I should
think half the devout of the city could find accommodation therein. In
less than two years subsequent to our visit the whole of this grand pile
was little better than a heap of ruins, from an earthquake wave which
passed over these islands. This most terrible of natural phenomena is of
frequent occurrence in this quarter of the world. In many parts of the
city we observed whole streets and churches in ruins, as if from a
recent bombardment.

Cock-fighting is the great national sport, amusement, or cruelty, which
of the three you will, indulged in by the good people of Manilla.
Everywhere along the streets you may meet Spanish boys and half castes,
with each his bird tucked under his arm ready for the combat, should the
chance passer-by make it worth their while.

The best place to witness this propensity for blood, which seems in-born
in every Spaniard, is at the public arena in the heart of the city,
where hundreds of cocks are generally engaged at once, the betting on a
certain bird not unfrequently amounting to thousands of dollars. I will
not trouble you with the sickening details of the scene I witnessed--to
my shame I say it--I think few of those who are present at a first
exhibition of this cruel and useless sport will be desirous of
witnessing a second--except he be a man of a morbid inclination. One may
be impelled by curiosity to satisfy a human weakness, but every rightly
balanced mind will turn from the scene with feelings of repugnance and
disgust.

December 23rd.--The last day of our stay, and the last opportunity we
shall have for laying in stock for the 25th. In the afternoon the
caterers of messes having been accorded the necessary permission, went
on shore to make a general clearance in the Manilla markets. There was
every prospect, when they left the ship, of the day continuing fine--a
bright sun and a clear sky above, and a smooth sea below. Unfortunately
for the success of the expedition, this happy meteoric combination did
not continue. The heavens began to frown, and the sea--ever jealous of
its sister's moods--put on a restless appearance. At sun-down the wind
suddenly rose to half a gale, with a cross lumpy sea and drenching
showers of rain. The accommodation for the men to return to the ship was
degrees from being called even fair. They had hired a rickety steam
launch, scarcely capable of holding her own in ordinary weather, and two
smaller boats, or gigs, neither of which was in a