Under the circumstances is it to be wondered at that the Cuban is deficient in backbone; that he is vacillating and morally wobbly; that his somewhat effeminate, often handsome, and never coarse features bear a stamp of weakness which the most fiery pair of eyes will not suffice to counteract? Would it not be surprising if he displayed any marked capacity for hard work, or facility for business? Pleasure loving, inclined to frivolity, cheery, and apparently philosophical, the Cuban yields to difficulties and sinks under reverses. It is his habit, fostered by temperament and environment, to follow the lines of least resistance, and the way leads him ultimately into a _cul de sac_,--a slough of stagnation. He has a quick intelligence and a lively imagination. He can plan shrewdly and with nice calculation, but he has neither the force nor the executive ability to carry out his designs. For a full century he has conspired to throw off the galling yoke of Spain, and he would never have done it but for the intervention of the United States. As a young man he is apt to be foppish, libidinous and indolent, in striking contrast to the sturdy little Spanish apprentice, of Habana. Cuban children are too often spoilt by fond and over indulgent parents. The effect upon the girls is modified by the restricted home life to which they are subjected. In the boys it shows in selfwilfulness, lack of principle and utter absence of respect for things that the Anglo Saxon is apt to reverence. The Cuban usually marries early, and he makes a good father, if, often, a questionable husband. Despite the fact that he can depend upon the continence of his wife, or, perhaps because of it, he is frequently guilty of infidelity to her. This, if she discovers it, she is likely to treat with a complacency that an American woman could not understand. It is a common boast of Cubans that no Cuban woman ever became a public prostitute. Whether or not this is true, there is a marked difference in the standard of marital virtue maintained by the sexes among them. In this, and other respects, the less said about the Cuban of Habana, the better. It is not on short acquaintance that a true gauge of the Cuban’s character may be made. His surface air is one of self-respect and geniality, that hides the underlying egotistic selfishness and flaccidity. If educated, he has a courteous manner and polished address, while the poorest peasant displays a certain refinement and decided intelligence. I never remember to have seen a dull or stupid looking Cuban, but, perhaps, that is due less to mental quality than to the universal endowment of remarkably fine eyes. At first sight, you will like the Cuban, and you may continue to do so after you have learned to know him for a weak-minded brother, without any stable qualities in his composition. He has a subtle attractiveness which you will find it difficult to analyze. Perhaps it is his natural _bonhomie_ and genuine affectionateness