our artist in cuba [illustration: carleton del hys marke] our artist in cuba. fifty drawings on wood. leaves from the sketch-book of a traveler, during the winter of 1864-5, by geo. w. carleton. [illustration: colophon] new york: _carleton, publisher,_ 413 _broadway._ _london: s. low, son & co._ mdclxv. entered according to act of congress, in the year 1865, by geo. w. carleton, in the clerk's office of the district court of the united states for the southern district of new york. contents. a preliminary word. no. sick transit 1 two boobies 2 a colored hercules 3 the cuban jehu 4 iglesia de san francisco 5 a cuban motive 6 an influenza 7 flee for shelter 8 the ride 9 a cock-fight 10 rather cool 11 a spanish retreat 12 take your pick 13 spiders, rats, and cockroaches 14 belligerents 15 materfamilias et filius 16 a culinary department 17 a bundle of clothes 18 a button-smasher 19 white pantaloons 20 a carnival acquaintance 21 beauty at the ball 22 a disappointment 23 dolce far niente 24 locomotion 25 the spanish tongue 26 an unwelcome visitor 27 an agreeable bath 28 a celestial maid 29 a statue on a bust 30 a tail unfolded 31 put money in thy purse 32 sugar and water 33 green fields and pastures new 34 a segar well-lighted 35 where shall rest be found 36 all aboard 37 the matanzas cave 38 a hard road to travel 39 a shady retreat 40 a spanish grocer 41 colored help 42 very moorish 43 chacun a son gout 44 nature's sweet restorer 45 agricultural 46 a cot in the valley 47 a colored beauty 48 corner stones 49 a sudden departure 50 a preliminary word. with many misgivings, the author of this little _brochure_ has been persuaded to give the prominence of publication to a mere pocket-book collection of way-side pen-and-ink sketches, the chance results of idle moments, sandwiched with such cuban events as paring oranges and sipping from their cups of nectar--tearing through the narrow streets of havana in ragged volantes--listening in the soft moonlight, and arm-in-arm with cuban señoritas, to the artillery band in the plaza des armas--assisting with domino and false nose at the masquerades in the tacon theatre--lounging with ices or delicious chocolate at the café dominica--dallying with cigar and fragrant coffee, after the regulation breakfast of codfish, garlic, and onions--snuffing up the perfumed air, and strolling through the golden orange-groves of cafetals--joining in the battle, murder, and sudden death of marinao cock-fights--vagabondizing along the shady side of calle obispo--and so forth, through all the _dulce far nientes_ of a stranger's drifting life, among the lights and shadows of the antilles' queen. the only merit the pictures possess, perhaps, is their faithfulness to nature. though chiefly caricatures, they represent such incidents and scenes as every one, with both eyes open, sees, who visits cuba; and being sketched upon the spot, with all the crispy freshness of a first impression, they possess a sort of photographic value, that, in spite of their grotesqueness, may prove more lasting than the entertainment which their humor offers. new york, april, 1865. the start.--the steamship columbia. at sea. [illustration: first day out.--the wind freshens up a trifle as we get outside sandy hook; but our artist says he is'nt sea-sick, for he never felt better in his life.] in the gulf of mexico. [illustration: a "booby"--as seen _from_ the ship's deck.] [illustration: a booby--as seen _on_ the ship's deck.] arrival at havana. [illustration: a side elevation of the colored gentleman who carried our luggage from the small boat to the custom house.] streets of havana.--calle mercaderes. [illustration: the first volante driver that our artist saw in havana.] view from our window at the hotel almy. [illustration: the old convent and bell tower of the church of san francisco,--now used as a custom house.] streets of havana.--calle teniente re. [illustration: a cuban cart and its motive power.--ye patient donkey.] at the cafe louvre. [illustration: manners and customs of a cuban with a cold in his head.] the [wicked] flea of havana. [illustration: part i.--the beast in a torpid condition.] [illustration: part ii.--when he "smells the blood of an englishmun."] the national vehicle of havana. [illustration: manner and custom of harnessing ye animiles to ye cuban volante.] a cock-fight in cuba. [illustration: i.--chanticleer as he goes in.] [illustration: ii.--chanticleer considerably "played out."] streets of havana.--calle lamparilla. [illustration: the cool and airy style in which they dress the rising colored generation of havana.] the cuban tooth-pick. [illustration: two ways of carrying it--behind the ear, and in the back-hair.] the captain general's quinta, [illustration: view of the canal and cocoa tree; looking east from the grotto.] the domestic insects of havana. [illustration: agitation of the better-half of our artist, upon entering her chamber and making their acquaintance.] a little episode in the calle barratillo. [illustration: a slight difference arises between the housekeeper's cat and the butcher's dog, who has just come out in his summer costume.] streets of havana.--calle compostella, [illustration: the free negro.--an every-day scene,-when the weather is fine.] an interior in havana. [illustration: kitchen, chief-cook and bottle-washer in the establishment of mrs. franke, out on the "cerro."] heads of the people. [illustration: a portrait of the young lady, whose family (after considerable urging) consents to take in our washing.] primitive habits of the natives. [illustration: washing in havana.--$4.00 a dozen in gold.] washing in havana.. [illustration: i.--my pantaloons as they went _in_.] [illustration: ii.--my pantaloons as they came _out_.] carnival in havana. [illustration: a masquerade at the tacon theatre.--types of costume, with a glimpse of the "cuban dance" in the background.] a mask ball at the tacon. [illustration: our artist mixes in the giddy dance, and falls desperately in love with this sweet creature---but] later in the evening, [illustration: when the "sweet creature" unmasks, our artist suddenly recovers from his fit of admiration. alas! beauty is but mask deep.] streets of havana--calle obrapia. [illustration: the cuban wheelbarrow--in repose.] streets of havana--calle o'reilly. [illustration: the cuban wheelbarrow--in action.] first hour! [illustration: second hour!!] [illustration: third hour!!!] [illustration: our artist forms the praiseworthy determination of studying the spanish language, and devotes three hours to the enterprise.] bed-rooms in cuba. [illustration: the scorpion of havana,--encountered in his native jungle.] sea-baths in havana, [illustration: our artist having prepared himself for a jolly plunge, inadvertently observes an insect peculiar to the water, and rather thinks he won't go in just now.] hotels in havana. [illustration: a cheerful chinese chambermaid (?) at the fonda de ingleterra, outside the walls.] high art in havana. [illustration: a gay (but slightly mutilated) old plaster-of-paris girl, that i found in one of the avenues of the bishop's garden, on the "cerro."] locomotion in the country. [illustration: a cuban planter going into town with his plunder.] shopping in havana. [illustration: our artist just steps around the corner, to look at a "sweet thing in fans" that his wife has found.] [illustration: result!] the national beverage of havana. [illustration: our artist indulges in a _panale frio_ (a sort of lime-ade), at the café dominica, and gets so "set up," that he vows he won't go home till morning.] the lizards of cuba. [illustration: our artist, on an entomological expedition in the bishop's garden, is disagreeably surprised to find such sprightly specimens.] smoking in havana. [illustration: an english acquaintance of our artist wants a light for his paper segar; whereupon the waiter, according to custom, brings a live coal.] the musquitos of havana. [illustration: a midsummer's night dream.--our artist is just the least bit disturbed in his rest, and gently remonstrates.] public servants in cuba. [illustration: a gay and festive chinese brakeman, on the railroad near guines.--the shirt-collar-and-pair-of-spurs style of costume.] one of the sensations in cuba. [illustration: the great cave near matanzas.--picturesque house over the entrance.] the great cave near matanzas. [illustration: a section of the interior--showing the comfortable manner in which our artist followed the guide, inspected the stalactites, and comported himself generally.] the outskirts of matanzas. [illustration: one of the fortifications.--sketched from the end of the _passeo_, on a day hot enough to give anything but a donkey the brain fever.] architecture in matanzas. [illustration: a romantic little _tienda mista_ (grocery store) on a corner, in the calle ona.] a caffetal near matanzas. [illustration: our artist becomes dumb with admiration, at the ingenious manner of toting little niggers.] the picturesque in matanzas. [illustration: a singular little bit, out of the calle manzana.] a sugar plantation, near the yumori. [illustration: our artist essays to drink the milk from a green cocoa;] [illustration: fatal effect.--an uncomfortable sensation!] a bed-chamber in matanzas. [illustration: first night at the "gran hotel leon de oro."--our artist is accommodated with quarters on the ground-floor, convenient to the court-yard, and is lulled to sleep by a little domestic concert of cats, dogs, donkeys, parrots and game-cocks.] economy is wealth. [illustration: showing the manner in which one ox accomplishes the labor of two, in san felipe.] the suburbs of calabazar [illustration: a planter's hut, and three scraggly palm trees in the dim distance.] plantations near marianas, [illustration: a colored beauty toting sugar cane from the field to the grinding mill.] architecture in havana. [illustration: a conglomerate _esquiria_, on the corner of calle obispo and monserate.] last night in havana. [illustration: alarm of our artist and wife, upon going to their room to pack, and discovering that a tarantula has taken possession of their trunk.] "the fotygraft album" shown to the new neighbor by rebecca sparks peters aged eleven [illustration] drawings and text by frank wing chicago the reilly & britton co. copyright, 1915 by the reilly & britton co. first edition published may 7, 1915 second edition published aug. 23, 1915 third edition published nov. 10, 1915 fourth edition published dec. 15, 1915 fifth edition published jan. 5, 1916 sixth edition published may 1, 1916 seventh edition published sept. 1, 1916 [illustration: "turn over"] "why, how d'do, mrs. miggs? come right on in. ma's jist run over t' smith's a minute t' borruh some thread and some m'lasses and a couple uh aigs. aw! yes, come on--she'll be right back. let's see: s'pose we set on th' sofa and i'll show yuh th' album, so's yuh'll kinda begin t' know some of our folks. we like t' be real neighborly and make new folks feel t' home. there! now we're fixed. "this here first one's ma when she was little. ain't she cute? her uncle seth kep' a store up t' davenport and he give her them furs. real mink, i think it was. "turn over." [illustration] "that's aunt mary jane darnell. her jimpson-weed salve and peach perserves was th' best he ever see, pa says. she couldn't abide a man that primped." [illustration] "them's grampa and gramma sparks, ma's pa and ma. grampa liked bees and made lots of money off'm honey. he was awful good t' gramma. "ma says you kin allus trust a bee man." [illustration] "here's ferdinand ashur peebles, a favorite cousin of ma's. he ain't got much time fer them 't ain't so good as what he is, so pa don't like him so very well. says he's a hippercrit. one time ma was showin' this pitchure t' somebody and she says, 'this is a boy we're proud of: cousin ferd, full of good works--' 'and prunes,' pa puts in, and it made ma awful mad. "turn over." [illustration] "them's pa's pa and ma, grampa 'n' gramma peters. jist look at her feet! all her folks toes in--even pa, some, but he denies it. grampa's got a turribul temper. onct he was up in a tree a-sawin' out limbs and a little branch scratched him onto his head and he turned round quick's a wink, a-snarlin', and bit it right smack off. fact!" [illustration] "that's sophrony ann gowdey, kind of a distant cousin of ma's. she's gifted weth th' secont sight. onct when grampa lost his false teeth they called her in and she set right here in this room and tranced and after a bit she woke up suddent and says, wild like, 'seek ye within th' well!' she says; so they done it, but they didn't find 'm. but only a week afterwards, when they cleaned th' cistern, there them teeth was. pa says, 'well, anyhow, phrony knowed they was in th' damp,' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "that's uncle mel burgstresser. don't he look like charles dickens, th' great scotch poet, though? i think he does, exactly. he's ma's uncle, but he's sich a nice man that even pa likes him. they can't nobody help likin' him, he's so nice; but ever'body laughs at him, he says sich blunderin' things sometimes. onct when aunt alviny (that's his wife) was a-makin' oyster soup, uncle mel he come and looked over her shoulder and says, 'put lots o' water in it, mother, 'cause i'm hungry,' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "that's my cousin, willie sparks, same age as me--but not when that pitchure was took. he wasn't only 9 then. don't he look awful meek? but mebbe you think he ain't got a temper! one time when his pa come home from work after dark and willie ain't got his chores done, he scolded him, and when willie brung in th' coal fer th' kitchen stove he was cryin' and he jist hauls off, he's s' mad, and kicks th' stove an awful welt, and says, 'yuh will burn coal, will yuh!' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "that's ma's cousin, rebecca, and her man, took th' day they was married. him and her quarreled somethin' awful, she gener'ly havin' th' upper hand. i was named after her." [illustration] "that there's peletiah parrett, a friend of pa's since they was boys. he's a singin' school teacher and he's been to our house lots of times, but he lives at ohio. he kin sing awful good. you'd jist ort t' hear him sing--well, i fergit what th' name of th' piece is but it goes like this: "'three dretful groans he heered and then her ghost appeared from head t' foot besmeared weth purple gore.'" [illustration] "pa's cousin stella, dressed up in some of her ma's old clothes fer a mask ball. pa drawed in that streak and that printin'. he's a reg'lar artist and he ain't never had a lesson in his life, neither. "he calls this pitchure 'stella as ajax defyin' th' lightnin'!'" [illustration] "here's deacon samuel phillips. he married ma's greatuncle myron's widow, but i don't know what relation that makes him t' us. he's an awful good man, but clost. pa says onct he got an awful jolt t' chicago, where him and some other men went t' sell their stock. it seems that after they got their tradin' done they went down town t' one of them stylish hotels fer dinner. deacon hadn't never been in one of them places before and didn't know nothin' 'bout 'm. there was breaded veal cutlets on th' bill-of-fare and deacon liked 'm, so he ordered 'm, along with a lot of other stuff, without noticin' th' price. bimeby th' bill come, and it was fer two-fifty. 'two-fifty!' the deacon hollers. 'why heck! man, i kin buy a calf fer that money!' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "ma's cousins, delmer and beezum morse. 'th' sausage brothers,' pa calls 'm, 'count of their shape. but they're awful stout, and good rasslers, both of 'm, 'specially th' littlest one, delmer. onct him and beezum got t' rasslin' in th' parlor and delmer throwed beezum in th' coal box and broke his rib." [illustration] "that's pa's aunt amanda merritt burrows. me and my brother frank allus run and hide when we see her comin', 'cause she allus kisses a feller and wants 'm t' pick her some berries, or somethin'. that's her long suit, though, as pa says--berries. pa says she won't be happy in parrydise without they've got berries there; says he bets there'll be a great old scramblin' amongst th' angels, too, t' keep from gittin' kissed. "turn over." [illustration] "ed and charley peters, pa's cousins down t' peory. they're th' stylishest relations we got." [illustration] "wilbur peebles, that is. he's ma's cousin. ain't he got funny hair? one time he went t' sleep in meetin' and pa took and done up his hair weth yalluh ribbons off'm cigars. pa says wilbur looked awful comical--jist like a horse's mane at th' fair. and wilbur's awful absent minded. onct he was t' our house alone and he decided he'd go down town, so he left a note t' let ma know. it said, 'gone down town. will be back at five. have hid key under mat.' wasn't that silly? "turn over." [illustration] "that's my little cousin, johnnie aiken, down t' brimfield. ain't he cute? he's jist th' worst little feller t' ast questions yuh ever see. and th' funniest ones! onct th' persidin' elder was t' their house and he hadn't no more'n said th' blessin' till johnnie ups and says, 'say, pa, how fur kin a cat spit?' he says." [illustration] "that's aunt minervy hopkins, pa's aunt. she believed in sperrits. "turn over." [illustration] "uncle jed doty and his wife, aunt phoebe. he's ma's half-brother and he's an awful good singer. ust t' travel weth doc lighthall. he's handsome, too, i think; but aunt phoebe ain't very. ma says she ust t' be awful purty till after she had th' rheumatism s' bad, but pa says he guesses she must a-had it before ever he see her." [illustration] "cousin willie peebles, a nice little feller, but funny. that there jaw ain't swelled. jist nacherul. pa says willie's th' mumpiest lookin' boy he ever see." [illustration] "uncle charley sparks, that is. he's awfully witty. onct when aunt kate said she liked a clock fer company, its tick was s' comfortin', and gramma said she liked a dog better, uncle charley he ups and says, 'would yuh want th' dog t' have ticks, ma?' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "that's uncle abner sedley. he's th' most stubborn person in our fambly, even if he is a preacher. one time last winter he got awful mad at a church meetin' 'cause things didn't go his way and stomped out, yellin', 'my hands is clear; i wash my skirts of th' whole matter!' he says. then he found he'd fergot his specs and he had t' sneak back in and git 'm, weth ever'body snickerin'. i guess he felt purty cheap. "turn over." [illustration] "that's my cousin, edna sparks. she ain't very smart and she's got a voice that's a terror to snakes, but her ma thinks she kin sing and's allus sickin' her on t' do it. pa says onct th' silly thing says when her ma was urgin' her before comp'ny, 'aw, ma, i can't sing, my hands is chapped.' i don't believe she ever done it, though. jist another of pa's jokes, i bet. "turn over." [illustration] "that's ma's brother, uncle billy sparks. ain't he handsome? jist take a look at them eyes. and he's smart, too--smart as uncle charlie, purty nigh. onct his mother-in-law come t' see 'em and staid a long time and was awful cross and uncle billy got tired of it and took and put a wad of cotton in her ear trumpet so she couldn't hear a thing, and she thought she was goin' plumb deef and left that day fer home to see her doctor. wasn't that cute of him?" [illustration] "that there's ma's greatuncle peter. he was awful well off, and proud of it. onct when th' minister was raisin' money t' pay fer th' new church he preached and he preached, right at uncle pete, purty nigh, and bimeby uncle pete he got up from his front corner seat and turned round toward th' people and hollered, 'i'll give another hunderd dollars t' th' lord, and yuh all know i kin pay it!' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "that's uncle jerry sparks, ma's brother. he was a lieutenant of artil'ry. pa says ef he was a rebel and seen uncle jerry comin' weth that 'spression onto his mug he wouldn't only hit th' high places." [illustration] "that's evans billhorn, a cousin of ma's by his first wife. he ust t' keep a butcher shop down t' peory and he was so strong he could throw down a steer. onct pa made a mistake talkin' t' evans. evans was a-braggin' 'bout how he could rassle, and pa ups and says, 'huh! you couldn't throw nothin' but a fit,' he says. say! it never took less 'n two doctors t' fix all th' things about pa that was broke." "still, evans is most awful clumsy, too. one time when he was t' our house he knocked off a real cluny vase of ma's and broke it and his wife says, 'evans billhorn, th' next time i take you anywheres i'll crate yuh!' she says. pa kep' a piece of that vase fer a long time. 'pore feller suff'rer,' he called it. "turn over." [illustration] "that's perfessor tweedie. he teaches penmanship and he knows shakespeare better 'n, old mahomet knowed th' koran, pa says. ain't he a hairy feller, though? onct him 'n frank mendenhall was a-doin' brutus and cassius wrapped up in sheets in liberty hall and when prof says, 'here is muh dagger and here muh naked breast,' pa hollers out, 'git a shave, prof!' well, sir, it purty nigh busted up th' show." [illustration] "that's cousin flora burgstresser. she's th' belle of beardstown. her hair's so long she kin set on it. onct a hair tonic company offered her a pile of money--most a hunderd dollars--fer her pitchure fer their adver-tise-ment, but she wouldn't. "them society ladies don't like notority." [illustration] "that's winfield scott zachary taylor peebles, ma's cousin. he was named fer two heroes of th' rev-lutionary war, i think it was; anyway, he could allus think of th' noblest things t' say! onct when he was in th' war an officer died and they put cousin win in his place, so that's how he got t' be a corporal. first thing he says was, after th' president or whoever it was give him th' place, 'boys,' he says, 'if i fall in this day's battle, march over muh dead corpse as you would that of a common private!' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "uncle adoniram burgstresser, ma's uncle. he was a farmer and hardshell preacher. onct when ma says, 'uncle ad was a power!' pa says, 'git out! you don't mean power, you mean pow-wower.' that made ma purty mad, i tell you. uncle ad was awful clost. one time he went into a hardware store t' git a tin cup and after he'd looked careful at sev'ral he says, 'how much is this one?' 'nickel,' says th' storekeeper. then uncle ad says, 'i s'pose yuh make th' usual reduction t' th' clergy?' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "that there's emma beale. she's an awful nice, refined lady. why, one time when her pa was a-runnin' a tailor shop and emma was workin' there, pa took a pair of pants t' have 'm pressed fer a weddin' and when he went t' git 'm emma says, 'mr. peters,' she says, 'did you know there was a hole in one of th' limbs of yer trousers?' she says. and pa, he jist haw-hawed right in her face, th' old coarse thing!" [illustration] "i don't know who them fellers are, 'cept that big one in front there. that's ole ensgaard. ust t' be my uncle joe's hired man. afterwards he went up t' dakota and got 'lected t' th' legislature. pa says he was awful green and they told him all he'd need t' do was t' write mr. jim hill t' let him know he was there and he'd git a railroad pass. so ole writes, 'mester yim hill, sen-ta pole: ay ban har--ole ensgaard,' and mr. hill writes right back: 'ay ban har, too.--yim hill.' uncle charley sparks, he says that there's a stock story. says he's heard it told about a thousand differ'nt fellers. ma calls pa and uncle charley 'th' arrival wits.' says they're kinda jealous of each other. "turn over." [illustration] "that there's my cousin, alvy burgstresser, weth his cornet. he plays in th' choir. first time pa heard 'm he says when he come home, 'that choir 'll never succeed till they dehorn alvy,' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "that's ma's brother-in-law, livingston burney, out t' kansas. he's a doctor, when he ain't out talkin' politics, which ain't often. he don't half pervide fer his fambly and onct his boy run away and went clean t' chicago to my aunt sarah's and when she wrote burney about it he sent back a sassy letter, sayin', 'i'll have you know, madam, that i'm th' father of th' pop'list party in kansas.' aunt sade set right down and wrote him back, 'if you ain't a better father t' th' party,' she says, 'than you've been t' this boy, the party's in a bad way,' she says." [illustration] "that's mrs. bemrose and her daughter, lucreshy. they ust t' live neighbors t' us, but now they've moved t' yates city. mrs. bemrose is a daisy musician. you'd jist ort t' hear her sing, "'oh, th' dirty little coward that shot doctor howard and laid jesse james in his grave.'" [illustration] "them's willie and freddie sparks. they was cute little fellers but it's awful t' think th' way they turned out, pa says. willie's an editor and freddie's a lawyer, and they work together jist fine. willie gits into trouble, and freddie, he gits him out." [illustration] "perfessor leander crabb, that is. he's principal of th' ellumwood high school and he's a tumble coffee drinker--two quart a day when he was writin' his book, 'tokens of hope, or is this, then, all?' pa, he read th' book through, then he says, 'well, i hope it is,' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "them's ma's cousin peter and his wife and baby, down t' beardstown. he ain't handsome but he's an awful good man. pa says onct cousin pete was to a party where there was a game t' give a prize t' th' one what'd make th' homeliest face, and th' judge walked right over t' pete and give him th' prize, and pete says, supprised like, 'why, i ain't begun yit,' he says. i reckon it never reely happened; jist one of pa's jokes, i guess. "turn over." [illustration] "that's cousin charlie freemantle--pa's cousin, he is. he's a rollin' stone--first one place, then another; never satisfied and never gittin' nothin' ahead. he ust t' be allus comin' 'round tellin' where he was goin' next and what big things he was goin' t' do when he got there, till ma got most awful tired of it and says t' him, 'charlie,' she says, 'did yuh ever reflect that wherever yuh go yuh take yerself weth yuh?' she says. "turn over." [illustration] "that's mr. and mrs. bundy. he was a nice man but she's quarrelsomer 'n all git out. don't she look jist like a settin' hen? onct when mr. bundy died why mrs. prescott that moved t' peory she wrote mrs. bundy a real nice letter of consolence, i guess it is yuh call it--anyway, mrs. bundy fired up, quicker 'n a wink, and says, 'uh-huh!' she says, 'well, that's all very nice but it don't pay fer that there spade and waterin' pot them prescotts borruhed off 'm us and never brung back. i'll learn that tribe they can't soft-soap me!' she says. "turn over." [illustration] "that's bige turner. he ust t' work in th' print shop fer pa and he certainly was a bad aig, i want yuh t' know. onct he slep' out on th' sidewalk in front of th' shop all night and pa took and tacked his clothes down all around and when bige woke up next day he tried t' git up and couldn't and it scairt him most t' death and he hollered, 'gosh! help! i'm paralyzed,' he says. 'oh, no yuh ain't, bige,' pa says, 'but you was yisteddy.' "turn over." [illustration] "that's aunt min, pa's sister, when she was a girl. she was awful good lookin'--is yet, fer that matter. but she ain't never been no housekeeper. onct pa picked up a shirt she'd been mendin' and took a look at it and says, 'i'd hate like thunder t' have t' reap as min sews,' he says. "turn over." [illustration] "and that's pa, put in last fer 'a garrison finish,' as he says, whatever that means. honest, now, he don't look a bit like you thought he would, does he? but you could tell he was a wit, though, couldn't yuh? jist look at them little, shrewd eyes! this pitchure was took when he was editor of th' argus, before he made his money out of land and insurance. one time, while he was editin', a publisher sent him an adver-tise-ment of a book that told all about how t' run a newspaper and pa he set right down and wrote 'm back they might as well try t' sell a book of travels t' th' wanderin' jew. "that's all--and there's ma a-comin' up th' walk. we got a bigger album 'n this 'n upstairs, som'ers, though. come over some time and i'll show yuh that 'n. "tah-tah! see yuh later." [illustration] [illustration] [illustration] our artist in cuba, peru, spain and algiers. leaves from _the sketch-book of a traveller_. 1864-1868. by george w. carleton. "let observation, with expansive view, survey mankind, from china to peru." [illustration] new york: copyright, 1877, by _g. w. carleton & co., publishers_. london: s. low & co. mdccclxxvii. our artist, [illustration: colophon] his mark. contents. page cuba, 5 peru, 57 spain, 109 algiers, 131 [illustration] an apology. the author of these unpretending little wayside sketches offers them to the public with the hesitating diffidence of an amateur. the publication a few years ago, of a portion of the drawings was attended with so flattering a reception, that a new edition being called for, it is believed a few more leaves from the same vagabond sketch-book may not be intrusive. the out-of-the-way sort of places in which the author's steps have led him, must always present the most enticing subjects for a comic pencil; and although no attempt is here made to much more than hint at the oranges and volantes of cuba, the earthquakes and buzzards of peru, the donkeys and beggars of spain, or the arabs and dates of algiers, yet sketches made upon the spot, with the crispy freshness of a first impression, cannot fail in suggesting at least a panoramic picture of such grotesque incidents as these strange countries furnish. the drawings are merely the chance results of leisure moments; and our artist, in essaying to convey a ray of information through the glasses of humor, has simply multiplied with printers' ink his pocket-book of sketches, which, although caricatures, are exaggerations of actual events, jotted down on the impulse of the moment, for the same sort of idle pastime as may possibly lead the reader to linger along its ephemeral pages. new york, _christmas_, 1877. part i. cuba. [illustration: colophon] cuban sketches. sick transit. the spanish tongue. two boobies. an unwelcome visitor. a colored hercules. an agreeable bath. the cuban jehu. a celestial maid. iglesia san francisco. a statue on a bust. a cuban motive. a tail unfolded. an influenza. money in thy purse. flee for shelter. sugar and water. the ride. green fields. a cock-fight. a segar well-lighted. rather cool. shall rest be found. take your pick. all aboard. a spanish retreat. the matanzas cave. spiders and rats. hard road to travel. belligerents. a shady retreat. materfamilias. a spanish grocer. culinary department. colored help. a bundle of clothes. very moorish. a button-smasher. chacun a son gout. white pantaloons. nature's restorer. carnival acquaintance. agricultural. beauty at the ball. a cot in the valley. a disappointment. a colored beauty. dolce far niente. corner stones. locomotion. a sudden departure. the start.--the steamship columbia. at sea. [illustration: first day out.--the wind freshens up a trifle as we get outside sandy hook; but our artist says he is'nt sea-sick, for he never felt better in his life.] in the gulf of mexico. [illustration: a "booby"--as seen _from_ the ship's deck.] [illustration: a "booby"--as seen _on_ the ship's deck.] arrival at havana. [illustration: a side elevation of the colored gentleman who carried our luggage from the small boat to the custom house.] streets of havana.--calle mercaderes. [illustration: the first volante driver that our artist saw in havana.] view from our window at the hotel almy. [illustration: the old convent and bell tower of the church of san francisco,--now used as a custom house.] streets of havana.--calle teniente re. [illustration: a cuban cart and its motive power.--ye patient donkey.] at the cafe louvre. [illustration: manners and customs of a cuban with a cold in his head.] the [wicked] flea of havana. [illustration: part i.--the beast in a torpid condition.] [illustration: part ii.--when he "smells the blood of an englishmun."] the national vehicle of havana. [illustration: manner and custom of harnessing ye animiles to ye cuban volante.] a cock-fight in cuba. [illustration: i.--chanticleer as he goes in.] [illustration: ii.--chanticleer considerably "played out."] streets of havana.--calle lamparilla. [illustration: the cool and airy style in which they dress the rising colored generation of havana.] the cuban tooth-pick. [illustration: two ways of carrying it--behind the ear, and in the back-hair.] the captain general's quinta. [illustration: view of the canal and cocoa tree; looking east from the grotto.] the domestic insects of havana. [illustration: agitation of the better-half of our artist, upon entering her chamber and making their acquaintance.] a little episode in the calle barratillo. [illustration: a slight difference arises between the housekeeper's cat and the butcher's dog, who has just come out in his summer costume.] streets of havana.--calle compostella. [illustration: the free negro.--an every-day scene, when the weather is fine.] an interior in havana. [illustration: kitchen, chief-cook and bottle-washer in the establishment of mrs. franke, out on the "cerro."] heads of the people. [illustration: a portrait of the young lady, whose family (after considerable urging) consents to take in our washing.] primitive habits of the natives. [illustration: washing in havana.--$4 00 a dozen in gold.] washing in havana. [illustration: i.--my pantaloons as they went _in_. ii.--my pantaloons as they came _out_.] carnival in havana. [illustration: a masquerade at the tacon theatre.--types of costume, with a glimpse of the "cuban dance" in the background.] a mask ball at the tacon. [illustration: our artist mixes in the giddy dance, and falls desperately in love with this sweet creature--but] later in the evening, [illustration: when the "sweet creature" unmasks, our artist suddenly recovers from his fit of admiration. alas! beauty is but mask deep.] streets of havana--calle obrapia. [illustration: the cuban wheelbarrow--in repose.] streets of havana--calle o'reilly. [illustration: the cuban wheelbarrow--in action.] first hour! second hour!! third hour!!! [illustration: our artist forms the praiseworthy determination of studying the spanish language, and devotes three hours to the enterprise.] bed-rooms in cuba. [illustration: the scorpion of havana,--encountered in his native jungle.] sea-baths in havana. [illustration: our artist having prepared himself for a jolly plunge, inadvertently observes an insect peculiar to the water, and rather thinks he won't go in just now.] hotels in havana. [illustration: a cheerful chinese chambermaid (?) at the fonda de ingleterra, outside the walls.] high art in havana. [illustration: a gay (but slightly mutilated) old plaster-of-paris girl, that i found in one of the avenues of the bishop's garden, on the "cerro."] locomotion in the country. [illustration: a cuban planter going into town with his plunder.] shopping in havana. [illustration: our artist just steps around the corner, to look at a "sweet thing in fans" that his wife has found.] [illustration: result!] the national beverage of havana. [illustration: our artist indulges in a _panale frio_ (a sort of lime-ade), at the café dominica, and gets so "set up," that he vows he won't go home till morning.] the lizards of cuba. [illustration: our artist, on an entomological expedition in the bishop's garden, is disagreeably surprised to find such sprightly specimens.] smoking in havana. [illustration: an english acquaintance of our artist wants a light for his paper segar; whereupon the waiter, according to custom, brings a live coal.] the musquitos of havana. [illustration: a midsummer's night dream.--our artist is just the least bit disturbed in his rest, and gently remonstrates.] public servants in cuba. [illustration: a gay and festive chinese brakeman, on the railroad near guines.--the shirt-collar-and-pair-of-spurs style of costume.] one of the sensations in cuba. [illustration: the great cave near matanzas.--picturesque house over the entrance.] the great cave near matanzas. [illustration: a section of the interior--showing the comfortable manner in which our artist followed the guide, inspected the stalactites, and comported himself generally.] the outskirts of matanzas. [illustration: one of the fortifications.--sketched from the end of the _paseo_, on a day hot enough to give anything but a donkey the brain fever.] architecture in matanzas. [illustration: a romantic little _tienda mista_ (grocery store) on a corner, in the calle ona.] a _caffetal_ near matanzas. [illustration: our artist becomes dumb with admiration, at the ingenious manner of toting little niggers.] the picturesque in matanzas. [illustration: a singular little bit, out of the calle manzana.] a sugar plantation, near the yumori. [illustration: our artist essays to drink the milk from a green cocoa:] [illustration: fatal effect.--an uncomfortable sensation!] a bed-chamber in matanzas. [illustration: first night at the "gran hotel leon de oro."--our artist is accommodated with quarters on the ground-floor, convenient to the court-yard, and is lulled to sleep by a little domestic concert of cats, dogs, donkeys, parrots and game-cocks.] economy is wealth. [illustration: showing the manner in which one ox accomplishes the labor of two, in san felipe.] the suburbs of calabazar. [illustration: a planter's hut, and three scraggly palm trees in the dim distance.] plantations near marianao. [illustration: a colored beauty toting sugar cane from the field to the grinding mill.] architecture in havana. [illustration: a conglomerate _esquina_, on the corner of calle obispo and monserate.] last night in havana. [illustration: alarm of our artist and wife, upon going to their room to pack, and discovering that a tarantula has taken possession of their trunk.] part ii. peru. [illustration] peruvian sketches. friendly counsels. good for digestion. a disagreeable berth. an eye for an eye. a colored reception. who knows? (nose). the naked truth. discretion in valor. a panama laundress. black warriors. a man for a' hat. music hath charms. domestic bliss. a chariot race. a bit of a church. an antique. hot weather. family arrangement. what an ass! heads of the people. a happy family. by their fruits. land at last. a beast of burden. callao cathedral. a night adventure. a baggage train. a runaway. cathedral at lima. the light fantastic. a water-carrier. a rooster. a bag of cuffey. a chime of bells. birds of a feather. dog-days. a china bowl of soup. pork business. thing of beauty. when shall we three. fondest hopes decay. unhand me! rat-ification meeting. nothing venture. a back seat. a great sell. an excellent view. a beggarly show. bread-baskets. a dead-head. the start--steamship "henry chauncey." from new york to aspinwall. [illustration: sea-sickness being a weakness of our artist, he determines to be fore-armed, and accordingly provides himself with a few simple preventives, warmly recommended by his various friends.] in the caribbean sea. [illustration: our artist, having indulged rather freely in the different preventives, gets things mixed, and wishes that his friends and their confounded antidotes were at the bottom of the dead sea.] arrival at aspinwall. [illustration: first impressions of the city and its inhabitants.--colored citizens on the dock, awaiting the steamer's advent.] isthmus of darien. [illustration: view from the window of a panama railroad car--showing the low-neck and short-sleeve style of costume adopted by the youthful natives of cruces.--also a sprightly specimen of the one-eared greyhound indigenous to the country.] a view in panama. [illustration: the old and weather-beaten church of santa ana--and in the foreground, with basket on her head, baby under one arm, and bowl of milk supported by the other, a colored lady of west indian descent, vulgarly known as a "jamaica nigger."] an afternoon at panama. [illustration: deeming it always incumbent upon the traveller to invest in the products of the country, our artist provides himself with a good sensible panama hat, and thus with wife and "mutual friend," he peacefully and serenely meanders around among the suburbs of the city.] a street scene in panama. [illustration: our artist, with the naked eye, beholds a pig, a fighting-cock, and a black baby, all tied by the leg, at the humble doorway of the residence of a colored citizen, in the principal street of the capital of central america.] in the bay of panama. [illustration: our artist wanders about the sleepy little neighboring island, taboga, where the english steamers lie, and sketches, among other picturesque bits, the clean little whitewashed cathedral in the dirty little broadway of taboga.] steamship "chile." from panama to callao. [illustration: crossing the equinoctial line, our artist discovers that the rays of a vertical sun are anything but bracing and cool.] payta--a seaport in peru. [illustration: our artist, having understood that this town is chiefly remarkable for its fine breed of mules, ironically inquires of a native venus if this can be considered a good specimen. the n. v. treats our artist with silent, stolid, indian contempt.] natural history in peru. [illustration: our artist visits a coasting-vessel just arrived from guayaquil, loaded with every variety of tropical fruit, and a sprinkling of tame monkeys, parrots, alligators, white herons, iguanas, paroquets, spotted deer, etc.] arrival at callao--the harbor. [illustration: the landing-boat being a trifle too much loaded by the head, our artist finds it somewhat difficult to steer.] architecture in callao. [illustration: the little one-story cathedral on the plaza, which the earthquakes have so frantically and so vainly tried to swallow up or tumble down.] arrival at lima. [illustration: triumphal entry of our artist and his much-the-better-half; reviving the brilliant days of pizarro and his conquering warriors, as they entered the "city of the kings."--the peruvian warriors in the present century, however, conquer but the baggage, and permit the weary traveller to walk to his hotel at the tail-end of the procession.] the cathedral at lima. [illustration: an after-dinner sketch (rather shaky) from our balcony in the hotel morin, on the grand plaza.] domestics in peru. [illustration: one of the waiters at our hotel, clad in the inevitable _poncho_--a genuine native peruvian, perhaps a son of "rolla the peruvian," who was "within."] a peruvian cook. [illustration: peeping into the kitchen one day, our artist perceives that a costume, cool and negligé, may be improvised by making a hole in a coffee-bag and getting into it.] streets of lima--calle judios. [illustration: almost every other street in lima has a stream of filthy water or open sewer running through the middle of it, offering rich fishing-grounds to the graceful _gallinazos_ or turkey-buzzards, who thus constitute the street-cleaning department of the municipal government.] celestials in peru. [illustration: our artist is here seen resisting the tempting offer of a bowl of what appears to be buzzard soup, in front of one of the chinese cook-shops that abound in the neighborhood of the market at lima.] dolce far niente--a dream of peru. [illustration: our artist before going to lima, during little poetical siestas, had indulged in lovely romantic reveries, the burden of which he sketches in his mind's eye, horatio--but] the sad reality. [illustration: alas! too frequently his thirsty eye is met only by such visions as the above--and the lovely beauties of lima, where are they?] bedrooms in peru. [illustration: a section of the inner-wall to our chamber at the hotel in lima.--the condition of things at the witching hour of night, judging by the sounds.] streets of lima.--calle palacio. [illustration: a young peruvian accompanying its mamma to market in the morning.] streets of lima--calle plateros. [illustration: a picturesque little _mirador_ or lookout at the corner of calle plateros and bodegones, opposite the hotel maury, with balconies _ad lib._] occupations in lima. [illustration: the _panadero_, or baker, as he appears on his mite of a donkey, rushing round through the streets of lima, delivering bread to his customers.] carriages and pavements in lima. [illustration: our artist, after a hearty dinner, extravagantly engages a three-horse coupé, and goes out for a regular, genuine, native peruvian ride. that his bones are unbroken, and that he is yet alive to tell the tale, remains to him an unfathomable mystery.] costumes in lima.--the saya y manto. [illustration: our artist has heard a good deal about the magnificent eyes of the limanian women; but as he never sees more than one eye at a time, he can't say much about them, with any regard for the truth.] head-dresses in lima.--the manto. [illustration: the señoritas look very prettily sometimes, with their black mantillas thrown gracefully over their heads, (_see geographies, etc._,) but when you come across a party possessing a decided nose, in profile, the effect is rather startling.] revolutions in peru. [illustration: our apartments look out upon the grand plaza, where the fighting usually takes place; and as the windows are mostly broken by the balls of the last revolution, (nov. 6, 1865,) and it's about time for another, our artist gets into ambuscade every time he hears a fire-cracker in the street.] the war with spain. [illustration: two native and dreadfully patriotic peruvian soldiers on review before their superior officer.] martial music in peru. [illustration: the national hymn, with variations, as rendered by the royal band in front of president prado's palace on the grand plaza.] fine arts in peru. [illustration: a hasty sketch of mistress juno and her peacocks, as represented by fresco in the doorway of a lima palace--calle ayachucho.] dark ages of peru. [illustration: the old unfinished church and deserted monastery of san francisco de paula--calle malambo.] locomotion in south america. [illustration: what the country people would do down there, if the jackasses were only long enough.--what they _do_ do, is but slightly caricatured by our artist.] hair-dressing in lima. [illustration: ladies' style as seen at the theatre. also our artist before and after he had his hair cut in the latest lima fashion.] a fruit-stall at chorrillos. [illustration: our artist, as he appeared when stricken with amazement at the huge clusters of white grapes that are everywhere, for a mere song, sold in peru.] shopping in peru. [illustration: a peruvian materfamilias, having bought a few simple house-keeping articles in town, is here seen returning to her mountain home, accompanied by her purchases.] the fleas of lima. [illustration: having been nearly devoured by these carnivorous little devils, our artist sprinkles himself with turkish flea-powder one night before retiring, and is charmed at the rapid and parabolic manner with which they desert him.] the llamas of peru. [illustration: our artist had heretofore fancied that it would be immensely jolly to ride one of these singular beasts of burden; but when he encounters this one, on a lonely road outside the walls one day, he begs to be excused.] terpsichore in peru. [illustration: our artist assists at a mask-ball in the jardin otaiza, and is puzzled at the nationality of the costumes worn by the dancers.] church ornaments in lima. [illustration: the statues in the niches and on the spires of the cathedral look very well in the daytime; but at night, when the turkey-buzzards roost on their heads, the solemnity of the thing is somewhat marred.] the bells of lima. [illustration: lima is full of churches, and the churches are full of bells; and as they ring and bang away from dewy eve till early morn, their cadences are calculated to disturb somewhat the peaceful slumbers of our artist.] peruvian bark--in the rough. [illustration: our artist is treated to plenty of this quinine (canine) salutation, whenever and wherever he pays a visit in lima.] transportation in peru. [illustration: "this pig went to market," but as he wouldn't go decently, he was tied upon the back of the ever-patient donkey, and so, _nolens volens_, came to lima, crossing the bridge over the rimac, where our artist sketched him.] priests and friars of lima. [illustration: a theological discussion of the gravest import takes place between three jolly fathers of the roman catholic church--a dominican, a mercedarian, and a buena-muertean. scene--the square in front of the church of san francisco, with its crooked cross.] entomology in south america. [illustration: our artist doesn't want to say anything against the insects of peru; but the way in which one of his hands swelled up, after a bite from some unknown varmit in the night, was, to say the least, alarming.] lotteries in peru. [illustration: having invested in the semi-monthly lima lottery, our artist feels so confident of drawing the $4,000 prize, that he gets extravagant, wears his good clothes, and smokes one-dollar cigars; but a revulsion of feeling takes place after the drawing produces nothing for him but blanks.] curiosities of peru. [illustration: having been informed by a musty old sepulchral monk that the remains of pizarro might be seen behind this grating, our artist tremblingly gazes therein--but as it is pitch dark, he doesn't recognize pizarro.] a coup d'oeil in lima. [illustration: a picturesque view of the great stone bridge over the rapid river rimac, showing the towers of the church desamparados, the arch with illuminated clock, and the spire of santo domingo.--sketched with about ninety-seven peruvian beggars looking over our artist's shoulder.] last day at lima. [illustration: a visit to the museum--which contains a not very remarkable collection of peruvian antiquities--and where our artist sees all that remains of the once magnificent atahualpa, last king of the incas. alas, poor yorick! to this complexion must we come at last.--fit sketch wherewith to end this strange, eventful history of "our artist in peru."] part iii. spain. [illustration] a spanish overcoat. [illustration: our artist, upon his arrival in "sunny spain," is overtaken in the pyrenees, on the french frontier, by a terrific snow-storm, and is compelled to provide himself, at bayonne, with an overcoat of the country.] hackmen in spain. [illustration: portraits of the three hackmen, who (upon our arrival at the city of burgos, in the dead of night,) meet us at the rail road station, and propose accompanying us to our hotel.] a citizen of valladolid. [illustration: here is a faithful portrait of the old party who entered the cars at valladolid; carrying with him a few travelling conveniences.] a madrid hat. [illustration: this is a spanish dandy at the grand opera house in madrid:--first, with his cigarette and new hat of the period; second, after his hat had been sat upon by a fat old señora, during the third act of lucia di lammermoor.] lotteries in spain. [illustration: nearly all the lottery tickets in spain are publicly sold in the streets by beggars: and _this_ is the sort of vagabond in madrid to whom our artist confided $16 for a ticket that won a prize of $5.] sight-seeing in spain. [illustration: there are so many hundred apartments to be seen in the famous palace of the escorial, that our artist is obliged to follow his brigand of a guide rather rapidly, in order to view them all in one day.] napoleon bonaparte. [illustration: our artist sees from the car-window, at a rail-road station near toledo, what, at a first glance, appears to be a statue of napoleon bonaparte,--but: (_see next page_.)] a rail-road official. [illustration:---the statue suddenly becomes animated and revolves; and the side-view reveals a civil guard, with carbine and knapsack beneath his big military cloak.] architecture in cordova. [illustration: a picturesque little half moorish and half spanish dwelling house, in the calle jesus maria; with a couple of priests in earnest discussion.] balconies in seville. [illustration: sketch of a private residence in calle san pablo; from the upper balcony of which, our artist had a rose thrown to him, while a cloaked assassin of a probable lover, glowered savagely at him from the doorway.] il barbiere di siviglia. [illustration: the barber of seville, according to rossini's opera, and according to the way in which he is popularly believed to disport himself.--(_see next page._)] a barbarous proceeding. [illustration: the barber of seville, as he actually exists in that city, and precisely as he appeared while operating upon our artist, one day, in the calle de las sierpes.] a café in seville. [illustration: our artist discovers, one day, in the calle tunidores, not exactly the most fashionable café in seville, but a café glorying in the ambitious name of julius cæsar!] types of spanish character. [illustration: fellow passengers in the diligence to malaga--one, a corpulent and famous bull-fighter, and the other, an envious and admiring follower of the same ennobling profession.] spanish stage-coaches. [illustration: the light and graceful antediluvian diligence that transported us up the sierra nevada mountains, from malaga to loja.] locomotion in spain. [illustration: this sketch is an attempt to display the general character and construction of one of the seven mules that drew our diligence over the hills from malaga to loja.] the spanish guitar. [illustration: a characteristic little sketch of a guitar player, in the window of a second-story dwelling, on the alemeda de verano, at grenada.] beggars in spain. [illustration: our artist, having in a generous moment, distributed a handful of copper coins to the poor of grenada, finds himself, thereafter, in all his strolls about the alhambra, at the head of such a procession as this!] the alhambra. [illustration: sketch of the famous gate of justice, the principal modern entrance to the far-famed moorish palace of the alhambra--with a little spanish flirtation going on in the corner.] the alhambra. [illustration: outline sketch of an ancient moorish well, inside the enclosure of the alhambra; with a bit of the old wall.] a spanish vegetable market. [illustration: a sketch in gibraltar--this fellow was seen wandering around the streets, selling vegetables to the natives, and steering his donkey by the tail.] part iv. algiers. [illustration] landing in africa. [illustration: we leave gibraltar by steamer, and upon reaching the city of nemours, our artist and his better-half are taken ashore from the small boat by the natives in this summary manner!--a couple of inviting hotel-keepers are awaiting them on the beach.] an arab beggar. [illustration: one of the first objects that greets the eagle eye of our artist, as he wanders around the streets of nemours, is this cheerful "what-is-it," who mournfully begs for a few grains of corn.] african water carriers. [illustration: sketch of a fantastic little fountain in one of the streets of the city of oran.] bed-rooms in africa. [illustration: this is the sort of thing that you find meandering round on your pillow, when you retire to your chamber for the night, at the hotel in oran.] another arab beggar. [illustration: this gentleman, who accosted us in the suburbs of oran, assured us in tremulous accents that he had eaten nothing in seventeen days--and we saw no reason for doubting his word.] locomotion in africa. [illustration: upon our arrival in the city of algiers, we are much amused at the first vehicle we see; where a diminutive donkey is hitched in front of an enormous horse.] costumes in africa. [illustration: alarm of our artist, as he, for the first time, encounters a moorish maiden, as she appears around the corner from a dark and narrow street, in the kasbah quarter of the city of algiers.] soldiers in africa. [illustration: a french zouave off duty, as he appeared while listening to the military band that played every afternoon in the place du gouvernment, algiers.] a street in algiers. [illustration: the rue staoueli--a narrow street in the old arab quarter of algiers, where the houses nearly touch each other at their tops.] manufactures in africa. [illustration: sketch in the rue kasbah.--a couple of moorish jews, engaged in silk spinning, at the door of their palatial residence.] moorish shop-keeper. [illustration: this graceful and fairy-like will-o'-the-wisp, sold us some lovely silk embroideries, in algiers, the like of which, solomon, in all his glory never dreamed of.] fine arts in africa. [illustration: we visit the not very interesting museum in algiers, and sketch, among other curious objects, a cast of an arab martyr [one géronimo], who had been buried alive in a box of plaster of paris.] jardin d'essai, algiers. [illustration: merely a sketch (for the last page of this little book) of a date-palm tree, in algiers, with a couple of arabs trying to get in its shade.] * * * * * =the united states life insurance co.= this company is one of the oldest in this city, and has a high reputation for conservative and skilful management. its board of directors comprises a number of the best known, most influential, and wealthiest of our merchants and bankers. its officers are men of proved integrity and ability. the annual statement, submitted last january, and accepted by the state commissioner of insurance as correct, shows the assets to be $4,654,274, and the surplus, as already stated, to be over $800,000, or more than twenty per cent, of all the liabilities. the united states life insurance co. is known in life insurance circles as one of the most carefully handled institutions in the city. so well has it been managed that its business has increased rather than retrograded during the past year, as bad as it has been for all kinds of business. and its losses have been less this year than in any of the five preceding. its officers are among the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of new york. james buell, esq., the president, is the president of the importers and traders' bank, a man whose name is a synonym for integrity and skill in finance, and its stockholders are men equally well known in business circles, and hold an equal share of public esteem. =organized 1850.= =james buell, _president_.= c. p. fraleigh, sec'y. t. h. brosnan, supt. agencies. henry w. baldwin, supt. middle department, office: drexel building, cor. wall & broad streets, new york. our =artist in cuba,= peru, spain and algiers [illustration] by george w. carleton. [illustration] price 50 cents. 