of the history of Cuban commerce is anything but favorable to the wisdom and justice of the mother country; and the experience of the past seems to show, that the colony has much to fear from the ignorance, jealousy, and prejudice of the Spanish proprietors, who form the majority of the Cortes, where she is wholly unrepresented, and has nothing to hope from their forbearance or sense of justice. Let us now examine for a moment some of the results of the limited commercial freedom enjoyed by Cuba, as contrasted with those of the monopoly from which she suffered so long. And first with regard to population: in 263 years of monopoly, she had gained 96,000 inhabitants; in 24 of commercial freedom, 150,000. During the continuance of the former system, she had been a burden and an expense to Spain; under the latter, she became a support and a treasure-house. It took more than two centuries and a half of monopoly to raise her annual revenue to 885,358 dollars. But, at the end of the half century that followed the first removal of that monopoly, it had risen to nearly $9,000,000, and it is at present upwards of $13,000,000. In 1840 the exports of the Island were four times as great as in 1818, the era when complete commercial freedom was proclaimed; and the period that has since elapsed has been sufficient, in spite of unwise restrictions and political despotism, to convert an Island comparatively uncultivated and unproductive, into the most flourishing colony in the world, and the firmest support of the power and wealth of the Spanish crown. But, if anything could supply a stronger proof of the folly of monopoly, and the benefits of commercial liberty, it would be the present condition of the Philippine Islands, another Spanish colony, which furnishes a marked contrast to the prosperous position of Cuba. There, all the ports, with the exception of Manilla, are closed against foreign vessels, and the Government have a monopoly of tobacco. The population is about 4,000,000, and the annual exports amount to 17,000,000 francs; whereas the exports from Cuba, with only 1,000,000 inhabitants, amounted, in 1851, to 150,000,000 francs; though, as long as Havanna was the only port in the Island open to foreign bottoms, they never exceeded 10,000,000. The whole value of the commerce of Cuba in 1851 was 320,000,000 francs, the exports and imports [being pretty equally divided. Of the imports 40,000,000 came from Spain, 40,000,000 from the United States, and 35,000,000 from England. The principal export markets were Spain, 10,000,000; England, 35,000,000; and the United States, 65,000,000. It will thus be seen that England and the United States have by far the most important trade with Cuba: the exports to the latter have been trebled within the last ten years, and are still increasing. Agriculture as well as commerce is making steady progress in Cuba. In 1827 there were 13,000 farms, 5000 tobacco and 510 sugar plantations; while in 1850 there were 25,292 farms, 9102 tobacco and coffee plantations, and 1442 sugar estates and mills. The annual value of the whole agricultural produce of the Island has been estimated at 323,000,000 francs. Cattle are now very numerous, amounting to 1,300,000 head. Indigo and cotton were at one time grown, but their culture is now on the decline, as is also that of coffee, the present prices not offering a sufficient remuneration to the planters. In 1837 the exports of coffee reached 53,000,000 pounds, but in 1848 they had fallen to less than 17,500,000; and, within the last few years, no less than 40,000 slaves have been transferred from coffee to sugar plantations, which are rapidly increasing. The annual export of sugar varies from 250,000 to 300,000 tons. The growth and export of tobacco is also steadily progressing. Its consumption on the Island is enormous, the Cubans being probably the greatest smokers in the world. To a stranger, indeed, smoking seems to be the great business of life. The priest, the lawyer, the physician, the merchant, the planter and his dependants, the women as well as the men-the ladies of high rank alone excepted-children of ten years of age, slaves, free people of color, mechanics-all smoke, steadily and systematically; and ten or a dozen cigars a day is no uncommon number, even for a slave, in Havanna. In 1849, 111,000,000 cigars were shipped from that port alone; and Mr. Madden calculates the daily consumption on the Island itself at 23,335 pounds' weight. Education is very much neglected throughout the Island of Cuba, and hence the general dissoluteness of manners, and the degradation of religion. But of late years some efforts have been made to re medy this prevalent evil, and to diffuse in literature or science. Unfortunately, the advantages of systematic education. the Spanish Government has all along In the country districts, however, the been the chief and most persevering oppomost profound ignorance still reigns; nent of the prosperity of these two Univermasters and servants are, in too many in- sities, which she viewed with a jealous stances, alike ignorant of the first elements eye, as detrimental to the interests of the of knowledge. According to a statement colleges in the mother country, and inimidrawn up by Senhor Domingo Delmonte, cal to the continuance of her political des-. a Cuban lawyer of distinguished abilities, potism. Accordingly, they are heavily the number of children of both sexes in taxed, and the price of a diploma is fixed Cuba in 1827 was 119,519, and of that by law at £100. But, in spite of this senumber there were 104,440 who suffered vere imposition, both of them still confrom a want of primary instruction as com- tinue to exist and to prosper. When we plete as that of the savages of Uruguay. behold this obstinate opposition on the The cost of primary instruction, according part of Spain, in the middle of the nineto the same authority, for the 8442 children teenth century, to the intellectual adwho attended schools in the Island, was 507,- vancement of her finest colony, we cannot 694 dollars annually, apparently a most ex- help recalling the memorable declaration travagant expenditure, when contrasted of Charles IV., when he suppressed the with the limited number of scholars. But University of Maracaybo, "that it was the narrow extent of the means of education not the interest of the mother country is by no means the only evil; the system that information should become general of teaching is essentially a bad one, ad- in America. dressing itself to the memory instead of the intellect, the children being taught like parrots instead of like rational beings. Even in 1840 matters were not much improved; for, out of 90,000 free children, only 9000 attended any school, and of these but one third was educated at the public expense. The remedy proposed for these evils by the Senhor De La Luz, a patriotic Cuban lawyer, is the establishment of normal schools by the Government, under the supervision of a board of directors; the first step to be the institution of a normal school for teachers in each of the three districts of the Island. If," he says, "in more cultivated nations it is found indispensable for the advancement of education, to found not only classes, but special schools for the instruction of masters in the art and practice of teaching, how much more so in our growing country, in order to reform from infancy the morals of a people peculiarly contaminated by the atmosphere of slavery, in which they are born, live, and die!" The means of education in Havanna are comparatively ample. It possesses numerous academies, a museum, a Conservatoire de Musique, several literary societies, and, above all, the two Colleges of San Fernando and Carraguao, containing thirty professorships of languages, philosophy, and the various arts and sciences. The latter of these institutions has formed and educated the majority of those Cubans who have distinguished themselves 66 The literature of Cuba, or rather of Havanna, far surpasses, in variety, extent, and ability, that of any of the West Indian colonies of France or England. There is a treasure of popular songs and ballad romances among the Guagiros, or countrymen of the Vuelta Abajo of Guanajay, an indolent and ignorant race, proud of cheap virtues and fond of cheap vices, and devoted to finery, love-making, cock-fighting, and amusements of all kinds. These ballads, many of which evince considerable poetic feeling, are generally in praise of their mistress's beauty, or in deprecation of her cruelty. They are termed Decimas Cabanas. It is, indeed, within the domain of poetry that the noblest efforts of the Cuban mind must be sought for; and there are three names which stand out conspicuous and apart, as the greatest poets of Cuba. These are Heredia, Milanes, and Placido. The first was born at Santiago da Cuba, and was the son of an accomplished gentleman whose patriotism compelled him to quit Cuba, and repair to Mexico, along with his family. On his father's death, Heredia returned to Cuba, and in 1823 was admitted to the Havanna bar; but the freedom of his opinions soon aroused the suspicions of the Spanish Government, and he was, in consequence, forced to become an exile. He was invited to Mexico, where he was appointed Assistant Secretary of State, and afterwards became a Judge and member of the Senate. He died there in The lawyers of Cuba have been the most distinguished ornaments of her prose literature, and many of them have been exiled on account of the freedom of their opinions. In the department of philosophy, De La Luz occupies an eminent position, as does Sagra in history; and in miscellaneous literature, Armas, Delmonte, and Saco. The last has published several pamphlets, advocating the abolition of the slave trade, and the substitution of free labor; and more lately, a most able essay upon the political situation of Cuba. This enlightened patriot was banished from Cuba by General Tacon, who, during two years of his administration, deported 190 persons to Spain, and condemned 720 to perpetual exile from Cuba. 1836. His first volume of poems appeared | guez and Cirillo Villaverde have describin New York, in 1825. Two of the hap-ed the characteristics of Cuban society piest efforts of his muse are, "The Exile's with great vivacity and humor, and the Hymn," and "Niagara," the latter of former has founded an amusing comedy, which has been translated by Mr. Bryant. called Un Titulo, upon the Spanish fondMilanes was born in a humbler rank of ness for titles, which is carried to exaglife, and belonged to the mercantile class. geration in the colony. His disposition was sensitive and melancholy-characteristics which are strongly developed in the plaintive cast of his poetry. His gloomy temperament, aggravated by private distress, and a bitter consciousness of his inability to redress the deeply-felt wrongs of his country, preyed upon his mind, and finally overpowered his reason. His works have been printed at Havanna with great care and beauty. They are strongly tinged with the romanticism of the French school; their very titles, such as the "The Bastard," "The Beggar," "The Prison," "La Ramera," indicating the influence which it had over his mind. Milanes possessed considerable dramatic as well as lyrical skill; and his play of the "Count Alarcos," drawn from the ancient poetry of Castile, has been very successful. But by far the most revolutionary of the above triad of Cuban poets was Placido, the nom de plume of Gabriel de la Concepcion Valdes, a mulatto of Matanzas. He was a comb-maker by trade, and his education was of the rudest and most imperfect description; but his genius triumphed over all obstacles, and he soon became, what he still continues to be, the most popular of all the Cuban poets. In 1844 the Spanish Government received information of an intended rising of the colored population, and took immediate steps to prevent and punish it. This they effected by the help of military commissions and most atrocious cruelties; and among the victims was Placido, who was arrested, tried, and condemned to be shot. He composed some of his finest verses in prison, in particular his "Prayer to God," which he chanted aloud as he marched to the place of execution. His poetry is characterized by manly energy of thought and diction. The Cuban muse has been very prolific in the department of the drama, and several writers have displayed considerable skill in painting manners, and in satirizing national peculiarities. Cardenas y Rodri A recent French writer states that in 1847 there were six daily papers published in Havanna, one of which, the Faro Industrial, was the largest printed in the dominions of Her Most Catholic Majesty; that there was also an able monthly review, political, industrial, and literary; that there was scarcely a small town in the interior that did not possess its own newspaper, and that the editors of these newspapers were rarely interfered with by the Spanish Government, unless when they made a direct attack upon it. On the other hand, Mr. Murray says that the Cuban press is the slavish tool of the Government; and the most recent American authority states that the press in Havanna is gagged, that the periodicals are trashy in the extreme, that the newspapers are entirely in the hands of the Government, and that the mind of Cuba is at present totally unrepresented. No allowance is made for prose writers; poets alone may occasionally venture to tamper with their rulers. We fear that there is but too much truth in the less flattering of these statements; partial commercial freedom does, indeed, exist in Cuba, but civil and political liberty is almost entirely unknown. From Titan. THE LADY NURSES AT SMYRNA. On the 3d of March, 1855, I was fairly en route, one of a party of lady volunteers for the British Hospital at Smyrna; not indeed that part of the East I had longed and hoped to see ever since I can remember-namely, Palestine; but "though not the rose, was somewhat near it," and was full of interest of its own; besides, I carried with me a great amount of enthusiasm for the work I was to be engaged in. The British Consul came to see us at Marseilles, and dined with us. It was thought advisable, by the lady superintendent, that we should appear in caps; and as most of us had locked up our store of six orthodox government ones, and possessed no others, we sallied forth to a milliner's to get some; and then commenced the momentous process of trying on, and ejaculations of "This does not suit me at all!" "I look hideous in this!" and so forth, were heard on all sides. I finally became possessor of an elaborate piece of French millinery, in which I looked like "an owl in an ivy bush." Perhaps it may be thought, that all this solicitude about our caps was unsuitable in persons going out as what is called "Sisters of Mercy;" but I must once for all say, that, as far as I was concerned, I neither professed to be a Sister of Charity, a Sister of Mercy, nor anything of the kind. I was, as I told the poissarde of Boulogne, a British woman, who had little to do at home, and wished to help our poor soldiers if I could abroad. The reason given to me for the peculiarity and uniformity of our dress was, that the soldiers might know and respect their nurses; it seemed a sensible reason, and one which I could not object to, even disliking, as I did, all peculiarity of attire that seemed to advertise the wearers only as serving God, or, at least, serving him preeminently, and thus conveying a tacit reproach to the rest of the world, for the obligation lies on all the same. I did not feel then, nor do I now, that we were doing anything better or more praiseworthy than is done in a quiet, unostentatious way at home every day; on the contrary, to many temperaments, my own among the number, it is far less difficult to engage in a new and exciting work, like the one we were then entering on, than to pursue the uneventful monotony of daily doing good at home. There were from eight hundred to a thousand sick and wounded in the hospital when we arrived at Smyrna, and death was very busy amongst them. The division which fell to my lot had from sixty to eighty patients; and I must say I felt a little strange just at first, on finding myself the only female, save my nurse, among so many sick soldiers. But how soon self is forgotten, when you are in the midst of sickness and suffering, and know that people are depending on you for relief! The fear, horror, and disgust which would probably affect an inactive spectator, have not the smallest place in your mind, and you have but one feeling left-pity, and a desire to alleviate pain. Shortly after we commenced our duties, one of the ladies was seized with fever. She felt so ill, she was obliged to leave the chapel, and continued so for several days, till towards the end of the week, when she became worse, and the following Friday her life was despaired of. I cannot suffi ciently do justice to the unwearied care and kindness of Miss P, who occupied the same room with her, and who attended on and nursed her night and day, and that without any assistance; for there was but one female servant in the house, who remained only for some hours each day, and there were so many of the nurses already laid up, that it was thought inadvis able to take one of them from the hospital. We all, of course, volunteered our services; but up to Friday, when over-fatigue compelled Miss P-to give in, and Miss It was a terrible night. I had never before sat face to face alone with death, and any moment I felt might be Miss A's last. She, however, lived, but for several days in the same critical state, having one or two convulsive fits, which we thought must have carried her off. K and I took the nightwork, she did | choly sound; but this time it was repeated everything herself. twice; and I could hardly help shouting with nervous laughter, for I remembered a great horned owl, a pet of one of the servants, which had been rather indisposed that day, and I had myself seen it shut into its night-quarters, the stable, which was immediately under us. So our ghost story ended like most other ghost stories, and the next day Miss A- was better, and on the twentieth was pronounced out of danger. I regret, however, to add, that Miss P-suffered severely, and still suf fers, from her great and unremitting exertions. One very painful feature in this fever is a habit the patients have (particularly if women) of making a noise, when under delirium, something between screaming, singing, and yelling-beginning rather low, and getting louder and louder, till at last it becomes a perfect shout. This continues some time, and is most distressing to listen to; in this case it was indeed very bad. At last the critical night' arrived, and never shall I forget it. The fever was that called "the twenty-one-day fever," and the doctors gave us hope that if she survived this night she might recover, and that we must above all be careful not to disturb the least tendency to sleep we might observe, and not to rouse her for the purpose of giving nourishment, as we had hitherto done. Miss P- and I, after having moved our patient, and made her as comfortable as we could, sat silent and still, about the middle of the night, fancying we saw an inclination to sleep. The appearance continuing for some time, by common consent we rose, and leaving the room-door open, went down a few steps which led out of the sick-room to a small passage over the stable: here we heard the slightest movement in the room, and had a breath of fresh air: while we fancied, if Miss A was really asleep, she would be better without us. We did not speak for a few minutes; but at last, almost in a whisper, one said, "Do you think she will live?" Before the other could answer, a sound, the most melancholy and unearthly that can be conceived, came from-we could not tell where; it seemed close beside us, and yet at a distance also. We sprang up, and listened with beating hearts for a repetition of the sound; but all was silent. We went up the steps to look at the occupant of the bed, but she seemed tranquilly asleep, so we returned, and sat down in silence; each, no doubt, being full of her own superstitious, thoughts and forebodings. These, however, were wearing away, and again some remark was made, which immediately called forth that dismal, melan It was a very fortunate thing that the room occupied by Miss A was one on the upper flat of the house, and in a part completely away from the pestilential atmosphere which affected the lower rooms and other parts of it. At this time the nurses were suffering much from typhus fever; six of them were laid up: Mrs. Hely, Mrs. Church, Mrs. Paxton, Mrs. Barker, Mrs. Edwards, and Drusilla Smyth. The latter had been taken ill some time before Miss A, and continued long wavering between life and death, her youth and good constitution doing strong battle for the mastery. The loud screaming I have mentioned as accompanying this fever was very painful in her case; indeed, it was a sad one altogether. She had not at all spared herself, poor thing! but was ever willing and anxious to take night or any other work even out of her turn, and eager to oblige in every way, and at this time, several of the nurses ailing, she volunteered to take their night duty often, and no doubt over-fatigued herself. Her symptoms were sometimes so favorable that good hopes were entertained of her recovery, then a relapse, and this went on for some days, till, notwithstanding the care of Dr. Barclay, who attended on the nurses, and the unwearied and unremitting attention of the Misses Le M-, she sunk, and on the nineteenth of April died, and was buried that evening at six o'clock, in the Protestant burial-ground of the town. None of us, I am sure, will easily forget that funeral. We all assembled in the hospital-yard at five o'clock, and were marshalled into a procession of two and two: first went a double file of soldiers; the chaplains; then the orderlies carrying the coffin, which had a black velvet pall with a white border thrown over it; then the nurses, some |