The Newtown bee., 1900-02-02

My Dear BEE: Last Sunday at p. m., by invitation of, and in company with, Don Felix de Quesads, registrador of this city and province, we visited the grand fair, to aid & Cuban charity of far reaching proportions and importance, ,and in which nearly the whole population took an active part. For two whole days they were going and coming, on foot, in carriages and carts and volantes and on bikes-filling the streets with noise and music and shouts of laughter, to gather together in the beautiful grounds and gardens of San Lazero, about two miles beyond the city walls, which was found ed early in the last century by devout priest of the Roman obedience, who spent his life and labors in the benefcent achievement.
 San Lazero occupies about B acres of ground, laid out in gardens and beds of diverse figures and forms, with ornamen- tai and fruit trees and flowers, with growing vegetables at all seasons of the year, fcr the use of the hospital inmates, the sick and suffering patients, with ap- propriate apartments, confronted by ex- tensive corridors and columns on every side for exercise and enjoyment in shade or sunshine or shower, for the wounded for the mildly, as we'll as for the violent ly, Insane poor-all under municipal management, and kept in excellent con- dition as to comfort, cleanliness and san itation.
 We spent some two and half hours in inspection and conversation, in the in stitution, and enjoying the novelty of the environment within, and the noise and music and dancing outside in the various games of pleasure and pastime of the cheerful crowds of well dressed and mild hammered people on their happy holiday, gathering at the games, and the races of horse and mule and monkey and bikers, and climbing of greaeed poles by the boys, with flags and balloons flying, and beer and soda and cakes and candies and confections ,and fruits and edibles and drinkables for the hungry and thirsty, too numerous and rare for mere way faring stranger to enumerate or describe.
 San Lazero encloses R church within it's solid walls, which ou entering we found decorated with the Star Spangle Banner and the "Lone Star" of Cuba blended together on the very altar of the sanctuary-the national emblems of red , white and blue adorning both sides of the nave, and congested in folds and TO- settas on the gilded gallery of the organ aud choir, in the identical colors of the protecting and protected peoples. The sweet singer of Israsl once shouted, "Let all the people praise Thee, Oh Lord Y and our own hearts responded "Amen SO be it."
 Our ladies and little folk (some dczer in alp refused to ride in the carriages of fered, preferring, they said, to walk anc talk with the crowd on their way to thu fair, but they all gladly accepted thu offer of conveyance on their return home Before leaving San Lszero your scrib
 was singled out for presentation to thre
 priests who met him at the church door l; one of whom, the Rev Father Manue a Martinez Saltage, (prOnounced Sal-tah hay) is the dean vicario, or head pries = of the entire city and province, and ec clesiastically ranks next to the bisho / himself.
 Day before yesterday he called at tn
 dwelling of your scribe and spent tw
 ,holo hou,s In onDuoruot tion and in in
 consideration of the laws of marriage an l. divorce, and of the legal rights or statu . of the individual in the States, and inc 70 dentally the question of the separatio 'S of church and state, and it's probabl
 racticable effect on the church life {
 it's Aoers was discussed openly in tt
 family circle-disclosing desire on ol
 part to gather facts as to the number ar
 condition of the city churches, and tE
 general average attendance of their r .a spectIve parishioners, both before al O. since the Spanish expulsion from u . island for use in the StStes-te Hing hi ia that His Reverence Jose Valenti, u
 rector of the Escolapian university, hi
 already promised to furnish such dat ., aided by the Rev Prof Santiago of t
 same institution of learning. On tski1
 his leave Father Manuel Gas he Is call a for short) very cordially embraced us his sacredotal arms, declaring he hi
 been charmed with the conversation
 his new American friend, and he cray TOT permission to visit again, at an early ds . where he had learned so much in so sh'
 time and had combined so much int
 est and pleasure. Yesterday he cal
 again and left some interesting Span documents for perusal. Rarely have
 met new acquaintance so delightfu
 is it possible that we have become me .- bers of the Mutual Admiration Socie' ms, From different nations and races "