RIO DE JANEIRO AND ITS ENVIRONS. 



55 



vines climbed to their summits and threw themselves 

 down in garlands to the ground. On the embankments 

 also between which we passed, vines of many varieties 

 were creeping down, as if they would fain clothe in green 

 garments the ugly gaps the railroad had made. Yet it 

 must be confessed that, in this instance, the railroad has 

 not destroyed, but rather heightened, the picturesque scen- 

 ery, cutting, as it does, througli passes which give beauti- 

 ful vistas into the heart of the mountain range. Once, as 

 we issued from a tunnel, where the darkness seemed tan- 

 gible, upon an exquisite landscape all gleaming in the 

 sunshine, a general shout from the whole party testified 

 their astonishment and admiration. We were riding on 

 an open car in front of the engine, so that nothing im- 

 peded our view, and we had no inconvenience from smoke 

 or cinders. During the latter part of the ride we came 

 into the region of the most valuable coffee-plantations ; 

 and indeed the road is chiefly supported by the transpor- 

 tation of the immense quantities of coffee raised along its 

 track or beyond it. Near its terminus is an extensive 

 fazenda, from which we were told that five or six hun- 

 dred tons of coffee are sent out in a good year. These 

 fazendas are singular-looking establishments, low (usually 

 only one story) and very spreading, the largest of them 

 covering quite an extensive area. As they are rather 

 isolated in situation, they must include within their own 

 borders all that is needed to keep them up. There is 

 something very primitive in the way of life of these 

 great country proprietors. Major Ellison told me that 

 some time ago a wealthy Marqueza living at some dis- 

 tance beyond him in the interior, and going to town for 

 a stay of a few weeks, stopped at his house to rest. 



