A Sojourn in Cuba 



rain in tepid plashing bucketfuls, accompanied 

 with high wind. This was followed by a short 

 space of calm, half-cloudy sky, delightfully 

 fragrant with flowers, and again the air would 

 become hot, thick, and sultry. 



This weather, as may readily be perceived, 

 was severe to one so weak and feverish, and 

 after a dozen trials of strength over the Morro 

 Hill and along the coast northward for shells 

 and flowers, I was sadly compelled to see that 

 no enthusiasm could enable me to walk to the 

 interior. So I was obliged to limit my re- 

 searches to within ten or twelve miles of 

 Havana. Captain Parsons offered his ship as 

 my headquarters, and my weakness prevented 

 me from spending a single night ashore. 



The daily programme for nearly all the 

 month that I spent here was about as follows : 

 After breakfast a sailor rowed me ashore on the 

 north side of the harbor. A few minutes' walk 

 took me past the Morro Castle and out of sight 

 of the town on a broad cactus common, about 

 as solitary and untrodden as the tangles of 

 [ 151 ] 



