Abbe Raynal pronounced it to be the boulevard of the
New World, or that the Spanish historian called it the fairest emerald
in the crown of Ferdinand and Isabella. Under any other government in
Christendom than that of Spain, the island would to-day have been one
vast smiling garden, for its natural advantages are absolutely
unequaled. To oppress and rob its inhabitants has been the unvarying
policy of the home government from first to last. The undisguised
system has been to extort from them every farthing possible in the way
of taxes. No legitimate business could sustain itself against the
enormous exactions of the Spanish rule. Coffee and cotton planting
have been absolutely driven out of the island by the taxes imposed
upon their production. In short, the mother country has carried her
system of oppression and despotism in Cuba to the utmost stretch of
human audacity.

Probably no place has a finer or more desirable climate than has the
main portion of Cuba, with the clear atmosphere of the low latitudes,
no mist, the sun seldom obscured, and a season of endless summer. We
do not wonder that the Northern invalid turns instinctively towards so
inviting a clime, where Nature in all her moods is so regal. The
appearance of the sky at night is far brighter and more beautiful than
at the North. The atmosphere does not seem to lose its transparency
with the departure of the day. Sunset is remarkable for its soft
mellow beauty, all too brief to a New England eye accustomed to the
lingering brilliancy of our twilights. For more than half a century
the island has been the resort of invalids from colder climes in
search of health, especially those laboring under pulmonary
affections. Such have rarely failed to realize more or less benefit
from the mild and equable temperature. The climate so uniformly soft
and soothing, the vegetation so thriving and beautiful, the fruits so
delicious and abundant, give it a character akin to fairyland. Here
Nature seems ever in a tender, loving mood, the very opposite of her
cold temperament at the North.

The best time to visit the island, for those who do so in search of
health, is from the beginning of January to the middle of May. It is
imprudent to remain in the cities of Cuba later than the latter
period, as the fever season then commences. The invalid will find that
very many physical comforts, and some things deemed imperative at
home, must be sacrificed here as quite unattainable: