Lands of the slave and the free: or, Cuba, the United States, and Canada . cessful and intimate terms with soap andwater, I pounced upon himwithout delay, and soon foundthat he was a German gentleman travelling with his brother-in-law, and they both had assumed an incognito, being desirousof avoiding that curious observation which, had their real 156 CHECK CURIOSITY. position in life been known, they would most inevitably havebeen subject to. Reader, be not you too curious, for I cannotwithdraw the veil they chose to travel under; suffice it toknow, their society added much to my enjoyment, bo
Lands of the slave and the free: or, Cuba, the United States, and Canada . cessful and intimate terms with soap andwater, I pounced upon himwithout delay, and soon foundthat he was a German gentleman travelling with his brother-in-law, and they both had assumed an incognito, being desirousof avoiding that curious observation which, had their real 156 CHECK CURIOSITY. position in life been known, they would most inevitably havebeen subject to. Reader, be not you too curious, for I cannotwithdraw the veil they chose to travel under; suffice it toknow, their society added much to my enjoyment, both onthe passage and at the Havana. The sailing of the vessel isso ingeniously managed, that you arrive at the harboursmouth just after sunset, and are consequently allowed theprivilege of waiting outside all night, no vessels except men-of-war being allowed to enter between sunset and hopes of the morrow were our only consolation, until atearly dawn we ran through the narrow battery-girt entrance,and dropped anchor in the land-locked harbour of Havana. 157. CHAPTEE XII. The Queen of the Antilles. It was a lovely morning, not a cloud in the sky ; the harbourwas as smooth as a mirror, and bright with the rays of a sunwhich had reached that height at which—in tropical climates—it gilds and gladdens the scene without scorching the spec-tator ; the quay was lined with ships loading and unloading;small boats were flying about in every direction ; all aroundwas gay and fresh, but the filthy steamer was still beneathme. I lost no time in calling a skiff alongside ; then, shakingthe dust from off my feet, I was soon pulling away for theshore. As a matter of course, the Custom-house is the landing-place ; and the great object of search seems to be for Filibus-ter papers, or books which advocate that cause. Havingpassed this ordeal, you take your first drive in the nationalvehicle of the island, which rejoices in the appellation of a 158 THE HOUSE AND THE NEGRO. Volante,
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