NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



571 



Preparations had been making for this great event, upon the largest 

 scale, for several months. Oil for the illuminations was sought through- 

 out the country, and even in Africa ; triumphal arches were placed in 

 several parts of the city ; and, on one side of the Palace Square a long 

 open arcade, raised about ten feet above the ground, covered with a tiled 

 roof, intended for the ceremony of the day, Avhich, with the Kings 

 of Portugal, always takes place in public. They are, indeed, never 

 crowned, since the unfortunate battle of Arzilla, where Sebastian lost 

 his life and the diadem. At one end of the arcade, or open varanda, 

 a throne was erected, and a small table, covered with crimson cloth, 

 was placed before it, on which lay the sceptre and two books, one of 

 them apparently a Bible ; in the other all the Nobility present wrote 

 something, and previously to doing so bowed to the King, who was 

 seated on the throne. He was dressed in a scarlet robe, richly trimmed, 

 and wore a general officer's hat and plume ; the Prince Royal, his eldest 

 son and heir apparent, standing at his right hand. Before the arcade, 

 in the centre of the front, which had a low railing, was a small 

 cannopied projection, with a floor a little higher than the rest of 

 the platform. In the public square belov/ was arranged a body of cavalry 

 in open order, and the people were allowed to fill the intervals. Behind 

 this compact body of men and horses the infantry were placed, and in 

 their rear, close to the parapet of the beach, a line of light artillery, 

 flanked by temporary towers for the discharge of fire-works. Beyond 

 these, lay vessels of war, arranged in a pleasing order, and fully deco- 

 rated with all their showy honours. 



In the ceremony of Acclamation, the Constitution of Portugal 



introduces a very important personage, called the Juiz do Povo, that is, 



the People's Advocate or Representative. Formerly, this officer was 



chosen by the City of Lisbon, or rather by what is called the House of 



twenty-four ; and as the Court had removed, the privilege was claimed by 



Rio de Janeiro, and warmly contested betAveen the two Capitals. It was 



at last settled, that Deputies should be called from the towns of Brazil, 



to represent them in the ceremony, and that the person sent in that 



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