64

REMINISCENCES.

or two we proceeded very slowly, the heat of the air being lessened by a most welcome fall of rain. The sailors taking advantage of the calm, lay down, and commenced singing old national songs, the notes of which, heard amid the profound silence of the ocean, spoke to my heart like the voice of my own dear native country, and gladly did I listen to the sound as I took my usual station that evening on the deck of the Syren.

CHAPTER IV.

BRAZIL.

On the 28th of January, we descried the shores of the New World. I seated myself in the prow of the vessel, and gazed with deep interest at that fertile and almost mysterious land, with its deep forests and palm-trees, of which I had in my childish days, drawn such poetical pictures. By a curious freak of nature, the summit of the mountains, to the left of Rio Janeiro, have something the form of a giant lying on his back; and this symbolic figure is not altogether deceptive, for everything in this wonderful country is on the largest scale; the trees growing one hundred feet above the soil-rivers resembling arms of the sea, and the smallest ports the size of immense bays.

The Syren anchored at about five in the evening, the total absence of wind having delayed us some time in the entrance of the bay; it was not until the breeze freshened that the sails were spread, and leaving behind us the mountain of Pao da Assugar, and the forts of SantaCruz, and Villegagnon, we advanced towards the middle of the bay, which was thronged by vessels of all nations, mingling with the heavy chaloupes of the fishermen, and the light pirogues of the negroes. The bay of Rio may be termed a little inland sea, gracefully saluting the feet of the pretty islands it surrounds, while the purity and transparency of its waters is only equalled by the

F

perfect clearness of the atmosphere around, and every one must admire the magnificent appearance of this immense port, the most secure in the world, with its forests of tall masts, its double bordering of handsome white houses, and the beautiful green mountains which rise in the distance. The night, which in tropical countries takes the place of daylight, left us in perfect obscurity, thus preventing us from enjoying the exquisite view of which we had as yet seen but a glimpse; but almost immediately the circular bay was lighted up with what appeared like a thousand fires, and the lights on the different vessels, with those of the houses in Rio and Praya-Grande, formed a fairy-like spectacle, which I should have imagined only to be realized at the opera.

Notwithstanding the late hour, I jumped into the first boat that passed, in order to land as soon as possible, so that on the following morning I might be all ready to commence exploring the beautiful country I was now visiting. As it was too late to think of doing anything that evening I took up my quarters at a French house, the Hotel Pharoux, the usual rendezvous of all European travellers, and luxuriated in the delights of being once more on land, and being able to procure a thousand little comforts which cannot be obtained on board ship--such as clean pure water, ice, fruits, and a newspaper printed that morning, all of which completely effaced even the remembrance of the privations of the voyage and the miseries of sea-sickness.

The first view of Rio cannot fail to astonish the European greatly although I was in some measure prepared for the spectacle which awaited me, yet, on leaving my

:

hotel the next morning, I could not suppress a feeling of amazement on seeing the streets completely filled with negro population, and involuntarily stopped to gaze on the half-naked and noisy throng of beings around me, who frisked about in the rays of a burning sun, as blithely as so many devils in a furnace. I shall never forget the impression made upon me by this band of strange looking creatures, as I watched them passing to and fro before me, laden with heavy burdens, constantly singing in a monotonous tone "Que calo! que malo!" whilst some of their companions replied in a grave serious tone, "Esta boa! esta boa!" at the same time shaking about a noisy sort of rattle which they held in their hands. I really could have imagined myself present at some mysterious ceremony, or some rite of infernal worship.

When I had in some measure recovered from the surprise with which I was at first seized, I began to explore the different streets of the city. Rio is built on the seashore, at the foot of a hill which overlooks it. The houses are built with scrupulous attention to symetry and regularity, but the great fault of the streets is, that they are too wide, and expose the inhabitants to an excessive degree of heat. The population amounts to about 150,000-nearly two-thirds being negro slaves, and the rest, half white people and half mulattoes. O Largo de Palacio, upon which, as its name indicates, stands the imperial palace, a modest-looking chateau, with nothing very remarkable about it, is a most beautiful place, though rather bare in appearance-a fountain, abundantly supplied with water, sheds its cooling influence over the part nearest the sea; it is much to be regretted

68

SLAVES FROM ANGOLA.

that some avenues of trees have not been planted on the shore. The public buildings, such as the Palace of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate-house, and the Bourse, are not particularly interesting to the traveller, but without these every part of the town is filled with numerous objects which cannot fail to arrest his attention and excite his curiosity. Here he will perceive the negresses of Angola, their brown shoulders covered with a gaudy stuff which they wear quite in the Oriental manner-some of them fantastically tattooed, with strangelooking copper bracelets on their arms-mulattoes, with their languid, but intensely-ardent eyes, and expressive face, of every variety of shade-from the deepest black to the most dazzling white-in short, specimens of all kinds-even dandies in yellow kid gloves. Even in this climate of thirty-six degrees, there are people to be found who are singular enough to envelop themselves in our thick short cloth coats, almost suffocating themselves in black satin cravats, and forcing their fingers into elastic shining kid gloves!

Rio has all the bustle and animation of a commercial town, at the very zenith of prosperity, and there is an air of originality about it, owing probably to the diversity of the population-while the prosperous condition of this wonderful city is kept up by that mixture of extreme luxury and hard labour-of the two great extremes of which modern society is composed.

The street called Ouvidor, which is the "Rue Vivienne" of Rio, contains some splendid shops, furnished in great profusion with everything elegant and delicate that Paris can produce, the most capricious novelties are there