12 



Aqueducts at Rio. 



RIO JANEIRO. 



Extent of the bay. 

 Botanic garden. 



with natural flowers, on which were placed two 

 little boys, dressed in blue and pink, with wings to 

 represent angels, each holding a basket of flowers, 

 which they threw on the young monarch as he 

 passed. The houses in the streets through which 

 the procession moved were hung with satin damask 

 draperies of the richest tints. These I understand 

 are kept expressly for such occasions. At short 

 intervals national flags were suspended across the 

 streets. The emperor moved on, receiving the 

 same marks of affection from his subjects until he 

 reached the great square and palace, where he 

 alighted. The troops forming around the square 

 soon came to order, and a general pause ensued, 

 until the firing of the feu de joie began, one of the 

 most deafening I ever heard. He finished this 

 public exhibition by showing himself to the multi- 

 tude below from the balconies of the city palace, 

 and was received with many vivas. 



He then held his levee, which the Rev. Mr. 

 Walsh has so well described, and which closely re- 

 sembled the one at which he was present, with this 

 difference, that this was much more of a farce, in 

 consequence of the boyhood of the emperor. No- 

 thing can be more ridiculous than to see all the 

 dignitaries and old men, the mitred bishop, the 

 sage diplomatist, and the veteran soldier, ushered 

 into the presence, and out again, without saying a 

 word, or turning their backs on the young mo- 

 narch. Mr. Walsh has, however, said nothing 

 about the scene in the anteroom ; to me it was the 

 most ridiculous of all. The arranging the order of 

 entrance to the presence, with due form and eti- 

 quette; the examination by each diplomatist, that 

 he has his due order of precedence; their anxiety 

 to gather their suites around them, not unlike 

 a hen with her chickens, to make the fullest 

 show ; all prepares one for the ridiculous scene 

 that is to follow. The oldest resident minister 

 always takes the lead. At night the city was 

 illuminated. 



Rio is now well supplied with water. Aqueducts 

 have been finished within the last two years, which 

 bring it from the Corcovado and Tejuca mountains, 

 a distance of six or seven miles. There are a 

 number of public fountains in different parts of the 

 city. All the water for the supply of families is 

 transported by slaves. These fountains have nu- 

 merous jets, and some have pretty edifices over 

 them. During the day, there are seldom less than 

 fifty to one hundred, both male and female, water- 

 carriers around them, filling their jars, with which 

 they are seen moving about poised on their heads. 

 Near the large fountain called Hafariz,in the square 

 of Santa Anna, are two large basins, about fifty feet 

 long and twenty-five wide. These are commonly 

 filled with about two hundred negro women, who 

 daily assemble to wash. Numbei-sof them are half 

 naked, standing up to their middle in the water, 

 beating and thrashing the clothes they are em- 

 ployed to clean against the adjoining wall. 



Few articles are transported in any other way 

 than by slaves, and it is extremely rare to see a 

 cart drawn by any beast of burden. Antique 

 looking carriages and two-wheeled calescas are 

 generally seen. 



The museum is open twice a week : it is quite 

 creditable to the city, and well worth seeing. It 

 appears to attract more attention from the inhabit- 

 ants of Rio than I should have been led to expect. 



It is extremely rich in its native collections, and is 

 well taken care of. 



The theatres, of which there are three, are sel- 

 dom open on week-days, but always on Sunday. 



The bay is very beautiful and is usually covered 

 with small boats, felucca rigged, without decks, and 

 generally about twelve tons' burden. These boats 

 are rowed by blacks. The oars are large, the men 

 row in a standing posture, and thus add the weight 

 of their bodies to their strength. At times the bay 

 seems alive with the number of these vessels, and 

 of small canoes, each made of a single trunk, which 

 are used in fishing. Many of these vessels are also 

 engaged in the coasting trade. Foreigners are 

 usually employed to take charge of the latter, 

 which sail under the Brazilian flag. Steamers are 

 beginning to be used. One plies between Rio and 

 Santos, and during our stay, another left the har- 

 bour for Monte Video. The greater part of the ves- 

 sels in the bay are under foreign flags, and I was 

 much surprised to observe how few comparatively 

 are English, and how many are from the north of 

 Europe. 



The harbour of Rio may be considered as not 

 extending further than Enxados Island, above 

 which few vessels lie. The front of the city is not 

 well adapted for wharves, and none consequently 

 exist. There are some stairs, but they are not 

 well protected from the sea, which at times renders 

 landing almost impossible. 



In Rio, the vegetation seems to fix the attention 

 above all other things, especially of those situated 

 as we were in the harbour, having it continually 

 before one's eyes. 



Here, as in all tropical climates, the truth of the 

 remark made by a botanist, " that every thing 

 grows into shrubs and trees," is obvious. Herba- 

 ceous plants are rare, and annuals may be said to 

 be almost wanting. The fruit trees are generally 

 seen bearing fruit and flowers at the same time. 

 This was the case, as observed by one of our 

 party, even in the cultivated apple on the Tejuca 

 mountains. 



The botanic garden is in a flat situation, backed 

 by a high ridge of mountainous land. In front is 

 a lake of brackish water, which forms a consider- 

 able bay, and communicates with the sea by a 

 narrow inlet. The entrance to the garden has a 

 mean appearance, and does not correspond with 

 the broad promenades within, which are planted 

 with trees on each side. The whole is laid out in 

 the old Dutch style; seats, arbours, and houses are 

 cut out of arbor vitae (Thuja orientalis). In the 

 centre of the garden was a small fountain, near 

 which grew some fine specimens of the splendid 

 bougainvillea bracteatea, in full flower. There is 

 also a fine collection of orchidete, which are culti- 

 vated on decayed trunks of trees. The bread-fruit 

 trees (artocarpus incisa and integrifolia} succeed 

 very well. There were some trees of both kinds 

 forty feet high, and the fruit of the latter as large as 

 an ordinary water-melon. Several groups of bam- 

 boos had a good effect among the other trees, but 

 their stems bore evidence of a propensity to the 

 carving of names, as a memento of the persons' 

 visit. Among them I was glad to see the names 

 of many Europeans, which serves to prove that this 

 habit does not exist among Americans alone. Here 

 an attempt was made some years since to introduce 

 the tea-plant, with natives of China to cultivate it. 



