Note 62 — Chapter VII

Delgado (p. 308) admits that the youthful servants do break dishes, but they are cheap. “There are Indians in Manila who make and repair watches and other delicate baubles, and do not break them. Consequently, not only can they handle bamboo, rattan, nipa, and bolos, but also other things; and they make and handle them lovingly.”

“This is because they are generally heedless, sometimes through stupidity, and at other times because they are thinking of their sweetheart, or of something else, instead of what they are doing. When the Filipino drops a dish, the Spaniard says nothing, or is satisfied by calling him only a brute, animal, or savage; while in his own home, he would not escape without some buffets, which have more effect on this race than would the Philippics of Cicero.” (Mas, p. 71.)