Climate of Para. 359 



ery where the signs of human indolence and Nature's thrift, 

 of filth and poverty alongside of overpowering beauty and 

 wealth of vegetation, yet altogether leaving a pleasing im- 

 pression on the mind, which can never fade. 



Para (officially called BeUm, the Portuguese for Bethle- 

 hem) is justly celebrated for the almost perfect equilibrium 

 of its climate. The temperature ranges from 73° to 93°, 

 the mean of the year being 81°. The heat is never so op- 

 pressive as in New York, being tempered by strong sea- 

 breezes and afternoon showers. Were it not for the im- 

 ported diseases, Para would be the paradise of invalids. In 

 1819 the small-pox first visited the city ; in 1850 came the 

 yellow fever ; and in 1855, cholera. The natives suffer 

 most from the first epidemic, and foreigners from the sec- 

 ond. As agriculture is at a low ebb and import duties 

 high, living is dear in comparison with former rates or with 

 what we might expect in a city on the edge of an empire 

 of exhaastless fertility. Luxuries are exorbitant. Hotels 

 charge $2 50, gold, per day. Enterprise runs nminly to 

 small shop-keeping and wholesale trade in rubber and ca- 

 cao. But there is progress toward a better state of things. 

 We notice many changes since our visit in 1867. The 

 passport system was abolished last year. The state religion 

 is more tolerant (the Jews have a synagogue), and religious 

 iiolidays, which once seriously interfered with trade and 

 industry, have been reduced in number. Among the new 

 public buildings are the President's Palace and the Grand 

 Opera-house. The latter will cost $500,000, and contain 

 a theatre accommodating 1600 persons, and a saloon hold- 

 ing 1200, in every respect out of all proportion to the 

 wealth and size of the city. There are two banks, with a 

 joint capital of $6,000,000. The city is lighted by a Lon- 

 don company, the gas costing $4 per thousand cubic feet. 

 A circular railway now connects Para and Nazareth, and 



