in his verses so full of beauty and sentiment, had dared to mention the Goddess of Liberty; perhaps, also, he had dared to dream at night of the emancipation of his beloved country, and this was sufficient.

Therefore clemency, not to speak of justice, was out of the question. The sweetly inspired song of the poet contributed a real menace to the domination of Spain the Invincible; consequently, according to Spanish modes of reasoning, his death was a necessity. As though the ill-fated poet would bequeath to posterity an immortal proof of his innocence and engrave forever in history a glaring instance of Spanish iniquity, he wrote in his last hours, when in "La Capilla," a poem entitled "La Plegaria." In this poem he calls God to witness to his innocence, with so touching and deeply felt an inspiration that it is to-day considered one of the most beautiful compositions of its kind. Zenea, another illustrious poet of this period, was also sacrificed in like fashion for having dared to sing the regeneration of his country. He was shot-as was Placido-in the city of Matanzas (called the Athens of Cuba).

The grievances of the Cubans, increasing day by day and year by year, at last culminated in the revolutionary movement which took place during the years 1850-51. This outbreak may be considered as the first having a welldefined tendency toward the emancipation of Cuba. It was the first deliberate effort of the Cubans to conquer by force of arms what they had so long claimed in vain-viz., the right to administer their own affairs and live the life of a modern and civilized people. At the head of the rebellion was the Spanish general D. Narciso Lopez. It would seem to be one of the ironies of fate that a Spanish general should teach the Cubans to throw off the Spanish yoke. This attempt at liberation was, however, a complete failure.

The

population was not yet sufficiently prepared for so high and difficult an enterprise, and the followers of General Lopez, recruited in the United States, scarcely numbered 400. After many unsuccessful attempts to disembark, the expedition landed at last near the city of Cardenas, Matanzas Province. They

were routed in their first encounter with the troops of the Government, mainly owing to lack of organization and discipline. Disbanded and pursued by the enemy, they were soon exterminated, for when has noble Spain ever shown clemency to the vanquished? Their leader, Lopez, was made prisoner shortly afterward and publicly executed in Havana.

Cuban blood was again abundantly shed on the soil of the Antilles, but it only served to water the roots of the tree of Independence, young and fragile then, now strong and luxuriant.

This easy victory of the Government over the ill-fated Cubars only increased its greed and cruelty, and the corruption and plundering of the Administration knew no limits thenceforward.

A horde of Spaniards of the lowest class, in reality no more than beggars, fell upon Cuba as a flock of vultures upon their prey. Disreputable officials were sent over that they might be afforded an excellent opportunity of making a fortune in a brief period, which fortune would afterward be dissipated in the mother country.

The institution of slavery was to the Captain-General and minor authorities as a kind of miraculous fountain, in which they could slake their thirst for gold.

Notwithstanding that a covenant had been agreed upon between Spain and England relative to the prohibition of slavery in Cuba, negroes were continually being imported with the knowledge and consent of the Captains-General, the only restriction thereto being the active hostilities displayed by English cruisers against ships engaged in this nefarious traffic on the high seas. "La trata de negros" went on, more or less openly, for the traffic in human flesh was far too profitable a business for all connected with it to be stayed by the Spanish authorities. Ships, laden to their utmost capacity with unfortunate Africans, torn from their country and running the risk of capture on the voyage, found their way to the shores of Cuba, where agents of the Government provided for their safety. Unloading the merchandise in some spot along the coast previously designated, the negroes were sold to the highest bidder, the Captain-General

receiving large sums as the price of his tolerance or connivance in the matter.

Meanwhile the sufferings and grievances of the Cubans grew so intolerable that, in spite of the severe and barbarous methods taken by the Captain-General to suppress all complaints, an everincreasing murmur of indignation arose from all parts of the island. In vain did the authorities try to appease the victims of their inhuman oppression the measure of endurance was reaching its limits. Thereupon, at this juncture, the Spanish politicians, masters in the art of deceit, devised a plan to regain the lost confidence of the Cubans. The Minister for the Colonies, D. Antonio Canovas del Castillo, with the consent of his colleagues, invited the Cubans to send a commission to Spain in order to inform the Government of the causes of their complaints, and place before it their suggestions as to the remedies to be adopted. The sincerity of Spain in regard to this invitation can now be judged, bearing in mind only that the said minister was the same man who appointed General Weyler Captain-General of Cuba in the month of February, 1895, and who strenuously supported him in spite of atrocities committed in his name which have called forth a universal cry of reprobation.

The apparently impartial attitude of the ministry toward Cuba in inviting her to send over a commission inspired the Cubans with hope. They, in their ingenuous honesty, did not at that time suspect that the Spanish wolf could assume the clothing of the wily fox when necessary. The election of members of the commission was greeted everywhere with enthusiasm; and, full of belief in the success of their mission, they started for Spain in 1866.

The commission was composed of the most prominent men in Cuba, chosen either on account of their wealth, knowledge, or influence, D. José Morales Lemino, D. José Antonio Echevalria, and the Count of Pozo Dulces being the most conspicuous among them by reason of their devotion to the cause of Cuba. Once in Madrid, the commission began its work in earnest and with enthusiasm. Soon, however, the bitterest deception began to throw its

NEW SERIES.-VOL. LXVIII., No. 3.

shadow over their labors. The strange, or rather criminal, conduct of the Government soon made the commission clearly understand that Spain in no wise desired a full report of the state of affairs in Cuba, that her sole purpose was merely to cheat the Cubans by means of illusory promises. Instead of allowing the commission to state unreservedly the needs of the colony, a list of questions was submitted to it, which questions in no sense took into account the real problem. The commission, in spite of the limitations thus imposed and the obstacles placed in its way, went ahead, and managed to accomplish some part of its preordained task.

Nothing was omitted in order to lay before Spain, before the entire world, the reasons for Cuba's dissatisfaction and the justice of her demands. But no heed was paid to the honest declarations of the commission. Spain remained deaf and dumb to the cries of her over-taxed and oppressed subjects.

Not yet content with the many restrictions hampering the Cuban representatives-which restrictions were a sufficiently evident sign that no Spanish Government would ever do justice to the Antilles-Spanish merchants and politicians conspired to expel the said representatives from Parliament, for fear that their interests might suffer in some way from the information furnished by the commission in its report. And will it be believed that it was actually decided in Congress that Cuba had not the right to send representatives to the Spanish Cortes, and that in future she should be governed by special laws enacted without her intervention?

The work of the commission, degraded to a mere farce, therefore came to a standstill, and its members, a prey to the deepest humiliation, left the mother country forever. Some went to. live and die in foreign lands, others returned mournfully to Cuba to inform their fellow citizens of the failure of their mission. This fatal blow was deeply felt by every Cuban patriot. Far from their hopes being realized, the seal was set to the policy of oppression, and the line of division already drawn between Spain and Cuba was accentuated, never to be effaced.

26

Henceforward an unrelenting spirit

of disaffection began to work in the minds of the Cubans. The peaceful methods of evolution which had been favored by her most prominent citizens were discredited, and gave way to the more energetic teachings of revolution. The Cuban lamb, by sheer force of circumstances that is to say, through a long course of Spanish iniquity-was transformed into an angry lion, whose roar has made itself heard of late, and who will ere long drive its old enemy, the wolf, from its choicest morsel.

In spite of the strict vigilance of the Government and the severe punishment inflicted on detection, secret societies were established over the island. They were instrumental in bringing about the revolution known to-day as the Ten Years' War (1868-78). The task of rousing to arms a naturally peaceful population is one not devoid of difficulties. It is almost impossible to conciliate the diverse opinions and the material interests of those concerned. On the other hand, the Spanish domination was too deeply rooted to be easily uprooted. The lack of experience in military affairs, and the enormous difficulty -one might say, the almost total impossibility of obtaining arms and ammunition, proved powerful obstacles in the way of the Cubans. The vigilance and alertness of the Spaniards made it too dangerous to plan a general outbreak on a determined date. The above-mentioned risks and difficulties of the enterprise, coupled with the natural indolence of the Cubans, caused the most energetic to despair. great seemed the obstacles that the Government felt confident that the

Cubans were quite incapable of starting any important revolutionary movement.

Meanwhile, the Captains-General continued their unscrupulous system of administration with less scruple every day. Cubans were compelled to quit their country by the thousand, and of those who remained hundreds were thrown into filthy dungeons, where death soon overtook them. Others, when darkness and silence brooded over the earth, were assassinated at crossroads or in the ditches of fortresses. Besides which the military institution known as the Volunteers, in its struggle for wealth and power, always endeavored to advise the Captains-General in the direction of their brutal passions. To this blood-stained institution are due numberless crimes of every description committed against unarmed Cubans of both sexes, for nothing was held sacred. Belonging to the very lowest class of Spaniard, the savage hatred of this gang of ruffians toward Cubans is deeply felt and openly expressed. The contrast between their supine ignorance and the superior culture of the Cubans serves only to increase their rage and inflame their passions.

Such are the wretches who are the genuine representatives of Spanish sentiment respecting Cuba, and constitute the main support of Spanish sovereignty. Weyler is but the exponent of the majority of his countrymen, a fine and faithful specimen of the Spanish race, than which one more dissimilar to the Cuban, physically, morally, and intellectually, cannot be found.-Nineteenth Century.

IT is on all sides admitted that the laws of health should be in the possession of every one, not only for the sake of individuals, but equally so for the benefit of the children who may be under their care.

General information on this important subject has been much increased and diffused of late years, to the inestimable advantage of the present generation, and so far as diet, exercise, and surroundings at home and at school are concerned, everything that ought to be known has been thoroughly made a matter of common knowledge.

More than this has been done. For in the direction of especial attention. being paid to the eyesight of children, the Board schools have been placed on the alert, so that, in case of children being found on examination to have defective sight, they have been saved the risk of increasing any eye trouble by the timely insistence upon the use of glasses.

So far, however, as concerns the ears and hearing, nothing of similar utility has been effected, and the only consideration that is paid to children with. defective hearing has hitherto taken the form of correction (given, of course, without the knowledge of the defect) for want of attention (so-called) on the part of the child. It has seemed to me, for many years past, that it would be greatly to the advantage of the community at large, and especially to that of the children, if a few simple, easily understood facts on this matter were made known.

Every man and woman should be aware of what (to use a common expression) is bad for the ear, so that they can avoid placing themselves. under such conditions, for example, as might damage the hearing, cause permanent noises in the ear, injure the structure of the ear, produce inflammation in the ear, or induce the advent of any disease of this part. In short, it is the duty of all who put a true estimate on the value of their ears to inform themselves sufficiently to be

able to preserve, rather than run the risk of damaging, either their own or those of their children.

In giving such information as may embrace this, and not go beyond it, I wish especially to avoid dealing in any way with what appertains to disease or injuries of the ear, except so far as guarding against them is concerned. So, in order to understand the following remarks, the briefest outline and the most rudimentary idea of the formation and structure of the ear will be sufficient.

It will be enough to know that the entrance to the ear is the beginning of a somewhat curved canal (the external canal of the ear) of one and a quarter inches in length, and somewhat narrowed about the middle. That at the other end of this canal is a delicate membrane (the tympanic membrane) which protects and closes the tympanic cavity (the drum of the ear); that this small cavity is kept ventilated by air from a narrow tube (the Eustachian tube), the open end of which is placed in the throat in close proximity to the back of the nostrils. Also that in apposition to the drum of the ear is the nervous apparatus of hearing (the labyrinth). It may be added that the drum of the ear is crossed by a chain of three little bones.

Any one armed with nothing beyond. the very simple information which these few words convey would not allow a child to have its ears boxed, for he would have before his mind the possibility of injuring the delicate membrane referred to, or the nervous structure behind it, and at no great distance from the external ear. If this be so, the desirability of greater knowledge. than now obtains on this subject is at once demonstrated. I must, in connection with the dangerous and brutal practice of correcting children in this way, observe that it is immensely less frequent than it used to be, though as recently as five years ago an instance came under my notice, when, at a public school of considerable standing, the

membrane of the tympanun was ruptured in this manner violent inflammation of the ear ensued, and the boy was in consequence in considerable danger of his life. A few years previously a boy died of inflammation of the brain induced by the same cause. It must also be remembered that the

hearing is very often irreparably damaged from shock to the nervous structure which is caused by the sudden compression of air within the external canal, even when the membrane escapes without a rupture. In short, a violent box on the ear is about as senseless and cruel a proceeding as a violent blow on the eye. The fact that the eye is in the sight of all, and that the ear is hidden from view, is surely no reason why the latter should be ruthlessly damaged any more than the former.

I repeat that the boxing of ears is less frequent in schools than it used to be, but the time is not far distant, I hope, when it will be only a memory of a less enlightened age, for at all times it has chiefly been the outcome of thoughtlessness and ignorance. An unexpected blow on the ear, just as in the case of an unexpected explosion near the ear, is far more damaging than when it is expected. There exists an arrangement within the cavity of the tympanum which acts as a protection to the nervous structure when the explosion or blow is seen to be coming it consists in an involuntary contraction of a muscle which moves the position of the membrane, so as to take off, in some degree, the effect of the jar. It

is a similar movement to what takes place when the eyelid closes to prevent the entrance of an object into the eye.

It will be seen, then, that there is considerable danger in even a very slight blow, such as might be and is sometimes given when a child creeps up behind any one, and in play gives them a pat on the ear. This will, occasionally, damage the hearing permanently, and induce a troublesome singing noise in the ear. The same may also follow any very loud sound, close to the ear, given in an unexpected manner. A familiar instance of this accident I have on several occasions known to happen from the whistle of an engine, the person whose hearing

was damaged standing close up to, but with his back toward the engine.

It will readily, then, be understood how frequently this sort of accident may take place, and when the fact is once appreciated it may be very generally guarded against. The explosions of any sort of firearms-guns, rifles, heavy naval guns, and artillery gunsare responsible in countless instances for deafness produced by shock to the nervous structures of the ears; and though the duties of soldiers and sailors do not in the majority of cases admit of the avoidance of deafness from this cause, they do in a good many, as I shall presently show.

It may be briefly said that most naval men and artillery men have their hearing damaged at one time or another from guns, and indeed it is only what might be expected from the terrific explosions to which they are exposed on duty; but, besides this, it is not an infrequent experience that a great degree of deafness is traceable rather to some single explosion near to which the man has been standing than to the frequent discharges of guns. The old brass guns that used to be employed on training ships were responsible for many a damaged ear of the young men, and seem to have had a peculiarly injurious effect, altogether disproportionate to the size of the gun. In the army the musketry instructor is exposed to great risk in this direction, and it is difficult to guard against it. In short, with our soldiers and sailors a certain loss of hearing seems almost inevitable. So far as game shooting is concerned, every one who shoots a great deal knows perfectly well that the hearing of the left ear after a few years is never so good as that of the right, and when black powder was used instead of the various chemical powders, wood powder, E.C., and many others, this effect was very much more pronounced. In the Eastern counties, where the shooting is on a large scale, and four or five hundred shots are constantly fired by one man in one day, the deafness of the left ear so produced used to go by the name of Norfolk deafness. In the old days also of Hurlingham, when the charge was not restricted, as it now is, I hardly knew a man