life he occupied that safe and pleasant table-land unvexed by the storms that invade mountain heights and craggy sea-shore. Such a man, at subsequent and more agitated epochs in the history of English literature, would have made but little impression upon the thought of the age; but, in his times, an example of self-respect and gentleness, of refinement and Christian sentiment in authorship, had a peculiar value. There are two excellences which have chiefly preserved his influence, — his rare humor, and the peculiar adaptation of his style to periodical literature. Lamb traces the latter, in a degree, to Sir William Temple; but Addison declared that Tillotson was his model. The description of Johnson is characteristic and just: "He is never feeble, and he did not wish to be energetic; he is never rapid, and he never stagnates; his sentences have neither studied amplitude nor affected brevity; his periods, though not diligently rounded, are voluble and easy." It is, however, the colloquial tone, fusing these qualities into an harmonious whole, that renders Addison's style at once popular and classic. His conversation was not less admirable than his writing; and when we consider how large a portion of time was given by the English authors of that day to companionship and talk, we can easily imagine how much the habit influenced their pencraft. Both the humor and the colloquialism of the Spectator were fostered by social agencies. Addison, says Swift, gave the first example of the proper use of wit; and, as an instance, he remarks, "it was his practice, when he found any man invincibly wrong, to flatter his opinions by acquiescence, and sink them yet deeper into absurdity." Even partisan spite could ascribe to Addison no greater faults than fastidiousness, dogmatism, and conviviality; and for these, circumstances afford great excuse. The oracle, as he was, of a club, referred to as the arbiter of literary taste, conscious of superior tact and elegance in the use of language, and impelled by domestic unhappiness to resort to a tavern, we can easily make allowance for the dictatorial opinions and the occasional jollity of "the great Mr. Addison"; and when we compare him with the scurrilous and dissipated writers of his day, he becomes almost a miracle of excellence. There was in his character, as in his writings, a singular evenness. In politics a moderate Whig, prudent, timid, and somewhat cold in temperament, his kindliness of heart and religious principles, his wit and knowledge, saved from merely negative goodness both the man and the author. Yet a neutral tint, a calm tone, a repugnance to excess in style, in manners, and in opinion, were his characteristics. He lacked emphasis and fire; but their absence is fully compensated by grace, truth, and serenity. It is not only among the mountains and by the sea-shore that Nature hoards her beauty, but also on meadow-slopes and around sequestered lakes; and in like manner human life and thought have their phases of tranquil attraction and genial repose, as well as of sublime and impassioned development. ART. VI.-1. Cuba and the Cubans. Comprising a History of the Island of Cuba, its present Social, Political, and Domestic Condition; also its Relation to England and the United States. New York : Samuel Hueston and George Putnam. 1850. 2. Letter of Mr. Everett to the Comte de Sartiges. Department of State. Washington, Dec. 1, 1852. 32d Congress, 2d Session. Senate Ex. Doc., No. 13. CUBA is fitly called the Queen of the Antilles. Proudly does she stretch her long coast, indented with fine harbors, easterly into the broad ocean, and westerly into the very mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, as if intended by Nature to be the motherly protector of the Caribbees and of an immense extent of continental coast. The island is also extraordinarily rich in soil, and very equable and generally salubrious in climate, the sea-breeze springing up in the forenoon with great punctuality as soon as the freshness of the morning has departed, and continuing till the curtain of night shuts out the solar rays. Months may elapse without a sprinkling of rain; and yet there is an elasticity of atmosphere equal to that of our October, while the heat cannot be surpassed by the dog-days of our August. We may have been accustomed to regard the rainy season as most intolerably gloomy. But not So. It is very commonly spoken of as even pleasanter than the winter or dry season; for though there is daily and very copious rain, it seldom continues more than an hour at a time, and though the soil of the island forms a soft mud, often a foot or two deep, yet the air is invigorating and vegetation most luxuriant. The three kinds of soil- the black, the red, and the mu latto are all of surpassing richness, and may all be seen by the traveller on the line of the railroads, and they have almost the softness of flour as tested by the thumb and finger. The red soil is as red as brick-dust, and at first deceives the foreigner into the belief that it cannot be fertile. But he cannot fail to see the growth of palm, plantain, oranges, coffee, and cane which it nourishes, and he is provokingly convinced of its impalpable fineness by the way in which it penetrates even glossy starched linen and the pores of his flesh, and by finding himself completely reddened from head to foot, beyond easy relief by soap or scrubbing-brush. We quite laughed at the idea that we should redden our washing-water and our towels by it for many days after returning to our Havana lodgings; but we found it even so. The soil, though thus fine, is not clayey; but the black has all the appearance of an exceedingly rich loam, as have the red and mulatto also, except in point of color. It readily crumbles under the hoe, yet retains the moisture well, and is often of almost immeasurable depth. One may travel for miles over the extensive savannas, and not meet with a stone; and then, on ascending a hill, may be jolted over innumerable loose masses of limestone, often as large and angular as paving-blocks of granite. We ascended to the summit of one such hill, perhaps a thousand feet above the surrounding plains, and feasted our eyes with a view that was perfectly enchanting. The principal features of the landscape were the cane-fields, often of hundreds of contiguous acres, the palm-trees, occasional lofty ceibas, the tall white chimneys of the sugar-houses, and the residences of the planters surrounded by the barracoons of the negroes. And though the palms sometimes weary the eye with their identity of form, so strikingly contrasting with the infinite va riety of our noble elms, yet they have a cleanness, luxuriance, and stateliness which cannot be surpassed; and the ceiba or cotton-tree rises to a height of a hundred feet or more, and then sends forth its horizontal branches covered with foliage and peculiarly fitted to shelter the earth from the parching rays of the tropical sun. Travellers have said that there is no more beautiful scenery on the island than in the neighborhood of Matanzas, and surely there need not be, to satisfy the most scrutinizing lovers of nature. The ride upon the Cumbre, a high ridge of land that lies between the city and the ocean, commanding a view of both, as also of the valley of the Yumuri and of the high mountain ranges that stretch back into the interior, affords to the stranger almost all varieties of scenery in the space of a few hours. It was in this lovely vicinity, on a plantation belonging to an American, that takes the name of Cumbre from its locality, that our late Vice-President sojourned while in Cuba, and it was there that he took the oath of office. The val ley of the Yumuri is so surrounded by abrupt hills, that it is difficult to gain access to it except along the banks of its riv But the river is very beautiful, and the deep gorge in the rocks through which it passes as it emerges from the valley is wonderfully grand, in some parts scarcely wide enough to admit of a carriage-way beside the stream, and solemnly darkened by the overshelving rocks. One can hardly give a correct impression of society in Cuba without some description of the style of building in the cities and the character of the streets. Havana, the capital of Cuba, contains about one hundred and thirty-five thousand inhabitants, and with its suburbs not less than two hundred thousand. Its appearance is that of an Oriental city. As in the great emporiums of the East, the buildings are chiefly of stone and stucco, and the streets narrow, in order that they may be kept well shaded, often so narrow that no room whatever is appropriated for sidewalks. Where sidewalks are constructed, they are of stone, sometimes but one foot and rarely three feet wide, while the carriage-way is a con glomeration of limestone and cement very white and dazzling, and ground on the surface into a fine dust, exceedingly irritating to the eyes and gritty to the mouth. To prevent these annoyances, many of the principal streets are in the process of being paved with New England granite, which is imported at considerable expense. The houses are of as great variety of height as the hills of the country,- generally of one, not uncommonly of two, but rarely of three stories. The principal rooms are often from fifteen to eighteen feet high. The windows are generally without glass, those on the ground floor being covered with a heavy iron grating to keep out intruders. It is hard to rid one's self of the impression that he is in a city of jails, though the convicts certainly look remarkably well-dressed and happy. In the evening everybody within doors seems exposed to passers-by. It is said the ladies regard it as a compliment to be looked at, so that strangers and stragglers may stare as much as they please without incurring the charge of impudence or verdancy. The large double doors to the main entrance of the Havana dwelling admits the volante, horse and all, or, what is rarely used, the carriage and pair. The vehicles are kept just within the entrance when not in use, and the horses, it may chance, under some of the best dormitories of the tenement. Yet everything is so clean that the custom is no nuisance. What strikes one strangely in Havana is, that there is no Beacon Street or Fifth Avenue, no aristocratic row. A most palace-like house will be found opposite or adjoining a mean and filthy hut, and indeed it is customary for a rich man to buy out his neighbor's right to build a second story, in order to have the more "extensive" view and the purer air. Women wear veils, but no bonnets, and those of the higher classes are rarely seen on the streets, except in volantes or other carriages. - The population may be divided into several classes, the Spaniards, the Creoles, the free-colored, the slaves, and the foreigners. Of these, the natives of old Spain are the most aristocratic, holding all important offices of government, often possessing titles of nobility, and including in their number the most wealthy of the merchants and planters. They regard the Cre |