into neatly kept paths, and planted with
fragrant flowers, conspicuous among which were observed the white and
red camellias, while a grateful air of coolness was diffused by the
playing of a fountain into a broad basin, ornamented by a marble
statue of Ferdinand VII. The Creoles are passionately fond of music,
and this park used to be the headquarters of all out-door concerts.
Their favorite airs are waltzes and native dances, with not a little
of the Offenbach spirit in them. The guitar is the favorite domestic
musical instrument here, as in peninsular Spain, and both sexes are as
a rule clever performers upon it. Evening music in the open air is
always attractive, but nowhere is its influence more keenly felt than
under the mellow effulgence of tropical nights. Nowhere can we
conceive of a musical performance listened to with more relish and
appreciation than in the Plaza de Armas or the Parque de Isabella in
Havana. The latter place on the occasion of the concerts is the resort
of all classes. Here friends meet, flirtations are carried on, toilets
are displayed, and lovers woo. Even the humble classes are seen in
large numbers quietly strolling on the outer portions of the Plaza
listening to the fine performances of the band, and quietly enjoying
the music, "tamed and led by this enchantress still." The balmy nature
of the climate permits the ladies to dispense with shawls or wraps of
any sort; bonnets they very seldom wear, so that they sit in their
vehicles, or alighting appropriate the chairs arranged for the purpose
lining the broad central path, and thus appear in full evening dress,
bare arms, and necks supplemented by most elaborate coiffures. Even
the black lace mantilla, so commonly thrown over the head and
shoulders in the cities of Spain, is discarded of an evening on the
Plaza de Isabella.

It was very amusing to sit here near the marble statue of the ex-queen
(which is, by the way, a wonderful likeness of Queen Victoria), where
the band, composed of sixty instrumental performers, discoursed
admirable music, and to observe young Cuba abroad, represented by boys
and girls of ten and twelve years dressed like young ladies and
gentlemen, sauntering arm in arm through the broad paths. These
children attend balls given by grown-up people, and are painted and
bedizened and decked out like their elders,--a singular fashion in
Cuban cities. It is true they not infrequently fall asleep on such
occasions in rock