On the 23rd of February, following the extraordinary celebration of Washington’s birthday, the Commission, accompanied by a considerable number of prominent Filipinos and by several of the ladies, took a government launch and steamed across the Bay to the town of Balanga, the capital of the province of Bataan which lies directly opposite Manila where the sun goes down in tropic splendour behind the Meriveles Mountains. This trip was a new experience for me and was the beginning of my long acquaintance with Filipino hospitality.