Childish and ridiculous as this may appear now, it was far from being so at the time, especially in view of the supreme contempt with which the pugnacious Tagalog looks down upon the meek and complaisant Chinese and the mortal antipathy that exists between the two races.—­Tr.

[37] It is regrettable that Quiroga’s picturesque butchery of Spanish and Tagalog—­the dialect of the Manila Chinese—­cannot be reproduced here.  Only the thought can be given.  There is the same difficulty with r’s, d’s, and l’s that the Chinese show in English.—­Tr.

[38] Up to the outbreak of the insurrection in 1896, the only genuinely Spanish troops in the islands were a few hundred artillerymen, the rest being natives, with Spanish officers.—­Tr.

[39] Abaka is the fiber obtained from the leaves of the Musa textilis and is known commercially as Manila hemp.  As it is exclusively a product of the Philippines, it may be taken here to symbolize the country.—­Tr.

[40] Yet Ben-Zayb was not very much mistaken.  The three legs of the table have grooves in them in which slide the mirrors hidden below the platform and covered by the squares of the carpet.  By placing the box upon the table a spring is pressed and the mirrors rise gently.  The cloth is then removed, with care to raise it instead of letting it slide off, and then there is the ordinary table of the talking heads.  The table is connected with the bottom of the box.  The exhibition ended, the prestidigitator again covers the table, presses another spring, and the mirrors descend.—­Author’s note.

[41] The Malay method of kissing is quite different from the Occidental.  The mouth is placed close to the object and a deep breath taken, often without actually touching the object, being more of a sniff than a kiss.—­Tr.

[42] Now Calle Tetuan, Santa Cruz.  The other names are still in use.—­Tr.

[43] The Sociedad Economica de Amigos del Pais for the encouragement of agricultural and industrial development, was established by Basco de Vargas in 1780.—­Tr.

[44] Funds managed by the government for making loans and supporting charitable enterprises.—­Tr.

[45] The names are fictitious burlesques.—­Tr.

[46] “Boiled Shrimp”—­Tr.

[47] “Uncle Frank.”—­Tr.

[48] Messageries Maritimes, a French line of steamers in the Oriental trade.—­Tr.

[49] Referring to the expeditions—­Mision Espanola Catolica—­to the Caroline and Pelew Islands from 1886 to 1895, headed by the Capuchin Fathers, which brought misery and disaster upon the natives of those islands, unprofitable losses and sufferings to the Filipino soldiers engaged in them, discredit to Spain, and decorations of merit to a number of Spanish officers.—­Tr.

[50] Over the possession of the Caroline and Pelew Islands.  The expeditions referred to in the previous note were largely inspired by German activity with regard to those islands, which had always been claimed by Spain, who sold her claim to them to Germany after the loss of the Philippines.—­Tr.