Manila, after twenty years of American control, is a fascinating mixture of past and present; of romance and commercialism; of oriental ease and occidental hustle.

Enter through one of the beautiful old city gates, say the Santa Lucia, which bears the date 1781, and one finds himself in the old or walled city, Intramuros, still very Spanish in its appearance, though the government offices and other public buildings are here located. The massive gray stone wall, started in the early part of the seventeenth century, was originally surrounded by a moat, with drawbridges. It is said that a very efficient American official once suggested the desirability of having the wall whitewashed; fortunately his idea was not carried out.

In contrast to the comparative quiet of the narrow streets of the Intramuros the docks along the Pasig River, that flows through the heart of the town, present a scene of bustle and confusion worthy of a city of its size, some 300,000 inhabitants. Here may be seen vessels of all sorts, from all parts of the world: steamships, junks, tugs, rowboats, and cascos, the last being the name given the native barge for carrying freight. The casco is covered by a roof of matting, made in sliding sections, with a cabin in the stern where the family of the owner lives.

While there is an excellent electric street railway system and plenty of automobiles to be had, the common method of getting about is to 'phone for, or to hail, a passing one-horse vehicle, of which there are three distinct types charging different fares for the same service; the more expensive vehicles are, however, more comfortable and have better horses. Like the taxi-driver of New York or the rickisha-man of Singapore the driver of the caratella or caramata will charge all the traffic will bear, and it is well for the newcomer to inquire of an old resident what the proper fare for a given distance is before starting.

The typical vehicle for hauling freight is the low, two-wheeled cart, drawn by the slow-moving, long-horned carabao or water buffalo, one of the most characteristic animals of the islands. This beast is well-named, since it delights to lie buried in a muddy pool of water, with just its head above the surface. It may be seen in the larger lakes, swimming or wading in the deeper waters at a distance from the shore. In the cities it is a quiet, peaceful brute that one brushes against without a thought, but in the country, where is browses in the open fields, it behooves the white man to be very circumspect as he passes in its neighborhood, for it seems to have an aversion to the Caucasian race and will frequently charge in a very unpleasant, not to say dangerous, way. It is said that the carabao never shows this hostility toward the natives. A peculiarity of the law is such that should a man shoot a dangerous carabao to protect his own life he would have to pay for the animal he killed.

Of course for small amounts of freight, in Manila as in all places in the Orient, the ubiquitous Chinese coolie is the usual means of transportation, and with a huge load at each end of a bamboo pole across his shoulder he shambles along with a curious gait, between a walk and a run, that he seems capable of sustaining for an almost indefinite time.

The "Chino" of course is the merchant of Manila as of all the cities of this part of the world. The main shopping street, the Escolta, is fairly lined with Chinese stores of all sorts, some of them quite extensive; and some of the narrower side streets, in the same neighborhood, have practically no other stores than those kept by the Chinese. It is wonderfully interesting to wander about these narrow, winding streets, and into the dark, sometimes ill-smelling stores, but one should early learn the gentle art of "jewing down" the prices that are first asked for goods that are offered for sale. The Oriental always asks much more than he is willing or even eager to accept. You ask the price of a garment, say, and are told "Two pesos": you shake your head and say "Too much": "Peso and half" will then be tried: you again say "Too much" and perhaps turn as though to leave the shop; "How much you give?" says the crafty merchant; "One peso," perhaps you suggest; "Take it," says the eager merchant as he hands you an article that should probably sell for half the amount paid. You leave the store feeling good over having gotten ahead of the crafty Oriental, and he probably chuckles to himself over having cheated the rich American.

Most of the shopping is done in the morning or late in the afternoon. For several hours, during the heat of the day, many of the stores are closed while the proprietors enjoy a midday lunch and siesta.

When tired of shopping or sight-seeing one may wander into a nearby church or rest in some public park or square, such as the Plaza de Santo Tomas. Many of these old squares are exceedingly picturesque and attractive.

The different sections of the city are given distinct names, as though they were separate towns, but they are separated by imaginary lines only. In one of the more residential of these sections is the great Manila General Hospital, an up-to-date, modern plant; nearby is the main part of the University of the Philippines, whose students, it is said, compare quite favorably with the average college students of America. In this same neighborhood is also the main part of the Philippine Bureau of Science, where trained chemists, geologists, botanists, zoologists, bacteriologists, engineers, and other scientific experts are engaged in numerous lines of investigation of importance to the welfare of the islands. Most of these experts have, in the past, been drawn from the United States, as have the professors in the University. Just what will be the condition of affairs in these high-grade institutions when the islands are entirely under native control is somewhat problematic.

MAIN BUILDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES.