ad a force of 2,000 men with him, and
that General Carillo was following him with another party of 3,000 more.
In Havana it is expected that an attempt to capture the city will be made
within a few days.

It is said that the Cubans have been concentrating their forces in and
around Havana Province for some time past, and that the troops who served
under General Rivera, some 7,000 men in all, are waiting in Pinar del Rio
until Gomez gives them the signal to join him.

Pinar del Rio is at the west of Havana Province. In Matanzas, at the east
of Havana, more insurgents are said to be gathered. It looks as if the
Cubans were really closing in on Havana for a definite purpose.

Spain is trying to raise a new loan to meet the cost of the wars in Cuba
and the Philippine Islands.

There is a report that the health of General Rivera is failing. It is said
that, for want of proper care, his wounds are not healing, and that he is
suffering a great deal from them.

Senator Morgan's bill for recognizing the belligerency of Cuba has been
debated in the Senate.

No progress has been made with it, however.

Some of the Senators spoke very warmly in its favor, and reminded the
Senate of the time when we, too, were struggling for our liberty, and
needed and obtained the support of other countries.

Other Senators tried to get rid of the bill by sending it to the Committee
on Foreign Relations, which would mean a long delay before it could be
brought to a vote.

The chances are that nothing definite will be done for the present, and
that the Cubans will not receive any help from the United States.

The Navy Department has refused to send any more vessels to patrol the
seas for filibusters.

There are now three ships detailed for that duty, and more have been asked
for.

Mr. Long, the Secretary of the Navy, says that he thinks three are plenty,
that the rainy season is at hand, and very little fighting will be done in
Cuba after it once sets in.

* * * * *

The death of the Duke d'Aumale has just been announced.

This gentleman was a personage of very great interest to Europeans.

He was the fourth son of Louis Philippe--the King of France who was
deposed in 1848. The Duke d'Aumale was trained to be a soldier. He loved
his profession, and made great progress in it, winning honors for himself
when but a lad of nineteen.

The French people idolized him, and declared that he would some day b