CHAPTER I.

RIO DE JANEIRO.

Cause of visiting Rio-Entrance of the Harbour-Repairing Vessels at Rio-PortersEuropean Appearance of the City-Architecture-Priests and Religion-SlavesVillas in the Country-Tejuca-Substantial Houses-Business-Politeness-OperaGovernment-Departure from Rio.

WE entered the harbour of Rio de Janeiro on the 16th of January, 1856, having made Cape Frio the day before. The ship on which I was a passenger, was bound for Sydney, and thence for China; but a succession of those violent gales, which, in that winter, destroyed so much property and so many lives on our coast, had completed the work begun by a summer's sun in New York, and when about a fortnight out, we found the ship leaking badly, a state of things which finally compelled us to put into Rio and caulk our upper works.

The entrance to Rio harbour surpassed the highest expectations which any of us had formed. The mouth is narrow and bordered by lofty walls of granite, rising steep and sheer for 1,500 or 2,000 feet, while farther back the Pâo d'Assucar, or "Sugar Loaf," towers into the air-the first of a series of sharply-defined, lofty, barren, and isolated peaks surrounding the harbour, and imparting a grandeur to the rich verdure of its immediate shores, which they would not otherwise possess. From the foot of these peaks, the land slopes gradually down to the water's edge, and is covered with beautiful villas, mostly in the Italian style, embowered in that luxuriant foliage and redundant vegetation which we are accustomed to associate with the idea of a tropical climate.

There

Passing the picturesque fort which guards the entrance to the bay, we sailed up three or four miles, and cast anchor among a crowd of vessels, all with their ensigns set. On our left, situated on a low flat of not more than two miles' breadth to the foot of the hills, lay the city of Rio. The ground on which it is built is all made, or, rather, the city is built upon piles, the locality having been formerly a marsh. It is, of course, low and flat, and drainage is an impossibility, which accounts for its great unhealthiness at certain seasons. is usually a great deal of shipping in the harbour, as there is considerable trade, and this is a favourite place of repair for vessels which may have become dismasted or otherwise injured on the voyage to India, Australia, or the western coast of America. In this respect Rio has rather a bad reputation, as the repairing of damaged ships has become a regular branch of trade, and is remarkably well understood-many of the ship-carpenters finding themselves in a position to allow a handsome percentage to such ship-masters as will give them a job. I heard of one or two captains who had put in there with disabled vessels, and who were supplied with luxurious country seats, where they were kept in a continuous round of dissipation while their ships were refitting. Of course, they could not afterwards question the charges of those who had provided for them a "home and all its comforts" in a foreign land, and taken all the tedium of business off their hands.

Most of the loading and discharging at Rio is done by lighters-there being but one wharf. The merchandise is conveyed from the lighters to the shore by negroes, who wade up to their middle in the water, carrying the goods on their heads. On shore, these fellows walk in a long procession, singing a monotonous song. They seem to prefer carrying burdens on their heads-transporting the very heaviest articles in this way. I have seen as many as sixteen men carrying a piano forte, locking step as they walked, and all joining in the song, which, in this case, was of real importance as enabling them to keep step. It is said that when the railway to Petropolis was being built, the negroes insisted on carrying the handbarrows, which were furnished to them, on their

heads, turning the wheel in front with the hand, in time to their song. The negro porters are fine burly men, and are always slaves. They are, however, only required to bring home to their master a certain sum each day, which amounts to about one half or two thirds of what they can earn. On landing, I was much struck with the European appearance of every thing. The buildings are of that substantial character. which may be of any age, and which is so different from the prevailing taste in North America. A large plaza with a fountain borders on the quay, and directly in front of the landing, occupying one side of the square, is the Royal Palace, a large, but not a striking building, where, however, the Emperor rarely resides. In front of the palace gate two negro soldiers were keeping guard. The army is entirely composed of free blacks, by whom, also, the navy is manned. How reliable they may be, I did not have an opportunity of learning. The streets of Rio are narrow-a very good peculiarity in a climate where there is much sun. The houses are usually large, and built with walls three or four feet thick. The shops are full of French goods-the taste of the Brazilians being decidedly Gallic. The churches are not fine, though very massive. They are all in that Jesuitical style which distinguishes modern Romish churches everywhere. The interior decoration is generally tawdry. The priests are a low, filthy, and dirty set; very immoral, and far from popular, yet they are said to have great control over the Emperor. They have not been able, however, to prevent the toleration of Protestant opinions, and the free circulation of the Scriptures. A very pretty custom prevails here in celebrating the funerals of children. The pall, the liveries of the coachmen and grooms, and all the decorations are scarlet, while the hearse is covered with flowers placed there by friends, and thrown from house windows as the procession passes through the streets. In the case of young people, not children, blue decorations replace the red; black being reserved for those who are grown up or advanced in life.

The streets of Rio are filled with negroes, free and slavesmany of the latter being African born-and known by the

tribal mark branded on their foreheads. Slavery exists, however, in Brazil, or, at least, in Rio, in a mitigated form. Any negro may demand a valuation by a magistrate, and, whenever he can make up the sum fixed, may purchase his own freedom. On becoming free, a negro assumes shoes, a luxury not allowed to slaves. The price of slaves is now high on account of the suppression of the slave trade during the last four or five years, and it is to be presumed that planters cannot now afford to indulge often in the amusement of boiling a negro, a sight which two Quakers, who wrote a little work on Brazil, were invited to witness. The negroes live principally on a powdered root termed "farinha," black beans, and fruit. Wages are very low. Negro porters, of whom there are a great many, lie about in baskets, like the lazzaroni in the streets of Naples. One of these fellows will carry a parcel a mile, and consider himself well paid by two cents.

The country around Rio is very pretty, and filled with villas and suburban residences belonging to the richer inhabitants. The buildings are low (one or two stories), but built at great expense, with walls two feet thick. The exteriors are stuccoed and decorated with arabesque ornaments on a ground of blue or some gaudy colour, the roof being invariably of bright-red tile. One of these houses, in a beautifully kept garden of tropical plants and trees, has an Eden-like effect, which must be seen to be appreciated. I think that some of the larger and better kept of these residences, might well have written over their gates, the celebrated inscription on the Dewan-ee-Khas at Delhi, "If there be a Paradise on Earth, it is here, it is here!"

Tejuca and Petropolis are both summer resorts, within a few hours' ride of the city. I visited the former only. The scenery is, I think, as fine as anything in Switzerland, though of course, in quite a different style. The immense granite masses which border the gorge through which the road passes, and the views of the sea through the narrow valleys are something magnificent. Near Tejuca I saw much coffee growing; it looks like a hardy plant and did not seem to have been carefully cultivated. Banana trees are, of course,

to be seen everywhere, being somewhat of a weed among the trees; and I saw, besides, the breadfruit, bamboo, orange, lemon, palm, etc. etc.

While at Rio, I could not help noticing and admiring the substantial character of all buildings, etc. The streets are paved with square blocks of stone, and lighted with gas; the walls of the buildings are of great thickness. Durability and comfort seem to have been much more consulted than in the United States, where, in weather occasionally just as hot, we live in wooden houses, not even filled in with brick. The store of M. W. & Co., the consignees of the ship on which I was a passenger, was a model of its kind. An immense building, with solid walls four feet thick, contained the offices, the rooms where the employees lived, a large parlor looking on the bay, a saloon where partners and clerks all dined in common at two o'clock, and warehouses where their goods were stored. I got, from some of the American residents of Rio, a very curious, and well-nigh incredible, account of the way in which business is done there. A sale for cash implies a credit of two or three months, within which it is a personal offence to ask for your money; and one is expected to renew a note as often as requested, provided the interest be punctually paid. I say CC a note," but the fact is, that even the largest transactions have, as I was told, in general, only a verbal guarantee.

The market of Rio is well supplied with fruit all the year round (and here I may remark, that no one knows the taste of an orange who has not eaten it fresh from the tree); the fish are very fine; the mutton is excellent, but the beef poor. Oxen and horses do not thrive in Brazil for some reason, probably, at least in the case of horses, from not being fed on grain.

The Brazilians are a tame, inoffensive people. A very marked feature in their manners, that strikes a stranger directly, is their great politeness. On entering or leaving an omnibus you uncover and bow to the company, who do the same; and at a table d'hôte the same formality is complied with by all who leave before the rest, the whole company rising and bowing. I was sorry that we could not remain for