KIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 55 
vines climbed to their summits and threw themselves 
down in garlands to the ground. On the embankments 
also between which we passed, vines of many varieties 
were creeping down, as if they would fain clothe in green 
garments the ugly gaps the railroad had made. Yet it 
must be confessed that, in this instance, the railroad has 
not destroyed, but rather heightened, the picturesque scen- 
ery, cutting, as it does, through passes which give beauti- 
ful vistas into the heart of the mountain range. Once, as 
we issued from a tunnel, where the darkness seemed tan- 
gible, upon an exquisite landscape all gleaming in the 
sunshine, a general shout from the whole party testified 
their astonishment and admiration. We were riding on 
an open car in front of the engine, so that nothing im- 
peded our view, and we had no inconvenience from smoke 
or cinders. During the latter part of the ride we came 
into the region of the most valuable coffee-plantations ; 
and indeed the road is chiefly supported by the transpor- 
tation of the immense quantities of coffee raised along its 
track or beyond it. Near its terminus is an extensive 
fazenda, from which we were told that five or six hun- 
dred tons of coffee are sent out in a good year. These 
fazendas are singular-looking establishments, low (usually 
only one story) and very spreading, the largest of them 
covering quite an extensive area. As they are rather 
isolated in situation, they must include within their own 
borders all that is needed to keep them up. There is 
something very primitive in the way of life of these 
great country proprietors. Major Ellison told me that 
some time ago a wealthy Marqueza living at some dis- 
tance beyond him in the interior, and going to town for 
a stay of a few weeks, stopped at his house to rest. 
