982 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



December 1, 1913. 



noboch- else, and proposed, seconded, and 

 carried unanimously a vote of thanks to the 

 little niece of the Mayor of Camag-uey for 

 having so graciously performed the ceremony 

 of turning- the first sod of the Cuban Rail- 

 way. 



This he had inscribed on parchment 

 and neatly bound. Then he boug-ht a 

 pretty little gold \vatch and had the 

 same resolution engraved on this. Both 

 parchment and watch he took with him 

 to Cuba, and went straight to the house 

 of the Mayor of Camaguey. 



At the house itself Spanish hospitality as- 

 serted itself. They were shown into the best 

 room, and a little crowd gathered outside 

 the house, curious to know what was doing. 

 Sir William put two parcels on the table, 

 and announced that he wished to see the 

 little signorita, the one who had turned the 

 first sod of the Cuban Railway. Off went 

 the women folk to hunt her up, and the word 

 went round among the crowd outside. The 

 public curiosity was quickened. The crowd 

 enlarged. Out in the courtyard the visitors 

 could hear the splashing of watei". The 

 signorita's' face was being hastily washed. 

 Then there was a further period of waiting. 

 The signorita was having her Sunday dress 

 put on. 



At last she was brought to Sir Wil- 

 liam, and the great man, putting his 

 hand on her head as he bent down to 

 kiss her, could feel that her hair was wet 

 around the fringes of the face-washing. 

 Then he took up the two parcels. 



" Let's go out into the courtyard," he said. 



Now through the fence and over the gate- 

 way, all that went on in the courtyard could 

 be observed by hundreds of eyes from the 

 outside. And hundreds of eyes were imme- 

 diately focused upon the scene. Head rose 

 above head at every 'vantage point. People 

 were climbing over each other to see what 

 was going on. All of which suited Sir Wil- 

 liam splendidly. 



Gravely he opened the first of the parcels, 

 and produced the important looking parch- 

 ment bearing the resolution which " the 

 president and board of directors '' had passed 

 in Montreal. And he read out the document, 

 one of his officials translating it as he went 

 on into his best Spanish. Then the docu- 

 ment, in its handsome case, was presented 

 to the signorita. 



Next the second parcel was undone, and 

 the gold watch produced. Excited exclama- 

 tions outside. 



Sir William made a little speech, which 

 was also translated, and then he gave the 

 delighted little maiden the gold watch, " as 

 a slight token of the appreciation of the 

 president and board of directors of the Cuban 

 Railway for her gracious act in turning the 

 first sod of the railway."' 



And again he gave the little girl a kiss, 

 and shook hands with her father and mother. 



The quick, warm Latin nature of the out- 

 side crowd was touched, and when Sir Wil- 

 liam looked up at the tier upon tier of faces 

 there were smiles and tears upon scores of 

 them. He had reached the hearts of the 

 people of Camaguey at last. 



The next obstacle was the section 

 where highways had to be crossed. 

 Here the people themselves came to his 

 aid. By the thousand they signed peti- 

 tions calling upon the military governor 

 to grant the Cuban Railway the right 

 to cross the highways of the island. Sir 

 William himself was ready when these 

 petitions were presented to the military 

 governor. The latter admitted the 

 benefit the railway would be to the is- 

 land, but what could he do? He was 

 expressly forbidden from granting any 

 franchise. "What would you yourself 

 suggest?*" he asked Sir William. 



Sir William frankly admitted that the 

 situation was too much for him, but he was 

 certain that if the Governor, with his vast 

 experience in statecraft, would take the mat- 

 ter into consideration, he could solve the 

 difficulty within forty-eight hours. 



'•' Suppose you think it over," said Sir 

 William, '" and let me know what you sug- 

 gest.'" 



" Very good,'" said the Governor, and the 

 seance terminated. 



Sir William at once drove to the Gover- 

 nor"s confidant and chief advisor, who hap- 

 pened also to be his own friend. 



" The Governor will doubtless send for 

 you to advise him as to whether anything 

 can be done to permit me to link up my rail- 

 way,"' he said. " I thought it best not to 

 suggest to him what he might do. But if 

 he asks you, please advise him that he could 

 easily solve the situation by granting a re- 

 vocable permit. Once I get that I'm mighty 

 certain it will never be revoked." 



While he was still speaking, a messenger 

 came to the friend to come and see the 

 Governor. " He's acting even quicker than 

 I had hoped for,"' said Sir William 



.A. day or two afterwards Sir William was 

 asked to come and see the Governor. 



"Well," he said, "did you find a way 

 out?"' 



" I think so," replied the Governor. " It 

 may not be exactly what you want, but I 

 think it will do. What do you say to a 

 revocable permit?" 



Sir William shook his head, argued for a 

 long time against it, and died hard — very 

 hard. But he died. 



The Governor, you must understand, was 

 adamant. He would grant that, but nothing 

 more — positivelv nothing more. Sir Wil- 

 liam thanked him, recognising the delicacy 

 of the situation, and accepted — reluctantly 

 accepted. The revocable permit was granted. 



How to get out of the office without mak- 

 ing any sign of haste must have demanded 



