Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1872-08-01
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NO. WALLACE,
tfit1f {fF1TTJWt
Gen. Taeon's] Judgment

mighty parsonage, invested witt
much the saIe authority as tina
of a Monarch in some countries
and, like a king, could not posi-
bly, do anything that was wrong
The Cubans have, seldom had rea
son to be grateful to Spain for tht
rulers shehas appointed over them
because these have been usually
selected rather OH the score of
influence than capacity or merit
There is, however, on record, al
least one Captain general wb dse
uameis held i'm esteem by the
Cuban pehple on account Of the
good he effected during his short
reign efac 1Earana: Gaptairl Zen.
eraE Taeon, established some de.
gree Of safety for the Aiuhabitantr
by luttSd 1eiag new laws; and by
severely blmishing certain Social
offenses which his ppeJec ecessors
had rather overlooked, 5sftieysdid
not theniselxes, set the eSample
1t is said of Taeen that, likeaAl.
fred the Great, he promised The
Cubans that they should be able
to cast their purses .pp the, public
pavements, and yet find them
there again after many dLys,-
Stories are currentin Cuba of the
generals SINGULAR mode of ad.
ministering justice, which in many
cases partook of an originality
somewhat whimsically Of It's kind.
The most popular story Of this
sort%s that of the cigar girl of
Havana, told to tla traveller by
those who were living in Cuba
during during General Tacon' s
administration. . -.
The writer Of this paper has
gathered the facts of, this very rro-
mantle tale, which he now offers
to the readers, in, The following
form:
MiraIda Es!alcz wa" retnarka-
ble Tor the beauty Of her person
and excellence of her tobacco
She kept a Eigar slgopin Havana,
in the Gale del Comerco; a mar
row street, 0with a -rfoot- path
scarcely wider than Aalf ordinary
curb stone. 1t was the veriest
section. of a shop without a front
of any kind /; presenting from the
street side much the same appear
ance as a burned out dwelling
would exhibit, or a theatrical
scene viewed by an audience
During the hot hours of thu day
a acurtain was suspended before the
shop to ward off the powerful rays
of the sun, under whose influence
the delicate goods within might
otherwise be prematurely dried,
while the effects would be equal
ly detrimental to their fair ven
dor, The easy mode Of egress,
assisted by the narrow curb stone,
together with many attractions
within the shop, tempted many
paSsers 10 drop in for a chat and a
cigar. There was a little counter,
with little pyrami6al heaps of ci-
garette packets and cigars of the
genuine Havana brand distributed
upon it. Affixed to a wall at the
back was glass showcase, fitted
with shelves-like a-boek case, and
laden with bundles of the precious
leaves, placed like volumes side
by side, and bound in bright yell
low ribbon. Although Miralda was
visited from morning till night by
every kind of male, black and
brown, as we'll as white, nothing
was ever said against the virtue
Of the young tobacconist. I
Like the cigars she sold, Miral-
1a was of "Calidad SUPERIOR" and,
in the same manner, age had rath-
er improved her quality than 9th
erwise, for itfhad ripened her in
to charming full-grown woman
Of sixteen tropical, summers.-
Some merit was due to Miralda
for the virtuous life she led for,
besides the temptations to which
she was daily and hourly subjec-
ted, she was quite alone in the
world, her parents, brothers, and
sisters being dead. iIiralda patu-
rally found many admirers among
ner numerous customers she,
however, made no distinction with
them, but had a bright smile and
a good word for all who favored
her with their praises and their
patronage. One alone, perhaps,
held q place nearer her heart than
all the rest. This was Pedro
Mantanez, a fine young boatman
in the harhor near the
Moro Castle. Pedro was OF good
white parentage, though one
would not have Judged SO from