The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-03-13
An hevana Nocturne.
Ey the Author of "uader Two Jngs.',
IT was night in Havana.

II was night in Havana.
The city lay hushed in the first strong
! embrace of slumber. There was some
| thing in the immensely and intensity of
| the twin abysses of Night, darkness
| and silence. that felt oppressive and
| ominous. Even the hecks and flaws
and flies on these grim infinities served
| only to accentuate and render them
more awful and profound. The flicker
ing flare of the lamp posts at the de-
serted street corners. the pale, dull,
sullen, orange glow of the curtained
easements of the rooms of weary I'M
| dertakers and others whose labors e1-
| tended far into the night, the keener
twinklng of the lanterns of the men
of-war lying at anchor in the great.
calm, peaceful harbor, the million stars
| splendidly spangling the tropical
heavens-all softly harmonized with
| the kisses and whispers of the wave
/ let's caressing the willing shore, the
! slow. muffled, measured tread of
drowsy sentinels pacing their beats and
! dreaming of home and love and gin,
| the solemn clicking of distant piekaxes
as the army of grave digers on the
| night shift dug for the morrow's dead,
the sweet. far. trembling. velvety strains
,
Brass Band sitting in the off tower of
| MORO castle and passionately practic-
ing THE Half Dozen Girls I Left Be-
hind me- the low, strange, fitfui
despairing shrieks of Cuban prisoners
yelling up at irregular intervals from
the CHASTITY depths of donjon keeps. and
the still more agonizing means and
| screams of Infatuated cats as anon they
fought and bled on the ramparts of the
garrison woodpiles
1t was night in Havana.
Captain General Blaneo sat at
magnificent, solid antique oak roller
top desk, our price $19.99 other dealers
$141.50, In his grand, gloomy and pecu-
liar headquarters, writing; writing to
Sagasta of still another decisive Span
ish victory in the blood drenched Wild
erness of the province of Letago Gal
lagas, where the brave, dashing, i'm
petuous Spaniards had again unex-
pected1y collided with fierce, wild
band of fiendish insurgents and again
conducted a signal1y triumphant re-
treat. At Blancos elbow sat Congosto,
the autonomist secretary of state, with
the form of god and the face of a
demon, reading silently from an Off
cial report he had just received from
the autonomist butchero of the prov
ince of Pinar del Rio. At a mahogany
table of supreme richness, with mas
sive legs superbly carved to depict a
victorious toreador with one foot
proudly planted on the gigantic frame
of Il savage bull in his last dying
agonies, sat Senior Damfino and General
Gifadamo playing seven-up.
Unwilling that anyone should longer
be deceived, the writer desires at this
time to admit publicly. freely. frankly
and unreservedly, that it was night in
Havana.
General" said Congosto. lithely
throwing his tall, elegant, debonnaire
form on the divinely upholstered scar
let divan and resting his cleaning
patent feathers on the top of Blanco's
desk of solid antique oak. General, did
you ever see the like of these dogs of
insurgents?"
Nervously crossing his legs and It's
Bianco replied with a sigh of excessive
WEAKNESS that he never did
THE reeoncentradoes have had the
audacity TO reject my proposition look
ing to their Immediate and complete
relief. and yet they complain of star
walton and death, and wonder if they
have been forgotten by God and Nc
Kiniey. If the idea were original with
me, the American hypocrites would
pronounce 1t another exhibition of
Spanish barbarity. But it's 200 years
old, and it's English at that Dean
Swift proposed it to the starving peas
antry of Ireland. and they, too, like SO
many cranks and anarchists. refused
to consider it and kept right on starry
ing. Yet Swift's assertion that there is
no meat more palatable and nutritious
than a boiled or roasted child under
10 years old. has never been success
fully contradicted. Talk of supplies!
The miscreants don't have to stir out of
their own doors to find plenty of them.
/ suppose the old folks would be too
tough and grsly for steaks and roasts,
but what's the matter with sausage
and soup bones? A reasonable man in
the last stages of starvation would be
content with any nourishing susten-
ance, and not go whining TO the
Americans for hot birds and cold bots.
| have offered them food and auton-
omy. What more could an intelligent
people demand? Wow, They make my
yermiform appendix tired"
Senior Congosto touched a bell and
Blanco's Castlian hired girl Kittia
Malonoio, a superb. powerful creature,
with hair crimson as the setting sun,
maiestically rolled in fresh key of
beer. tapped IL with two quick, strong
blows of the hung-starter. bowed to the
gentlemen, and merrily fandangoed
back into the dark reeesses of the soul
lery. And the Barcelona First Regi-
mental Brass Band in the off tower of
Moro castle playp1 on.