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comfort, and not only an annoyance and inconvenience to the inhabitants themselves, but is shared by the stranger in passing through the

streets.

We of course saw all that was to be seen in Rio. The churches claimed our first attention. They are richly decorated in the interior, with massive gold and silver ornaments, and at this time glittering with gems and precious stones. On some of the altars of the saints it is the practice to suspend the diseased parts of the body in wax, in honour of the cure supposed to have been effected by the saints' intercession. The sight of these is truly disgusting, although they are far from being well executed. The chapel of St. Cecilia was visited on the saint's day, 25th November. The music was very fine, from a large choir, consisting, besides the organ, of flutes, hautboys, horns, and basses of all kinds, with about ten vocalists, two of whom were eunuchs, about seventy years of age. The music consisted of selections from the best masters. The performers were about seventy in number. The steps of the church and the street were strewed on this occasion with orange-leaves. A number of females present were seated on the floor of the church, dressed in black, with white lace shawls, and wreaths of flowers round their heads. Fireworks, as usual in such ceremonies, were set off in front of the church at the beginning and end of the service.

The Misericordia has now become much out of repair, and I understood had fallen off in its charitable usefulness, but it still shows the remains of its former splendour. Few monks were seen about, and dead bodies were laid out in the Green House. At the time we visited it there were eight, the greater part of whom were negroes. A monk was seen saying a hasty prayer over the bodies, which were at once thrown into the trench, when they were sprinkled with lime, placing one layer over the other, until the hole, about six feet square and as many deep, is filled or level with the surface. After one of the trenches is filled, another is dug by the side of it. The crowded state of this place of interment is but too evident from the number of skulls and bones lying about, some still with portions of flesh adhering to them.

On the same evening, whilst this scene was still fresh in our minds, and as if in strong contrast with it, we met the funeral of a person of distinction. A black hearse, ornamented with black plumes, was drawn by mules. The driver had a cocked-hat and black plume. The coffin was covered with a scarlet pall ornamented with silver. About twenty altar-boys, in their church dress, preceded the hearse, which was surrounded by about the same number of black servants,

in livery, all carrying lighted wax candles. The body, on arriving at the Imperial Chapel, was removed into it, and all who entered the chapel were furnished with lighted tapers. Mass and the funeral service were performed by the priest, and some delightful music by a full choir The body was then taken into the Campo Santo, a kind of amphitheatre, with high walls, a short distance from the church. About a thousand vaults are built in the wall. One of them was opened, the body interred, and the wall built up again. The centre of this sepulchre is laid out in a flower-garden, and is about one hundred feet in diameter.

December 2d was the birthday of the Emperor, Don Pedro the Second, who then was thirteen years old. It was celebrated with all due pomp. Great preparations had been making for many days. He was to pass into the city from St. Christoval, his usual residence, in procession, and to hold a levee at the city palace. The streets were strewn with orange and other leaves, a triumphal arch erected, &c. But a description of his progress will give a better idea of it.

Having left St. Christoval, he entered the city about noon, preceded by a large troop of horse. He rode with his sisters, one sixteen, the other fourteen years of age, in a splendid English carriage, with bronze and gold mountings, drawn by eight cream-coloured horses, gaily caparisoned, with silver-mounted harness, the servants in rich liveries. Three carriages, drawn by six horses each, followed, containing officers of state and his household, the whole surrounded by the Emperor's guards, and above five thousand military following. Great crowds of people had assembled to witness this parade. As the carriages passed under the balconies, garlands of flowers were thrown upon them. They entered the principal street through a triumphal arch, beautifully decorated with natural flowers, on which were placed two little boys, dressed in blue and pink, with wings to represent angels, each holding a basket of flowers, which they threw on the young monarch as he passed. The houses in the streets through which the procession moved, were hung with satin damask draperies of the richest tints. These I understand are kept expressly for such occasions. At short intervals national flags were suspended across the streets. On the custom-house the flags of every nation were seen, in the centre of which was the Brazilian, and next to it the "starspangled banner." The Emperor moved on, receiving the same marks of affection from his subjects until he reached the great square and palace, where he alighted. The troops forming around the square soon came to order, and a general pause ensued, until the firing of the

feu de joie began, one of the most deafening I ever heard. He finished this public exhibition by showing himself to the multitude below, from the balconies of the city palace, and was received with many vivas.

He then held his levee, which the Rev. Mr. Walsh has so well described, and which closely resembled the one at which he was present, with this difference, that this was much more of a farce, in consequence of the boyhood of the Emperor. Nothing can be more ridiculous than to see all the dignitaries, and old men, the mitred bishop, the sage diplomatist, and the veteran soldier, ushered into the presence, and out again, without saying a word, or turning their backs on the young monarch. Mr. Walsh has, however, said nothing about the scene in the ante-room; to me it was the most ridiculous of all. The arranging the order of entrance to the presence, with due form and etiquette; the examination by each diplomatist, that he has his due order of precedence; their anxiety to gather their suites around them, not unlike a hen with her chickens, to make the fullest show; all prepares one for the ridiculous scene that is to follow. The oldest resident minister always takes the lead. At night the city was illuminated.

Rio is now well supplied with water. Aqueducts have been finished within the last two years, which bring it from the Corcovado and Tejuca Mountains, a distance of six or seven miles. There are a number of public fountains in different parts of the city. All the water for the supply of families is transported by slaves, who are constantly seen about these fountains. Until the amount of toil and time occupied is seen, little idea can be formed of the saving of labour that hydrants and pipes, for the supply of this necessary article, effect. These fountains have numerous jets, and some have pretty edifices over them. During the day, there are seldom less than fifty to one hundred, both male and female, water-carriers around them, filling their jars, with which they are seen moving about poised on their heads. Near the large fountain called Hafariz, in the square of Santa Anna, are two large basins, about fifty feet long and twenty-five wide. These are commonly filled with about two hundred negro women, who daily assemble to wash. Numbers of them are half naked, standing up to their middle in the water, beating and thrashing the clothes against the stone wall, to the great destruction of buttons, &c.

Few articles are transported in any other way than by slaves, and it is extremely rare to see a cart drawn by any beast of burden. Antique-looking carriages and two-wheeled calescas are generally

seen.

It is impossible to remain long at Rio without noticing the geolo

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gical structure of the country. It is all granitic, and occurs in vast blocks. Dr. Pickering and Mr. Brackenridge, who visited the Organ Mountains, reported that the country was of the same general character, but on a much grander scale.

The garden at the water side is delightfully situated. From this point the bay offers amusement at all hours. I should think the people of Rio might be classed among the indolent, and that they are not fond of walking; for the garden appears to be but little frequented.

The museum is open twice a week: it is quite creditable to the city, and well worth seeing. It appears to attract more attention from the inhabitants of Rio than I should have been led to expect. It is extremely rich in its native collections, and is well taken care of.

The theatres, of which there are three, are seldom open on week days, but always on Sunday.

The sail up the bay is beautiful. The surrounding picturesque peaks, varying their outline with every change of position, give it great variety, and the objects are so interesting that one is never tired. The many islets that stud this bay add greatly to its beauty, and excite interest, covered as they are with tribes of tropical plants, all new to the eye. Among these are seen tufts of Bromelias and Cactus, while Orchidee plants were abundant on the rocks and trees.

This bay is usually covered with small boats, passing to and fro, felucca rigged, without decks, and generally about twelve tons burden. These boats are rowed by blacks, who are seen toiling at their task. The oars are large, the men row in a standing posture, and thus add the weight of their bodies to their strength. At times, the bay seems. alive with the number of these vessels, and of small canoes, each made of a single trunk, which are used in fishing. Many of these vessels are also engaged in the coasting trade. Foreigners are usually employed to take charge of the latter, which sail under the Brazilian flag. Steamers are beginning to be used. One plies between Rio and Santos, and during our stay, another left the harbour for Montevideo. The greater part of the vessels in the bay are under foreign flags, and I was much surprised to observe how few comparatively are English, and how many are from the north of Europe.

The harbour of Rio may be considered as not extending farther than Enxados Island, above which few vessels lie. The front of the city is not well adapted for wharves, and none consequently exist. There are some stairs; but they are not well protected from the sea, which at times renders landing almost impossible.

The environs of the city were visited by many of our naturalists and officers, and although this ground has been so often gone over by

others, it was yet found to offer many objects of interest, and we believe of novelty, particularly in the waters of this bay.

In Rio, the vegetation seems to fix the attention above all other things, especially of those situated as we were in the harbour, having it continually before one's eyes; and I can well understand the deprivation Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander must have experienced in their visit. Our naturalists remarked that although the productions are still American in character, the same families prevailing, often the same genera, yet they were entirely distinct in species from those of other parts of the continent. As an example the Furcrœa takes the place of the Mexican Agaves. The Furcroa is a peculiar plant, and attracts attention by its bayonet-shaped leaves, branching up in every direction; some of these are ten or twelve feet in height and ten inches in diameter. This plant, with the well-known Cecropia, with its candelabra branches, and the prevailing yellow blossoms of the trees, give a peculiar and lively character to the landscape and woods, when compared with the dull sombre hue of our own forests.

Here, as in all tropical climates, the truth of the remark made by a botanist," that every thing grows into shrubs and trees," is obvious. Herbaceous plants are rare, and annuals may be said to be almost wanting. The fruit trees were generally seen bearing fruit and flowers at the same time. This was the case, as observed by one of our party, even in the cultivated apple on the Tejuca Mountains.

The vegetation near the coast differs considerably from that of the inland country. Plants are more dense and succulent, species and tribes have little of a local nature; yet particular kinds of palms and bamboos are found in separate groups on the top of the Organ Mountains, but this is only a slight exception to the general rule. which nature seems to have adopted in the distribution of plants over the country. This character strikes the observer forcibly in the Cecropias, Cæsalpinia brasiliensis, and several Melastomas, which are rarely seen in pairs.

The Botanic Garden is in a flat situation, backed by a high ridge of mountainous land. In front, is a lake of brackish water, which forms a considerable bay, and communicates with the sea by a narrow inlet. The entrance to the garden has a mean appearance, and does not correspond with the broad promenades within, which are planted with trees on each side. The whole is laid out in the old Dutch style; seats, arbours, and houses are cut out of Arbor vitæ (Thuja orientalis). Terrestrial Orchidea are cultivated in earthen vases placed in rows in the herbaceous ground, which appeared to have been once planted after the Jussieuean, or natural system, but is now some

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