Arizona republican., 1898-03-31

Boston. Philadelphia.
 wearing corsets, as some of our fledg- 1 lings in the military service are. The
 uniform of officers and men seems to i be of the same materal-a fine green and white stripe gingham or some 1 similar fabric for both coat and trou- serS. The officers wear a few gilt
 stars on their coat sleeves and a white
 canvas cap; the enlisted men a Pana-
 ma straw hat, with one side folded up and fastened with rOSette
 | The volunteers, corresponding to our
 National Guard, are doing duty in the i city as an adjunct to the police They have an inspection and guard mount every morning on the Prado. I twice saw this ceremony performed and never saw anything so slovenly done before. There was no sizing up of the men; a body of five feet two inches would be between men six or eight inches taller. Talking in the ranks seemed to be allowed at all times. At the inspection the man became immo- vable only when the officer approached him and relaxed into Sociabiity i'm mediately after the officer had passed. Some had leggings, many had not. They were a job lot of misfts, assorted sizes and colors, from 15 to 40. The regulars are having a hard time of it. In summer about 50 per cent sicken and die. At the present time some of them are begging on the streets, not having received their pay for more than six months. This refers to the enlisted men, The officers are paid and apparently enjoy themselves. They seemed to have just war enough on their hands and no desire to increase the volume of that kind of business Although their bullets might have as much penetration, they are no match for the American soldier in in telligence.
 One might imagine that everybody
 in Havana was rich, as there is an utter absence of dogs, which cannot
 be accounted for by lack of poverty Without asking fora n explanation one may conclude that they have gone with the reconcentradoS. The bicycle fad doesn't seem to have taken hold of the Havanese. I saw but two bi- cycles on the streets and those were on the outskirts of the city, where there was a little patch of concrete pavement. There are very few streets in Havana where it would be a pleas
 ure to ride a wheel. The business portion is paved with block granite in very good condition. The roads in the suburbs are execrable. The fla vorite drive is on the beach road. but there is very little pleasure in driving the road is so full of ruts and de- pressions that carriage springs are se- verely tested. The condition of the streets and the almost entire absence of country roads is probably the ex- cuse for not indulging in bicycling.
 There are few lines of street cars with mules for motive power. The charge is 10 cents. and travel by this method is naturally somewhat re- stricted. When the war is over there ought to be a grand opportunity for enterprising Americans to put in a first class trolley system with 5-cent fares. The favorite means of transpor- tation in the city is by their one-horse victorias, of which there are thou sands, and they will carry two persons from one point to another within the city limits for pesata, or 20 cents of their money, equal in Value to 14 cent United States currency This is about the only cheap article in Havana
 A casual observer would say the~e was very little difference between the gowns and costumes of the Havanese ladies and those seen in the large c=tie7 of the United States or Europe. They catch on to the prevailing fashions without much delay and adopt them to the extent of their purses. One does not see seal cloaks or other furs on the streets, even in the winter months. when the temperature is between 70 and 80 dgrees, although I saw one fur cape for sale in one of the shops. If a sale of them ever occurs the purchaser is undoubtedly one who contemplates trip north. Most of the women who appear on the streets in the daytime hood their faces with black lace scarfs 1 and use fans to protect their faces i from the sun. Frequently you see young women walking together l dressed exactly alike. This is so ire
 uuent as to be noticeable to strangers.
 On Sunday afternoon I noticed in
 front of a fashionable residence five
 women, probably members of the same
 family. all gowned alike in heIitrope
 colored fabric. It was suggested that
 the head of the family was pleas d
 with the goods and bought a whole
 piece Very few of the women are
 pretty, according to the American
 standard of beauty. They age early
 and rapidly, and resort to cosmetics
 and powders to continue their youth