She had not known what to expect, but certainly not to find that it was to all intents and purposes another Paris on the other side of the world.
It was very hot for April, but after the winds and cold nights on the Atlantic Roberta felt as if the sunshine and the redolence of the City warmed her heart.
The first thing she noticed was the scent of coffee that pervaded the heavy air and was wafted from the great wharves and roasting ovens.
This seemed a part of Paris, like the houses themselves with their shutters and their balconies.
Then there were the strange smells from the Mississippi of river ships and crayfish, of sugar, spices, bananas, rum and sawdust.
It seemed the right background for the flower-filled gardens, of black men sweating on the levees, for rich food swimming in b
