The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-01-17

with mautillas covering their heads
and attend the regular Sunday bull
fight. This is not true. Tho women do
not attend bull fights and do not wear
| mantillas. They do not smoke cigar
cites and are not serenaded at night
by their lovers.
The life of a Cuban gentleman is one
Of ease lie rises generally at 10
o'clock, takes breakfast and reaches
his office about one. Ills work is fin
| ishcd hy three. when he returns home.
A siesta follows, after which he pre-
pares for dinner and the opera or
dance. as the case may be.
Cubans, male as well as female, new
er walk IL they can help it. which ac-
counts for their ungraceful bearing
when they are compelled to do so.
Very few girls in Havana ride; Miss
Mendosa is one of the exceptions. The
men. as a rule, ride single-footcrs. The
horses are mostly American, the car
riages and liveres Partisan.
As it was in New York q half CEN
tury ago, SO 1t is in Havana today,
some Of the fire companies are com
posed of the elite of the city. Ruiz, who
was one of the most popular men in
Havana, and who was shot by the Gu
bans for attempting to get some of
their leaders to accept autonomy, was
captain of n fire company. A few
years ago. fire broke out in hard
ware store in Mercedares street. A
! terrible explosion took place. About
twenty of the "smartest "Cubans were
killed, and all Havana was thrown In
| to mourning.
Justice in Havana does not deal
harshly with the gentleman" He is
allowed with impunity to do things
that would surely land q poor man in
Jail. Such trifles as a drunken brawl
or the smashing and wrecking of a cafe
by gentleman" occur nightly, but
the cases never reach the police court.
Murder itself has often been commit
ted by men with large incomes, and,
barring the publications of the facts in
the papers, no further attention has
beer paid to the matter. Three years
ago Carlos Mendietta, the son of one Of
Cuba's wealthiest planters, murdered an
unfortunate dry goods clerk in cold
blood. The Cuban was at the time
| walking with his sister across the square
in front of the Hotel Ingleterra. They
were on their way home from q small
dance. The clerk, who had been
drinking, was standing at the corner
| with several of his friends. AS Don
| Carlos and his sister passed, the clerk
who was a Spaniard, made an insolent
remark about the girl. Carlos drew
his revolver and shot the man twice
in the head He fell to he ground a
corpse. Carlos calmly reloaded his re-
Volverand asked the friends of the dead
man if they had all that they wanted.
They were too frightened to reply.
Taking the arm of his sister, Carlos
hurried across the square to his home.
About two hours later he was arrested
and locked up. The following morn
ing the public was informed, through
the press. of the murder, and at the
same time the statement was made that
Don Carlos has escaped during the
night from the jail. The authorities.
1t was added, were searching high and
low for him That night Carlos APP
peared at the opera, where the very
chief of police, who reported to he
searching for the man, was seen hold
ing an animated conversation with
him. The affair never went any fur
ther. shortly after the revolution
|
to the front, where his great daring
won him the rank Of a colonel. The
clerk was buried in Havana's "Potters
Field
The opera is the feature of the Ha-
Vana season. The boxes are nearly all
owned by the principal families. who
purchased them when the theater was
built, and they have passed from faith
er to son as a sort of heirloom. The
entrance To the TaCon theater is on
the Prado. large strip Of carpet is
stretched from the marble steps to the
sidewalk, and on either side Of this
carpet the young men i'm society await
the arrival of their friends. This GUS
tom is dangerous, for rarely does an
opera night pass that a duel does not
spring up from it. a look or a glance
is sufficient for an exchange Of cards.
Cubans are tremendously Jealous and
do not tolerate any Irritation with
their fair inamoratas.
Fencing is one of the chief points in
a mans education i'm Havana. Young
men and old spend from two to four
hours day praCticing with the foils.
they are masters of the art Duels in
havana, unllke tnOSe in France, sell
dom result without some one being SER
iously injured. Many brides have been
won, so to speak, at the point of the
sword. Two years ago Havana was
even Europe. He took advantage of his
courtship of a certain master of arms.
His fame with the foils had reached
eVn Europe. He took advantage of mis-
skill to make love to one of the pret-
tieSt and richest girls in society. At
hrst several men att mpted TO compete
with him. In rapid succession he chal-
lenged and fought them, and in eleven
days laid low seven Of his rivals. II
is needless TO say that he won the
bride. Such thing as fist fight is
not known among the better class in
Havana a blow is never struck. The
mere attempt at such a thing suffices
for challenge. One of the principal
fencing classes is held at the Union
club, and there the celebrated French
fencer, was defeated by several Havana
men. No attempt is made to keen a
duel secret. The friends of the two
combatants attend them quite openly.
-Four years ago Alberto Jorring. a
splendid looking man of over six feet.
and one of the greatest swells in Ha-
vana society, was run through by a
Spanish officer in the presence of > 900
persons. The duel took place behind