BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF DOM PEDRO II. 201 



to iu quire into and discuss the cause of his discontent. He endeavors 

 to reconcile as much as possible the duties his political position impose 

 upon him with his own inclinations, which always lead him to clemency 

 and benevolence. Thus every year, on the occasion of certain religious, 

 national, and dynamic festivals, he pardons the condemned and the 

 criminals. 



Although the penal law of Brazil authorizes the punishment of death, 

 it was very seldom used iu the commencement of his reign, and has 

 not once been imposed during the last twenty years. What Dom Pedro 

 has most at heart, is the manner iu which justice is administered in his 

 empire.* Thus one day, when a complainant had the audacity to tell 

 him that one of his ministers had done him an injustice, he answered 

 with some asperity, " 3[y ministers never do an injustice." But in a 

 moment resuming his natural benevolence, he added, "I will examine 

 into your aftair," and the next day reparation was made, the case being 

 one of the few not without foundation. 



The following incident iu the life of Dom Pedro shows how ready he is 

 to pardon offenses even against himself i^ersonally. A young lawyer of 

 talent, desiring probably to attract the attention of the controlling minds 

 of the country, wrote a pamphlet against the Emperor and all the house 

 of Bragance, in language much too violent to be sincere; nevertheless, he 

 became later successively a dei)uty, a minister, a councilor of state, a 

 senator for life, and rer;eived a title of nobility. There was a cry of 

 corruption on account of his advancement from the opponents of the 

 Emperor, although he had retracted the substance of his pamphlet, and 

 did not enter into the various offices until long after its publication. The 

 truth is, he owes the position he to-day occupies to his real talent and 

 to the magnanimity of his sovereign, who would not place the least 

 obstacle in the way of his elevation, especially after his retraction, and 

 since he devoted his talents to the service of his country, instead of 

 employing them to defame her institutions and her rulers. 



As to the liberality of the Brazilian monarch, it is manifested in 

 various ways: sometimes by general almsgiving, (he causes several 

 hundreds of centimes to be distributed to the poor every Saturday,) 

 sometimes by especial donations, either voUmtaryt or by request, some- 



* The goverument of the United States rendered homage to this spirit of justice in 

 Dom Pedro, as well as to his •wisdom, in electing him one of the arbitrators in the cele- 

 brated Alabama question. The monarch was represented at the tribunal of arbitra- 

 tion -which met at Geneva, by the Viscount Itajuba, former professor of law in Brazil, 

 and at present embassador of the empire at Paris. 



tThe following incident, recounted bj" the person benefited, shows the delicacy 

 which clothes the acts of generosity of Dom Pedro. During an excursion into the 

 interior of the country, where the hospitality of patriarchal times still prevails,"" the 

 Emperor was received by the principal resident-citizen of the place, a very respectable 

 man, with whom he remained several days on account of his health. During his visit 



*In some of the rural districts of Brazil, travelers are entertained gratuitously by the landholders, 

 many of whom always have a large bell rung a quarter of an hour before every meal, in order to invite 

 passers-by to take a place at their table. 



