i88 



A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



have been no cases now for some time. Far more people 

 die of "molestias pulmonares" (chest diseases) in Rio than of 

 yellow fever. This is easily ascertained, as it is the custom 

 in the papers to insert always the cause of death in the 

 notices of the fact The weather is delightful, and I luxu- 

 riate in the warmth of the evenings after the cold of Minas ; 

 but I think the chief fault that I have to find with the 

 tropics is the absence of twilight and the early hour of 

 sunset. The following is a table of sunrise and sunset in 

 Rio de Janeiro, which may be of interest : 



This evening we heard the important political news of 

 the fall of the present (Republican) Ministry of Lafayette. 

 They have grossly mismanaged their home affairs, and 

 have been tottering for some time. I believe the last straw 

 which drove them out was their illegal act of the confisca- 

 tion of all the convent property, valued at about .2,000,000. 

 More than ten years ago there was a law passed to enable 

 the Government, within ten years, to take over all the 

 convent property, allowing the present members, owners, 

 etc., apolicies and their full incomes for their lives, after 

 which the whole was to revert to the Government. This 

 law was a dead letter, and had fallen through. Suddenly, 



