A TRIP TO CUBA AND THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



notice ; ns soon as tliis was acconiiilislicd, tlioy were set on a tabic in tlic hollow 

 sijiiare below our windows, in the full blazing sun, to await orders. The flies 

 ininuMliatcly covered every part, leaving no pleasant prospects for American tastes ; 

 other viands, including meats, shared the same fate. The dinner, notwithstanding, 

 looked well on the tal)le, and though basted with sweet oil and garlic by the old 

 blackman cook, and charged very unreasonably, was not nnacceptable to hungry 

 travellers. The town is situated on a bay more noble in its dimensions than that of 

 Havana, and bore evidences, in the sliip])ing in port, of an extensive commerce; 

 but it was a dull sort of i)lace, with a handsome I'aseo well planted with the Cuban 

 Cedar, but nobody riding on it. The air of a cajiital so evident in Havana, was 

 entirely wanting ; and after a ride to see everything of interest, we were glad to 

 desert our i)oor quarters, and row off to the steamer. 



About twelve o'clock, the opera performers and many of their audience, were 

 fraternizing on board ; the paddles moved, we were off to sea, on a fine, warm, 

 starlight night, passed the Moro again, at daylight, and breakfasted with an appe- 

 tite somewhat sharpened by short commons in the interior. 



The Cathedral containing the ashes of Columbus, is of course one of the sights 

 that attract all visitors ; the much vaunted monument is a mural tablet of small 

 size, with an effigy of the discoverer, representing him as a young man ; it is en- 

 tirely unworthy the subject. The so called military mass in the Cathedral and the 

 other churches, much sought for by strangers, is totally uninteresting. The sol- 

 diers are marched in in clean linen dresses, and stand perfectly still, but with eyes 

 wandering, to inspect the assembled strangers, while the ])riest goes through the 

 Catholic service, when they are marched out again. As to the soldiers (who are 

 all from old Spain), we should say they were taller men than those composing the 

 French army, and really very good-looking fellows, especially in Sunday garb. 

 The Sabbath is about as much kejit as in Paris ; bull-baits and cock-fights, and. 

 the negroes, by imprescriptible custom, dancing outside the walls — street watering 

 with an awkward machine with a long tail, held by ropes in the hands of two 

 opposite pullers, who water the passengers in the street without mercj' — volantc 

 driving on the Paseo — open shops and markets till after noon — comprise the em- 

 ployments of the inhabitants. The churches are better attended in the morning 

 than on other days, but mainly by women. The rich arrive in their volantes ; a 

 servant spreads a gay house-rug on the marble floor, and the ladies kneel a short 

 time, and depart. In several instances, their servants in attendance were China- 

 men, who looked very much at home in these religious premises. The poor who 

 had no rugs, either spread an old handkerchief, or kneeled on the cold floor. 



Many, indeed most of the streets in Havana, are so narrow, that in those devoted 

 to shopping an awning is spread (overhead) from one side to the other. Vehicles, 

 by law, all go one way ; so that you have to go roundabout to get into the cur- 

 rent. The shops are extremely shallow ; the goods are brought out to the female 

 shoppers, who sit in their volantes to make bargains. The only shops that bore 

 a strong resemblance to our own, were the silversmiths, who carry on, apparently, 

 a thriving trade, and make a good display of their wares. The apothecary is 

 l)erhaps the next approach to our mode, but his medicines are kept in vessels and 

 gallipots of novel construction. You never could find a doctor or a lawyer with- 

 out minute directions, as nobody (not even the bankers or merchants) ever puts 

 up a sign of any kind ; you must find them by some other process. The shop- 

 keepers likewise conceal their names, but adopt a sign, either poetical or fanciful ; 

 one is La Bomba, El Sol, La Vergen, La Grand Signora, California, the Oranges, &c. 



Everybody has heard, no doubt, of the curious custom of keeping the volante 

 in the entry, but no one who first encounters the carriage in that position, can do 



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