the carnival, which took place a week after we left, and is, I understood, well kept up. The Brazilians are very fond of holidays, and are always ringing the church bells and firing salutes from the fort in honour of one day or another. The ships in the harbour were until lately bound to reply to these salutes, but as they used good powder, while the Brazilian government bought large quantities of damaged stuff for the purpose, they found it rather expensive. The various admirals, therefore, took advantage of a period of sickness among the men, and gave that as an excuse for not replying, alleging that the noise disturbed their sick men. This was three years ago, and I believe that they have not resumed saluting since.

I went to the Opera the last evening that I spent in Rio. The house is a temporary affair, but the singing and music are good; and I had an opportunity of seeing the Emperor and Empress, and the ladies of Rio, who are seldom visible in the street. The Emperor was a fine looking man, about thirty years old when I saw him-the Empress, a great, heavy, Spanish-looking woman, much older than her husband. Of the beauty of those specimens of Brazilian ladies which I saw, I cannot say much. Their majesties came without any state, in a coupé, drawn by eight mules. Their arrival produced no commotion in the audience, but I suppose much enthusiasm could hardly have been expected, as the Emperor attends the opera every night. His suite were in court-dress, but himself and the Empress in the simplest evening costume. It seemed to be very common to bring little children to the opera, at least among the occupants of the boxes-but as they and all the élite left when the Emperor did, at 10 o'clock, this is perhaps not surprising. His majesty is said to be an intelligent man, fond of, and well read in, the sciences, but not possessing enough strength of character to resist the Jesuitical influence which surrounds him.

The government of Brazil is very liberal, both houses of the Parliament being elected by the people, and the lower house having complete control if there be in it a majority of three-fourths in favor of a measure; since, if the Senate do not agree, the two houses meet in convention, and a plurality

of votes passes the law. The Senate can always be outvoted, as its number is small compared to that of the House. The Emperor's veto suspends a law for one year, when, if it be again passed by the Legislature, it takes effect. The government is thus a real republic, with a permanent executive deprived of legislative power. There are, however, some ardent young men in the country who desire a republic in name. This would be, as an old American resident once said to me, the worst thing that could happen to Brazil, as it would probably subject her to those periodical pronunciamentos, revolutions and upturnings of the whole government, which have ruined all the Spanish-American republics.

On the morning of the 25th we sailed out of Rio harbour, our ship having been made thoroughly tight by caulking the upper works. We again admired the lofty rock-bound coast, the highest peaks of which we did not lose sight of till the afternoon of the following day. The weather had been clear and sultry the whole time of our visit, and the great heat (the thermometer having ranged between 80° and 90°), made it pleasant to get to sea again.

CHAPTER II.

AUSTRALIA.

First View of Australia-Sydney Harbour-The Town and its Climate-Passage to Melbourne-Public Land System-The Road to Ballaarat-Colonial Milestones-Bushrangers.

On the morning of the 8th of April, 1856, I had my first view of the coast of Australia-a long line of low cliffs, with no visible break for the mouth of Sydney harbour, of which, nevertheless, we were nearly abreast. The fact is, the opening is so narrow, and the harbour makes so short a turn (if I may be allowed the expression), that its mouth is almost invisible, except when one is just entering. It is said that, when Captain Cook was in this part of the world, as he sailed down this coast, the man who was stationed at the mast head to look out for harbours and landmarks, hailed the deck and announced that a harbour's mouth was in sight. Before, however, the captain could get on deck, the ship had gone so far that the narrow entrance was quite invisible. The man was, in consequence, reprimanded for giving false alarms, but the circumstance was entered on the ship's log-book, together with the man's name, Jackson. Soon after, the mouth of Botany Bay came in sight, and as there could be no doubt of that being a harbour, it was entered, surveyed and named. When the government sent the first ship load of convicts to Australia, Botany Bay was the place chosen for their disembarkation, but as its shores were found unsuitable for a settlement, the country round was reconnoitred, and Sydney Bay, twelve miles off, chosen for the convict colony. As the new location possessed every advantage, both for the settlement and as regarded the harbour, no more convicts were ever sent to Botany

Bay; and as it was recognized that Jackson had been right, after all, in his discovery, the bay was called after his name, and is now known as Port Jackson or Sydney Harbour. It is one of the finest harbours in the world, and there are few that excel it in beauty. It wants the lofty mountains which give so much grandeur to the harbour of Rio, but the fine slope of its banks, which are studded with country seats (the houses generally of white stone), and the numerous picturesque coves and islands give it a peculiar beauty. As the bay takes a turn immediately inside the heads and runs parallel with the coast, the harbour's mouth is, from most parts, quite invisible. This gives the view a lake-like appearance, that adds much to its effect. The Government House, too, an extensive castellated building, standing on a promontory which forms part of a finely laid out park, "the Domain," as it is called, is visible from all parts of the bay, and has a really fine appearancethe royal standard flying from one of the turrets, giving it a good deal the air of Windsor Castle, though it is of course not so large. The harbour is no less excellent in point of utility, the water being so deep that the largest vessels can enter, while the shores are so abrupt that ships can lie anywhere close to the land, and wharves are almost unnecessary, and the peculiar turn which I have described the bay as making, with the narrowness of the entrance and the height of the surrounding land, protects vessels from all effects of gales.

Sydney itself, is built around one of the coves at the further end of the harbour, and covers also the promontory which divides it from the next cove. It contains now about 85,000 inhabitants, and is an English town in every respect. In some parts you would suppose you were in London, were it not that all the houses are of a bright yellow freestone. This is the cheapest building material, as the woods of the country are too hard for such purposes; they do, however, excellently well for rafters, &c., and are almost fireproof. A great deal of Oregon pine is exported to Australia, for building, but goes mostly to Melbourne, the outskirts of which city resemble New York beyond the fire limits. The inhabitants of Sydney

are mostly English, and preserve the old country manners remarkably. Drunkenness is very prevalent, and I more than once saw women drunk on the sidewalk at nine in the morning. In fact, I never saw so much drinking anywhere as in Australia. It is, however, a curious fact, that the "natives," as they call the descendants of Europeans, born in Australia, do not, as a general rule, drink at all. These "natives" are very different in appearance from Englishmen, tall and thin, arriving at puberty earlier than in England, and frequently with an indescribably mild eye and voice. They are said to be much inferior to their parents in energy. When I was in Australia, there had lately been a controversy among the physicians, as to whether the climate is favourable to the European race or not. It was admitted that disease of the heart was more prevalent than elsewhere; and that the teeth go to ruin as rapidly as in America, but in other respects the climate seemed to hold its own against its impugners. Another hundred years will settle the question much more firmly. The weather is oppressively hot, at times. When the "Brickfielders," the north-westerly winds from the interior deserts, blow, the thermometer occasionally rises to 120° in the shade, for a short time, and clouds of dust make it impossible to go out of doors. But the great heat does not last long, and the weather is generally delightful. Frost and snow are sometimes seen in the interior, but never on the coast, and the trees are green all the year round, the old leaves falling only in the spring, when they are forced off by the new.

Sydney has the advantage of a finely kept park, "The Domain," consisting of about 30 acres, running along the shores of the bay, and enclosing a Botanical Garden, in which are the plants of all climates, growing side by side, in the open air. The oak, however, and other northern trees, do not seem to thrive all the specimens that I saw being puny and stunted.

There are but few fine buildings in Sydney-the cathedral being incomplete. There are, however, several very fair stone churches, and the houses, though none of them are showy, have a well built, comfortable look. The police is excellent, on the plan of that in London-the mounted police, particu