r 1000; his second are 5l. 12s.; and his third are
5l.; and yet no real difference of quality exists. The cigars of which
I speak are of the very best quality, and the dearest brand in Havana.
Now, let us see what they cost put into the tobacconist's shop in
London:--32 dollars is 180s.; duty, 90s.; export at Havana, 3s.;
freight and extra expenses, say 7s.--making 230s. a thousand, or
23s. a hundred, for the dearest and best Havana cigars, London size.
But three-fourths of the cigars which leave the Havana for England do
not cost more than 3l. 4s. per thousand, which would bring their
cost price to the tobacconist down to 16s. 5d. The public know what
they pay, and can make their own reflections.

There is another class of cigar known in England as "Plantations," here
called "Vegueros." They are of the richest tobacco, and are all made in
the country by the sable ladies of the island, who use no tables to work
at, if report speaks truth; and as both hands are indispensable in the
process of rolling, what they roll upon must be left to the imagination.
It will not do to be too fastidious in this world. Cooks finger the
dainty cutlets, and keep dipping their fingers into the rich sauces, and
sucking them, to ascertain their progress, and yet the feasters relish
the savoury dish not one whit the less; so smokers relish the Veguero,
though on what rolled modesty forbids me to mention,--nor do they
hesitate to press between their lips the rich "Regalia," though its
beautifully-finished point has been perfected by an indefinite number of
passages of the negro's forefinger from the fragrant weed to his own
rosy tongue. Men must not be too nice; but I think in the above
description a fair objection is to be found to ladies smoking.

With regard to the population of Cuba, the authorities, of course, wish
to give currency to the idea that the whites are the most numerous.
Having asked one of these officials who had the best means of knowing,
he told me there were 550,000 whites and 450,000 negroes; but
prosecuting my inquiries in a far more reliable quarter, I found there
were 600,000 slaves, 200,000 free, and only 500,000 whites,--thus making
the coloured population as eight to five. The military force in the
island consists of 20,000, of which 18,000 are infantry, 1000 cavalry,
and 1000 artillery[Z]. The demand for labour in the island is so great,
that a speculation has been entered into by a mercantile house here to
bring 6