New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-01-24

perfectly natural Tie materials, Of course are
very ordinary, but by no means So tnsy as the
worthless cotton slips IN which the British negroes
drcs, Some are OF madras goods. and all are
figured most eNtrayagantlY. The hcaddrcss is "a
largc madras kcrchicf. audaciousy coOred and
figured wound around their woody heads IN grace
ul folds and caught in a fascinating knot Just
over their forrhcadS. To know how 10 wind aud
tie this Ilcrchcf is high art generally practiScd
bv professional headdrc>Sers, who are visited in
the early morning by hosts of women. Another
kcrchcf equally gaudy, is worn about the neck.
rrhe low and often Just low Is the law al
lows The dress. caught closely under the bust
in front and gathered at the corresponding point
in the back. hang, down in Il long train, which.
when the women are walking, by tick too
intricate for me- Is drawn around the figure and
fastened at the waist, that ON one side the
garment touches the ground, while on the OTHER
it is open from the knee down, revealing their
,hapclv les. They all go barefoot Nothing has
ever been devised in the dress of comic opera
chorus more brilliant than the everyday costumes
of the common negro girls of Guadcloupe
II follows from what have said of the general
prosperity OF the French islands that their towus.
among West Indian towns. are decidedly superior.
The streets are clean, we'll paved and we'll drained
Fort dc France. built on a mountain side, is sup
piled with II system of surface drainage which
carries all refuse matter with torrent force
directly into the sea. II contains a large hotel.
excellent cafes. theatre where good PLAYS are
well acted some fine public buildings, and houses
which, if generally small, are Singularly comfort
able The harbor is always full of shipping, the
shops full OF busy purchasers and buster clerks.
Every body il active. Architecture, naturally, is
not cultivated in its highest FORMS but the calhe-
dr,ls and churches would not be- contemplate any.
where There is as fine set of stained glass
windows the gift of Engenic In the cathedral 40
Guadcloupe ~ can be found in New-Yorl, and OF
the pain,ings and images which adorn the churches
oenrrally-thcy are all Roman Ca,holic-littc but
nraisr can bc said The Church is allpower,ul
and It's influence singnlarIy useful in promoting
democratic ideas and the cause of education II
has done a work here not unlike that done by il
in England after the Norman inyaoion where il
unified the people and held down the aristocracy.
Here IT, schools and converts are open 10 whites
and blacks alike. It irowns on distinctions, lifts
nm the low licet and teaches the naughty 10 keep
his pride well under II seems 10 me that any
nhiloSophic person who visits these islands must
src that the amaigamation Of the races in Mar
tiniaue and Guadcloupc las been most fortunate
thing The situation in these islands, you must
remember is peculiar and quite unlike that ca
sting in oar southern States. The races here are
negroes. on an average. are ten TO one white man.
To preserve white supremacy means necessarily to
hold the blacks in Ignorance, poverty and social