are two "points of interest" for
visitors; the old fortress, el Castillo del Principe, and the cemetery.
In the latter are some notable monuments. One is known as the Firemen's
Monument. For many years, Havana has had, supplementary to its municipal
organization, a volunteer firemen's corps. In various ways the latter
resembles a number of military organizations in the United States. It is at
once a somewhat exclusive social club and a practical force. Membership
is a social distinction. If you are in Havana and see men in admirably
tailored, uniforms and fire helmets, rushing in a particular direction in
cabs, carriages or automobiles, you may know that they are members of the
_Bomberos del Comercio_ on their way to a conflagration. Most excellent
real work they have done again and again in time of fire and flood. On
parade, they look exceedingly dapper with their helmets, uniforms, boots
and equipment, somewhat too dandified even to suggest any smoke other than
that of cigars or cigarettes. But they are the "real thing in smoke-eaters"
when they get to work. They have a long list of heroic deeds on their
records. The monument in Colon Cemetery commemorates one of those deeds.
In an extensive and dangerous fire, in May, 1890, thirty of these men
lost their lives. A few years later, this beautiful and costly shaft was
erected, by private subscription, as a tribute to their valor and devotion.
Another shaft, perhaps no less notable, commemorates a deplorable and
unpardonable event. A number of medical students, mere boys, in the
University of Havana, were charged with defacing the tomb of a Spanish
officer who had been killed by a Cuban in a political quarrel. At
its worst, it was a boyish prank, demanding rebuke or even some mild
punishment. Later evidence indicates that while there was a demonstration
there was no defacement of the vault. Forty-two students were arrested as
participants, tried by court-martial, and sentenced to be shot. Eight of
them were shot at La Punta, at the foot of the Prado near the sea-front,
and the remainder sentenced to imprisonment for life. All of these, I
believe, were afterward released. The Students' Monument expresses the
feeling of the Cubans in the matter, a noble memorial. There are numerous
other shafts and memorials that are notable and interesting. A number of
Cuba's leaders, Maximo Gomez, Calixto Garcia, and others, are buried in
this cemetery.

[Illustration: A RESIDENCE IN EL