Travels in the United States, etc.,: during 1849 and 1850./ By the Lady Emmeline Stuart Wortley.

HAVANA FRUITS AND FLOWERS.
son, they usually dine) or in the beautifill gardens under the shadowy
coolness of the interlacing bowers and avenues.
On their return to the banqueting-room, they find an immense
profusion of crystal, alabaster, or porcelain vases, and canastillas
(small baskets) of sliver, loaded with a vast variety of fruits.
"Mameys" which, says Madame de Merlin, are "Alimento de las
almas bienaventuradas en los valles del otro mundo, seglun la
creencia de los habitantes de Hlaiti," and the "zapatillas suaves,"
which she declares have a "gusto silvestre." Then there are
tunas-a very handsome fruit of a lovely rose-color, about the size
of a small pine-apple, the inside of which is excellent, and all of it
eatable: it looks like the most delicate royal ermine-with the
tiniest little black tags-whipped ermine!-almost beaten to a
soft creamy froth. This fruit is reckoned remarkably wholesome,
and is so good that the "almas bienaventuradas" would do well to
add it to their gtameys. Then there are guayavas, and hosts of
others.
Besides fruits of almnost innumerable kinds, and sizes, and shapes,
there are crowds of light silver dishes, and bandejas or. dulceswhich mean all kinds of sweets (dulces variados hasta lo infinito);
and the table, the borders of the dishes, even the glasses, are
wreathed, and covered, and almost buried in flowers. This change
is like the work of magic: the most delicious perfumes chase away
even the faintest smell of meat, and the eye reposes itself on a
rainbow-colored wilderness of blossoms mixed with the most tempting and the choicest fruits. Enormous doors, or rather puertaventanas (doors and windows in one), are opened on the balconies,
and gigantic windows besides, perhaps lightly draperied with
muslin (and during the day-time shaded with persianas-Venetian blinds) to exclude the tropical sun's scorching beams, are
thrown wide open, and through them the soft zephyr passes, and
the refreshing, cooling sound and sight of the glittering fountains.
The best time for flowers in Cuba is the winter-if winter it
can be called. They then abound in all their richest beauty. In
the summer the intense heat of the sun withers them up.
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