_St. Jago de Cuba._
I finished my last letter abruptly, my dear friend, but a good
opportunity offered of sending it, and the story of madame G---- had so
affected me that I could think of nothing else.
St. Louis is determined to buy a plantation here, and establish himself
on it till he can return to St. Domingo. His old disease has seized
him with fresh violence, and he intends to carry his wife beyond the
reach of men. He is jealous of an interesting Spaniard who has lately
been very assiduous towards my sister; and who is, I believe, much
more dangerous than the redoubted general Rochambeau. His person is
perfectly elegant; his face beautiful; his large black eyes seem to
speak every emotion of his soul, but I believe they express only what
he pleases. Clara listens to him, and looks at him as if she was fully
sensible of his advantages, and frequently holds long conversations
with him in his own language, which, if gestures deceive not, are on
no uninteresting subject. But I hope, and would venture to assert,
that she will never, to escape from the domestic ills she suffers,
put her happiness in the power of a Spaniard. She is violent in her
attachments, and precipitate in her movements, but she cannot, will
not, be capable of committing such an unpardonable act of folly. All
idea of her going to the continent is abandoned; and when I only
breathe a hint of leaving her, she betrays such agony that I yield and
promise to stay; yet I render her little service, and destroy myself,
being wearied of this place, which has no charm after the gloss of
novelty is gone, and that has been long since worn off.
A company of French comedians had built a theatre here, and obtained
permission from the governor to perform. They played with eclat,
and always to crowded houses. The Spaniards were delighted. The
decorations, the scenery, above all the representation of the sea,
appeared to them the effect of magic. But the charm was suddenly
dissolved by an order from the bishop to close the theatre, saying,
that it tended to corrupt the morals of the inhabitants. Nothing can
be more ridiculous, for the inhabitants of this island have long since
reached the last degree of corruption; devoted to every species of
vice, guilty of every crime, and polluted by the continued practice of
every species of debauchery. But it is supposed the order was issued to
vex the governor, with whom the bishop is at variance, and the orders
of the latter are indisputable. It is impossible for him not to know
that even the vices of the French lose much of their deformity by the
refinement that accompanies them, whilst those of his countrymen are
gross, disgusting, and monstrously flagrant. Gaming is their ruling
passion; from morning till night, from night till morning, the men are
at the gaming table. They all wear daggers, and a night very seldom
passes without being marked by an assassination, of which no notice
is taken. The women have recourse to intrigue, sipping chocolate, or
reciting prayers on their rosaries. The custom is to dine at twelve,
then to sleep till three, and this is the hour favourable to amorous
adventures. Whilst the mother, the husband or the guardian sleeps, the
lover silently approaches the window of his mistress, and in smothered
accents breathes his passion. It is not at all uncommon to see priests
so employed; nor are there more dangerous enemies to female virtue, or
domestic tranquillity, than these pretended servants of the Lord.
I was at first shocked beyond measure, at their licentiousness, for
I had been taught to consider priests as immaculate beings; but when
I reflect that they are men, and doomed to an unnatural condition,
I pardon their aberrations, and abhor only their filth, which is
abominable. Consider how agreeable a monk must be in this hot country,
clothed in woollen, without a shirt, without stockings, and his legs
so dirty that their colour cannot be distinguished, to which is added
a long beard; and yet these creatures are favourites with women of all
ranks and all descriptions.
There are many religious orders here, among which the Franciscan friars
are the richest, and they are also the most irregular in their conduct.
They had begun, a number of years since, to build a church, which
they were obliged to discontinue for want of funds. Shortly after our
arrival here the wife of a very rich merchant fell dangerously ill.
When her life was despaired of by the physicians, she made a vow to St.
Francis, that if she recovered, she would finish his church. The saint,
it seems, was propitious, for she was restored to health, and her
husband instantly performed the promise of his wife, which has cost him
a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The church was consecrated last
week, with great pomp and due solemnity. The lady, who is certainly
very beautiful, assisted at the ceremony, covered with diamonds, and
displaying in her dress almost regal splendour. She kneeled on the
steps of the great altar, and more than shared the adoration offered to
the saint by the admiring multitude.
Half the money expended in this pious work would have raised thousands
of the inhabitants of this place, who are in the greatest want, to
comparative ease. But it would not if thus employed, have had such an
effect on the minds of the people; nor would the lady have had any hope
of becoming herself a saint, an honour to which she aspires, and which
she may perhaps attain.