A MULATTO GIRL.
An Obscure Birth--Bondage--A Bad Master--A Good God-Father--A Cuban
Christening--Anomaly of Slavery--A White Lover--Rivals--An
Important Event.
My contemplated departure for New York is for many days postponed by the
unexpected meeting with Don Benigno's family, who, under extraordinary
circumstances presently to be related, have recently arrived in the
Havana.
My old friends are also bound for the great American city; but at
present they are full of preparations for the approaching marriage
between Don Benigno's eldest daughter, Paquita and the young Spanish
officer, Don Manuel. The latter has lately received a military
appointment in the Cuban capital, and as he contemplates residing there
with his future bride, Don Benigno is anxious that the wedding shall
take place with as little delay as possible.
Before that event, and before Don Benigno and the rest of his family
leave with me for New York, I am made acquainted with the fact, that
another marriage will be shortly celebrated in the Don's family, and
that the betrothed lady is no other than Don Benigno's adopted
daughter, the fair Ermina!
Don Benigno tells me that for certain reasons this wedding will not take
place in the Ever-faithful Isle. What those reasons are, and how my
curiosity respecting the past of the pretty mulatto girl is at last
gratified, will appear in the following brief narrative, which, as the
matter contained in it was chiefly derived from the young lady herself,
I propose to repeat as nearly as possible in her own words.
* * * * *
I was bought and paid for before I was born.
My own mother bargained for, and finally secured me, for the sum of
twenty-five dollars. A kind of speculative interest was attached to my
nativity. Had my sale not been effected previous to my appearance in the
world, I should have become the property of my mother's master, who, in
accordance with the laws of serfdom, might then dispose of me, if he
pleased, at a rate far exceeding my mother's slender savings; and, if
nature had destined me for a healthy boy instead of a girl, my value
would have been still greater.
My mother was a slave belonging to a wealthy coffee-planter. Of my
father I know little, save that he was a white man, and that being a
professed gambler and deeply in debt, he disappeared from Cuba shortly
before I was ushered into the world. His flight concerned no one more
than my mother, for he had promised to purchase her liberty for a
thousand dollars, which was the price demanded by her owner.
There was no world to censure my parent for the trouble she had brought
upon herself, because, in a slave-country, little importance is attached
to such a common occurrence as the birth of a mulatto. My mother's
master would have exhibited a similar indifference, if, indeed, he would
not have rejoiced at the event--for it added a few dollars to his
exchequer--were it not for the fact that Don Vicente had a secret motive
for great displeasure. His slave was a mulatto, belonging to the fair
class known as quadroons. My mother was a comely specimen of her race,
and Don Vicente, being well aware of this, had his own reasons for
qualifying her conduct as an act of disobedience. This act he determined
should receive punishment, and accordingly, when his human property was
convalescent, she was removed, with her infant, to one of Don Vicente's
estates, and there cruelly flogged!
You may be sure that this severe treatment did not increase my mother's
affection for Don Vicente, and, in spite of his dreadful threat to
employ his slave as a common coffee-picker--which, for a mulatto,
accustomed to the luxuries of town life, is worse than sending her to
the galleys--my mother remained true to herself.
Finding menaces of no avail, and afraid of disturbing his domestic
tranquillity, Don Vicente abandoned his purpose and advertised his human
property for hire at so much per month. In its way, this was a sore
trial for my dear parent, for although she heartily loathed her master,
she was greatly attached to his family, at whose hands she had known
only kindness and humanity. Her new master might prove to be as bad as,
or even worse than, her owner, and such a prospect was far from
pleasant. She was, however, agreeably disappointed.
Don Benigno responded to the advertisement, and would have purchased my
mother outright, but the times were critical, and the worthy gentleman
could not afford the exorbitant price demanded for her. He, however,
agreed to hire my parent, who was forthwith removed, with her free-born
child, to her new habitation.
Don Benigno was of course the kindest of masters; in proof of which, his
first act, after procuring my mother's temporary release, was to
interest himself in her child's baptism. For this purpose, he ordered
that every formality connected with this ceremony should be rigidly
observed. He himself officiated as godfather, and, in accordance with
custom, invited my mother's relatives and friends to be present at the
festivities, which were to be held at a small farm on one of his
estates. As is usual on such occasions, my generous godfather sent a
'baptismal token' to every guest. The nearest relatives received an
'escudo de oro,' or two-dollar piece. The next of kin were presented
with pesetas, while the friends were favoured with silver medios. Each
token was pierced with a 'lucky' hole, to which was attached a piece of
coloured ribbon, with my name and the date of my birth printed in gold
letters on either side. The ceremony of christening being over, Don
Benigno gave a grand banquet and a ball, at his farm-house, to which all
the farmers and white country people in the neighbourhood were invited.
My kind godfather was in the habit of investing a 'doblon' of four
dollars every month in the Havana lottery; and he promised that if he
should succeed in drawing a prize, he would devote part of the amount to
the purchase of my mother. But no such good fortune ever happened to
the worthy gentleman, although, upon more than one occasion, he expended
a whole 'onza' in tickets.
Nothing worthy of note transpired during the early years of my
childhood. My health was all that could be desired after my teething--an
operation whose successful issue, it was confidently believed, was due
to the bone necklace which I wore from my birth, and which the good
people of my country consider acts as a charm against the evils imminent
to infancy.
Don Benigno's children--who were somewhat older than myself--were my
closest companions. We were, indeed, more like sisters together, than
young mistresses and maid. As for my dear godfather and Dona
Mercedes--they treated me as a pet child.
Before I had turned fourteen, I was already a grown woman, and, as far
as outward appearance, as white as it is possible for my caste to be.
With the exception of my lips, which are, as you observe, somewhat
_prononce_, and the whites of my eyes, which are slightly tinged with
yellow, there is no perceptible difference between me and those creoles
whose origin is less doubtful than my own.
Despite, however, my personal attractions, I was fully conscious of the
nice distinction between white and white about which the people of my
country are so jealously exacting; and my dark origin always formed a
barrier between me and my thoroughbred sisters. Whenever Don Benigno, or
his family, addressed me as 'Mulatica,' 'Chinita,' or 'Negrita,' I
sometimes thought of the literal meaning of those endearing epithets!
Tunicu, as you know, was always a frequent visitor at Don Benigno's
tertulia, but at the period to which I now refer, he used to pass some
hours with us during the daytime. I think Tunicu always admired me more
than he did Don Benigno's daughters, and now that I was a grown woman,
he often gave expression to his sentiments. I was by no means insensible
to Tunicu's attentions, for he was a handsome young gentleman, with a
dark brown moustache and imperial to match. His complexion, too, was
several shades darker than my own, though this, of course, did not
detract from the purity of his descent, which was apparent in the clear
white of his eyeballs, the transparent pink of his finger nails, and
other signs peculiar to offspring of white parents.
Our admiration for one another gradually developed itself into something
more serious, until one day Tunicu gave me to understand that he loved
me truly. I think he was sincere, at least I chose to believe so, and,
besides, he gave daily proof of his preference for me to the whitest
ladies of his acquaintance.
Notwithstanding this, the wide gulf of origin which existed between
Tunicu and me could not be concealed, and was continually made manifest.
My white lover was passionately fond of dancing, and frequently attended
at the balls given at the Philharmonic, where I dared not be seen, save
in the capacity of spectator. Crowds of coloured people were permitted,
like myself, to watch the dancing from a distance, but none were allowed
to trespass upon the hallowed threshold. The same stern rule separated
me and my lover at the Retreta in the public square. I might stand, with
others of my class, on the broad terrace of the cathedral and watch the
promenaders, or listen to the military band; but I dared not be seen
with the unsullied gentlefolks below. Occasionally, Tunicu would desert
his white companions, and ascending the broad steps of the cathedral,
pass the rest of the evening in my society. On these occasions I should
have felt supremely happy, but for the painful thought that Tunicu was
sacrificing his position for my sake. The white ladies, who visited at
Don Benigno's, though sometimes deigning to notice me, out of compliment
to their host, secretly hated and despised me; and if they did not
actually scandalise me behind my back, they never forgot to remind those
around them of my parentage, and of the unquestionable difference which
existed between us.
Then there was my mother, whose cruel fate was ever a dark cloud in my
happiest moments with my lover. Thanks to her, I was a free-born woman,
while she, alas! still endured a state of bondage. I often wished that I
might be enabled to turn to profitable account the education which I had
received through Don Benigno's bounty, and in this manner earn enough to
pay for my parent's liberty; but, unfortunately, there are no
governesses in Cuba, and what white lady of respectability would care to
send her child to my school, supposing that I had been able to set up
such an establishment?
Sometimes I indulged in the wild hope that Tunicu might one day take me
to a foreign country, where my past would be ignored, and where we might
be married without regard to the opinion of the world. But my lover,
though always full of projects and promises, had never once alluded to
the subject of matrimony. People broadly hinted that my Tunicu was a
libertine, like some of his companions and that he had no intention of
making me his wife; but we were both favoured with rivals whose
interest it was to speak in these terms. My rivals were the white
ladies, who were jealous of Tunicu's attentions to me, and who never
forgot to openly express their indignation at the relationship which
they knew to exist between me and my lover. Tunicu's rivals were even
more numerous; some of them would show their regard for me by serenading
under my window with a band of music, upon such occasions as my saint's
day, or during the fiestas. I dared not exhibit an indifference to these
attentions, without transgressing certain social laws of the country;
besides, I found that Tunicu himself did not disapprove of them--he
never explained why, but I suppose he considered these little attentions
as a sort of acknowledgment of his good taste, or, perhaps, they
afforded a proof to him of my constancy.
The boldest of my admirers was a young half-caste called Frasquito,
whose mulatto-father was a wealthy tobacco trader and held a high
position among the Cuban merchants.
Frasquito was an occasional visitor at Don Benigno's, for, being an
accomplished musician, he was a great acquisition when a dance was given
at our residence. Once he composed a Cuban danza, and dedicated it to
me, calling it after my name: 'La Bella Ermina.'
Frasquito was perfectly aware of my relations with Tunicu, but he must
have regarded them with the same levity as others did; for, one day,
happening to be alone with my admirer, he, to my great confusion and
surprise, made me an offer of marriage; assuring me that his father had
already approved of his choice, and promising that if I would accept him
for a husband, he would, previous to the marriage ceremony, procure my
beloved mother's liberty.
I fear that my reply was unsatisfactory to both of us. I could not tell
him with truth that I was betrothed to another, because, though that
other had long appropriated my heart, he had never openly asked my hand.
It was equally difficult to show why I did not avail myself of this
opportunity for effecting my mother's emancipation; and Frasquito knew
too well that I would make any personal sacrifice to release my beloved
parent from bondage.
I, however, told Frasquito that his offer had so taken me by surprise,
that he must give me time to consider of it, and that in the meanwhile
he must never allude to the subject.
Tunicu, to whom alone I confided what had passed between me and my
admirer, scouted the notion of my alliance with the 'son of a nigger,'
as he expressed it; but strange to tell, he did not seem angry at the
fact of matrimony having been proposed by another.
'You are too fair and too refined,' said he, 'for the son of a black
man. When you marry, you must be wedded to somebody having better
antecedents than that, Ermina mia.'
I felt the truth of his remark, and now began to consider my late offer
in the light of an insult. The mulatto's pretensions to my hand must
surely, I thought, have been induced by his knowledge of my birth, for
he would not have ventured to make such a proposal to a white woman; and
perfectly aware of my secret attachment, he seemed to have implied that
I was incapable of commanding the true love of a white man. Impressed
with these reflections, I resolved to test the truth of the mulatto's
inuendos, and, for the first time, I broached to Tunicu the subject
nearest my heart.
'Do you think, mi amor,' said I to my lover, 'that I shall ever marry as
well as you could desire?'
Tunicu paused, before replying to my question, and then
observed--turning his gaze from me as he spoke:--
'Why should not mi Ermina marry well? She is young, beautiful,
accomplished--'
--'and the daughter of a slave!' I added; my eyes moistening as I
uttered the terrible words.
For a few moments my lover remained silent and pensive Then recovering
himself, he began to converse in his old, confident, assuring manner,
gratifying my imagination with pictures of events which were never to
happen, and promising things impossible to be realised. At least nothing
ever did happen as Tunicu had predicted, while one event shortly
transpired which in his wildest dreams had never occurred to him.
That event was the Cuban insurrection, which, as you know, has already
affected the lives of hundreds of my unhappy countrymen and
countrywomen; but in what manner it would concern our future destinies,
neither Tunicu nor I could possibly foretell.