Morning journal and courier., 1888-04-28

quency your passport if you happen to be a foreigner, and especially so if an American, whom the Spaniard loathes, and searching your person, or even lady's reticule, if the whim seizes him. There is no chance for comfort or pleasure under this regime. You are arranged and lighted, and adjusted and watched, and glared at and bullied an hun 7red times 8 day. As under no other cir cumstances in Cuba, one hates himself for being an American, for the pusillanimity of his government which permits this bloodless little bantam of Spanish nisrule such tn- sulting and barbarous existence within the very waye-washings of our own shores.
 PRIVILEGED BEGGARs.
 On this train there happened to be just three coaches; one of each class. In the third-class car were score of negroes, Chi- nese mestizos or half-breeds and beRgars. The treatment of the latter class in Cuba gives them certain individualization and character. Evidently most of them quickly take place as genuine public characters, per mitted with consideration to ask aims, and if detected in imposition alA instantly subject ed to severe punishment. So those who are tolerated are most sympathetieally treated. While this is an odd social condition, it is still more odd that the beggar does not be@ come overbold and insolent. But the recog- nfzed mendigo is not only permitted, but en- couraged everywhere. You will stumble over him at the church doors; give him the sidewalk on the principal thoroughfares; see that he has comfortable seat in the cabin of the ferries; walk all around him in his various forms at the doors of the cafes and shops; defer to his being agreeably located in the parks and plazas; give him the pleasant est corner beside your potero in the entrada of your dwelling; and if you are not in 8 mood or condition to give him aims, you would be socially damned if you did not at least humbly respond to his request with, "Perdon a DOT DiosI" C'Pardon me, for Gods sake!'O There were six of these of the neither aristocracy of Cuba aboard this train; and though none had paid centayo of fare, all the consideration shown anybody by the conductor was bestowed upon them.
 SOME OF THE PASSENGERS
 In the second-class car were from thirty to forty of all colors, shades and conditions, from the Dig-eyed guajiro, startled at every sound of bell or whistle, or lurch of train; the matrife or butcher on his weekly quest for beeves for the coralles; a half dozen de- tallistas or Havana retailers setting forth for small consignments of produce; some com fortably dressed sitieros or small farmers from the interior; few smart clerks from the Havana shops; any number of well-clad mulatto girls and women, each one an ex- haustless reservoir of explosive giggles; and rude and roaring party of American sea- captains from their sailing craft in Havana
 
 for charters" cargoes of sugar, enliven~ | ing the journey with sundry attacks upon mysterious bottles, with songs of sea brava- ! do and female conquest ashore, whose flavor | and slaves were louder than the rattling of f the train, and with such good round oaths ! against every thing Spanish as would have | consigned them all to the black-holes of Moro castle had they been understood. In the ! frst-class were my friend and myself; { party of grave and anxious sugar planters | perfect types of the dignifed planters of ou1 ! South before the war; squad of the guard, 1 civil, proceeding to some municipality to re lieve the squad there stationed, which would 1 in turn relieve that of another village, whicl system keeps this branch of the Spanish sol | diery in Cuba constantly on the move; one ol two American commercial travellers, througt l the forcefu1 logic of conditions, represseG into most demure and humble personages; ! party of the Spanish Bank of Havana em ployes on tours of agency-inspection; pale gray friar who never removed his eyes iron
 the thumb-nails of his crossed hands; t me fascinatingly interesting object in tn
 person of the gigantic Matagas, the note ! Cuban brigand, who in the guise of a well
 to-do montero quietly got aboard at Jarucc
 left the train at Colon, and utterly bland
 his consciousness of my own caution and st
 crecy, ignored me and my own previou
 meeting with him, account of which, an
 this celebrated outlaws relations to som
 strange conditions in Cuba, shall give in ! subsequent paper; and more than score c
 Cuban women of all ages and grades or beau I ty-for there was not one, old or young, wh
 lacked the quality of beauty, at least in de
 gree.
 THE HANDSOME CUBANAS.
 And at the risk of making short journe
 long, few facts and observations >regardin ! these handsome Cubanas may prove of lA | terest. In travelling they dress precisely as
 for promenade on the Prado or an airin along Calle Anche del Norte, that is with ex
 traordinary richness and extravaganza. Jew elry is profusely worn; and the splendit
 Spanish fan and the charming mantilla ! which American women should wear in Gh
 summer and on dress occasions in lieu o
 their ridiculously grotesque head-gear, inten sify the fascination of their superb figure
 and faces. Twelve hours uninterruptet study of any body discloses much. So witt these women. They are positively heroic il
 the unchangeableness of position and fea' ! lures. So far as eyes could see during thi entire day they were as marble figures, saw ! as to their eloquent eyes and almost as elo 1 quent fans. No other women living can, ant \ apparently all unconsciously, do the madden | ing things with a fan which a Spanish ol | Cuban woman never can help doing. AnG | as to her eyes, here words almost fail. TheN ' are the very aphotheosis of bewitching ye 1 innocent invitation, languid daliiance, tender 1 reproach and exalted sirenic contemplation ! A quality too pleasant to know and be neal ! is one of self-unconsciousness, if that tern | may be used Most American women ii public places assume an attitude of aggres sive self-consciousness that seems to say: 'l | would have you know, sir or madame, that am female, woman and lady. Doubt | that and shall glare tou into extinctionr These women seem to have somewhere and ! somehow gained the knowledge that all that, without argument, is admitted by men, and even by women. Two other incidents ulusi ! trating sociological peculiarities occurred upon this journey. An old sonora sneezed. I Instantly and reverently score of passen- | gers responded ftDies te guardiai" C'God guard theel0 She sneezed again. This | time the concerted ejaculation was: Ma ria!n She sneezed the third time. This was | followed by chorus of voices with: "Joser | It is universal Cuban custom. and in it: motive reminds forcibly of the quite as uni ! versal German custom, when one sneezes, O
 expressing kindly concern by responding with unctious and expressive, "Gesundheitl' | Again young fellow, passing mother anC radiautly beautiful daughter on his way out J of the car, doffed his hat, stood straight ani E tall before the couple he had never befor'
 seen, and with the dignity of 8 veritable Doi Quixote said in Spanish: "Old woman, keel 1 that daughter of heavenly beauty for the un | worthy one before youl" Then he strod
 away and nobody assaulted him. The aget
 senora responded pleasantly, ssI will faith
 fully keep herl" Possibly the fair senora' fan moved a little more rapidly at the com pliment But nobody thought amiss of tn episode, or for that matter anything at al about it, save myself That sort of thing i of common occurrence upon the street ant in all public places in Cuba. The sociologi cal excuse fer it is that beauty everywher
 compels and is worthy of admiration. Il other words, in Cuba if one comes upon rar
 beauty in flower, sky, a stream or in
 woman's face, it is no crime to say so aloud SCENERY.
 Throughout the entire trip across Cuba
 wherever the train halted, in poured dis
 nal troop of beggars, lottery ticket sellers
 dulceros with all manner of sickening sweet
 of which the Cuban ladies bought freely an , ate voraciously, and peddlers of glow-worm