The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-18
A AEGaROY.A A.UZ7

terested to wager a half peseta upon the result. If he loses he may finger long enough to deliver a mild homily upon the sin of gambling; if he wins a bene- diction will not be lacking. In either case, the father of his iock'' Is followed by words of warm affection and cheerful smiles. He is the dominating spirit of the plaee-the confidant, adviser and preceptor of his people. All this because he Is thoroughly human and one of them selves, poor as they are poor, joyous and easy-going as any boy among them.
 When the Jagged and fretful man Of affairs turns for relief from his business into the bustling paths of tourist travel he little dreams of the opportunity for recuperation offered by our lovely garden spot in the Caribbean Sea. If he be willing to throw off the barnacles of arti- fciality for awhile he may here secure complete rest from his cares under the most healthful and enjoyable conditions. Should be be an artist by practice or instinct, he will here find a superabun- dance of material for the brush, or food for the eye. Nor need the mind stag nate. Nature and mankind in unaccus- toned aspects afford ample and interest ing study.
 Porto Rico has been little affected by the emigration from the old CastiIlian families that formed the aristocracy of Cuba. This. to a great extent, accounts for it's peaceful history as compared with that of the sister island The island was In the early centuries of Spanish occupation a military post, and the 4ron tr ~t,fa permanently stationed there. The officers In most cases married Creoles of the island, and settled there for life. The descendants of these persons, and of French and Spanish refugees from the neighboring islands, in the revolutionary times of the nineteenth century, are the gente ilustrada, or aristocrats of Porto Rico. Their numbers are insignificant, and are represented in the fteracy ex- hibits by one-half of one per cent. of the population, which is something less than one million. This class supplies the merchants, planters and professional men of the island. They have accepted the change of sovereignty with ready acquiescence, mainly because of their strong love of the soil and pronounced domestic tendencies. Furthermore, ai- though handicapped by the universal in- doence of their countrymen, they arc shrewd and intelligent. and fully appre- ciate the prospective advantages of American rule. They are much like the similar class In Cuba-well-bred, hos pitable, intensely proud and generally prosperous. They are sociable in their sedate fashion, and fond of amusements. such as dancing. the theater. music, and the inevitable bull fight Their business men are honorable and honest, If lack ing in enterprise. There Is in this class splendid material with which to build in the formation of a new race or nationality, so to speak, but 1t Is too scanty to indulge the hope that It may in time leaven the whole. What Is probable. however, is that intermarriage with Americans will eventuate in the production of class possessing the best characteristics of both races, and that this class will In the course of the pres- ent century make Porto Rico what 1t should be, one of the most prosperous, as 1t Is one of the most inviting coun- tries in the world.
 c. H. F0RBES-LINDsAY.