s it is
impossible to be correctly played by those who have never heard it as
executed by the native. In a country where carnivals are objected to by
the police, I have heard but one pianoforte player who, in his very
excellent imitation of the quaint music of 'La Danza,' has in the least
reminded me of the original, with its peculiar hopping staccato bass and
running and waltzing treble; but he had long been a resident in the
Pearl of the Antilles.

The comparsa just described has halted before my balcony, as I guessed
it would from the fact that its members were white people, and possibly
friends. Oh, why did I not follow Nicasio's example and accept Jose
Joaquin's invitation last evening to make one of a comparsa of wax
giantesses! But I preferred seclusion to-day, and must take the
consequences! Here they come straight into my very balcony with their
'Hola! Don Gualterio. No me conoces?' in falsetto voices. Do I know you?
How should I in that ungentlemanly make-up? Let me see. Yes, Frasquito
it is, by all that's grimy! What! and Tunicu, too, and Bimba? I feel
like Bottom the weaver when he summoned his sprites. Que hay, amigos? By
this time my amigos have taken unlawful possession of my innermost
apartments. It's of no use to expostulate. I must bottle up my
indignation, and uncork my pale ale. I do the latter by producing all
my English supply of that beverage; but it proves insufficient. The
thirst of my burglarious intruders is not easily sated. The cry is
still: 'Cerveza!' Convinced that I have exhausted all my beer, they are
content to fall back upon aguardiente; which very plebeian liquor, to
judge from their alcoholic breath, my guests have been falling back upon
ever since the morning.

'Musica! Vamos a bailar!' The chemised cavaliers propose a dance.
Musica! The musica strikes up with a deafening echo under my spacious
roof. At the inspiring tones of 'La Danza,' a dozen spectators from the
pavement, consisting chiefly of mulatto girls and white neighbours,
invite themselves in. Here's a pretty thing! An extemporised public
masked ball in my private dwelling in the middle of the day! If this
were Cornwall-road, Bayswater, I would have every one of them prosecuted
for trespass. Music--a! Aguardiente! They combine singing with dancing,
and mix these with cigar smoking and aguardiente drinking. To save my
credit, the genuine white brandy I provide is diluted to ten degrees of
strength, and costs only two doll