The Portland daily press., 1869-11-13
Adventures i'm E7ayti.
TROPICAL ASPECTS.

SeS, pine apples, cocoanutS, bread, sausageS,
cigars, brooms, herrings, cheap prints of saints
| Carrying their bleeding hearts outside their
shrl-bosoms-and tending their grocery, a
stout wench in partI-colored tutban, calico
| dress, wide open at the breast, cigarette in
| mouth, no shoes, 10 stockings. Occasionally
we passed Senteel houses, entirely surround
ed by veraudahs, and these verandahS close
shuttered to keep out the heat. In the yards
| attached to these houses were TALL thick bod
led cocoa-palms, with foliage like a bunch OF
swamp flags exaggerated-the cocoa peculiar
to the West Indies. And of course in these
yards was world offowering .ropical plants
curious, gorgeous, misunderstanding things
that had the air of being glaringly out ofplace
| with no green house glass arranged around
| them.
oDORS OF WAR.
1t was the hottest part of the day, and so
| there were not many people stirring. Wemet
| two companies Of soldiers ON their way to en-
bark for the northern coast where the Quaker
City is bombaroing Fort Ticolet. The Qua
ker CITY 1t seems strange to speak of her
as engaged in such work-the very ship in
which hundred OF us pilgrims made famous
| pic mic excursion half round the world about
| two years ago. But she seems good war
| rior. She just riddled one of Salnave's war
| vessels in sea-fght two or three days ago.
NEAT SPECULATION.
The third citizen l met, addressed me in
| Spanish, and said he was going down to Be
| jar to post himself ON a hill ahd observe the
| battle which must come off there in a day or
| two, between the insurgents and the govern
ment troops, and he would take it as a very
great favor If would sell him the field-glass
| that was suspended from my shoulder.
l said did not care particularly to part
with it, but still-what would he give? He
said:
81 am willing to pay forty thousand dol
lars"
'Whatw
'Forty thousand dollars"
"My friend, are you insane?"
| He took a package out OF sort of KNAPP
| sack which was slung about him, and deliber
ately counted out forty new and handsome
one-tholsand dollars Haytien greenbacks.
| We exchanged. L felt small and mean, thus
to take advantage of lunatic, but then
what would you have done? l then resumed
my journey, with an unusually sneaking ex-
preston IN my countenance.
| EXTORTION.
| Arrived at my hotel, | asked the small col
oIed boy what l owed him Tor carrying my
valise.
"Nine hund'd dollahs, sah."
l tainted.
When l came to, a number of people were
about me applying restoratives and doing
| what else they could 10 help me. That soul
less colored boy was standing there, cold and
| serene.
/ said:
"How much did you say, boy?"
mine hundd dolahs, sah-reg'lar price,
sab"
appealed to the bystanders for pre- election
| An old gentleman OF noble countenance and
commanding pr sence said the boy was right
he was charging only the usual rate. l
looked at the other faces. They all mutely
endorsed the venerable conspirator's state
| ment.
| sadly handed the boy thousand dollar
bill. He walked off.
was stupehed with amazement. "Gentle-
| men," said, "what does this mean There's
a hundred dollars change Coming to me.'
| "rrue," the old party said, "but it is not the
| custom to re gard lrife like that"
Stunned and dizzy, l buried to nv room
| and threw myself on the bed, almost satisfied
| that had lost my reason. l applied tests. 1
| repeated the multiplication table without
| making a mistake 1t was PLAN that nv
| comprehension of numbers was unimpaired.
l repeated The Boy Stood on the Burning
Deck" without a blunder. 1t was plain that
| my memory was sound. l read one of Mrs
Brownins's poems and clearly understood
some of it. 1t was plain that my intellectual
| faculties were in a condition of even unusual
| vigor. Then what in the wor acas the mat
| ter? Had 1 not suddenly developed mono
mania-a craziness about money, only?
FELLOW SUFFERER.
| Somebody knocked. Then the door opened
| and poor, sad-looking American woman OF
| about thirty-tive years, entered. l seated her
| with alacrty, and with interest, too, for was
| glad enough to have kind, troubled face to
| look into, and gather from it sympathy for
my own sorrow. She said
"Sir, l am stranger to you, but grief
makes me bold. My husband died two
months ago, and left me in this strange land
| with little money and not a friend in all the
| island. My oldest son was soon Kidnapped
| and carried away to fight in the war. Our
little property was ten miles from here, and |
was living there at the time. My youngest
child was lying sick of a fever. These sorrows
| were not enough. A week ago the Insurgents
came at night apd burned my house to the
ground. My sick child / saved-my other
children saved themselves. But my escape
was narrow, A soldier cut me with his sabre
| you can see the stitched cash If you will
look while part my hair on the back of my
| head-iust there-Jo you see it? And this
dress-do you observe the scorched place at
| the bottom? The fire was that close behind
me. Think how sadly am situated. would
| give the world TO get home again to America,
if only to die. Can you not help me? WiU
you not help me? A friendly schooner cap
tain will give me free passage, but my cred
tors will lot let me 90 till they are paid. Oh,
1 do not mean that all my creditors are so
hard with memo, the trifles owe to most
Of them they have freely cancelled on their
books. But the butcher and the grocer still
hold out. They will not let me go. be-
seech you, sir, belp me IN this great eXtreDi-
ty. l would not go to any but an American
| and it has cost me tears to come to you.
But want to go so much, and these bills are
| but trihe-you canuot miss so small sum
and if"
"Say no more, Madam! Say no more. You
shall go home. I'll pay this villain grocer and
bloody butcher. Pack your trunk"
"Ht Htaven bless you sir"
With that she fell upon my neck, poor
creature, and gave way to her tears. was
moved myself, and finding all efforts to keep
back my own tears iruitless, yielded and
wept. At the end of five minutes said:
'Cheer up, Madam, cheer up! AIS well
now. I'll set this thing right in a jiffy. WHAT'S
the amount?"
81 am not certain,-my poor head has Deen
sadly tortured of late-but think tnat Sixty
thousand dollars will" ,
l jumped through the second-storS "inoo"'
sash and all.
A PRINCELY BILL.
Tuondered round the town for three hours
as crazv as loon-perfectly desperate. 1t
was nIain enough to me, now, that had gone
mad MAD on the subject of money. How l had
ever come to do such thing was mystery,
for / had always been sort of spendthrift, a
man who had never worshipped gold or green
backs to any alarming extent But was Ie-
luctant to accept the situation, anyhow, aud
so said to myself that by this Time Charley
must have bought all the things we wanted
and got the bills to the hotel. would go aud
pay them. would see ifthis dismal halucin-
alton was still in force. When | arrived.
told the landlord to make out his own bill
and add.the tradesman's bills toit, and give i
me as quickly as possible. Then sat dow
to wait, smothering volcano OF impatienc