The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-19

self deaf, dumb and blind and receive the
tnreadbare reply of mo comprendo' in re-
turn for his trouble. Just now there Is
more English spoken in the streets of Ha-
vana than at any other time in the re-
membrance of the most learned veteran.
This is due to the Maine disaster, which
brought about the presence of an unusu-
ally big colony of not only Americans, but
Englishmen as well.
The sign English spoken" appears in a
few shops only, and they are mighty few,
and the spokesman for the establishment
has a complete monopoly of the belief that
he has mastered the tongue His guesses
are certainly longer shots than eyer APP
peared on the blackboa at Brighton. A
I former resident of Brooklyn, who estab-
lished drug store here. has had seven
children born in Havana, and they know
as little of English now as they did the
day they were born. He was asked how
this could be, and he said that his custom
ers avoided his store until he gave up the
idea of teaching them his native language.
II ought to be ashamed of it, am sure, ="
he added. but l am in no position 10 die
tate terms to these people. My children are
well advanced now. and would not talk
English If they could" There is a moral in
this that doesn't require a sledgehammer
10 impart Talk any lingo under the sun in
Havana, but forswear English.
Every woman in moderate or well-to-do
circumstances powders. This fact is one
of the first to strike an American. The
more the wealth the more the powder
Rouge is unknown, even among those who
think 1t unnecessary. But powder is as
valuable as qunine and just as generally
used. The face is coated over with the
stuff from brow to neck covering, and
even the hands are sometimes decorated.
The custom is the wonder of feminine Wis
itors, as 1t is the surprise to the men.
The afternoon is usually the time for
Spanish and Cuban bellies to enjoy their
promenade, and in the most striking coll
ors, with faces completely covered with
powder, these go about from store to
store, with their faithful colored domestic
by their sides. ''Why do your ladies pow
der in such an outrageous manner?" in
quired an American visitor of a Spanish
army officer yesterday. Their dark skin
is simply beautiful and would be more at
tractive without the addition of powder"
"Our ladies'" said the officer, "do not
powder to improve their appearance. I'm
fortunately they have no choice in the
matter. Accustomed as they are to this
warm climate, it is strange that they suf-
fer greatly from the heat, but that they
do so is a fact Perhaps il Is due TO tight
lacing, as l have heard, or IL may be
their warm Castillian blood. AT all
events, they perspire. more than enough,
and to offset this they believe it necessary
to powder. That is the only reason for
their doing SOL
The laborers in Havana really do more
work in one day than is done in New
York in two. IL is a wonderful fact, con-
sidering the locality and slowness of the
remainder of the population, who, be-
cause of the climate. believe in taking
their time in everything. The laborers,
however, begin work at sunrise work
until O'clock, when coffee and fruit are
served. They continue until II o'clock,
when they breakfast. The meal consumes
an hour, and upon returning again the
men work until sunset, about thirteen or
fourteen hours in all. The laborers have
club here called the Centre Dependence.
which has membership of $1,000 The
men pay monthly dues of $3.50 and sup
port hospital for the exclusive use of
their members. The best mechanics get
only $3.50 a day, and are taxed for every
thing, living or dead. The tax sometimes
amounts to 90 centavos per day. The mer-
chants of the city never dream of doing
business after the offices or stores close.
They go TO their club or cafes, but sell
dom talk business. The hackmen are
about the best paid All own their own
carriages, and as there are no side doors
| or back exits for impostors TO run away
they never lose a fare. The customarS,
rare Is 20 cents for two persons for any
drive within the city limits and 10 cents
| extra for every additional call Weather
signals are unknown in Havana. 1t fire.
quentiy rains when the sky is perfeotlv
clear and the sun brightly shining bur
the latter dries up the streets in a few
minutes once the rain ceases. Spaniards
and cuhans when they meet friends do
! not shake hands. Instead. they embrace
each other and clap each other on the
! back.