ht miles at its greatest length,
by about twenty-two at its extreme breadth; it is formed by an
amphitheatre of mountains, the various streams from which feed it;
and its opening or outlet forms the origin of the river Pasig, which,
bathing the walls of the fortress of Santiago and the capital of the
Philippines, flows into the arm of the sea called Manilla Bay.

About Christmastide there are many visitors to the lake, as from the
then cooler season the necessary exposure to the heat of a midday sun
in a slightly-covered boat is comparatively innocuous, and much less
disagreeable than it would prove at any other time of the year.

Several foreigners are in the habit of making an annual excursion
there from Manilla to spend these holidays, during which there is no
other amusement in town than church-going and procession-staring.

Having made arrangements to visit the lake either by starting from
Manilla in a large Pasig banca or prow, which although more tedious
than driving to the village of Guadaloupe, near Pasig, and then taking
the water, is, I think, the better plan of the two, as the river
scenery is well worth seeing, and there are no inconveniences such
as are inseparable from that of changing conveyances at Guadaloupe,
&c. When I started, my companion, who luckily happened to be an
experienced man in such affairs, having at different times of his
life roamed through the backwoods of Canada, and over the plains of
Australia, recommended the water conveyance for the whole distance,
as we were not pushed for time; and the excursion turned out to be one
of the pleasantest I have ever been engaged in, from the satisfactory
nature of his arrangements and his own hilarity and good-natured
usefulness; for of course he had not knocked about so much without
acquiring some _savoir faire_, so desirable in a companion during
such an excursion.

On Christmas eve we went together to a large dancing party or ball,
given by an old and rich Mestizo, at whose house we kept up dancing
and enjoying ourselves till about midnight; shortly before which all
the men started, in company with the ladies, to the parish church of
San Sebastian, there to hear a midnight mass, and welcome in the sacred
anniversary by saying our prayers. The spectacle was rather a fine one;
and on looking at the devout up-turned features of my fair companion,
when kneeling at her devotions, I could scarcely believe that she was
the good-natured, lively Mest