ntly the body became silvery white, followed slowly by
alternating hues of pearl and yellow, and finally death left it of a
dull, lustreless gray.

The market is about two hundred feet long, with one broad marble table
extending from end to end. The roof is supported by a series of arches
resting upon pillars. One side is entirely open to the street, thus
insuring good ventilation. It is not far from the cathedral, and in
the vicinity of the shore, but is in some measure superseded by the
large central Mercado de Tacon in the Calzada de la Reina, one block
from the Campo de Marte. In this latter market we saw shark's flesh
sold for food and freely bought by the negroes and Chinese coolies.

The monopoly granted in Tacon's time to the famous smuggler whose name
the fish-market on Mercaderes Street still bears has reverted to the
government, which requires every fisherman, like every cab driver, to
pay a heavy tax for the privilege of following his calling. The
boatman who pulls an oar in the harbor for hire is obliged to pay the
government for the simple privilege. A writer in a popular magazine
lately compared these harbor boats of Havana to Venetian gondolas; but
even poetical license will not admit of this. They do, however, almost
precisely resemble the thousand and one boats which besprinkle the
Pearl River at Canton, being of the same shape, and covered in the
stern by a similar arched frame and canvas, the Chinese substituting
for this latter the universal matting. The Havana boatmen have so long
suffered from the extortion of the Spanish officials that they have
learned the trick of it, and practice the same upon travelers who make
no bargain with them before entering their tiny vessels.

The fish monopoly referred to was established under the governorship
of Tacon, and is of peculiar origin. We cannot do better, perhaps, by
way of illustrating his arbitrary rule, than to relate for the
reader's benefit the story of its inauguration and enforcement.

One of the most successful rogues whose history is connected with that
of modern Cuba was one Marti, who during his life was a prominent
individual upon a limited stage of action. He first became known as a
notorious and successful smuggler on the coast of the island, a daring
and reckless leader of desperate men. At one time he bore the
pretentious title of King of the Isle of Pines, where he maintained a
fortified position, more secure in its inaccessibility tha