d horse is often added, the
postilion always riding the near, or left-hand horse. The body of the
carriage is comfortably cushioned, and lined with bright gay colours,
and generally has a stunning piece of carpet for a rug. Such is the
Cuban Volante, in which the Hidalgos and the Corazoncitas with glowing
lustrous eyes roll about in soft undulating motion from place to place;
and, believe me, such a Volante, tenanted by fairy forms lightly and
gaily dressed, with a pleasant smile on their lips and an encyclopedia
of language beaming from the orbs above, would arrest the attention of
the most inveterate old bachelor that ever lived; nay, it might possibly
give birth to a deep penitential sigh and a host of good and sensible
resolutions. Ordinary Volantes are the same style of thing, only not so
gay, and the usual pace is from three to five and a half miles an hour,
always allowing five minutes for turning at the corner of every street.
If you are curious to know why I am in such a hurry to describe a
Volante, as if it were the great feature of Cuba, the reason is, simply,
that my first act on landing was to get into one of the said vehicles
and drive to the hotel.

The horses are generally very neat and compact, and about the size of a
very small English hack. For riding there are two kinds--the Spanish,
which goes at the "rack" or amble pace, and the American, which goes the
regular pace; the broad foreheads, short heads, and open nostrils show
plenty of good breeding. The charges both for horses and Volante, if you
wish to go out of the town, are, like everything else in Cuba,
ridiculously exorbitant. An American here is doing a tolerably good
business in letting horses and carriages. For a short evening drive, we
had the pleasure of paying him thirty-five shillings. He says his best
customers are a gang of healthy young priests, whom he takes out nearly
daily to a retired country village famous for the youth and beauty of
its fair sex, and who appear to be very dutiful daughters of the Church,
as they are said to appreciate and profit by the kind visits of these
excellent young men and their zealous labours of love.

There is a very good view of the town from the top of the hotel[X]. Most
of the houses have both flat and sloping roofs, the latter covered with
concave red tiles, cemented together with white, thus giving them a
strange freckled appearance; while in many cases the dust and dew have
produced a little soi