The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-03-17
liar LETTERS FROM CUBA JAMAICA
Sil-i' AND HAYTI.
HAVANA, FEB. 10, 1853.

,,.l:ovs am very apt to begin my letters
V e'I I am ~ and this may follow the
yin 10 Of the rest for the two most inter,
Sam ptSncs have to say, are that am sui
cpps Ger nv sea voyage, and that am here,
ri WY, IN an old Spanish house, built of stuc,
spps chs and painted al fiesco, once occupied
el h;sbop. and now by a thoroughbred 20
ling to you in an undress OF no coat,
'iA or cravat When remember that
's'.,.u;gbt ago found it too cold and too raw
V,ton to go out of the house, | can scarcely
,f,re in my personal identity we lel'
S,,Ieston on Tuesday morning, fepruary
~ The weather was cold and windy' anu,
~ ,fter we left the harbor fully expecting 10
T.rv sea.sick, went below, and got in'V my
.,S was not lucky in my sleeping place
s' . IN the forward cabin, nearly amidshlps
" .nrs hut directly over the boiler, and d.
~ nnder the hoofs of eighteen horses en-
fr Havana. But my companion IN the
w., ro,m proved to be an amiabie little
rlSu,or and retained at once in my SER
Isno Ill attentive English waiter on board,
we a. 'U Ursnared to meet the demon fairly. But
1u ~ p not One night only did we have
C"I reather and slept through that. The
tor the time lay TRANQUILITY on my back,
Nv oranges and wishing myself IN New
fs'J9 On the the third day | went on
~ The weather had already become demi-
i;,ol and under a blue heaven over gilt
.,,ns sea we steamed on towards key west
Tbore we should have arrived on thursday
rbt but our captain made mistakes IN ms
Lining. and when awoke under the rlch
ynen liSht that poured through the cabin
sndow on Friday morning found that we
'.re lust backing up to the pier. at Key West
r,ney a low sandy shore, covered with luxu-
,,nt growth of aloes and feathery palmettoes,
l,tsd ALI along with shining white cottages,
.mooc which towers a cage-like lighthouse,
,'gs of pelicans dipping into the surf after
tbes half dozen vessels moored alongside
~, ner and two or three lying motionless
an he CLASSY green water, and you have Key
Ws.t AS it appeared to us on that clear, sunny
oorung II wanted only few tall cocoa-nut
t,sss 10 give it completely the air of one OF
thOse
Isles remote that ride
On Oceans bosom unespied.'
The character of the scenery was new to me,
and the morning air was SO pure, and warm,
end baImy that soon had to doff my thick
,Othes. and after breakfast appeared on deck
,,ais for the day, clad in a thin suit, to the
surprise of my Gaul, who had all along re-
,sried with ineffable wonder my calm compo-
Sre in my berth, my " sangfroid de petite mai
rgx, az he called it. And now lying down
resi-, now watching the little islets rise and
nnish along the far horizon of the calm ocean
ned along towards the Queen Of the Antil-
: We were some seven hours behind time,
u great was our fear lest we should not en-
g6e Moro before shutdown You must know
aa since the times of Lopez, the Spanish
jwrnment in the island have enforced strict
the order which forbds any ship from en-
ring the harbor after the evening gun is fired.
imagine the feelings with which | anticipated
Ming all night on the heavy swell which
qsseiessly surges outside the narrow gate Of
The port But the good ship spread her wings
u the friendly breeze, and with sail and steam
We hurried on At four o'clock there was a
rush to the upper deck, and 10! bold and
brown against the silver blue cloud bank before
u, rose the irregular outline of the island.
The hue Of the waves frightened around us
as We went EDWARDS, till we sailed through
deep Of as rich and glowing blue as those
that beat against the cliffs of Capri. Palmer
and palmer grew the brown hill sides, the
bright, ltalian-loOking villas, and the lofty palm
reeS of the country-plainer and palmer the
lark gray rocks and white tower of the Moro
.sstle the innumerable roofs and white gilt
2rng walls of the city. Not sail was in
sght-a most rare occurrence-which made
me feel as if we were discovering for the first
time the fair land before US Soon, however,
sateen sail swoOped out on the sea from behind
the frowning cliffs, and the massive masonry
Of the fortresses that crown the heights became
tstnguishable The red and yellow of the
Slsnsh flag floating over the walls the white
untrms and shining bayonets of the sentinels
Rn came into view The lateen sail dropped
alongside our still advancing boat, a pilot came
% board and while the sun was still glowing
through the cloud bank on our right and play.
lg over all the gay gorgeous scene, we round
ed the tall cliffs that guard the entrance, and
saw the whole panorama of the vast land lock-
ed bay with its ships and its shores suddenly
stretched out before us. We passed far up along
The line of picturesque stone quays and dropped
anchOr nearly opposite the custom-house. |
d not think that even the Bay of Naples, or
The rOadstead of Genoa, is more strangely,
naintly beautiful than the scene which now
resented itself An endless line of masts.
rm which fioated the greatest quantity of
gay flags glanced in the red light along the
massive low wall of yellowish stone, on which
se built along the northern half the landing
Paees of the cargoes, and along the southern
the Promenade of the cavaliers and the queer
o'aOtrs. Negroes in bright jackets and brief
tUT'ers 'hronged the quays and darted about
'le harlOr IN boats, the lateen sails and paint
ed bulls Of which, now bright scarlet, now blue.
now striped in green and white, gave an infinite
gAey to the wdterScdpc. Great square stone
warehouses; fronted with low colonnades. lined
Tie commercial region of the quays, and were
S EIS by elegant dwelling houses, in the
l@l ' style, succeed and painted, and relieved
v5l6aally with masses of feathery foliage
va bright green jalousies, while through the
llSe srched gateways, the singular volantcs,
wv" Ihe!r sllver-mounted bodies, immensely
. Any sNeie and liveried negro positions, were
IIg IN and rolling out. The colors of the
-'lHg' formed the most quaint and pictu-
oiT contrasts. The long colonnaded Gus
,ruy"'e IL painted of light delicate bloc,
~ 1yl out with lines of white. Hard by is a
,p'ins palatia in width of frontage, though
n Two stories in height, of soft pink, orna-
u'S'ea IN white. Light green, light yellow,
ru' orange-colored mansions diversity the
.a' and behind these fanciful Moorish-look.
Wy edlhces rises ever and anon the sombre
gay tower of II Romanesque church, or the
~, ss@peakcd roof Of huge convent The en-
rance 70 the harbor was hidden by the battle
. ~rl'ed heights behind us; and what with
,nI p% ,t 'gnarng the Hill tops here and there,
',l SAI'e hamlets, and red hamlets, and ham.
b,, " every hue, dotting the brown slopes, and
rb suN rch green tufts Of tropical trees, the
n .IS circle of the harbor was as bewilder-
'"s! beautiful as need he.
AL %'a VI a dozen Spanish men of war lay here
and . sefe about the bay; French corvette
And Ia lrlgate just off the Almeda de Paula !;
,y e tar "a by ourselves magnificent English
Ws s'y,lUur displayed the white ensign of the
br,S,' uu,an Admiral. Queer little boats, with
Aes,IooS;N rea canopies, and manned by clean,
,roTsor. my Spauiards in white jackets and
aod cn. t brought oranges, bananas, cocoa nuts
~nger' tSonl-a tase officers, to our vessel; pas
is nth n. hurried to and fro to get their permits
Gam y" .1 polite douaniers who boarded us the