42 BIRTHDAY OF THE EMPEROR. [183b. 



Organ Mountains, boldly pencilled against the pure azuro 

 of a tropical sky. 



(2.) St. Christ-oval, in the suburbs of Rio Janeiro, is the 

 usual residence of the Emperor, Pedro II ; but his principal 

 levees are held at the city palace, which he occupies on all 

 great occasions. This is almost the first prominent object 

 that presents itself, after ascending the rickety stairs at the 

 usual place of landing. It stands on the Rua Direita, the 

 broadest street in the city, and is a heavy stone structure in 

 the shape of a parallelogram. It has a front of one hundred 

 and fifty feet, and extends about two hundred feet to the 

 rear. The main centre building is three stories high, and 

 the wings two stories. On one side of the court, in the cen- 

 tre of the palace, is the Senate House, and on the other a 

 splendid church belonging to the Carmelite friars, near which 

 is the Imperial chapel, a pretty little bijou of a thing erected 

 by the mother of the Emperor.* The Chamber of Deputies 

 is nearly a mile from the palace, in the Campo de Aclangao. 



While the Exploring Squadron was lying in the harbor of 

 Rio, the Emperor made a visit to the city palace, in state, on 

 the occasion of his birth day, which took place on the 2d of 

 December. Escorted by a large body of troops, he entered 

 the city about noon, in a splendid gilt carriage, English 

 built, drawn by eight cream-colored horses guided by grooms 

 in rich liveries. His two sisters, one sixteen, and the other 

 fourteen years of age — the former of whom afterwards mar- 

 ried the Prince de Joinville, son of Louis Philippe — rode in 

 the carriage with him. The inhabitants collected every- 

 where on the line of his route to welcome him. Triumphal 

 arches spanned the streets ; rich satin draperies, intermingled 

 with festoons of natural and artificial flowers, ornamented 

 the fronts of the dwellings ; national flags were displayed on 

 every public building ; and the custom-house was ornamented 

 with a bright collection of standards, conspicuous among 

 which was that of the American Union. The ships in the 



* The Empress was for a long time childless, and made a vow that she would 

 erect a church when she became a mother, which she religiously fulfilled. 



