up the street there ahead of us, mounted upon his donkey, his feet projecting out in front, while he is high up on the pack that holds his large, square panniers of chickens, which he has brought in from the country to dispose of, and which he carries safely in the baskets, corded over the tops with a net work, or more frequently a cloth, the pollos sticking forth their heads from time to time, and doubtless wondering, as they keep up their cachinating, why their master is thus treating them to this morning's paseo.

Now we meet a " dulce" seller. As a general thing they are neatlooking mulatto women, rather better attired than most of the colored women one me ts in the street. They carry a basket on the arm, or perhaps upon the head, while in their hands they have a waiter, with all sorts of sweetmeats,-mostly, however, the preserved fruits of the country, and which are very delicious, indeed,—much affected by ladies.

We need not have any hesitation in buying from these women, as they usually are sent out by private families, the female members of which make these dulces for their living, the saleswoman often being the only property they own, and having no other way (or, perhaps, too proud, if they have) of gaining a livelihood.

Here is something that won't strike you quite so agreeably. Did you ever see anything more disgusting than that great negro wench,

a large clothes-basket on her head, a colossal cigar sticking out from between her thick lips, while she walks along, majestically trailing an ill-fitting, loose dress (probably the only article of apparel she has on) after her slip-shod strides? She puts on airs, occasionally, if you scold her for spoiling your clothes, that you have rashly trusted her to wash for you.

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CHAPTER XXXIII.

Sugar-making in Cuba.

BOOK on the Island of Cuba without a chapter on sugar-mak

ing would hardly be complete. To the cultivation of the cane is also added, on the same place where the cane is raised, and by the same proprietor, the manufacture of sugar, such places being called in the Cuban dialect ingenios, or sugar estates, the carrying on of which requires a large amount of capital, a great degree of intelligence, and much mechanical skill.

These ingenios vary in size from five hundred to ten thousand acres, though the results of their crops are not always in proportion to the number of their acres, that depending more particularly upon the nature of the soil of the particular locality in which they are situated, and the degree of intelligence and amount of labor with which they are worked. Each one of the ingenios is, in some degree, like a small village, or, as with the larger ones, quite a town, in which are substantial edifices, numerous dwellings, and expensive machinery, together with a large number of inhabitants, the different officials necessary for their government and management representing the civil officers, except with, perhaps, greater power.

The buildings upon a first-class sugar estate are generally a dwelling-house (casa de vivienda), which, from its size, style, and cost, might sometimes be called a palace, some of them having, in addition to numerous other conveniences, small chapels in which to celebrate the religious services of the estate, the dwelling being occupied by the owner and his family, if living on the estate; if not, by the administrador, who is charged with the care and management of the estate in the absence of the owner, and who, in fact, may be said to be the man of the place.

There is also the house occupied by the mayoral, as he is called the chief of the negro laborers, whose business it is to follow the

laborers to the field to see that they do their work properly, and that sufficient amount of cane is cut to keep the mill constantly supplied with material to grind; in fact he has a general supervision of all the agricultural duties of the estate, receiving his orders only from the owner or administrador, as the case may be. The mayorales are generally very ordinary men, of no education, the intelligence they possess being simply that gained by long experience in this kind of business.

The maquinista, or engineer, is really the most important man upon the place, as upon him depend the grinding of the cane and the care of the mill and its machinery-that it is kept in good and running order, so that no delay may take place in the grinding season. His quarters are generally in some part of the mill, where he manages to be pretty comfortable.

American Engineers.

These engineers are mostly young Americans, with now and then an Englishman or a German; but the Americans are much preferred on account of their superior intelligence and assiduous attention to their business. Their pay is from one thousand two hundred to two thousand five hundred dollars for the grinding season, which begins. about December and ends nearly always in or before June, most of the engineers going over to the States to pass the summer, or, as they express it, "to have a good time.”

The Hospital is always an important building on these places, as it is the only place where the sick can be treated and properly taken care of. It is usually arranged with a great deal of care and neatness, the building being divided off into different wards for men and women, and also for contagious diseases; it is generally in charge of a hospital steward, who has quite an apothecary shop in his charge, and who receives his instructions from the attending physician, who also attends a number of the estates in the same locality, visiting each one generally every day, and receiving compensation at so much per year. As a matter of simple economy, to say nothing of charity, the invalids get the best of treatment, and are not sent back to work

until they are completely restored, though while convalescing they are required to do light work, such as making baskets, hats, etc.

The Nursery is also quite an important place, and is highly amusing to visit, for here the future hopes of the plantation are cared for. These little black, naked sinners, running and tumbling over each other in great glee, are generally kept in a large room, with rows of cradles or cribs on each side, in which each little one is kept at

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10000000

INTERIOR OF A SUGAR-MILL.

night, the old women who are too feeble to work any longer being retained as nurses in charge, while the mothers of the little ones are out at work in the fields, being allowed, two or three times a day, to return and suckle such infants as need the mother's milk.

It is very amusing to enter one of these nurseries when the children are being fed, and see their gambols and antics, and the expression of the little ones' eyes as they see the white master, as he is called, and with whom they keep on friendly terms, enter their quarters. They all appear to be happy and jolly, and make as much noise and have as much fun as would satisfy any "radical" in the States. Poor things, they happily know nothing of the hard lot in store for them.

But the most important of all the buildings is, of course, the Sugarmill, which generally consists of the engine-house, where is all the machinery and power for grinding, boiling and working the cane and juice, and the purging and drying-houses. The engine-house is generally an extremely large roof, supported by pillars and posts, and entirely open on all sides-in fact, nothing more than a very well constructed shed to keep off the sun and rain, the floor being mostly paved with brick, and the stairways leading from one portion of the building to another being of solid stone. In fact, one of these mills of the first class is a very handsome affair-everything about it, the engines and the machinery being kept in the most scrupulously clean order, equal to a man-of-war.

How the Employees Live.

On the larger places there are generally what are called barracoons, or quarters for the workmen. They are large buildings, constructed of stone, in the form of a quadrangle, on the inner side of which are the rooms for the negroes, to which there is only one main entrance; this is shut at night when the hands are all in.

On the outside, and much better built, there are rooms occupied by the different white men connected with the place and not otherwise provided for; probably, also, a long row of stables for the many horses usually kept upon places of this kind, and of which there is no lack, either for work or play.

On other places, again, the negroes live in bohios, or huts-some few constructed of stone, but most of them simply log or cane huts, of the most ordinary description, thatched with palm-leaf or grass, and making no attempt at comfort, but simply serving as shelters from the rain. In the Southern States the miserable habitations called cabins are bad enough; but these are worse; though, to be sure, in a climate like this it does not matter much about shelter all one wants is shade.

The Purging-house is generally of very great extent, being two stories high, and of great length. The floor of the upper story is simply a series of strong frames, with apertures for placing in them