The Penn's Grove record., 1886-06-26
A CARNIVAL BALL IN CUBA.
Scenes in the Casino EspanoI--A La
byrinth Of Artificial Grottoes.

Lit OIGutNbId ldNE NdNtl hiApAA 1NN'
on a miniature stage built III the corner
which faces both of the large rooms
stretching out at right angles to each
other, and whose floors of white marble
were covered with persons, most OF
whom were in dominos or fancy COS
TUNES and masked, promenading up and
down. The few men who were not
masked wore ordinary afternoon or
business suits, only one dress suit being
visible, and few of the ladies, even
those not in dominos, wore low-necked
dresses.
After an Introductory overture, the
orchestra at the Casino Espanoi on the
night in question struck into the first
dance of the evening in "Vals Tropi-
CAL" The Cubans have two kinds OF
waltzes, that just mentioned and the
''Vals Strauss" which last more nearly
resembles our own American movement.
The ''Vals Tfopical'' consists OF II
movement, a soft, melodious one OF
about two hours in length, played over
and over again. The time is very Slow
and the air is languishing and enticing.
Hardly had the first notes sounded
when the room was filled with dancers,
and in a moment it seemed as if a hui
man wave rose and fell with the same
yoluptuous measured cadence as the
strains Of the orchestra. The step taken
was the waltz, but the movement was
so slow that the dancers really only
walked to and fro in it. Without the
exchange OF a word and with perfectly
immoyable faces, a couple would see
saw back and forth for fully ten min
utes, then suddenly stop, walk around
or sit down, and as suddenly go at 1t
again.
4 typical Cuban family were my near
lreighboFs. The father, a short and
very stout gentleman, who was evident
ly an officer of the club from the defer
ence that was paid him, was nearest
Then came wodaughtars, aged, re-
spectively, about II and 20 years, and
both very pretty. with the blacklist hair
and eyes, pearly teeth, and delicate COM
pleXion-tlleir faces for "a wonder not
covered thickly with the white Casca-
rilla powder which disfigures the majority
of the Cuban women; and then the
mother, a fine-looking, gray-haired wo-
man of about 45. The daughters were
dressed very plainly in ~high-necked col
ored lawn dresses. They wore gloves,
but no jewelry, and carried handsome
fans exquisitely painted by hand. The
mother wore plain black silk and vel
vet, with fine old lace trimmings, and
her few diamonds sparkled with IN UNI
mistakable lustre. Every now and then
the son, a young man of about "A,
would come up, whisper a few words to
his mother, and go away to join some
dancing intently, but did not converse
much, the daughters casting glances
around from under their long eyelashes
once i'll a while that would make the
average American want to leave at
unless he could know the fair
archers, but as quickly and demurely
dropping their eyes again if they found
themselves observed too closely. AS
the lancers neared its conclusion and
the ''rumti-iddleum" of the grand chain
began, beaus began to arrive, at first
singly, then by twos and threes. These
youths, all well dressed and well man
nered, invariably spoke first to the
father, then shook hands with the
ttiuS ilbIAo VI lhIIs anu titis lit bON-
ing TO the mother, sat down and talked
with the latter. In a few minutes, CON
sequently, the good lady wa surround
ed with beaus, all talking and gesticula-
ting, while the fair daughters still sat
alone. This continued until the next
dance, a ''Nals Tropical" began, when
suddenly two Of the youths left the
mother and, evidently by previous ar
rangement, offered their arms to the
daughters, and were 0 with the latter
treading the slow measures of the, to us,
curious dance.
After enjoying some delicious ices
brought in we decided to leave this ball
for one at another club some blocks
away. BY this time it was nearly mid
night, and the waning moon only half
lit the streets still threnged with mask
ers all shouting and. laughing, but,
strang e to say, in very few instances
intoxicated. As we walked along a
tall, ungainly negress, Enthusiastically clad
in saeking, strobe by us muttering to
herself and with a crowd of gamins fol
lowing apd hooting at her. The lady of
III party drew back in alright. SONY
aerazy woman,p said our Cuban COM
panions. ''They allow them to roam
about the Street here" Coming to a
block where the sidewalk was under an
arcade we took the middle of the street,
and to my wondering query as to the
reason for this procedure l was told that
there had been several persons stabbed
of late under these dark archways, and
hence the precauti0n.
So through the narrow streets of the
city we pursued our way until a cor
ner turned, revealed a wider street
filed with people in front of a low
building brilliantly illuminated and
through whose windows floated ont
again ON the warm air the strains of
a "Vals Tropical. 1t was the club
house whittier We We're bound and
where a second ball was in progress.
A delay of a few minutes at the door
way while our invitations We're careful
ly scrutinized ensued, and We then en-
tered the first of a labyrinth of rooms
made to resemble grottoes, the walls
and ceilings being covered with papier-
mache, corrugated and painted. At
irregular intervals there projected from
the walls huge serpents of papiermache
holding in their mouths v~ari-eolored
lights. The orchestra was concealed.
but to its strains the dancers, here all
masked, moved slowly round, the lights
falling on their rich costumes and
bright colored dominoes with weird
effect. Threading our way through
these rooms we descended some steps
through what appeared a large cavern
and found ourselves in a large ball
room again filled with dancers. Look
ing back, we saw that our entrance
had been through the mouth of an i'm
mense demons head, whence streams
of maskers continually issued, or
through which they continually disap-
peared.