The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-04-05
A .VILLA OF DELIGHT

One Of the Loveliest Places In Cuba.
Havana is set in lovely surroundings.
,srtile and blooming, at its best in March
and April. Villas and country houses Of
the wealthy are scattered here and there in
.or,man ling positions and with delightful
ou,looks. Among these the Villa Palatino,
now called the Villa Sanchez, or LAS
D.licias. " is one to be remembered. For
merry owned by he bankrupt Count Pala-
uno. it subsequently became the property
n one Of tie four daughters Of Senior
Abreu, an octuple millionaire sugar planter.
She married Sa chez OF Havana. Others
Of the sis -ers founded homes for the aged or
ssylums, while another built one Of the city
thsa,ers, whose proceeds are devoted TO the
suoport of the above named charities.
fTpon her marriage with Senior Sanchez
III, owner Of the villa sailed for Europe
some five years ago. ard has
never as yet returned to occupy it. Although
closed to the public, our genial guide,
itomez Carrera, seemed to have the eutree
Of all places worth seeing, open or closed.
The approach TO the villa from the Cerro
road lies between a stately row OF roval
palms, eighty feet high, whose kymuetri-
cally tapering trunks, without speck OF flaw,
look like finely hammered granite. This
avenue Of palms. one OF the finest on the
island, is fully quarter Of a mile in length
"a magnificent approach to the mansion,
which is the central point Of an estate of
6. 200 acres. At the end of the avenue we
come TO a wall and ornamental iron park
gate. Here the porter emerges from / is
lodge and at our guides behest
swings wide the gate and beneath
oyer.hauging trees which form
a vault Of foliage. cool and green, we pro-
coed up the well-kept gravel driveway to
the open space about the stables aud the
villa. Crossing this ave ue at right angles
is long alley toward the east, with double
row Of trees and turf, long basin for
choice water fowl on one side, and at the
eud Of the Lovely vista gllstening white
tea pavilion, escont ed in grove of bread
fruit aud mulberry trees. Toward the west
stands the villa, which, like oil the Cuban
country houses, is of one story, Marble
tiled verandas surround the house. which is
approached by broad flights Of mar le
steps. The Inevitable white iron wind w
gliles omnpresent in Cuba and hint
ing at needed protection in troublous
times, adorn all the windows. The
SCI So of security conferred by these
window guards must be incalculable in
tropical country, when comfort demands
wide open windows and free air. The
widest open spaces are not over three
inches so that they not impro ably keep
out the largest of the summer mosquitoes
also.
The house. like most French villas, has
central salon; smoking and billiard room
otgreater length is on the garden front, and
the dningroom, on the other side OF the
Ialcn, opens out upon the court yard. At
either end of the salon are the sleeping
spartments, tie owners, at one end, the
guests, at the other. A marble bath, almost
large enough for plunge. is built in a we'll
appointed bathroom.
The kitchen is especially foreign and
strange. A wainscotipg Of blue and white
tiles lines the walls, while the same tiles
line and cover a cooking range as large as a
bedstead built in the middle of the room,
and which would eppall the heart Of New
York chef, with its half dozen cooking
holes, eacI only large enough to hold a
handful of charcoal. The many stump uous
repasts having had their birth on this altar
dsprove the assumed necessity of kitchen
chimney for kitchen range. A great tiled
oven and wall shelf and an earthen jar as
large as barrel to hold water complete tie
Gull airy equipment.
The villa is on two sides, hedged In by
gardens laid out terrace-like, wien marble
balCstraded steps connecting the various
Levels. The aim of the owner and gardener
seems to have been TO cultivate and de-
vslop large variety of specimens of each
species of tree and plant. There ere date,
sago, cocoanuS royal palms and the
Travellers tree;" snanas of many varie-
ties; coffee. bread-frUit, mango and rubber
trees; choice roses, Cage iessamine and a
hundred other beautiful and odor0us plants
and vines. A great, stone-curbed basin
ten feet deep and forty feet square, is filed
with fragrant floating lille, its borders
frlnged with Towering tropical shrub ery
Well has the efficient "mayordomon in
charge, Fermen Betancourt, done, as the
excellent coalition of the property shows,
notwithstanding the long absence of the
owner abroad.
Looking toward the west from the prin-
cipal veranda entrance is a specially cha m
ing vista. In the foreground, three flights
OF terraced steps, wi h marble groups aud
fountains; beyond, a rose garden. and then
green fields Leading down to the great
avenue of giant>palns. In the far distance
beyond the city of Havana, lies the SEA. blue
as an amethyst, and ever sending landward
its invigorating breath
WIN. GIBBONS PRESTON.