Cuba, 1873
I could not tell you all the things we were taken to see. We visited the German and Spanish men-of-war As we were in the company of the Governor-General, the Commander, and the Captain-General, we were not spared the proper salutes. The tour of the war-ships had to be made, and in place of the eternal dulces international refreshments were offered us. We departed in the Captain of the Port’s steam-launch, and drove to the Carreo, where the pretty villas are.
The Governor-General drove us out to his quinta in great style: English horses and carriage and an American coachman. The roads were pretty bad, and we were considerably jostled going through the Paseo. The coachman careered from side to side to avoid ruts and tracks, and the dust was overpowering. No conversation was possible, as our throats were filled with dust and our lives hanging on a thread. I waved my hand in the direction of anything I thought pretty, and silence followed.
At the quinta all was ready and waiting for us. Fountains were playing, servants in red and yellow gorgeous liveries, with white stockings, were flitting about; various Cuban delicacies were offered to us, and we admired everything that was to be admired. The return drive was delightful, through the long avenues of stately palms and graceful date-trees.
The carnival is a great event and very amusing. I am not spoiled in the way of carnivals, only having seen that of Paris (the Boeuf gras) and the Battle of Flowers at Nice. The populace turn out in great force, every one is gay and happy, and the Cubans high and low join in the sport.
We were invited to drive in a four-in-hand. In this way we had a kind of bird’s-eye view of the whole. No lady thinks herself too fine to join in the carnival. The procession, which defiles up and down the Paseo during the fray, begins at four in the hot, broiling afternoon, and ladies, decked out as Diana, Minerva, or other celebrities, powdered à l’outrance, smiling and proud of their success, recline in their volantes. Their own servants, with false noses or otherwise disguised, have their fun, too. I never saw such an orderly crowd; no pushing, no quarreling, no drunkenness, and yet every one was enjoying himself. There were two rows of carriages, one going up, one going down, with a place in the middle for the four-in-hands and the chars, some of which were very ingenious. There was a steamship with sailors, who kept firing off the whistle every time they saw a skittish horse. On another car were men dressed as skeletons with death’s-heads instead of masks, and Shylock-looking Jews riding with their backs to the horses’ heads, holding on to their tails.
A Punch and Judy were acting on a little stage during the procession, surrounded by children of all sizes and ages decked out in costumes, their tinselly flowers showing off their thin and sallow faces. There was a tremendous tooting of horns, and, with the music in the square and the music on the chars, made a perfect Bedlam. People nudged one another as we hove in sight in our four-in-hand.
The G——s did not relish the carnival as much as we did, and thought it a dismal affair. They captured a victoria by force, the coachman refusing to take them until they said “Paseo” upon which he started off on a trot. He had a dilapidated old horse, who had to be beaten all the way there, and when there, what do you think the coachman did? Simply pulled out a false nose and put it on and lighted a cigarette, stuck his hat on the lamp, and jeered at all the other vehicles, being on jeering terms with all the other cabmen; and as the Paseo is a mile long, it meant a mile of mortification. They came home disgusted and voted the carnival a “disgraceful affair.”