Their Ceilings Are Extremely Lofty, And The
Wide Windows, Extending From The Top Of The Room To The Floor And
Guarded
by long perpendicular bars of iron, are without glass, and when closed are
generally only closed with blinds which,
While they break the force of the
wind when it is too strong, do not exclude the air. Since I have been on
the island, I may be said to have breakfasted and dined and supped and
slept in the open air, in an atmosphere which is never in repose except
for a short time in the morning after sunrise. At other times a breeze is
always stirring, in the day-time bringing in the air from the ocean, and
at night drawing it out again to the sea.
In walking through the streets of the towns in Cuba, I have been
entertained by the glimpses I had through the ample windows, of what was
going on in the parlors. Sometimes a curtain hanging before them allowed
me only a sight of the small hands which clasped the bars of the grate,
and the dusky faces and dark eyes peeping into the street and scanning the
passers by. At other times, the whole room was seen, with its furniture,
and its female forms sitting in languid postures, courting the breeze as
it entered from without. In the evening, as I passed along the narrow
sidewalk of the narrow streets, I have been startled at finding myself
almost in the midst of a merry party gathered about the window of a
brilliantly lighted room, and chattering the soft Spanish of the island in
voices that sounded strangely near to me. I have spoken of their languid
postures: they love to recline on sofas; their houses are filled with
rocking-chairs imported from the United States; they are fond of sitting
in chairs tilted against the wall, as we sometimes do at home. Indeed they
go beyond us in this respect; for in Cuba they have invented a kind of
chair which, by lowering the back and raising the knees, places the sitter
precisely in the posture he would take if he sat in a chair leaning
backward against a wall. It is a luxurious attitude, I must own, and I do
not wonder that it is a favorite with lazy people, for it relieves one of
all the trouble of keeping the body upright.
It is the women who form the large majority of the worshipers in the
churches. I landed here in Passion Week, and the next day was Holy
Thursday, when not a vehicle on wheels of any sort is allowed to be seen
in the streets; and the ladies, contrary to their custom during the rest
of the year, are obliged to resort to the churches on foot. Negro servants
of both sexes were seen passing to and fro, carrying mats on which their
mistresses were to kneel in the morning service. All the white female
population, young and old, were dressed in black, with black lace veils.
In the afternoon, three wooden or waxen images of the size of life,
representing Christ in the different stages of his passion, were placed in
the spacious Church of St. Catharine, which was so thronged that I found
it difficult to enter. Near the door was a figure of the Saviour sinking
under the weight of his cross, and the worshipers were kneeling to kiss
his feet. Aged negro men and women, half-naked negro children, ladies
richly attired, little girls in Parisian dresses, with lustrous black eyes
and a profusion of ringlets, cast themselves down before the image, and
pressed their lips to its feet in a passion of devotion. Mothers led up
their little ones, and showed them how to perform this act of adoration. I
saw matrons and young women rise from it with their eyes red with tears.
The next day, which was Good Friday, about twilight, a long procession
came trailing slowly through the streets under my window, bearing an image
of the dead Christ, lying upon a cloth of gold. It was accompanied by a
body of soldiery, holding their muskets reversed, and a band playing
plaintive tunes; the crowd uncovered their heads as it passed. On Saturday
morning, at ten o'clock, the solemnities of holy week were over; the bells
rang a merry peal; hundreds of volantes and drays, which had stood ready
harnessed, rushed into the streets; the city became suddenly noisy with
the rattle of wheels and the tramp of horses; the shops which had been
shut for the last two days, were opened; and the ladies, in white or
light-colored muslins, were proceeding in their volantes to purchase at
the shops their costumes for the Easter festivities.
I passed the evening on the _Plaza de Armas_, a public square in front of
the Governor's house, planted with palms and other trees, paved with broad
flags, and bordered with a row of benches. It was crowded with people in
their best dresses, the ladies mostly in white, and without bonnets, for
the bonnet in this country is only worn while travelling. Chairs had been
placed for them in a double row around the edge of the square, and a row
of volantes surrounded the square, in each of which sat two or more
ladies, the ample folds of their muslin dresses flowing out on each side
over the steps of the carriage. The Governor's band played various airs,
martial and civic, with great beauty of execution. The music continued for
two hours, and the throng, with only occasional intervals of conversation,
seemed to give themselves up wholly to the enjoyment of listening to it.
It was a bright moonlight night, so bright that one might almost see to
read, and the temperature the finest I can conceive, a gentle breeze
rustling among the palms overhead. I was surprised at seeing around me so
many fair brows and snowy necks. It is the moonlight, said I to myself, or
perhaps it is the effect of the white dresses, for the complexions of
these ladies seem to differ several shades from those which I saw
yesterday at the churches.
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