Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/163



Sunday, but  lie  did  not  mind  risking  a  dollar  on  the game.

Came in  sight  late  that  night,  or,  rather  early  the next morning,  the  fair  island  of  Cuba. I dressed  my- self and went  out. It was  a  magnificent  moonlight night and  the  sea  was  smooth  as  glass. There was  a soft  tropical  haze  in  the  atmosphere,  and  as,  on  our approach, the  mountains  of  the  interior  assumed  form, and the  green  hills,  and  white  beach,  and  coral  reefs — almost buried  in  foliage— -the  waving  palms  of  the hill-tops and  the  orange  groves  nestling  in  quiet  val- leys were more  plainly  distinguished,  the  view  pre- sented was ravishing  in  the  extreme. Arrived off Habana an  hour  before  daylight,  we  came  to  a  stop and lay  too  under  the  guns  of  the  More  Castle,  where we were  obliged  to  wait  until  sunrise  before  entering the harbor,  such  being  the  rule. Then, just  as  the sun lifted  its  warm  tints  above  the  horizon,  scattering the sky-painted  imagery  that  forecast  the  dawn,  we turned  round  the  dark  bluff,  under  the  frowning  battle- ments of the  fortress,  gun  answering  gun  in  courteous salute, while  far  over  the  sea  swept  the  morning  music from the  fort,  like  blasts  of  the  archangel  sounding the opening  of  a  new  world. As we  slowly  steamed up the  channel,  on  the  right  of  which  lay  the  city, with its  terraced  houses  of  many  colors,  blue,  yellow, and red,  its  quaint  cathedral  piles  and  glittering  spires, our course  was  arrested  by  pompous  health  and  cus- toms officers, who,  after  performing  their  duties  to  their dignified satisfaction,  allowed  us  to  proceed. We soon came to  anchor  before  the  city,  and  the  passengers were permitted  to  land.

Pygmalion's statue  was  no  more  lost  in  won- derment than was  I.  To  my  inexperienced  gaze  all was as  marvelous  as  if  I  had  been  lifted  from  another world and  put  down  upon  this  spot. There was  the voluptuous morning  sun  rolling  in  an  aerial  sea  of crimson  flanked  by  silver-burnished  clouds ;  the  wanton air playing  with  the  feathered  palms,  and  breathing