160 



NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



The Governor resided in a small house at the back of the CathedraL 

 At the door his carriage was in waiting, which struck us as a singular 

 specimen of antiquated taste and official finery. It had four small 

 wheels, the front ones half the diameter of the hinder; all of them 

 kept from falling in pieces by thongs of raw hide. A square frame- 

 work, raised to the height of the hinder axle, held the body of the 

 carriage, not much larger than an English sedan, suspended within it 

 by leathers passing under the bottom; so that it hung about eighteen 

 inches from the ground, and his Excellency had to step down from 

 the frame into his seat. The painting and gilding, with which it 

 was profusely covered, had suffered much from age and use. Alto^ 

 gether it looked as though it might have been the vehicle of Royalty 

 two centuries ago ; and, in the eyes of its common beholders, no 

 doubt, continued to shed a bright ray of dignity over the person of 

 a sequestered chief. 



In one of my visits to Maldonado, I went on shore with two 

 companions, determined to explore as much of the country as we 

 could, in the short time which we had to spare. Having finished 

 our business, we proceeded to the Square, wishing to hire horses for 

 our expedition. A number of miserable unshod beasts were quickly 

 produced by the boys, some of them with and some without bridles, 

 all without saddles, which we did not, at that time, know it was 

 necessary to hire separately. The price of a horse would not have 

 been more than two dollars, and one was demanded for the use of 

 him for a few hours ; and having occasion, a few days afterward, to 

 go farther into the country, I paid a dollar for the hire of my horse, 

 two for the use of a saddle, and four for the first set of shoes 

 which the animal ever wore. 



One of my companions procured a horse at the inn, and galloped 

 away as far as St. Carlos, observing little but the plain over which he 

 rode, and the few mud huts Avhich he met with in his path. To 

 the other there happened a little adventure, which would hardly have 

 occurred in a place farther advanced in the common manners of the 



