156 ASPECT Or THE CITY. 



rendered unnecessary the pecuniary succour formerly fur- 

 nished to Cuba from the Mexican treasury. Of all the 

 Spanish possessions, that island has been most prosperous: 

 the port of the Havannah has, since the troubles of St. 

 Domingo, become one of the most important points of the 

 commercial world. A fortunate concurrence of political 

 circumstances, joined to the intelligence and commercial 

 activity of the inhabitants, have preserved to the Havannah 

 the uninterrupted enjoyment of free intercourse with foreign 

 nations. 



I twice visited this island, residing there on one occasion 

 for three months, and on the other for six weeks ; and I 

 enjoyed the confidence of persons, who, from their abilities 

 and their position, were enabled to furnish me with the 

 best information. In company with M. Bonpland I visited 

 only the vicinity of the Havannah, the beautiful valley of 

 Griiines, and the coast between Batabano and the port of 

 Trinidad. After having succinctly described the aspect of 

 this scenery, and the singular modifications of a climate so 

 different from that of the other islands, I will proceed to 

 examine the general population of the Island of Cuba ; its 

 area, calculated from the most accurate sketch of the coast ; 

 the objects of trade, and the state of the public revenue. 



The aspect of the Havannah, at the entrance of the port, 

 is one of the gayest and most picturesque on the shore of 

 equinoctial America, north of the equator. This spot is 

 celebrated by travellers of all nations. It boasts not the 

 luxuriant vegetation that adorns the banks of the river 

 Guayaquil, nor the wild majesty of the rocky coast of Rio de 

 Janeiro ; but the grace which in those climates embellishes 

 the scenes of cultivated nature, is at the Havannah mingled 

 with the majesty of vegetable forms, and the organic vigour 

 that characterizes the torrid zone. On entering the port of 

 the Havannah you pass between the fortress of the Morro 

 (Castillo de los Santos Reyes), and the fort of San Salvador 

 de la Punta : the opening being only from one hundred and 

 seventy to two hundred toises wide. Having passed this 

 narrow entrance, leaving on the north the fine castle of San 

 Carlos de la Cabana, and the Casa Blanca, we reach a basin 

 in the form of a trefoil, of which the great axis, stretching 

 from S,S,W. to N.N.E., is two miles and one-fifth long. Thi 



