Morning journal and courier., 1885-04-09
IN CUBA.

Paying for Being SwfndIed-Havana- ! A Gay Sunday-A Charming Senorfta | A Promenade in the Parque Cen.
 traI-Romeo and Juliet-A Sweet Re- | lease.
 HAVANA, Cuba, March 29. | To the Editor of the JOURNAL COURIER:
 Did you ever pay anyone to swindle you? That is what the traveller does when he gets the Spanish consul at New Orleans or Key 1 West to visa his American passport at an ex-
 pense of four dollars in order that he may
 contract yellow fever and be politely black
 mailed by every petty functionary and ser | want of the tourist public with whom he may ! come in contact in the island of Cuba
 The agents of the decrepit old Sick Man of l the Levant perform the same pleasing service for you when you survey the barren hills and mouldy relics of the past in lands where the star and crescent fly. But the Spanish gov 1 ernment officials are not Orientals. Accord ingly they fleece the foreigner on an even larger scale, but with degree of ceremoni ous politepess calculated to make you grate- ful that it is your privilege to be thus feeced. Only it doesn't. You find the red tape and the extortion all the less bearable because of
 
 I pompous airs. You decide that after ali you prefer the overt impecuniosity of the man 1 with the fez, who hasn't been educated to 1 such pinnacle of courteous audacity. A little over week ago I descended the gangway of the steamer Hutchinson in Ha- l vana harbor and seated myself in one of the { precarious open boats that were in waiting to 1 convey passengers ashore. Here at the out 1 set was met by the selfish and retrogressive policy of this military government. We | could not go ashore on a tender or step inn ! mediately upon a handsome quay because l these modern pirates in charge of the harbor boats must be fostered. little later came ! the encounter with the professional snug ! glers who, by some unaccountable misnomer, are called custom house officers here. This 1 formality over, and tussle with the horde ! of lottery ticket dealers having resulted in l my favor. took victoria and started for the Grand Central Hotel directing that my | baggage be sent up at the convenience of the I customs officers.
 The view of Havana from the sea, the 1 scenes in the commodious harbor, the ap pearance of the narrow streets canopied over head with adjustable canvas and peopled with Spaniards, Cubans, negroes, Chinamen ard a grand pot poursi of hybrids, com monplace themes for description to-day, and I shall pass them over with only this incl dental mention.
 Many of the sights which doubtless i'm press tourists as striking, quaint or gro tesque seemed familiar to me account of my previous Oriental travels. I found the hotel typical Cuban establishment for top shelf patronage, with marble floors through out, tiled walls, large, lofty rooms and 6 reg ular Syrian court in behind, suggesting the hotels of Beyrout very strongly. The prices are as lofty as the rooms in these Havana ho- tels, however, ranging from three to five dol lars Spanish gold per day. This would be exorbitant in view of the fact that you only get two full meals were it not that the Span ish government has taxed every source of supply, so that necessities cost as much as luxuries ought to. Every branch of the public service has keen created monopoly and then sold to the highest bidder. Gas is five dollars per thousand Ia late reduction from seven dollars), artificial ice IS twenty dollars ton, American flour groans under an import duty of four dollars per barrel, formerly six dollars, SSc.. &lc. I took seat on the open marble -foored loggia and fell into conversation with an English-speaking resident.
 'sAh, you should have come yesterday" he said, shaking his head in mournful way.
 ssSunday?" queried. "Yes. sir. It was unusually gay for Havana-in fact, the last great gala day of the season."
 ''What sort of gaiety characterized the dayan ''Well, in the morning we had some
 
 the hours until noon agreeably. In the af ternoon from three to six first-class bull fight was the attraction. The four beasts made really excellent showing and died with their boots on. Only two horses were killed, few others seriously injured, and one man somewhat dangerously wounded while endeavoring to leap over bull with the aid of a spring pole. Then at eight in the evening our grand bal masque began and lasted until 4:30 this morning. All Havana turned out to this show, which was really a very superior one of it's kind. Having at | tended all three of these entertainments, I feeling slightly fatigued to-day"
 'FUm-m. Is it possible?" ''Oh yes, we try not to get too prosy in Havana"
 I recalled experiences in the gay French l and Austrian capitals, and in the Creole city l of our own South; but concluded to award | the palm for gaiety of quiet sort to this Cuban metropolis. Especially as palms are more appropriate in Spanish America than at the other three places, where they are not indigenous.
 The characteristic forms of gaiety to be witnessed at the public parks and plazas scarcely impress American satisfactory. The limitations placed upon social inter- course in almost every country except Amer 1 ica harass and chafe us when we go abroad. l Perhaps we in the extreme of promiscu- ous looseness, while most of the other na- tions place themselves upon the side of ex- treme prudery.
 I was sitting on the veranda the other evening engaged in conversation with Mrs. H-, who chanced to be from my own city -a bond sufficient to cause Americans abroad to gravitate together inevitably. Aswe were thus chatting four or five of the English speaking senoritas who stop at this hotel skipped up to us The foremost was a charming creature in bodice of exquisitely beautiful crimson silk, all gored and cut bias and puckered to death There may have {o ha,. hut tf,t my uninitiated masculine eyes this was the most conspicuous feature. Addressing her self to me in broken English so sweet that it would have lacerated the heart-strings of a more susceptible man, she said:
 "Oh senor, will you not bring sonora and come over to the Parque Central with us!''
 .sWhat is the attractiong' I inquired, and I trust that shall be forgiven if my dia- phragm palpitated little under the influence of those ravishing Creole eyes. "For the ex- ercise, senor"
 ssWell, yes: I do need exercise, seeing as I went out to large sugar plantation to-day and only walked around some four hours or so'' 'tAh but this is different. The band plays and it is very gay An, please do come." I succumbed at this last irresistible appeal, innocently imagining that it was yearning for my superior society which made senorita so importunate But being discreet, con servative young man and not daring to trust myself alone with that crimson bodice and those deep liquid eyes, gallantly offered my arm to Mrs. H. and sallied forth. When we had got part way down the stairs an important incident occurred. My liquid eyed divinity called by her mother. When she returned she had young man saddled upon her, and it did not take re- markable penetration to discover that she was radically dissatisfied with this arrange ment.
 'SThat young man is her mothers choice for her, whispered Mrs H--, ''but she is quite averse to him and prefers another. No doubt she organized this excursion to the parque in order to get away from him." But did senorita thus easily submit to be- ing out generated by mamma? No, she promptly ''shook" that young man with all the ease of practiced American coquette.
 Just as soon as we were fairly out of the
 door she dropped his arm, fell back with an other Creole divinity y-leaving him to be cap l tured by willing confederate-and then be- gan to look about for the real Romeo. But, as I afterwards learned, the real Romeo had
 been lingering at the foot of the stairs, and
 when he saw his adored walking with his ri val, did not stop to look further, but strode of ol,o nto 0tuha l.