El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-03-31

country which his own country helped
10 set free, where the memory or
where the government is modelled az
ter our own, the man from the United
States finds himself none the less II
an utterly foreign country. He Woulo
scarcely feel at home IL he went 70
Abvssiuia. OF Thibet. He has anso-
Iutelv nothing in common with these
fellow Americans Of his except tnat
he belongs 10 the same specles o.
mammal. There are some lU'UVv
North American residents In Havana
and nearly twice that many visitors;
yet e Is a rare thing TO see Cuoans
and Americans together on the streets
or in the cafes
And the thing which impresses you
is that these two kinds OF Americans
who share the ownership or a heml-
sphere are kept apart chiefly by such
superficial differences as those OF
language and social custom No doubt
there are some fundamental differ
ences too but Il IS the superficial
really knowing each other. II they
can speak and associate together,
men can thrash out and settle the
most profound differences OF politics.
religion and point Of view. but If
they cannot Understand each others
remarks or tolerate each others man
ners, they. remain eternally foreign
20 each other
Aunum'H Manners EIrumEes
Now the Cuban's manners are very
strange 70 the American The Cuban
! is at once more polite and less hypo-
critical He Is much less frank in
telling you what he thinks. and much
more so IN showing what he feels.
It IS most interesting, for example.
20 compare the evening promenade on
the Prado here with the similar event
which takes place every warm after
noon on Fifth avenue in New York, or
n
pretentious and formal way IN host
OF other cities In point OF fact. this
promenade is one OF the immemortal
and universal customs You find
some form or trace OF IL almost every
where. and even in villages OF no
more than a thousand souls there IS
usually a certain hour when the girls
go for . walk and the fellows gather
in front OF the drug store 20 watch
them go by.
IN each other Is the real motive. OF
course in all these promenades, from
the least to the greatest But in the
United States our traditional Puritan
hpocricy makes It. incumbent upon
Us 10 conceal the fact that We walk
down Fifth avenue mainly 20 look at
the girls II a man wants 70 stop and
look at a woman on Fifth avenue. Il
is customary for him to stan in front
of q shop window and pretend TO look
=
toward the real object OF his inter
est This explains why 50 many men
are found abseut-mindedly looking at
window displays OF millinery and
ladies' footwear.
The Cuban feels under no oh
hE1tiOn 70 conceal his interest.
When n young woman who Plenses
his eye passes him on the Prado,
he stops turns around. crosses
ore foot over the other, leans on
his cane aud contemplate her
cbnrms rs long rs he pleaEes. He
may even call over n friend and
The Two discuss the lady at some
length.
follow her, and without making any
EFFORT actually to approach her, they
may seek in q variety OF ways to
amuse her and 70 attract her atten-
ton For example. one gifted young
sslant was seen 10 emuse his 'nOvia'
OF the moment by running alon-
ahead OF her and climbing up on some
nigh pedestals intended for statues. +
mere. with the fine dramatic feeling
which every Latin nossesFeH he took
q variety OF poses. He was alternately
Diana. Venus Washington crossing
the Delaware. and Napoleon on s..
Helena, TO the great amusement Of
AL passersby.
SenOrita Stands For 1t.
me cuban senorita smiles and toll
crates all this, for she knows she is
safe from any actual affront. A
CuDan gentleman seems never 70 ap-
proach Cuban lady on the street. Il
simply isn't done. The visiting
American, observant OF the smiling
and complacent air with which the
native beauty epdures his curiosity. /
very often leaps to the hasty conclu- I
sion that he has made a conquest I
Mindful that he Is far from home.
with grand flourish OF his brand
new Panama hat. he sails ID and de-
liTers broadside OF amateur Spanish. /
hastily culled from vest pocket die (
tlonary. Ten to one the dark eyed I
beauty does not resent this. She never
reels self righteous1y impelled to
whale him over the head with an nm
orelia (she does not carry such a
thing, anyway nor 10 run MIN
through With a hatpin. OF even 70 caIi
a COP She magnificentiy and COM
pietely Ignores him, without appear
ing IN the least flustered. He can't
understand It. II she was a nice iadv
she ought TO have exploded. and IL she
wasn't she ought to have acquiesced.
Darn these geezers anyhow
TIL