CABANAS 307 



and his wife a congenial companionship. He had 

 with him some old books, just received from Spain, 

 containing marked passages of especial beauty, 

 which he wished to share with his friends. His 

 graceful sentences were expressed in lisping Castil- 

 ian and adorned with many subjunctives. 



Upon leaving, the hostess pressed upon us some 

 flowers from her garden, the stems of which she 

 carefully wrapped to protect our fingers from pos- 

 sible thorns, and the host presented us with a 

 slip of paper upon which he had written "Antonio 

 Leit — In grateful recognition of a delightful visit." 

 As though our welcome had not yet been wholly 

 complete, the huge dog added his own by leaping 

 upon us to lick our faces. 



Among the ruins of the old stone slave house, 

 for such had been its use in slave-importing days, 

 we made a fine catch of insects, land-shells, and 

 lizards. For the latter, the spot seemed a veri- 

 table metropolis. Among several lizards caught 

 was one not often seen — the Cuban chameleon 

 ( ChamcEoleolis chamcdeontides) . Although not a true 

 chameleon, which is an old-world lacertilian, it 

 passes by that name in Cuba, and the authors of 

 its scientific name have seemingly approved. It 



