The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1872-07-13
CUBAN CIGARETTES.
Mew the weed b Manipulated ~ tae Great
Havana MamuTartorteA.
From the London Society.


palace of that name, but a fashionable
cafe in the heart Of Havana. The interior
Of the Cafe del Louvre is tastefully decor
ated.; the walls are concealed behind
huge mirrors, the floor is Of marble, and
countless tables crowded with Habaneros
and foreigners from all parts Of Las Amer
icss, are distributed about the saloon. At
one end is long mostrador or counter,
where fancy chocolate, confectionery, and
tobacco in all its branches are sold. Here
you have your pick Of cigars or sigarette
brands, from the gigantic and costly Ramas
to the Tamano pequeno cigarette. But
do not suppose that, because you are at
the birthplace of your choice Havanas,
you will get those articles at cost com
paratively next to nothing |, who from
infancy upwards, have cherished this
fiction, am lamentably disappointed, when
| discover that exhorbitant prices are
charged for the best brands. The cedar
boxes, with their precious contents, set
like gems in the midstsof tin-foil and fancy
cut paper, look inviting but | seek in
vain for a cigar at the ridiculously cheap
rate had prepared myself Ia pay ! try
Bravas and ask for a penn'urth Of the
best, but am Mortified when | am told that
a single specimen Of that brand costs
tive-pence The Intamidads alarm me
the Bravas unman me !; and as for the
Cabanas, the Partagas, the Henry Clays,
and the Upmanns, ! am filled with awe at
the bare mention Of their value per pound.
A real Ramas, | am Informed, is worth
eighteen-pence English. while superior
Upmanns are not to be had at all under
ten sovereigns hundred In despair Of
finding anything within my means at the
Louvre counter, | purchase medios
worth Of cigarettes medic, two-pence
half-penny being the smallest coin current
in Cuba-order a cup Of cafe nOir, and
sally forth in quest Of cheaper smokeables.
Crossing the square where the Tacon
Theatre and circus stand, | wander through
the narrow, ill-paved streets Of the Cuban
Capital. At the corner Of every street,
under archways and arcades, | meet with
tables laid out like fruit stalls, bearing
bundles Of cigars and cigarettes. Here,
at least, | expect to find something to
smoke at fabulously low rate. Yes, here
are cigars at two, three, and five for a
silver two-pence; but those invest in do
not satisfy me they are damp, new, badly
rolled, won't draw, and have all kinds Of
odd shapes. Some are curved like Turk
ish scimeters, others are square and fiat,
as if they had been mangled OF sat upon,
while few are undecided in form like
horse-radish The vender assures me that
all his cigars are born Of tobacco legiti-
mo, of "calidad superior" grown on the
low sandy soil Of the famous Tuelto AbajO
district but know what very small
area that tract of land comprises, and |
will no more believe in the abundance Of
its resources that / will i'll those of Cham
pagne and Oporto.
In my peregrinations, gaze fondly into
the interior of wholesale cigar warehouses,
but dare not enter and demand the price
If half Of one Of those countless cedar
boxes, which | see piled up to the very
ceiling in walls fifty boxes thick. At last
| founder on the Plaza de Sta Isabel, a
spacious square, laid out with pretty gar
dens and tropical trees. Here is the grand
hotel where l have several acquaintance,
and to some Of these | apply for informa-
tiOn on the subject of tobacco.
My foreign friends assure me you can
not get good cigar in Havana at any
price, as all the best are exported to Europe
and the United States; unless you prefer
German tobacco, of which great quantities
are imported to Havana. The natives
have quite a different account to give.
They declare that the best cigars never
leave the country, but are easily obtained
if you know where to seek them and
they refer me to the warehouses. Every
one whom | consult graciously offers me a
few specimens from his own particular
cigar case; and, as in Cuba, it is consider
ell an offence to refuse a mans tobacco,
am soon in possession Of goodly stock,
which | calculate will last me for the next
eight and forty hours, at least.
singular etiquette is observed all over
Cuba, with respect to smoking, which a
rough Britisher does not always appreci-
ate. An utter stranger is at liberty to
stop you in the middle of the street to beg
the favor Of your cd,sdeIG or light from
your cigar If you are polite you will
immediately hand him your weed, with
the ashes carefully shaken of, and the
lighted end conveniently pointed in his
direction. Part of your fire having been
successfully transferred to his cigar, the
stranger is bound to return your property,
presenting it by dexterous turn Of the
wrist, with the mouth end toward you an
operation which requires no little practice,
as it is accompanied with downward jerk
to express deep obligation. If, after this,
you are inclined to abandon your cigar
for q fresh one, you may not do SO in the
strangers presence, but wait till he has
disappeared There is . sort of smoking
freemasonry, too, between Cubans all ovel
the world. A Cuban recognizes a com
patriot anywhere by the manner in which
he screws up his cigarette, holds 1t, AND
offers OF accepts a light
Advised by friend who is a great
smoker, give up my cigar Investigations
and devote my attention to the humblel
cigarette. With this object in view,
ramble down the narrow calles or streets
of Sta. Ignacion, Del OpispO, and d.
Cuba. At every twelfth house which
pass, is . small shop where only the article
seek is sold In the aforementioned CALI
Is the deposito of the far-famed Cabanai
cigarette in the second, the Gallito anC
Honradez stores. visit the latter, which
holds the highest reputation, and take Al
| inventory Of the stock. / am shown al
endless variety of cigarettes, at compare
lively magnificent prices; q packet o
twenty-six Of those mostly In vogue. cost
ing only silver medic, or twopence halt
penny English. There are innumerabl
sizes. from the smallest named Acacias +
the biggest, or Tsmano Mayor, calle'
Grandiaoras. The floor Of the shop
sanded with burnt cigarette ends, lookin
like exhausted cartridges, and the pave
ment without is peppsred with their frae
ments. Every man or responsible chill
whom pass has little tube of smokin
paper between his lips, and glancing in q
an opsn restaurant, observe . group {