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

AN OFFICIAL'S WIFE

into which were stuck slender stems of white wood,
the other end being fashioned into all kinds of
shapes-fans, leaves, roses, and flowers of many varieties. These looked like huge bouquets of paper
flowers, but were nothing more nor less than toothpicks. They are most delicately cut out of a single
piece of soft white wood, and show great skill in
carving. One old man spends all his time in carving toothpicks.
The dinner was good, but dining or rather the
feeding of one's guests is a serious affair in the
Philippines. All four of our hostesses and their
young uncle kept their eyes on our plates and we
were stuffed as if for the slaughter. They had no
end of queer sweets, rather sticky and clogging to
the American taste; and wine, warm champagne,
and ice cream, the latter in our honor. It was made
of carabao milk and was not bad if one could forget
how a carabao looks. After dinner we had music
and dancing, and were delighted with the young
uncle of the girls. He is a charming young man
educated in Europe, yet not spoiled by his sojourn
there. He was gay, unaffected, and simple in his
manners. He is clever, too, and manages the large
estate owned by an elder sister, who, it appeared, is
a woman of character and position in Pampanga.
She did not appear at the dinner and we did not see
her until just as we were leaving, when a tall dark
"Indian woman " appeared, who was dressed in a
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