'
'The Cayman! That name is a reminiscence of Mr. Smithson's South
American travels.'
'No doubt! Was he long in South America?'
'Three or four years.'
'But not in Cuba all that time, I suppose?'
'He had business relations with Cuba all that time, and oscillated
between our island and the main. He was rather fortunate in his little
adventures with us--made almost as much money as General Tacon, of
blessed memory. But I dare say Smithson has told you all his adventures
in that part of the world.'
'No, he very rarely talks about his travels: and I am not particularly
interested in commercial speculations. There is always so much to think
of and talk about in the business of the moment. Are you fond of Cuba?'
'Not passionately. I always feel as if I were an exile there, and yet
one of my ancestors was with Columbus when be discovered the island, and
my race were among the earliest settlers. My family has given three
Captain-generals to Cuba: but I cannot forget that I belong to an older
world, and have forfeited that which ought to have been a brilliant
place in Europe for the luxurious obscurity of a colony.
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