BRAZIL!

DR. WALSH accompanied LORD STRANGFORD in his mission to Brazil, in the same honourable capacity in which he went with that

nobleman to Constantinople. During his residence in America his time was unceasingly devoted to the study of the people and the pro- ductions of the country ; and these volumes are the result.

We began our career with a notice of Dr. WALSH'S former work— his Journey from Constantinople ; and we hail the appearance of this as we would the return of an old and valued friend. Among the claims to public estimation, his notice of Turkey possessed one of the strongest—it appeared at the very moment when public attention was powerfully attracted towards that country. The Notices of Brazil, by a combination of causes which seem to favour Dr. WALSH'S labours, are also extremely well-timed. The prevailing excitement on the subject of colonization, would of itself lend pe- culiar interest to the description of a territory where, of all others,. -Nature seems to dispense her gifts most prodigally, and where man may be said to be a solitary wanderer in a wilderness of sweets ; and the political disputes between Brazil and Portugal, and the posi- tion which England holds in respect to them, render authentic in- formation touching either, but especially the less known of the two, an object of strong curiosity to the general reader, who seeks in the pages of the traveller for nothing higher than literary amusement. To both of these classes of readers, Dr. WALSH brings an ample supply of the instructive and the entertaining; and he has contrived to blend them so successfully, that those who seek for the one can hardly fail to obtain the other also. The secret of Dr. WALSH'S success in this work, as in his last, may be traced to the singular simplicity of his tastes and feelings—the total absence of every thing like affectation—

the resolution to describe whatever presents itself to his very acute observation, without any attempt to extenuate or aggravate the effect it happens to produce. It is this that gives an air of reality to all his pictures, which induces us to accept of them with as ready a reliance as if we had seen and familiarly known the originals. We feel, while accompanying him, that we are in the hands of a guide in whom we can implicitly trust. If we now and then incline to dissent from his opinions, it never enters into our imagination to dispute his facts. There is besides a fine moral spirit pervading Dr. WALSH'S works, which gives to them the kind 'of charm bestowed on a painting by a mellow varnish, that softens and mingles the various tints with- out injuring their brilliancy. The portion of the present volumes which will be perused with most interest, is that which is devoted to the narration of the Doctor's personal tour to Villa Rica; but the whole work, from the moment of his embarkation to that of his relanding,, is replete with goodly matter. It is indeed the best book of travels that we remember hav-

ing read since the Journey from Constantinople ; we even incline to

prefer it to that admirable work—for it is twice as long. The ex- tracts which follow are purposely of a miscellaneous character. To some of our readers we may appear to have drawn largely on the Doctor's book ; but we can assure them we have only picked a few scattered blossoms, leaving the grand beauties of the parterre not only unrifled, but untouched. Before proceeding to them, we shall state in a very few words the general impression respecting Brazil which these volumes have left on our mind.

In the political institutions of Brazil, and in the opinions and sen- timents of its people, there is a strong tendency towards republi-

canism—so strong, that if the present Emperor die beibre his family be grown up, or if he happen to be succeeded by a son less active and energetic than himself, there seems not the slightest doubt that monarchy will be abrogated and a pure republic established. Already in the discussions of the journals, in conversation, but above all, in the speeches of the Chamber of Deputies, which the people of Rio crowd to hear with unsated curiosity and interest, a greater freedom prevails than is known or would perhaps be tolerated in any kingdom of the Old World.

The second peculiarity which strikes us most forcibly, is the num- ber and consequence of the black portion of the Brazilian popula- tion. The relative proportion of slaves to free men is not so great as in some of the West India Islands, although the importations of late years have been so enormous, that ten years is now the common credit in the slave-market : but nowhere in the New World is the proportion of. free blacks and free men of colour so great, and nowhere do they possess the same dignity and value. In Barbadoes, it was lately the occasion of formal complaint to the Bishop, that a clergy- man administered the sacrament to a few black men at the same time that lie was administering it to their white lords. In Brazil, there are numerous black priests, men of most respectable character and talents ; and the first white man of the State will receive the eucharist from their hands as freely as he would from the fairest-skinned of their European brethren. In every rank of society, black people are found occupying, without question or dispute, the station to which their property and intelligence fairly entitle them. Coupled with this fact, is another, which admits but of a partial explanation—the slave blacks of Brazil are among the lowest and most degraded of their miserable class. In the recent importations, this is accounted for by the inferior character, both physical and intellectual, of the slaves, who have now to be procured from that part of Africa that borders on the Caffre country, where the natives are every way in- ferior to the negroes on and near the Line. The third marked particular in Brazil, is the astonishing progress which civilization has made within a very few years. Wherever the * Notices of Brazil in 1828 and 1629, by the Rev. R. Walsh, L.L.D., M.R.I.A., Author

of "A Journey from Conataatinople." 2 vols. taks Illustrated by Maps and Engrav- lam London, 14:330,

traveller casts his eyes, he finds roads formed, bridges built, forests levelled, crops reared, cattle lowing, houses and Villages springing up, where twenty years ago there was nothing but bush and wilder- ness. The people also are beginning by degrees to partake of that amelioration which they are daily witnessing in the savage tracts that surround them. Even in the heart of the mining districts, the eager- ness with which the search after gold used to be prosecuted is fast dying out ; the more certain and more attainable wealth of a soil and a climate unrivalled in fertility and salubrity, is becoming the object of universal attention ; and regulated industry is thus taking the place of dissipation and idleness. On the whole, it is not going too far to assert, that,the advances of Brazil have been greater and more decided since the year 1806, than from the period of its discovery down to that time. All that it wants now, is population • and popu- lation, it will be seen, by the extracts from which we shall no longer detain our readere, it cannot fail soon to obtain.

I-lar.irs OF THE EMPEROR PEDRO.—The Emperor's habits are very active and very temperate. He rises every morning before day, and, not sleeping him- self, is not disposed to let others sleep. He usually begins, therefore, with discharging his fowling-piece about the palace, till all the family are up. He breakfasts at seven o'clock, and continues engaged in business, or amuse- ment, till twelve, when he again goes to bed and remains till half-past one ; he then rises and dresses for dinner. The Brazilians, as far as I have observed, are neat and cleanly in their persons ; and the Emperor is eminently so. He is never seen in soiled linen or dirty clothes. He dines with his family at two, makes a temperate meal, and seldom exceeds a glass of wine, and then amuses himself with his children, of whose society he is very fond. He is a strict and severe, but an affectionate father, and they at once love and fear him. I heard Baron Marechal, the Austrian minister, say, he one day paid him a visit : he met no person at the door to introduce him ; so, mailing him- self of his intimacy, he entered without being announced. He found the Emperor in an inner room, playing with his children with his coat off, en- tering with great interest into all their amusements, and, like another Henry IV., was not ashamed to he found by a foreign ambassador so employed. At nine he retires to bed. His education was early neglected, and he has never redeemed the lost time. He still,. however, retains some classical recollec- tions, and occasionally takes up a Latin book, particularly the breviary, which he reads generally in that language. He wished to acquire a know- ledge of English, and to that end he commenced, along with his children, a course of reading with the Rev. Mr. Tilbury, an Englishman, who has taken orders in the Catholic church, and to whose courtesy and information, on several subjects, I am very much indebted. After having made some pro- gress, he laid it aside and began to learn French, in which he sometimes con- verses. Be has an English groom, from whom also he unfortunately learned some English. This fellow, I am informed, is greatly addicted to swearing and indecent language ; and the Emperor, and even the late Empress, adopted some of his phrsseology, without being aware of its import. In his domestic expenses, he is rigid even to parsimony. He allows a very small sum to his cook, of the expenditure of which he exacts a minute account, and is very angry if this trifling sum is exceeded on any occasion ; and it is said that this was one cause of his disagreement with the late Empress, whose free and careless bounty he never could restrain.

DUPLICITY or PEDRO.—If one brother in Portugal has been stigmatized by his opponents as a violator of his solemn pledges, the other in Brazil has not escaped a similar censure. In one of his letters to his father he particularly laments the growing embarrassments and difficulties of his situation, and earnestly solicits his recal. " I supplicated your Majesty," said he, " by all that is sacred in the world, to dispense with the painful functions you have assigned roe; Which will end in killing me. Frightful pictures surround me continually. I have them always before me. 1 conjure ybur Majesty to per- mit me as soon as possible to go and kiss your royal hand, and to sit on the steps of your throne. I seek only to procure a happy tranquillity." He was in consequence recalled ; a vessel was sent to convey him, and he would not go. Again, he writes—" They wish, and they say they wish, to proclaim me emperor. I protest to your Majesty I will never be perjured ; that I never will be false to you ; and that if they ever commit that folly, it shall not be till after they have cut me to pieces—me and all the Portuguese ; a solemn oath which 1 here have written with my blood, in the following words : I swear to he always faithful to your Majesty, to the Portuguese nation and constitu- tion." In conformity with this solemn declaration written in his blood, he threatens to fire on his faithful Portuguese if they do not instantly return home ; and shortly after, he is the first to propose a separate legislation for Brazil, to have the country proclaimed independent, and himself, acknow- ledged its sovereign.

THE LATE Emrarss.—When the empress first came to Brazil, she is repre- sented as exceedingly engaging and lovely ; her fair skin, clear complexion, blue eyes, and blond hair, were pleasingly contrasted with the dark locks, brown tint, and sallow visages of the ladies about her. But she soon neglected these advantages ; she had not the least personal vanity, und became ut- terly careless of her appearance, as of a thing altogether of no consideration. She went abroad with large thick boots, loaded with great tarnished spurs, such as are worn by the mineiros. She wrapped herself up in a clumsy great coat, and a man's hat, and in this way sat herself astride on a horse, and rode through all parts of the town. When she became a mother, she was as negligent of her person at home as abroad. Her hair, which was long and without curl, she suffered to hang lank and loose about her face and should- ers; and the defects of her person became every day more conspicuous. She had a large Austrian nether lip, and the thick neck which is characteristic of

the people of Vienna, and gives them the appearance of being bossu. 'When she first appeared as a bride, with all the advantages of youth and dress, these defects were not apparent ; but when neglect and indifference, and the duties of a mother succeeded, they were but too conspicuous, and added, it is said, to the estrangement of her husband.

OPENING OF THE CHAMBERS.-311St as the clock struck one, we heard the sound of trumpets and the trampling of horses, announcing the Emperor's arrival, attended by his guard of honour. The members retained their places, but not their seats ; and in a few minutes the deputation appeared at the lower door. They marched up, ranging themselves at each side of the hall, and the Emperor entered, and passed up between them. He was dressed in largejack-boots, which ascended over the knees of his white breeches, with a long green velvet robe, spangled with golden stars, the cape of which was formed of the bright yellow feathers of the toucan, part of the costume of the ancient caciques of the country. The train was long and supported by pages. On his head was the imperial Brazilian crown, whose form was an inverted cone, the small end being below and scarcely covering his forehead, like an Armenian calpac, ribbed with gold. In his hand he carried a gilded pole, full as long and as thick as the ancient constable's staff, and surmounted by a golden griffin, the device of "the family of Braganza. In the street, on horse- back, or in an open carriage, he hae the air itud port of a gptimaa; bmt Vas

habiliments he was encumbered with were so very unbecoming, that they seem exceedingly unfavourable to a dignified demeanour. As he advanced up the hall, he fixed his eye for a moment intently on our gallery, and certainly with no very kind or cordial expression. When seated on his throne, a secre- tary, Who had preceded him with a velvet case on a cushion, now laid the ease before: 'him. He opened it, and took out two sheets of paper, one of which contained his written speech. He held his gilded staff at arm's length in one hand, and the sheet of paper in the other, hemmed twice, and began to read his speech. The whole time of his remaining in the chamber did not exceed ten minutes. The space under the gallery, like that below the bar of the House of Lords, was filled with spectators after he had entered, and he had to squeeze his way, with some difficulty, through the crowd, as he went out. He then retired to a dressing-room, and descended to his car- riage in a rich uniform. There was no emotion of any kind displayed among the people when he appeared; he came and went with as much indifference as ady one of the crowd.

• MASSACRE BY GOVERNMENT OF THE FIRST CHAMBER OF BRAZILIAN DE- PUTIES.—It was now past midnight, and some of the electors had retired ; but, from the importance of their proceedings, the hall was still crowded, ivhen the edifice was suddenly surrounded by a regiment of soldiers, with fixed bayonets and loaded muskets. Without the smallest notice of their approach, or any intimation to the people to disperse, they rushed on the unarmed meeting, poured a volley among them, and then charged with their bayonets. Nothing could be more horrible than the scene of carnage which followed—a number of brutal soldiers assassinating unarmed citizens in a closed.up room. Those who were not killed or wounded, attempted to escape through the windows; some were crushed to death by the fall, and some fled forward into the sea, and were drowned. Meantime, the soldiers deliberately proceeded to plunder; they robbed the dead and wounded of their watches and valuables, and stripped the room of the plate and candlesticks, and, hav- ing thus glinted themselves With blood and plunder, dispersed. I have con- versed with several persons who were present on this occasion, who informed me of the fate of some of their friends. One man was a Brazilian, doing bu- siness in an English house. Hearing a bustle near the door, he stood up to see what was the matter, and was shot through the heart by a soldier, who put his musket close to his breast. Another was a young man, who, tired with the length of the debate, had lain down and fallen asleep; in that posi- tion he was pinned to the bench by a soldier who stood over him, and thrust his bayonet through his back. An Englishman, of the name of Burnet, had been employed as caretaker of the hall ; he was attacked by a fellow who thrust his bayonet at his belly. Providentially he had in his waistcoat pocket a large snuff-box, and the point of the bayonet passed through the lid, but not the bottom, so his life was saved. About thirty persons were killed or wounded, and were found dead or dying on the spot, besides others who had disappeared, some of whom were supposed to be drowned, and many others were hurt more or less severely.

Sistaut.an PRGCESSION.—March 12, was the procession of the image of our Lord to the Misericordia, a ceremony always attended by the Court. The image lay in the palace chapel, used as a cathedral. It was a large platform, sur- mounted with a canopy, and surrounded with curtains. Inside was a figure as large as life, bending under the weight of a cross, which protruded out behind. About eight o'clock, a number of persons entered the church; and one of them, humbly kneeling down close beside me, placed his shoulder under the pole of the platform, and lifted it up. It was of considerable weight, and required no small muscular exertion ; and while I looked in the face of the strong man who supported it, I perceived he was the Emperor. It had been the practice of his father to the latest hour in Brazil to bear on his shoulders this cross through the streets of Rio, an example which his son closely follows in every ceremonial act of devotion. The Ministers placed themselves under the other poles; and the ponderous catafalk was raised with difficulty from the pedestal on which it stood, and proceeded out of the church while the organ pealed, the choir shouted aloud an anthem, and the military band at the door struck up a solemn march. A number of torch-bearers formed a long lane, through which the procession moved to the church of the al isericordia. Here the floor was covered with the richest carpets, filled with ladies in the gayest at- tire, sitting on the ground in the Moorish fashion, except a lane up which the procession passed, and deposited the cataffilk on a pedestal near the altar. In laying it down, the puny supporters seemed to sink under it, leaving the whole weight on the Emperor, who supported it like an Atlas; but in de- positing it, his hand was caught under it, where it remained wedged like Milo's, and he only extricated, it with the loss of the skin. While wrapping his handkerchief round it, some of the supporters came up to kiss the wounded hand ; but whether the Emperor was displeased with their want of strength, or want of due attention, he pushed it rather roughly in their faces, and left the chapel. The crowd seemed greatly amused at this. The friars who held the tapers laughed outright, and all the congregation followed the example, even to the moleques or blacks. No precaution was taken to ex- clude the mob. Close to the Emperor, and pressing upon him, were blacks and whites, freemen and slaves, rich and poor, without distinction of per- ions, to which certainly no attention is paid in any religious ceremony ; but the whole was conducted with the levity of a puppet-show, and without the slightest regard to solemnity or decorum.

THE COCK THAT WARNED FETER.—I was surprised one morning at a very extraordinary sound which proceeded from a yard not far from our house, which I discerned was the crowing of a cock. It was a creature of an ex- traordinary figure, immensely tall, almost all legs and thighs, with a very small body, and when he erected himself to crow, was as long as a crane; but he was particularly distinguished by his song. At the conclusion of his crow, when other cocks ceased their note, he prolonged it into a very dismal croak, which had a monitory sound. One of our Brazilian servants then informed me, that it was the breed of the cock that crowed to Peter, and that this lengthened and dreary note was intended as an additional warning and re- proach to him for what he had done.

GENERAL ASPECT OF Rio.—The first impressions of the town of Rio were very favourable. The streets, though narrow, were well paved, and ge- nerally lined at each side by flagged trottoirs, as wide as the space would ad- mit. The houses were massive, built of granite, with the windows and doors cased with hewn blocks of this stone, which the quarries at the end of every street supply in abundance, of the finest quality. It is among the happy im- munities of the country, that it is not liable to the accidents which occur in a similar latitude on the other side of the Continent. Earthquakes are un- known, and no danger is ever apprehended from the prostration of heavy or lofty buildings. The houses are neat, and kept in good order. The streets are clean, and there are no offals or offensive smells intruded on the senses of the passengers.

• NEGRO SLAVES AT Rio.—The whole labour of bearing and moving burdens is performed by these people, and the state in which they appear is revolting to humanity. Here was a number of beings entirely naked, with the excep- tion of a covering of dirty rags tied about their waists. Their skins, from constant exposure to the weather, had become hard, crusty, and seamed, re- sembling the coarse black covering of some beast, or like that of an elephant, wrinkled hide scattered with scanty hairs. Qn contemplating their per- sons, you saw them with a physical organization, resembling beings of a grade below the rank of man ; long projecting heels, the gastronimic muscle wanting, and no calves to their legs ; their mouths and chins protruded, their noses flat, their foreheads retiring, having exactly the head and legs of the baboon tribe. Some of these beings were yoked to drays, on which they dragged heavy burdens. Some were chained by the necks and legs, and moved with loads thus encumbered. Some followed each other in ranks, with heavy weights on their heads, chattering the most inarticulate and dismal cadence as they moved along. Some were munching young sugar-canes, like beasts of burden eating green provender ; and some were seen near the water, lying on the bare ground among filth and offal, coiled up like dogs, and seeming to expect or require no more comfort or accommodation, exhi- biting a state and conformation so unhuman, that they not only seemed, but actually were, far below the inferior animals around them. Horses and mules were not employed in this way ; they were used only for pleasure, and not for labour.

NEGRO SOLDIERS.—We were attracted by the sound of military music, and found it proceeded from a regiment drawn up in one of the streets. Their colonel had just died, and they attended to form a procession to celebrate his obsequies. They were all of different shades of black; but the majority were neaToes. Their equipment was excellent ; they wore dark jackets, white pan- taloons, and black leather caps and belts, all which, with their arms, were in high order. Their band produced sweet and agreeable music, of the leader's own composition, aad the men went through some evolutions with regularity and dexterity. Thee,. were only a militia regiment, yet were aswell appointed and disciplined as one of our regiments of the line.

NEGRO SHOPKEEPERS.—I bonght some confectionary from one of the fe- male shopkeepers, and 1 was struck with the modesty and propriety of her manner ; she was a young mother, and had with her a neatly-dressed child, of which she seemed very fond. I gave it a little comfit, and it turned up its dusky countenance to her and then to me, taking my sweetmeat, and at the same time kissing my hand. As yet unacquainted with the coin of the country, I had none that was current about me, and was leaving the articles ; but the poor young woman pressed them on me with a ready confidence, re- peating, n broken Portuguese, "outs tempo," (another time.) SLAVE MARKET.—A market was here opened, just before the inn-door, and about thirty men, women, and children were brought there. The driver was the very model of what I had conceived such a fellow to be. He was a tall, cadaverous, tawny man, with a shock of black hair hanging about his sharp but determined-looking visage. He was dressed in a blue jacket and panta- loons, with buff boots hanging loose about his legs, ornamented with large silver spurs. On his head he wore a capacious straw hat, bound with a broad ribbon, and in his hand was a long whip, with two thongs ; he shook this over his drove, and they all arranged themselves for examination, some of them, particularly the children, trembling like aspen-leaves. He then went round the village, for purchasers, and when they arrived the market was opened. The slaves, both men and women, were walked about, and put into different paces, then handled and felt exactly as I have seen butchers feel a calf. He occasionally lashed them and made them jump, to show that their limbs were supple, and caused them to shriek and cry, that the purchasers might perceive their lungs were sound.

BLACK PRIESTS.—I have seen three clergymen in the same church at the same time ; one of whom was a white, another a mulatto, and the third a black. The admission of the poor despised race to the highest function that a human being can perform, strongly marks the consideration in which it is held in different places. In the West Indies a clergyman has been severely censured by his flock, for presuming to administer the sacrament to a poor negro at the same table with themselves. In Brazil a black is seen as the of- ficiating minister, and whites receiving it from his hands.

OBSERVATION OF THE SABBATH.—The sabbath is observed by SOIlle Brazilian families with great propriety and decorum. I have never seen a inure pleas- ing or edifying sight than one of these families going to church on Sunday morning : first the father and mother, dressed with that attention which re- spect for the day dictated ; then their children, of different ages, attired with equal care, having each their prayer-book or breviary in their hand ; last fol- lowed the domestic slaves, male and female, dressed with similar neatness, particularly the female negroes. I have sometimes counted groups of twelve or fourteen persons of this description, proceeding to their parish churches; and I believe there is no Brazilian family which does not think worship on a" that day indispensably requisite, either public or domestic.

A BRAZILIAN COUNTRY Lany.—Among those who ascended the Serra, were a lady and her attendant. She was dressed in a riding jacket and petticoat of nankeen, and a large straw hat tied, not under, but across her chin. She rode in long stirrups, astride, like a man; and in her holsters she carried a pair of pistols. She was not followed, but preceded, by a negro in livery, on another horse, who was her avant courier. Though not a robust or muscular person, she seemed stout and careless,—dismounted like a man before us, without the smallest embarrassment,—took a glass of caxas at the venda, to fortify her against the mountain air,—remounted,—exarnined her pistols, to see that all was right for any event she might be liable to,—and again set off, her own protector.

BRAZILIAN COURTSHIP.—While at dinner, a negro girl who attended us seemed fraught with some important intelligence, and continued to look mys- terious,grinning with her white teeth, and making signs which neither my companion nor I could comprehend. We afterwards discoveeed, that it was connected with a curious trait of Brazilian manners. The old man and his wife had no children, so they sent for a brother's child to keep them company, and manage their family. This young lady was very comely ; and having the prospect of a good inheritance from her uncle, she thought right to look out for some agreeable and worthy partner to share it with. My companion, pos- sessing these requisites, had caught the eye of the fair Victorina ; and not having an opportunity of speaking to him herself, had communicated, by means of the attendant slave, her partiality for him, and an intimation that, if he was actuated by similar sentiments, she would marry him, and share with him the inheritance she expected from her good uncle. This deviation from the established etiquette of European usage does not convey any impu- tation of want of delicacy on the part of the ladies. Victoria& was as modest as she was comely ; she sat in the remote part of the house with her aunt, superintending her domestic concerns, and seemed retiring and diffident, and not at all disposed to attract the admiration of any other person than him on whom she had fixed her affections.

FECUNDITY OF THE WOMEN.—A Jeronimo Comargos, living near S. Jose', aged forty-eight, and his wife, aged thirty-eight, had thirteen sons in suc- cession, and then six daughters, all living; three of them are married, and they have already five grandchildren also. Anna, the wife of Antonio Dutra, had four children at one birth, who were all baptized together, and lived. Instances of similar fecundity are every where seen in the town and neigh- bourhood.

SINGULAR Brarrss.—Maria Ilene, the wife of Antonio Jos6 d'Andrada, was confined after the usual time, and had a daughter, but she still continued pregnant, and in two months after was delivered of another, who both lived. But the most singular circumstance, and which I could hardly have believed, avas it not Communicated to me by the sargente mor, as a thing whichhe knew to bh, fact, was the following very extraordinary conception. A creole woman, with whom he was acquainted in the neighbourhood, had three Children at a birthaof three different colours, white, brown, and black.

BRAZILIAN DONESTY.—It was universally believed, and the report went everywhere before me, that I was bringing with me a chest of aola from the rnines, and I was in a state utterly helpless and unprotected, being myself a total stranger, and having no one with me hut a poor despised nearo for a guide, who was held in no more estimation than the mule he led. I passed through solitary countries, where there. was neither police to hunt out a de.

lingual-it, a prison to put him in if he *as caught, nor a judge to condemn him if he was guilty. I was carrying an object of great temptation and cu-

pidity, inviting, as it were, the people to come, and carry it off, who were themselves prejudiced and angry at the very act of my taking it out of the country ; and I met them every day in lonely mountains and wild woods, where I might disappear with my treasure, and no question or inquiry be

ever made after me again. Yet I brought my chest of supposed gold, per- fectly safe, through a people who seemed to think it was their property, and that I had no right take it away—an instance of forbearance in this lawless country, as people are pleased to call it, which, I doubt, would not happen in England at the present day, nor in Ireland either, since the days of " rich and rare."

Br:Amami POST-OFFICE.—The office is a large hall on the ground floor, and it is hung round with boards, on which are written the names of places from which letters come, at the head of a column ; and underneath the names of persons to whom they are addressed. The columns are numbered : and when a person expects a letter, he applies, not to the office hut to the board, and if

he rinds his name there, he takes the number opposite to it, which he pre- sents at the office ; and he gets, not a letter directed to his address, but one correspondent to the number he asks for, which is often for aiother person. When any mistake arises, and he gives his name, a parcel of letters is pre- sented to him, and he takes'which he pleaAl...

BRAZILIAN GEOGRAPHY.—When it was announced, in the Russian cam- paign, that the plague was at Bucharest, a circular was sent round, announc-

ing, that all vessels from that port were to perform quarantine before landing passengers or cargo in any part of Brazil. It was explained that Bucharest was not a port, and a second circular was issued, correcting the first, by stating, that any vessel coming from any port in the Mediterranean must per- form quarantine, thereby including Spain, France, and Italy !

ENGLISH Gacmarmeny.—When the country was opened to the enterprise of foreigners, it is not at all surprising that the city of Rio and its commerce

should have increased with an unexampled rapidity. Such was the avidity of speculation in England, that every thirem-b was sent to Brazil, without the small- est regard to its fitness or adaptation, to the climate or wants of the people,

who were to purchase them. Among this ingenious selection, was a large sup- ply of warm blankets, warming-pans to heat them, and, to complete the climax of absurdity, skates to enable the Brazilians to enjoy wholesome exerciseon the ice, in a region where a particle of frost or a flake of snow was never seen.

POLITICIANS OF THE 1NTERI0R.—I have heard of several ludicrous instances of the simplicity which these people displayed in conversations between them and my friend Mr. Duval, who, being almost the first Englishman that had been seen here, had a great stock of European, and to them marvellous, infor- mation to impart. On one of these occasions, Napoleon was the theme of conversation. His military exploits had been heard of ; " but was he not," inquired some of the party, "a general in the Portuguese service, who re- belled against our King?"

SUBSTITUTE FOR COAL.—Towards the Rio de la Plata, on the spacious plains where sheep have greatly increased, I have been informed they apply them to an extraordinary use. Fuel is very scarce, and mutton very plentim el, so they

throw sheep into the kilns as a material to burn bricks. It was foimerly not unusual to drive sheep alive into a lime-kiln' but an edict was made against

this cruel practice, which is still in force. "I tell you the tale as 'twas told me," by several people ; and on inquiry into the truth of it, from a gentleman who had lately come from that country, and whose veracity I could not doubt, he informed me that he had actually seems a man at Buenos Ayres throw a shoulder of mutton as fuel on the top of the fire.

BRAZILIAN FRUITS.—Fruit is abundant and delicious ; pine-apples are in immense quantities. On the sea-shore, near the mouth of the harbour, is a

long sandy dtitrict, entirely covered with pine-apple plants, and here I rode one day nearly three miles through a pine-apple garden. It is indigenous to Brazil, where there are many species growinr, on the banks ; they are called, and cried about the streets, by the name of ananas. I have often bought them very fine for a vintem (about three halfpence) a-piece.

SINGULAR MODE OF PRESERVING THE DEAD.—The practice is, to immerse the body of the dead in quick-lime ; and when the flesh is consumed by its causticity, the bones are collected, scraped, and cleaned, and deposited toge-

ther in a box, with a lock. and key, which is then closod ;aid the key delivered to the family. These cases have no resemblance to coffins. They are of dif-

ferent shapes; and with their ornamented exterior, the smaller ones rather resemble a lady's dressing-box. They are deposited in dry receptacles made in the walls of the cloisters, or other parts of the church ; and on this annual festival are brought out, and the living friends come with their keys and in- spect them.

Box MOT OF A BISHOP.—Ill the year 1810, by one of the articles of the treaty then made by Lord Strangford with the Brazilian government, it was stipulated that the British should be permitted to build a church for divine service. When the article was about to be inserted in the treaty, the pope's nuncio, Loureneo Calepi, archbishop of Nisibis, was at Rio. lie demanded an audience with the king, and represented, in the strongest manner, the en- couragement such an innovation would give to the growth of schism in the church. The bishop of Rio, on the contrary, was a strenuous advocate for the measure. He advocated the cause, in a characteristic manner, with the

prejudiced few who opposed it. "The English," said he, " have really no religion • but they are a proud and obstinate people. If you oppose them

they will persist, and make it an affair of infinite importance; but if you concede to their wishes, the chapel will be built, and nobody will ever go near it."

DISASTROUS RETREAT.— It is the etiquette for persons introduced to the King to retreatbackwards, always with your face to the throne; and as I had a long apartment to traverse in this way, I found it very inconvenient with

my gown. In the year 1741, Dr. Burke, the titular Bishop of Ossory, was sent on a mission from Rome to the court of Portugal, and on retiringgb back- wards from the throne, he trod on the tail of his gown, and fell fiat on his

back. From that time an alvarit was issued, that all clergymen in their robes should be exempt from this inconvenient ceremony. If the alvara had been

in force in Brazil, I should have been glad to avail myself of it, for before I reached the end of the long room, I more than once was near sharing the fate of the titular Bishop of Ossory.

• A GENTLE REMEDY.—A friend of mine was seized with a painful attack of sciatica, from travelling, as he supposed, on a mule in wet weather. Having

used European means without success, a Brazilian persuaded him to try his remedy. He laid him on his face, bared his back, and then caused one of hia negroes to stand on his hips, and trample on him with his naked warm feet, At first he gave him intolerable pain ; but by degrees he felt himself consider- ably relieved, and in a short time the pain entirely ceased ; and he attributes it to this rough, but effectual mode of negro champooing.

M IG RATIONS op ANTS.—A migratory patty of these insects were met by the house of Mr. Westyn, the Swedish charga-, draffaires, and they made their way through it. 1 le told me he was soddenly awoke in the night by a horrid sen- sation, and, on jumping out of bed, he found himself covered with these insects, whose crawling and biting had awoke him. The whole house was full of them, Impelled by sonic extraordimu•y instinct, they continued to advance till the whole body passed throuah, and the next morning there was not one to be seems. In their progress they devoured every other insect. Spiders, cock- roaches, flies, and every similar thing of the kind that infested the house, be- came their prey ; and when they disappeared, all other insects disappeared along with them. THE " I3EN TE 171."—So called from the perfect accuracy with which be pronounces these words. He is ;shout the size of a sparrow, and distinguished bra circle of white round his head, with a yellow belly. Whenever we passed, lie put his head out of the bush, and, peeping at us from under the leaves, he said, " ben to vi—Oh, I saw you!" with an arch expression, as if he had observed something which he could tell if he pleased.

A RARE BEDFELLOW.—About eight o'clock, a boy had got into his ham- mock, which was swung on the main deck, opposite a port. He was sud- denly startled from his sleep by some living thing, exceedingly cold, fluttering about his breast, and finally nestling in his bosom. He started out of bed in affright, and, searching his hammock, he found a large flying-fish panting and gasping under the doilies.