ing from many wounds, still
stood erect, facing his executioners. He then pointed to his heart,
and said in a calm clear voice, "Aim here!" The order was at once
obeyed, and the second volley sent the heroic man to that haven where
there is no distinction as to color. This martyr, of whom
comparatively little is known to the public, possessed all the true
elements of a poet. Many of his productions have been preserved in
print, and some were translated and republished in England a few years
since.

The Plaza of Matanzas is small, smaller even than that of Cienfuegos,
but it presents within its circumscribed space a great variety of
tropical trees and flowers, over which stand, sentinel-like, a few
royal palms with their ashen-gray stems and concentric rings. The star
of Bethlehem, fifteen feet high, was here seen full of lovely scarlet
blossoms; the southern jasmine, yellow as gold, was in its glory;
mignonette, grown to a graceful tree of twenty feet in height, was
fragrant and full of blossoms, close beside the delicate vinca, decked
in white and red. Some broad-leaved bananas were thriving in the
Plaza, while creeping all over that tree and shrub combined, the
Spanish bayonet, were pink, purple, and white morning-glories, at once
so familiar and suggestive. Opposite the Plaza are several government
offices, and two or three very large, fine club-houses, remarkable for
the excellence of their appointments and the spaciousness of the
public rooms. Club life prevails in Matanzas, as usual at the expense
of domestic life, just as it does in Havana, being very much like
London in this respect. It is forbidden to discuss politics in these
clubs, the hours being occupied mostly over games of chance, such as
cards, dominoes, chess, and checkers. Gambling is as natural and
national in Cuba as in China. Many Chinese are seen about the streets
and stores of Matanzas, as, indeed, all over the island--poor fellows
who have survived their apprenticeship and are now free. They are
peaceful, do not drink spirits, work from morning until night, never
meddle with politics, and live on one half they can earn, so as to
save enough to return to their beloved native land. You may persuade
him to assent to any form of religion as a temporary duty, but John is
a heathen at heart, and a heathen he will die.

The famous afternoon drive of Matanzas was formerly the San Carlos
Paseo. It has fine possibilities, and is lined and beautifully
or