Negroes buying their Freedom. -- Laws favoring the Slaves. --
Example of St. Domingo. -- General Emancipation.

The consumption of tobacco in the form of cigars is almost incredibly
large in Cuba, and for the city of Havana alone it has been estimated
to amount to an aggregate cost of five million dollars per annum.
Every man, woman, and child appears to be addicted to the habit. It
strikes a Northerner as rather odd for a lady to sit smoking her
cigarette in her parlor, but this is not at all rare. The men of all
degrees smoke everywhere, in the dwelling-house, in the street, in the
theatre, in the cafes, and in the counting-room; eating, drinking,
and truly it would also seem, sleeping, they smoke, smoke, smoke. At
the tables d'hote of the hotels it is not unusual to see a Cuban take
a few whiffs of a cigarette between the several courses, and lights
are burning close at hand to enable him to do so. If a party of
gentlemen are invited to dine together, the host so orders that a
packet of the finest cigarettes is frequently passed to his guests,
with a lighted taper, in the course of the meal, and at its close some
favorite brand of the more substantial cigar is furnished to all.
Thus, tobacco is consumed on every occasion, in the council-chamber,
the court, at funerals, in the domestic circles, at feasts, and on the
out-door drive. The slave and his master, the maid and her mistress,
boy and man, all, all smoke. It seems odd that one does not scent
Havana far out at sea before the land is sighted.

We were told that gentlemen who have the means to procure them smoke
on an average what is equivalent to a dozen cigars per day, and those
of the other sex addicted to the habit consume half that quantity. Of
late the larger proportion, however, takes the form of cigarettes,
which are far more subtle in effect when used to excess. The
consequence of this large home consumption, in addition to the export
of the article, is that a very numerous class of the population is
engaged in the manufacture, and little stores devoted solely to this
business are plentifully sprinkled all about the metropolis. The
imperial factory of La Honradez, already described, occupies a whole
city square, and is one of its curiosities, producing from three to
four million cigarettes per diem. This house enjoys special
governmental protection, and makes its annual contribution to the
royal household of Madrid of the best of its manufactured