ng to any one but the mother,
or a young lady engaging herself, is unknown and unheard of. The
negotiation is all carried forward by the mother, and the daughter is
given to any suitor she may deem a desirable match. The young ladies
are said to be equally disinclined to a choice themselves, and if
proposals were made to them, the suitor would be at once referred to
the mother. Among the lower orders it is no uncommon thing for the
parties to be living without the ceremony of marriage, until they have
a family and no odium whatever is attached to such a connexion. They
are looked upon as man and wife, though they do not live together; and
they rarely fail to solemnize their union when they have accumulated
sufficient property to procure the requisite articles for housekeeping.

[The Luneta.] Three nights in each week they have music in the plaza,
in front of the governor's palace, by the bands of four different
regiments, who collect there after the evening parade. Most of the
better class resort here, for the pleasure of enjoying it. We went
thither to see the people as well as to hear the music. This is the
great resort of the haut ton, who usually have their carriages in
waiting, and promenade in groups backwards and forwards during the
time the music is playing. This is by far the best opportunity that
one can have for viewing the society of Manila, which seems as easy
and unrestrained as the peculiar gravity and ceremonious mode of
intercourse among the old Spaniards can admit. Before the present
governor took office, it had been the custom to allow the bands to
play on the Prado every fine evening, when all the inhabitants could
enjoy it until a late hour; but he has interdicted this practice,
and of course given much dissatisfaction; he is said to have done
this in a fit of ill temper, and although importuned to restore this
amusement to the common people, he pertinaciously refuses.

The bands of the regiments are under the direction of Frenchmen and
Spaniards: the musicians are all natives, and play with a correct ear.

Our afternoons were spent in drives on the Prado, where all the
fashion and rank of Manila are to be met, and where it is exceedingly
agreeable to partake of the fresh and pure air after a heated day in
the city. The extreme end of the Prado lies along the shore of the bay
of Manila, having the roadstead and ships on one side, and the city
proper with its fortifications and moats on the other.