70 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



He comes upon a rock, for instance, or a rounded elevation 

 which by its outline hs would suppose to be a &quot; roche mou- 

 tonne e,&quot; but approaching it more nearly he finds a decom 

 posed crust instead of a glaciated surface. It is the same 

 with the loose materials corresponding to the drift of the 

 Northern hemisphere, and with all boulders or detached 

 masses of rock ; on account of their disintegration whei- 

 ever they are exposed to the atmosphere, nothing is to 

 be learned from their external appearance. There is not 

 a natural surface of rock, unless recently broken, to be 

 found anywhere. 



The sun had set before we drove into the pretty town 

 of 5tro|)olis,j^ the summer paradise of all Rio Janeirans 

 whose circumstances enable them to leav r e the heat and 

 dirt and vile smells of the city, for the pure air and 

 enchanting views of the Serra. In a central position 

 stands the summer palace of the Emperor, a far gayer 

 and more cheerful-looking edifice than the palace at San 

 Christovao. Here he passes six months of the year. 

 Through the midst of the town runs the pretty river 

 Piabanha, a shallow stream, now rippling along in the 

 bottom of its bed between high green banks ; but we 

 were told that a night of rain in the hot season is enough 

 to swell its waters till they overflow and flood the road. I 

 could not but think how easy it would be for any one who 

 cares to see tropical scenery to come here, when the direct 

 line of steamers from New York is established, and, instead 

 of going to Newport or Nahant, to take a house iu Petropo- 

 lis for the summer. It commands all the most beautiful 

 scenery about Rio, and the horseback rides are without 

 end. During our summer the weather is delightful here, 

 just admitting a semblance gf wood-fire morning and even- 



