ased. I paid my bill
at the hotel, which was not after all an extravagant one, cleared my
pocket-book of the remainder of the soiled and tattered paper which is
called money, and does duty for it down to a half-penny, and with my
distinguished friend Don G----, the real acquisition which I had made in
coming to his country, and who would not leave me till I was in the
boat, I drove away to the wharf.

It was a still, lovely, starlight night. The moon had risen over the
hills, and was shining brightly on the roofs and towers of the city, and
on the masts and spars of the vessels which were riding in the harbour.
There was not a ripple on the water, and stars and city, towers and
ships, stood inverted on the surface pointing downward as into a second
infinity. The charm was unfortunately interfered with by odours worse
than Coleridge found at Cologne and cursed in rhyme. The drains of
Havana, like orange blossom, give off their most fragrant vapours in
the dark hours. I could well believe Don G----'s saying, that but for
the natural healthiness of the place, they would all die of it like
poisoned flies. We had to cut our adieus short, for the mouth of some
horrid sewer was close to us. In the boat I did not escape; the water
smelt horribly as it was stirred by the oars, charged as it was with
three centuries of pollution, and the phosphorescent light shone with a
sickly, sulphur-like brilliance. One could have fancied that one was in
Charon's boat and was crossing Acheron. When I reached the steamer I
watched from the deck the same ghost-like phenomenon which is described
by Tom Cringle. A fathom deep, in the ship's shadow, some shark or other
monster sailed slowly by in an envelope of spectral lustre. When he
stopped his figure disappeared, when he moved on again it was like the
movement of a streak of blue flame. Such a creature did not seem as if
it could belong to our familiar sunlit ocean.

The state of the harbour is not creditable to the Spanish Government,
and I suppose will not be improved till there is some change of dynasty.
All that can be said for it is that it is not the worst in these seas.
Our ship had just come from the Canal, and had brought the latest news
from thence.

* * * * *

But the miscalculations of the work to be done and of the expense of
doing it are now notorious to all the world. The alternatives are to
abandon an enterprise so splendid in conception, so d