Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-18
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
VENEZUELA; A LAND WHERE IT'S ALWAYS
SUMMER, By William Eeroy Curtis, author
Of The Capitals of Spanish America" &c.
With Map. New York: Harper & Brothers;

SUMMER. By William Eleroy Curtis author
Of The Capitals Of Spanish America" &c.
With Map. New York: Harper Brothers.
1t is almost superfuous to say that this
timely publication is deeply interesting, for
1t would hardly be imagined that Mr. Cur
tbs could write any other kind Of a book.
Astounding in that sort of material which
only experienced newspaper men seem able
to discover, this volume on Venezuela at
once takes rank superior to anything Of
the sort heretofore attempted. Every page
of it is enjoyably readable. even where the
author deals with such statistics as are
likely to be Of use to any one making
serious study of the country, which Mr..
Curtis has photographed with SO much Of
accuracy. The sketches are boldly drawn,
and there Is no effort to exaggerate minor
details. OF course, Venezuela is not en-
t1rely an earthly paradise. The first-class
hotels are generally well kept, and furnish
good table, and there are several restau-
rants at which one can get breakfast or
dinner II he only comes to spend a day;
but the guests are expected to sleep on
canvas cots, which, according to the preva-
lent superstition of the country, are more
heaithful than mattresses and wire springs,
Lesldes anording less shelter for divers and
sundry species of the insect family which
Mr.. Curtis feels compelled to say, show
more enterprise and industry than any
other class of Inhabitants. But no one
visiting tropical countries" continues the
author. can escape the assiduous atten-
tons of these little pests. They are no
more numerous than in Spain or Italy.
and the domesticated bugs of Venezuela \
are not nearly SO multitudinous or annoy
Ing as those which infest the Havana no
tells. There are no comforts in the hotel
bed rooms, and few conveniences; usually
only washstand, with a pitcher and
bowl. monstrous wardrobe. a cot and
one or two ordinary chairs. The floor is
covered with cocoa mating or else is
DAT mr. halt Aao
and other insects They have some
queer things on the bill Of fare. We stud
led over one item that appeared almost
daily as garden EGGS and when We order
ed some. out Of curiosity, it turned out to
be egg plant. Another was 'papas en- cam
isas A 'camisa' ordinarily is night shirt
or the jacket of pyjama. Hence, the
natural inference was that we had landed
| among community Of cannibals who were
serving UP somebody's papa in his night
shirt. But papa in Spanish means potato
and this mysterious article of food was
nothing more than ordinary steamed
potato with the skin jacket on. A can
taloupe Is called 'melone,' and the word
sounds like the name of numerous and
highly respected Irish family. So, when we
wanted portion of that toothsome fruit
we called for mallory And a woman's
bonnet Is called a 'begorra.'
Mr.. Curtis is a believer in the siesta,
which is, of course an invariable accompa-
niment Of life in ell tropical countries. In
cidentally, the s,esta habit collides with the
people should not sleep while their stom-
achs are full The Spansh-American eats
the heartiest meal of the day, drinks q
quart Of wine more less, and cup of
black coffee, smokes strong cigar half
a dozen cigarettes, snd then lies down on
his cot for nap Of an hour or two. day
after day, and not only is he healthy and
lives to ripe old age, but he never has
the dyspepsia, or BIight's disease or any
other Of the ailments that are born of indi-
gesticn. He does not bolt his food we
do. nor deluge his stomach with ice water
but he fills it with all sorts of oily condf-
ments, garlic, rich fruits sweetmeats and
quart of claret before he lies down in a
dark and poorly ventilated room to sleep.
VeneZuelanS lack energy, vet they ap-
preciate the utility of modern improve
ments; not invariably. but in most in
stances. The telephone is more generally
used at Caracas than in any city of SINH
lar size in the United States. The street
car lines at Caracas are probably run by
management which must be closely related
to the Anacostia company, because the
cars are small grotesque affairs" the
m olive power Is usually one large mule or
two small donkeys, and they get over the
ground with commendable energy. The
driver carries a horn, which is blown AS he
approaches street corners-something the
AnacoStta company does not seem to have
thought Of.
Not SO long ago Venezuelans were a trife
shy of railroads There is a road between
Caracas and La Guayra, but for some time
many people preferred to travel all day on
muleback In the broiling sun and to have
their freight shipped in the same way,
rather than send it by the cars. Guzman
Blanoo ruled in Venezuela then and he
was very indignant at the manner in
which, has road was being treated, for Guz-
man Bianco at tina. time owned all Of
Venezuela He demonstrated with the an
clients who Travelled and sent their belong
iEgs as their fathers had before them but
as no attention was paid to what he said
he sent out a battalion of soldiers who
DESTROYED RI
shippers and travellers were compelled to
use the railroad.
Guzman Bianco was car Mr. Curtis
tells several stories in support Of that con-
clusion. The dictator paid subsidy of $40
700 a year to sustain Italian opera in
caracas, but he rarely went to see any of
the performances. One night he did go, and
that happened to be the very night when
the prlma donna was particularly ill-ten-
pered, and had refused to sing. After wait
Ing half an hour for the curtain to go up
the illustrious Amortization SO he pro-
claimed himself-sent an aid-de-camp in to
notify the company that unless the opera
commenced in ten minutes the whole party
would De arrested The prima donna was
more than ordinarily obstinate SO she and
all the other singers and the manager were
marched off to the calaboza, and there re-
NAMED until they were sufficiently penitent.
Inc chapter on Bolivar and the other sub-
divisions of the book which deal with news
papers, agriculture, religion and Venezuelan
characteristics generally, must be highly
appieSialeu ny Ill people who enjoy clever
descriptive work. Considerable attention Is
paid to the disputed territory in Guiana. an
appendix being devoted to some of the more
important documents in the case of Great
Britain vs.. Venezuela, with an interpleader
by the United States.
THE TECHNIQUE OF SCULPTURE. By William
ordWay Partridge. Boston: Gin & Co.
Some of the folks who honestly behave
they know how the sculptor of today an
pies his art and brings forth the finished
product might be astonshed We're they to
read this carefully written and welI-iilus-
trated handbook Especially valuable to
the student, the work will nevertheless be
interesting to any layman who desires to be
informed as to modern sculptural methods.
THE HOUSE. An Episode in the Lives of Reuben
Baker, astronomer, and of his wife Alice nv
Eugene Field. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons.
Every Intelligent man or woman ever
engaged in the building or buying of q
| house or contemplating such action could
| hardly do otherwise than enjoy this, the
last OF Eugene Fields literary productions.
1t reveals q new phase of the versatile
authors tendencies toward the humorous.
for 1t combines the simplicity of THE
Of ol<a al