THE CUBA REVIEW 



35 



A Visit to a Small Sugar Plantation. 



By an American Lady Tourist. 



IT was the Captain, the merry, resourceful and ever gallant "capitan" who suggested, 

 planned and executed that most successful outing which will forever remain a 

 fragrant memory in the minds of both M. and myself. 



Although this was our second trip to Cuba we had never visited a sugar plantation, 

 for we had found the fascinations of the gay life at Havana so enthralling that we had 

 stolen no time for rural outings, save those to the Yacht Club at Marianoa which were 

 so smart as to have a distinctly urban flavor. So when the Captain, who was no end 

 of a personage on the island, being a Marquis of something or other, — which title, 

 because of its Spanish origin he dropped after fighting on the Cuban side during the 

 war — heard this, he was fairly beside himself with tropical excitement, and, as he had 

 rather established himself as our cicerone, vowed that not another day should pass with- 

 out a visit to "the mos' gran' plantation — belong my cousin — big people." As we long 

 before had found it useless to combat the Captain, we decided to fulfil our destiny with 

 the best possible grace. 



I think it was somewhere in the neighborhood of five — at any rate the milk venders 

 had begun their shrill chant of "la lecha" under our windows, — when we were aroused 

 by the call of our faithful Ramon and we quickly completed our matutinal ablutions. 

 In the midst of a dainty al fresco breakfast, — spicy coffee, luscious little red bananas, alli- 

 gator pears and an irresistible morceau of a genuine Spanish omelette, — served in 

 the shrub-enclosed patio of our casa, in rushed El Capitan, his expressive face 



aglow with sat- 

 isfaction, partly 

 at the success at- 

 tending his ef- 

 |r\ <r^" ^jJii^BIISi^B I i' ^ JSM^. forts, and partly, 



I think at the 

 dashing figure he 



!< f H? *!" * ! M ffl HHHK^ IM^^ll "^ .Ji ...SHUVT*^^ TT'^iSSi^Hi '^^^^ '^^ ^^i^ smart 



Khaki uniform. 

 His yellow top 

 boots were pol- 

 ished till thev re- 



