MANAOS AND ITS NEIGHBORHOOD. 291 



more populous and central parts of Brazil, to meet recruits 

 on the road, so-called volunteers, chained two and two by 

 the neck like criminals, under an armed guard. When we 

 first met a squad of men under these circumstances, on 

 the Juiz de Fora road, we supposed them to be deserters, 

 but the Brazilians who were with us, and who seemed 

 deeply mortified at the circumstance, said that they were 

 no doubt ordinary recruits, arrested without inquiry on the 

 one side, or power of resistance on the other. They as- 

 serted that this mode of recruiting was illegal, but that 

 their chains would be taken off before entering the city, 

 and no questions asked. A Brazilian told me that he had 

 known an instance in which a personal pique against an 

 enemy had been gratified by pointing out its object to the 

 recruiting officer, who had the man at once enlisted, though 

 a large family was entirely dependent upon him. Our 



informant seemed to know no redress for tyranny like 



j , 



this. 



The hospitality we have received in Brazil, the sympathy 

 shown to Mr. Agassiz in his scientific undertakings, as well 

 as our own sentiments of gratitude and affection for our 

 many friends here, forbid us to enter into any criticism of 

 Brazilian manners or habits which could have a personal 

 application. Neither do I believe that a few months' resi- 

 dence in a country entitles any one to a judgment upon 

 the national character of its people. Yet there are certain 

 features of Brazilian institutions and politics which cannot 

 but strike a stranger unfavorably, and which explain the 

 complaints one constantly hears from foreign residents. 

 The exceedingly liberal constitution, borrowed in great 

 part from our own, prepares one to expect the largr-t 

 pract ; cal liberty. To a degree this exists ; there is no 



