The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-01-09

Duck IrOll the street, with VSIel'usS IA
front and surrounded by gardens, In
agreeable contrast to the city houses
flush with the sidewalks, their windows
bullying in the way of pedestrians.
Every garden has its dwarf oranges,
low trees covered with scarlet blossoms
and oleanders pertaining the air. The
celebrated baths, at present quite de-
| serted, are the queerest l have ever
seen-unless it be the Mexican conotes.
A long, high coral reef has been cut
and followed into a dozen separate
wells, just where the surf comes tum-
| bling against the shore. These cavities
| are from twelve to fourteen feet square,
and six to eight feet deep. In each OF
them is a hole, opening to the sea,
somewhat larger than the port-hole of
a ship. Through this opening the water
finds entrance and stands perhaps four
feet above the floor. A wooden roof
stretches above these pits and each is
parttioned off by itself above the wa
ter, thus converting it into an excellent
private bathroom, open to the broad
Atlantic. AT the entrance Is wooden
floor and a flight of steps cut into the
rock, by which you descend into the
wells. The sea flows in and out inces-
sanity; the bottom is rough to the feet
| the sides rugged. Grabs come crawl
ing into the huge tub; sea-weeds float in
at the window, and you are troubled by
the fear that a shark may desire to pay
you a visit. Yet the whole effect is
unique and delightful. You have an un-
INSTRUCTED view of the ocean, blue as
the sky that leans to meet it at the ho-
rizons him. Trade-winds blow in soft
and cool, and the water itself, though
stimulating and exhilarating, leaves
, none of that singing sensation upon
the skin that salt water often produces.
The roof is fifteen feet above high-tide
but in stormy weather the breakers Of
ten surge over it, and many times the
wooden structure had been swept away.
To rise at five o'clock in the morning
and spend half an hour in one of these
odd crannies of the coral reef is the
best possible preparation for Cuban
summer day. Parties of gay young
Creoles used to come out from the city
on ponies, horses and riders caparisoned
as if for the circus, bells juggling and
whips cracking. There is another glo-
rieta down near the baths and several
places where an excellent breakfast or
dinner may be obtained. The fashiona-
BILE hotel of other days was kept by an
American from Louisiana. 1t is a long,
one-stored casa, at the junction of two
unpaved roads. wide piazza runs
around it, into which the great windows
open from floor to ceiling. You enter
the establishment through brick
paved court, in which a carriage is al
ways standing, But that is no indica-
ton of horse on the premises! 1t is
the fashion in Cuba to keep your car
riage in the entrance hall. whether you
possess horse or not; and those who do
net own a carriage frequently hire one
for this purpose. At little tables in the
coach house the guests of this hotel
take their meals. Another Vedado hos
telry is called the Lay house. in honor
of it's builder. Colonel Lay of the Con-
federate Louisiana Zouaves. The new
est hotel is managed by Frenchman,
and very well managed indeed. 1t is a
one-storied wooden structure, with a
flight of stairs leading to the surround
ing veranda. The cool, brick-paved
space beneath the house, which we
should call a cellar, serves for dining
room and office. Here I had an excel
lent midday breakfast of several
cources, with claret and after cafe noir,
and such sadal as only aF'renchmah can
make, and desert of pineapple soft
enough to eat with a spoon Zone never
sees a decent pineapple in the United
States)-all for lot of Spanish coin
which in our money would amount to
about fifty-five cents.
Marianoa is seven miles from Havana
in the other direction, and reached by
railway from the Jesus del Monte sta
ton. 1t is a conservative English road. !
with a conservative Scotch manager,
and 1T takes just forty-seven minutes
to make that seven miles. The line |
passes through some beautiful suburbs
and skirts the famous Toledo sugar
plantation whose old-time Spanish pro-
prietor owned countless slaves and died |
a tragic death alone amid the wealth |
he had created. Mariana lies on the |
hills and it's low stone villas give the
stranger correct idea of the bast coun-
try homes in the tropics. Before the
war families lived here whose wealth |
might be counted by millions but most |
Of them were Cubans, and by Weyler's
order their residences were destroyed.
L Hou5ii ~ cio5c " the capital, MdTld-
noa has had its long chapter of brigan-
lage. A gang of gentlemanly freeboot-
ars resided here, who We're won't to dis
appear from time to time, and then
bobbed up serenely and lived in luxuri~ /
)us idleness. Now it is said that the
town is about to have a big American
lotel, to be built somewhere on the hills
hat overlook the sea. The New York
capitalists who wish to invest a million
and half in Cuban hotel sent their
agent to select the site in Haban; and
re, after looking the ground over, dec-
led that it was best to locate the hotel
n Marlanoa. The same American cap
talists are going to construct the cleo
ric railway from Havana to the Ve1a-
10. 1T is three miles from the village of
Maranoa to the Playa, or beach, and
t is hardly worth going out, as there is
title to see but swamps and marshes. \
The pier which the United States has
ately built at this point Is not an ex-
ensive piece of military engineering
t runs few hundred feet out into the
'ay, to within a stones throw of the old
Confederate blockade runner whose
ulk has lain here thirty-four years
When the Spanish troops evacuated the
'laya, few days ago, they were kind
nough to send word to the insurgents;
nd the latter took possession immedi-
tely afterwards, though their camp re-
1ainS back in the interior General ,