306 To the River Plate and Back 



the noble edifice, that I had planned my trip to Sao 

 Paulo. The Ypiranga Palace, or Monument, as it is 

 often called, was erected to commemorate the inde- 

 pendence of Brazil, and it houses to-day the valuable 

 collections of the Museu Paulista of which Dr. von 

 Ihering is the Director. 



We arrived at the imposing railway station on time. 

 The building was a mass of bunting and of flags, among 

 which were many religious emblems. Inquiry elicited 

 the fact that the Roman Catholic bishop had just 

 returned from a visit to Europe, and that the city was 

 preparing to give him a hearty welcome upon his 

 arrival, which would take place a little later in the day. 

 The bishop evidently is a popular person, or else his 

 followers are infected with great zeal for the cause he 

 represents. Our first step was to go to the booking- 

 office and secure sleeping accommodations on the night 

 train for Rio de Janeiro. We were met with the familiar 

 statement : ' ' Lower berths all sold ; nothing but uppers 

 left. ' Inasmuch as neither his Excellency nor I cared 

 to miss our steamer at Rio de Janeiro, and the Captain 

 had not given us positive assurance that he would stay 

 more than the day at Rio, and might sail on the evening 

 of the morrow, we resolved to invest in upper berths. 

 Then we found our way to the nearest hotel, told the 

 landlord to send for an automobile, and to call up Dr. 

 von Ihering at Ypiranga. In a minute or two the land- 

 lord announced that Dr. von Ihering 'was at the 

 telephone.' u Hola! spreche ich mit dem Herrn Dr. 

 von Ihering?" "Ja, wer sind Sie?' "Ich bin der Dr. 

 Holland." "Der Dr. Holland von Pittsburgh?" "Ja, 

 derselbe, " and amidst protestations of astonishment at 

 hearing my voice, and discovering that I was in town, 

 my friend quickly told me what directions to give to 



