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

UNOFFICIAL LETTERS OF

On Sunday last we had an interesting experience,
a visit to a Catholic priest living some distance
from Manila in a small town on Laguna de Bay.
We went with the health officer, his wife, and two
other army men. Judge Taft, General Wright,
and ourselves were the guests. We started at eight
o'clock from the river side and went up the Pasig
to Laguna de Bay, a large lake some fifteen miles
distant. The day was lovely, and a breeze, almost
cool, made us really comfortable for the first time
in a week. The river Pasig is not very deep or
wide or very clear, but the banks are picturesque
although low, with banana trees and palms and
rows of native houses on either side. Here and
there are large stone churches, often in ruins.
One is surprised at the few reminders of war to
be seen in Manila. I cannot think how the town
could have been bombarded with so little damage.
The native houses are built of bamboo and thatched
with nipa, a palmlike plant, and they can be easily
rebuilt, but the European residences are all uninjured. We saw one large church which had been
destroyed all but the walls; a large library was
burned with it. Last Sunday was St. John the
Baptist's day and the river banks were gay with
girls and women in their bright skirts, promenading back and forth. The natives have a custom of
baptizing each other on this feast day by throwing
water over one another from little black bowls,
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