The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-07-10
Cuba's Custom-Fettered
Women and Their Homes.
By Mrs. c. X. MILLER.


man the life of her Cuban sister is
simply ncomprehensible.f 1t is dull,
uninteresting-in fact, in many in
stances asgravating. From childhood
to old age she rarely does as she
likes, but is slave to antiquated
customs. AS a child, servant ac-
companies her to school and calls for
her in the evening, and her playmates
are few. When the marriageable age
is reached, her courting is done in
the presence of others, for the young
man who calls on the Cuban senorita
really visits the entire family, as at
! least one of them always remains In
the room, which is brilliantly lighted,
and its occupants are in full view of
anybody passing along the street.
Even If the girl talks with her lover
through the grilled window some
member of the family Is always near
| by. If he takes her to a place of
amusement she is always properly
chaperoned. After they are engaged
| the vigilance of the parents Is in
creased, and the young couple are
never for a moment left to them
selves. A young man may be fond OF
girl, yet in no position to marry,
hut after he has spoken to her father,
which he must do early in the court
ship, he is expected to visit her home
every night and enjoy her society
along with the rest of the family.
If they should go to a dance, with
the family, of course, the girl dances
every set with her escort.
To the American woman this style
of courtship seems particularly exas-
perating, for nowhere are there more
romantic spots than around Havana.
In fact, everything throughout the
island suggests the romance of lovers
wandering about free to enjoy each
others company, unconscious of the
existence of the rest of the world.
| Yet there such pleasure is denied
them. The Cuban girl of the better
class is usually pretty. The beauty
of her clear, olive skin is heightened
| by sparkling black eyes and very
white teeth, while her head Is
crowned by wealth of coal black hair.
Her whole makeup suggests happi-
ness, but from an American point of
view she never really attains 1t. /
| am told that occasionally one is brave
enough to break down customs.
Finally this courted in the presence
of the family girl marries, and unless
the young husband is wealthy, even
the joy of a wedding trip is denied
her. She at once settles down to
life of inactivity, and, as the result,
Brows fat, and inside of five years has
lost every vestige of her girlhood
beauty. She is usually the mother of
a large family, and be it said to her
tredit she makes a devoted mother.
| She is the picture of domesticity and
rarely leaves her home. Domesticity
does not always bring happiness, and
unhappy marriages are not uncom-
mon. Divorces are unknown, and
when separations occur the unfortu-
nate couple simply live apart and
neither can remarry. This seems to
be the swinging back of the pendu-
lum to the other extreme, as COM
pared with the loose divorce laws of
some of the States, both systems re-
sulting in immortality. One has but
to visit the big orphan asylum in
Havana to learn something of Cuba's
moral depravity. At the entrance
there is large turn-table, on which
child may be placed and turned"
into the institution. The good sister
receives it and no questions are
asked.
The Cuban matron has little to say
| in the management of her own house
hold, as the family literally board
with their cook, who has sole control
of the cuisine. When a cook is en-
gagged she is paid so much per month
ten, fifteen or twenty dollars, as
the case may be-for her work. She
at once inquiries how much is allowed
for the marketing, which she is to do
| each morning. On being told, she
figures out how much she can save
| from the amount, and If the graft
amounts to say fifteen or twenty
cents per day, she is likely to accept
the position. She rarely sleeps at the
house, and usually has family OF
| her own who are fed from the larder
of her employer. Early breakfast is
| light-fruits, rolls and coffee-and
at noon there Is meal known as late
breakfast, which resembles the Amer
| lean luncheon. When this is finished
the cook spends few hours at her
home and returns at five o'clock in
time to prepare dinner. A half
grown girl is employed to wait on the
| table, answer the doorbell, etc. In
some families male cooks are en-
ployed. If the meals do not suit the
master of the house he adds more
money to the marketing allowance.
Meanwhile, the wife enjoys life in
rocking chair, reads a little, and
does needlework occasionally. She
powders her face with a coarse pow
der until she becomes positively
| CHASTITY. Even the children are sent
out with coating of this ugly stuff
to mar their otherwise pretty faces.
| Moay 1f tha hove ra cant m tho