebb is making in the bay.

[Suburbs.] The suburbs, or Binondo quarter, contain more inhabitants
than the city itself, and is the commercial town. They have all the
stir and life incident to a large population actively engaged in trade,
and in this respect the contrast with the city proper is great.

[Walled city.] The city of Manila is built in the form of a large
segment of a circle, having the chord of the segment on the river:
the whole is strongly fortified, with walls and ditches. The houses
are substantially built after the fashion of the mother country. Within
the walls are the governor's palace, custom-house, treasury, admiralty,
several churches, convents, and charitable institutions, a university,
and the barracks for the troops; it also contains some public squares,
on one of which is a bronze statue of Charles IV.

The city is properly deemed the court residence of these islands; and
all those attached to the government, or who wish to be considered as
of the higher circle, reside here; but foreigners are not permitted
to do so. The houses in the city are generally of stone, plastered,
and white or yellow washed on the outside. They are only two stories
high, and in consequence cover a large space, being built around a
patio or courtyard.

[Dwellings.] The ground-floors are occupied as storehouses,
stables, and for porters' lodges. The second story is devoted to
the dining-halls and sleeping apartments, kitchens, bath-rooms,
etc. The bed-rooms have the windows down to the floor, opening on wide
balconies, with blinds or shutters. These blinds are constructed with
sliding frames, having small squares of two inches filled in with
a thin semi-transparent shell, a species of Placuna; the fronts of
some of the houses have a large