puted
extent and value, which have been worked by English companies, give it
much importance. It is two hundred and thirty leagues from Havana, on
the south coast.

Trinidad, situated about a league from Casilda, on the south coast, and
ninety miles from Havana, is probably one of the healthiest and
pleasantest locations for invalids on the island. It lies at the base of
a ridge of mountains that protect it from the north wind, and is free
from all humidity, with that great blessing, good water, at hand, an
article which unfortunately is very scarce in Cuba.

Our first view of Moro Castle was gained from the quarter-deck, after a
fifteen days' voyage; it was just as the sun was dipping into the sea,
too late for us to enter the harbor, for the rules of the port are
rigorously observed, and we were obliged to stand off and on through the
night. At early morning our jack was set at the fore as a signal for a
pilot, and at noon we had answered the rough peremptory hail from the
castle, and dropped anchor in the safe and beautiful harbor of the
capital. The scene was absorbingly interesting to a stranger. Around us
floated the flags of many nations, conspicuous among which were the
gallant stars and stripes. On the one side lay the city, on a low, level
plain, while the hills that make the opposite side of the harbor
presented a beautiful picture of the soft green sward and the luxuriant
verdure that forms the constant garb of the tropics.

As Paris is said to be France, so is Havana Cuba, and its history
embraces in no small degree that of all the island, being the centre of
its talent, wealth and population. Every visible circumstance proclaims
the great importance of the city, even to the most casual observer.
Moro Castle[18] frowning over the narrow entrance of the harbor, the
strong battery answering to it on the opposite point, and known as La
Punta, the long range of cannon and barracks on the city side, the
powerful and massive fortress of the Cabanas[19] crowning the hill
behind the Moro, all speak unitedly of the immense importance of the
place. Havana is the heart of Cuba, and will never be yielded unless the
whole island be given up; indeed, the possessors of this strong-hold
command the whole Spanish West Indies. The bay, shaped like an outspread
hand, the wrist for the entrance, is populous with the ships of all
nations,[20] and the city, with its 200,000 inhabitants, is a depot of
wealth and luxury. With a