ery few of
the provincial capitals, indeed, that merit a description. Rambling
official buildings, made of white concrete and roofed with _nipa_
or with corrugated iron; a ragged plaza, with the church and convent,
and the long streets lined with native houses; pigs with heads like
coal-scuttles; chickens and yellow dogs and naked brats, scabby
and peanut-shaped,--such are the first and last impressions of the
Filipino town.

We reached Cebu during the rainy season, and it was a little city
of muddy streets and tiled roofs. As the transport came to anchor
in the harbor, Filipino boys came out in long canoes, and dived for
pennies till the last you saw of them was the white soles of their
bare feet. And in another boat two little girls were dancing, while
the boys went through the manual of arms. A number of tramp steamers,
barkentines, and the big Hong Kong boat were lying in the harbor,
while the coasting steamers of the Chinese merchants and the smaller
hemp-boats lined the docks. As this was our first port in the Visayan
group, the difference between the natives here and those of the Far
North was very noticeable. There, the volcanic, wiry Tagalog, or
the athletic Igorrote savage; here, the easy-going, happy Visayan,
carabao-like in his movements, with a large head, enormous mouth
and feet.

Along the water front a line of low white buildings ran,--the
wholesale houses of the English, Chinese, Spanish, and American
commercial firms. The street was full of carabao carts, yoked to their
uncomfortable cattle. Agents and merchants, dressed in white, were
hurrying to and fro with manifests. Around the corner was a long street
blocked with merchandise, and shaded with the awnings of the Chinese
stores. There was a little barber-shop in a _kiosko_, where an idle
native, crossing his legs and tilting back his chair, abandoned himself
to the spirit of a big guitar. The avenue that branched off here would
be thronged with shoppers during the busy hours. Here were the retail
stores of every description--"The Nineteenth-century Bazaar," the
stock of which was every bit as modern as its name--clothing-stores,
tailor-shops, restaurants, jewelry-stores, and curio bazaars.

Numerous plazas were surrounded by old Spanish buildings and
hotels. The public gardens--if the acre of dried palms and withered
grass may so be called--were situated near the water front, and had a
band stand for the use of the musicians on _fiesta_ days. Th