The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-03-03
HOME LIFE A LA GUIANA.
Continued from Seventh Page.)

CONTINUED from Seventh Page)
answer, but not nearly SO well as the
present method--to say nothing OF the
danger in them at the hands OF careless
servants. When a meal is to be cooked
tiny charcoal fires are kindled in two or
more of the small depressions in the sur
face of the adobe according to the num-
Der of dishes required; and thus the
most elaborate dinners Of many courses
may be evolved over few handfulls OF
fuel, which gives out no heat beyond the
vessel that surmounts it, and quickly
burns out, leaving no ashes. The Cuban
range is never used more than twice
day-for the midday breakfast ana the
late afternoon dinner. The early morn
ing coffee" dripped" through a cloth
bag-is cooked over little clay pot, or
in a French coffee urn with an alcohol
lamp under il, on the dining-room SIDE
board. The Cubans take their coffee
like their Portuguese cousins, the Bra
zilians, who declare that it is not ut TO
drink unless "black as night, bitter as
death and hot as hell" The rule is half
a pint of Drowned coffee ground flne, to
each pint Of water, slowly filtered, drop
by drop. For desayuno it is drunk
with hot milk, a cup two-thirds full OF
the latter to two or three spoonfuls Of
coffee; but the after-dinner cup is taken
full strength, with the addition of SUI
gar, and maybe cognac. -........
Whatever else American house-keep-
ers may find worthy of imitation in Gu
ban methods, 1 am sure that dish-Wash-
! ing, as that disagreeable duty is prac-
| ticed here, will not be one of them. Hot
water is not abundant, as the charcoal
fire goes out so quickly, and soap Is SO
very expensive that many families dis
pense with it, except for toilet and laun-
dry purposes. AS every article Of food
is served in a separate course, necessi-
tating a change Of plates, the dish
washers duties are by no means light,
and the result she or he achieves is
wonderful. considering the circum-
stances. The greasy dishes, ESQ much
grease enters into the Cuban menu, are
carried from the table and heaped upon
the adobe shelf in the back patio, per-
haps in close proximity to the horses
heels. There they are washed in wooden
bowls, or shallow earthen pans, general
ly In cold water. without soap; and af-
ter being well rinsed in more cold water,
but never wiped, they are turned on end
to drain" And there they remain, in
sun or shower. until required for the
next meal; but somehow they always
come to the table clean and shining.
Pantries and dish-cupboards, as we
know them in the United States, are not
IL, rtII1 hcc hOnCas
have splendidly carved china closets in
their dning-rooms forkeeping the best
silver and show-pieces of tableware
Notwithstanding the absence Of all those
conveniences which to us seem indlspen-
sable, one seldom sees an untidy kitch-
en- in Cuba. Even the cooking-potse
which of necessity are smoked black
whenever used are kept as Immaculate
as cold water and "elbow grease" can
make them.
Every Cuban Household has a great
many servants in proportion to the size
of the family, and how they all manage
to occupy themselves is mystery. In
truth nobody in this land of manana
loses any sleep in worrying after some
thing to do, Out west they say that
Thompsons colt was such fool that he
swan the Missouri river to get drink
of water; and one Is often reminded of
the incident by the methods Of these
good people. Given at least one servant
to each member of the family. besides
cooks and hostlers, and gardeners and
lavenderas, and troops of hangers on,
they fairly tumble over one another in
the business Of doing nothing. For ex-
ample there Is one servant whose whole
duty in life Is the washing of dishes,
with a maid or two to assist her one or
the maids finds her earthly mission in
polishing the knives, forks spoons and
trays; and although she has no bath
bricks. patent soaps or whiting, -
nothing but pure and unadulterated dirt
YOU may see your face in them at all
times. She takes them out in the back
patio kneels on the ground, digs up a
little fresh earth, and holding the arti-
Gle firmly on a stone, rubs away at her
leisure. Another servant acts as stew
ard, doing the marketing and bossing
the two or three who wait on the table
Others do the family washing and IRON
ing, and do it beautifully too, although
the river serves as a wash-tub and the
clothes are never boiled or hung on
lines. Others wash the floors and keep
the house tidy; attend the children;
brush the mistress hair and shake the
dust out of her skirts which sweep the
dirty streets whenever she walks
abroad; and so on to the end of the
chapter. Six dollars a month is consid-
cred a good salary for the best cocks,
and the others have little but their food
and the cast-off clothes of their en-
ployers, being privileged to carry to
their families at night every morsel OF
cooked food that is left from the days
supply. AS rule the servants of Cuba
are the most honest, obliging and SIM
pie hearted folk l ever met, universally
pious, contented and happy. Each |
wears his or her precious charm, blesse
by the priest, suspended around the
neck by a string, and tells the rosary
beads many times a day. When trou-
bles press or dangers threaten, the |
prayer, Valga me, Dos! (Protect me, |
Cod rise to their lips as naturally as |
sparks fly upward. Happy people!
How gladly would most of us exchange |
our struggles with the world and the