Such, then, is shopping in Manila, and it is only the replica of how I tried to match embroidery cotton in the Spanish shop it had been bought in; and the other despairing adventure I had when I went in search of fruit dishes. So I now understand why everyone said it was absurd of me to think I could “go shopping” in Manila, and I wished I had done as everyone else does, and got the things direct from Hong Kong, and saved all the trouble, as well as the annoyance of paying double; for, duty and all, it is cheaper to get things in oneself.
I am glad to be going home to Iloilo, as the weather is beginning to get pretty hot, and Iloilo is much cooler than this. Of course in Manila one has the advantages of the Australian provisions from the Cold Storage, which means fresh meat, vegetables, and fruit, besides being able to get any amount of ice, all of which luxuries are a great aid towards bearing up in a hot season; but the air at Iloilo is so much lighter, and the fresh mornings and evenings down there are wonderful tonics.
As to the social attractions of Manila, they are no better than those at Iloilo. Bridge! How one gets to hate the very sound of the name of the game! And now when I see a group chained silently round a Bridge table, I can only think of the Souls tied to their Vices in the Frescoes of Hell in the Campo Santo at Pisa.
I met at dinner the other night the wife of a very “prominent citizen,” who was a source of infinite delight to me in an elaborate defence I drew out of her by pretending I knew nothing about the game. I find this is the only safe course, by-the-bye, as, if you admit any knowledge of Bridge, you are forced to play whether you like it or not—or whether you can afford it or not, which is more important!
This good lady told me that it was quite true that she and the other American ladies play cards all day, informing me that every morning she, herself, played Bridge from eight to twelve, either in her own house or in that of a friend. I said:
“But how about your housekeeping?”
“Why,” she answered, “if you have a good Chinese cook that don’t amount to anything.”
“But it must be an awful bore,” I said, “in this climate to put on a dress and a hat and go out in the hottest part of the day.”
To which she replied that if I would let her teach me Bridge I should understand why she did these things. She was very amusing, in her dry, American way, and made us all laugh very much at the comical things she said. However, she was really in earnest about her offer to teach me; but I said I was very grateful, only I thought I would rather remain ignorant as long as I could if it “took” so badly as she described.
I feel much better in health for the change; and everybody here, both my hosts and others, have been so kind to me that I am quite sorry to leave them all. There are several pleasant people down in Iloilo, but I think a change of society does one as much good as anything else, don’t you?