ART. V.-La Havane.

Par Madame la Comtesse MERLIN. 3 vols., 8vo. Paris. 1844.

THESE elegant volumes are by far the most agreeable, and,-with all their inaccuracies,-we may perhaps say, the most valuable work that has yet appeared upon the Island of Cuba. There is, in fact, rather a scarcity of books upon this subject at least, of such as combine, to any considerable extent, the useful and the pleasant. Humboldt and Ramon de la Sagra deal entirely in statistics, and the former is getting to be a little antiquated. Beside these, we have met with nothing but the work of Turnbull, and two or three hasty collections of letters by writers of our own country, which hardly make pretensions to supply the deficiency.

The Countess Merlin possessed great advantages for writing upon Cuba. She is a native of the island, and belongs to one of the most distinguished families, being a daughter of the Count de Jaruco. At the age of twelve she went to Spain, where she married the Count Merlin, one of the Generals of Napoleon. In 1810, she accompanied her husband on his return to France, and has resided ever since at Paris, where her beauty, wit, elegance of manners, and personal accomplishments, especially in music, gave her at once a conspicuous position in the highest circles, and rendered her saloon one of the favorite resorts of the elite of the fashionable literary and political world. The Countess had, previously to the present publication, made herself known as a writer by a few works of a lighter cast, but exhibiting the same elegant French style. Three or four years ago, she had occasion to visit Cuba for the purpose of transacting some business; and since her return, has published these volumes as the fruits of her observations during her stay. The letters are addressed to a number of different persons, whose names sufficiently evince the elevated position of the fair writer in the aristocracy of Europe. In the first volume, for example, besides her immediate family connexions, we find upon the list of her correspondents the Marquis de Pastoret, Madame Delphine de Girardin, and the well-known ideologist, Count de Tracy. In the second, we meet with the Count de St. Aulaire, now Ambassador at London; Baron Charles Dupin, the Brougham of France; M. Berryer, and the Viscount Siméon; to say nothing of the rather more

equivocal, but perhaps not less piquant, name of George Sand. In the third, we come into the still higher company of the Duke Decases, Baron J. Rothschild, the Viscount de Châteaubriand, Don Francisco Martinez de la Rosa, the illustrious poet and statesman of Spain, a few years ago an exile from his country, since restored by successive revolutions of the wheel of fortune to a position better suited to his merit, as Ambassador at the Court of France; and very recently, as we are most happy to learn, Prime Minister at Madrid ;-finally, and though last not lowest in rank, H. R. H. Prince Frederic of Prussia.

If any conclusion can be drawn in regard to the interest of a letter, from the character of the person to whom it is addressed, this is certainly a correspondence of great promise. It is introduced by a dedication to General O'Donnel, now governor of the island, and an address to the inhabitants, both replete with noble and patriotic sentiments:

"Permit me, General," she says to the former, "to place under your protection, a work inspired by an ardent desire for the welfare of my native island. I have revealed to the mother country the evils under which it is suffering, and indicated the proper remedies. I appeal to your generosity to lend your aid in applying them. The supreme power which you hold, may be made the sheet-anchor of her safety. Condescend to be a citizen, as well as Governor and Captain-General of Cuba. Obtain a national representation for the island; reform the laws; temper, by a just and humane administration, the arbitrary character of your own office; and you will add new laurels to those which you have already won on the field of battle. The civic virtues, General, are not less honorable than those which are required in war; and the glory of having given prosperity and moral life to a suffering community, may well be compared with that of the most difficult exploits of the greatest conquerors. We live, not merely for the fleeting present, but for the permanent future. To leave behind us traces of the good that we have done, during our earthly pilgrimage, is to achieve a real immortality. As for me, I can only, as a woman, suggest what I think should be attempted: the execution must belong to you; and I confidently trust to your high reputation for goodness, courage and honor, that I shall receive, in the results of your administration, an ample reward for the pains that I have taken in preparing this work."

It will be seen from this specimen of her style, that the fair author belongs to the De Stael, rather than the Edgeworth, class of female writers, and that she combines the generosity and vigor of the manly mind, with the elegance and vivacity which are the more usual and appropriate gifts of her own sex. It is understood, that in collecting and

preparing her materials, she has been aided by some of the persons best informed upon the subject, and particularly by her distinguished countryman, Don José Antonio Saco, to whose high literary reputation she has paid a well-merited tribute, and who, we trust, is not destined to remain much longer an exile from the island, which he has done so much to adorn and improve. The co-operation of these persons, while it detracts in no way from the peculiar merits of the fair traveller, gives to her work a stamp of authenticity, which increases its substantial value.

In accomplishing her object of returning to Cuba, the Countess proceeded to Bristol, where she embarked for New-York. She remained a few weeks in this country, and found time for an excursion up the North River and another to Washington, before she sailed for the Havana. A few of the earlier letters contain the results of her observations during her short residence in the United States. These were evidently made in the most cursory manner, and night, we think, be suppressed, without disadvantage to the general character of the work. Indeed, they contain some errors of so extraordinary a kind, that we hardly know how to account, in any way, for their occurrence. In letter fifth, for example, we find the following singular statement in regard to the Sabbath Schools of the city of New-York.

"Yesterday I witnessed a moving spectacle. More than sixteen thousand children, arranged into companies, traversed the streets, with banners displayed, to celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of the Sabbath Schools. This popular institution is one of the most truly philanthropic in the United States. More than ten thousand free schools, each containing from six to seven thousand pupils, are instructed by ninety thousand teachers of both sexes, belonging to the most respectable families, voluntarily and gratuitously devoting themselves to this arduous service."

Ten thousand schools, each containing from six to seven thousand pupils, give, on the lowest calculation, a total of sixty million pupils,—a rather large allowance for a city, the population of which, is incorrectly estimated by the author herself in another passage at 200,000, and which, does not yet amount to fully twice that number. The Countess elsewhere intimates, in a rather reproachful tone, that the Americans are too much addicted to arithmetical combinations; in which, as she says, they find their only amusement. If she were often led into such mistakes as this, we should be

inclined to think, that in her own practice, she errs on the other side, and should be tempted to remind her of the counsel given to Jean Jacques Rousseau by a Venetian girl, upon his rather ungallantly suggesting to her, that she had one eye less than the usual number. "Let me advise you, my dear Johnny, to study mathematics, and leave the ladies to take care of themselves." We are bound, however, in justice, as well as gallantry, to take for granted, that this rather portentous mistake is, in some way, the result of accident, and we have alluded to it, rather for the singularity of the exaggeration, than because we seriously suppose it to imply any proportional deficiency of information in the author.

While at Washington, the Countess was presented by Madame Argaiz, the lady of the Spanish Minister, to Mr. Van Buren, then President of the United States, who seemed to have adopted for the occasion, a rather more elaborate costume than usual. His friends will easily recognise the well-known gallantry of the Sage of Lindenwold, in the cordiality with which he pressed the hand of his visiter upon her introduction; and which she describes, as having been carried almost to excess. "Madame Argaiz, presented me to President Van Buren. The President's house is a pretty chateau, erected in the middle of an extensive garden, surrounded by walls and ditches. I was received in an apartment on the ground floor. On our arrival, a servant whom we found in the anti-chamber, introduced us into a large saloon, very plainly furnished. We there found the President, with several Senators and a number of ladies attired in the fashion of the period of the Empire, who were seated in a row looking at each other in silence. President Van Buren is a very good looking old man ;-he wears his hair frizzled and powdered as white as snow; has a ruddy countenance, a knowing look, and a good-humoured, though rather jesuitical expression. His manners are really quite easy and this peasant's son would pass very well in society for a gentleman born. In the effusion of his cordial hospitality, he squeezed my hand and shook my wrist with so much force, that I could scarcely avoid crying out." She was also presented to Messrs. Clay, Webster and Calhoun. The first she passes without remark:

"Mr. Webster," she says, "has a very good head, and reminded her of General Foy. Mr. Calhoun's countenance resembles

the covers of which, are firmly clasped together. His sunken eyes, pallid hue, and austere expression, seem to indicate, as the leading trait in his character, the caution of a Senator of Venice, rather than the frankness of an independent republican."

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The Countess seems to have forgotten in writing this last character, that the device of the Italian politicians was volto sciolto, pensieri stretti ;-" secret thoughts under an open countenance." On her visit to the Capitol, our lively, but not very accurate traveller, made some architectural discoveries not less singular than the results of her researches into Mr. Van Buren's head-dress and Mr. Calhoun's physiog nomy.

"After traversing several corridors and vestibules, we reached a vast rotunda, surrounded by large columns, separated from each other by spaces only equal to their diameters. This rotunda is divided into two semi-circles, one of which, is appropriated to the House of Representatives; the other is reserved for the public. The view, as you enter, is imposing. Unhappily, the architect thought proper to run a collonade through the centre of the hall, provided with a balustrade for the public to lean upon. The voice of the speaker is lost in this labyrinth of pillars, so that very few persons are able to make themselves heard."

The remarks of the Countess on the geography of the State of New-York are not less novel and curious.

"We followed the course of the Hudson from Jersey City to New Market (Newburg ?) I was struck with wonder at the grandeur and magnificence of this river. Its clear and silver waters, fill a deep channel which they have dug through the rugged Alleghany mountains. The descent is easy and without rapids. The calm and majestic flood often spreads itself over the country for miles around. At such places, when you are in the middle of the stream, you lose sight of the banks, and might think yourself out at sea, did not the perfumes from the land remind you where you are. Soon, however, the shore re-appears, and you discern with rapture, the splendid landscapes, the young woods, the boundless meadows, and at a distance, the beautiful river, wandering through them in graceful curves like a silver ribband."

It is not perhaps, singular, that our plain republican manners should have made an unpleasant impression upon the mind of an elegant Parisian Countess. As a specimen of her remarks upon this subject, we select a passage, which follows immediately the one just quoted.

"While I was seated on the deck of the steamer, leaning against the guard, and admiring all these beauties, I found myself surrounded, or rather assailed, by a crowd of women, who were contemplating,