Unofficial letters of an official's wife [by] Edith Moses.

AN OFFICIAL'S WIFE

and saw many strange and picturesque sights.
Whole sections of the city as far as the eye could
reach were under water. Natives were walking in
it up to their waists, and buying and selling notions
and food out of their windows. We now understand why the nipa houses are built upon stilts.
Some persons more enterprising than others were
paddling about the streets in bancas, as they call
their small boats or " dugouts." The river banks
had overflowed the lowlands, and water was running through the palace yard at least two feet deep.
We finally could go no farther, the water was so
deep, and we turned toward home. Before we could
reach our house a great cylindrical storm cloud
came whirling directly toward us. In a moment,
scarcely giving us time to pull up the top of our
carriage, the wind rushed upon us and the rain
came down in sheets. We had difficulty in getting
home. The flood subsided as quickly as it had
risen, and next day I drove over in that vicinity and
found the dust blowing where the water had been
the day before.
MANILA, September 14, I900.
T HE doctor's wife has been visiting us and we
have been having a very gay time. We have
had company every day, and on Wednesday we gave
a big dinner. It was very good, indeed, and considering that we spoke three languages at table,
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