The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-04-29
How People Live in Havana
QUAINT SCENES IN THE NIETI.OT'.
''''' '" Oils OTCUBA. ."'f'" ~...'

.'''. 49,. -. rGbi'! '..' .'.. .r
| A Cosmopolitan City-Rcscmblancc
to the East. with s3h atfes!or Differ
ence-NarrOw Streets and GUssip pins
Neighbors-Munic Clcaniines,
Tie Royal Havana Eottery Othc,
Matters. ~ I'D, -, -ry. =. ~: .... :,
-.'.'' rt;Hil,,l .Ci--, ...... %
HAVANA, CUBA, April 10, 1885
-"Land hop
7 1 turned over in my comforta
ble bunk and 'drowsily intimated
that my cabin mate would be full.
ly SO per cent. more agreeable il
he attended strictly to his own
sphere Of usefulness.
"Is that the reward for watch.
ing over you for the last two
hours, as q mother keeps vigil
over her infants cradle, and then
calling you rs Cuba looms up in
the distance Didn't you i'm.
plore and suppIicate me last even.
ing to call you ut dawn, in order
that you might absorb as many
first Impressions rs possible
Perfidious quill-mastcr, let thy
name be henceforth Ingratitude
As for myself, Pm going out on
deck to survey tho vast acres of
waving palms, the magnificent
ceiba jungles, and the clouds OF
gorgeous tropical birds that how
er everywhere"
And the door slammed upon
me with a violence which would
have scared all the somnolence
out of the Seven Sleepers of
Ephesus.
$ was on my feet at once, end
lost no time. in getting dressed.
During the first three days of
HI ocean voyage l am always SO
affected by the saline element in
the atmosphere that I have no
difficulty whatever in sleeping
like log ten hours ut stretch.
Of course I didn't take any stock
in the story about waving palms
and birds Of Paradise, and 80
when I went on deck I was pre-
pared to survey an unattrsctive
coast line. l have been so often
disappointed III the realities of
storicd lands, such ms Palestine,
Syria, Egypt and Greece, that I
ain always on the defensive now
when / come to some new State
or Island. But the
FIRST view OF CUBA
was not so bad as I expected.
Th ere were no trees, no very
lofty mountains, no brilliantly
verdnrcd hillsides. but the con
tour of the island WAS tolerably
pleasing, and did not present an
array of barren rocks sizzling in
u merciless tropic sun-a familiar
picture in the Levant. The Pan
of the IIatanzus, the highest cle-
vation to be seen, appeared a few
degrees to the left of the LOVELY
ing metropolis, toward which we
were directing our, course. BY
3 o'clock we were alongside the
frowning walls Of Moro Castle,
and proceeded to enter one of
the numerous "tinest harbors in
the world" Let me do Havana
bay the justice, however, to ad-
nit that it is commodious, pic
turesqe and most favorable har-
bor-without arrogating to my
self the authority to compare it
with Hong Kong, Nagasaki,
Yokohama, Singapore, Sydney,
New York or San Francisco.
At the same time l cannot un.
derstand how any traveller can
maintain his own self-respect,
and indulge in the, popular. mag
azine gush over his first, second
or last glympse of Cuba.
We steamed slowly into the
harbor, and picked our way care
fully through phalanxos of an
chored merchantmen, American,
Mexican, Spanish and French.
Here we glided past the mag
nificent steam yacht Atalanta, Of
Mr.. JAY GOULD. AND HIS PARTY,
who were sojourning III Havana
harbor at the time, passing back
and forth between the boat and
the shore in their own elegantly
appointed steam launch. I won
dered that the Spanish Govern
ment was ready to accord oven
this small privilege to foreign
ers, though they did represent the
wealth and influence of the
greatest Of nations. 1t is the &C.
MUS of Spanish institutions to
resist every Improvement and
convenience which is calculated
~ raI,,nn thu os,,~c,xk 80