SOUTH AMERICA. 



151 



bor, is said to have expended twenty thousand dollars; 

 a number of large arches were raised on high co- 

 lumns, so contrived as to represent a crown, its base 

 more than a hundred feet, and beautifully propor- 

 tioned, displaying near the top the arms of Por- 

 tugal. The person who was thus distinguished in 

 the display of his loyalty, we were informed had 

 in view a title of nobility, being only a rich ple- 

 beian. 



The two succeeding days passed in the same way, 

 until eyes and ears could no longer bear this dazzling 

 and astounding manifestation. It was natural for us to 

 draw a comparison between the simple and unaffect- 

 ed ceremony, of installing the chief magistrate chosen 

 by a free people to guide their affairs, when the ap- 

 peal is made to reason and good sense, and all this 

 noise and glitter calculated to intoxicate, astound, and 

 stupify the human intellect. I could not but reflect 

 how small the number among this wretched rabble, 

 that could reason justly and wisely, on the scene be- 

 fore them! Their sensations were not the joyous emo^ 

 tions of the soul, but were stupifying amazement, pro- 

 duced by external objects. How different is the en- 

 thusiasm of the free, from the outward noisy acclama- 

 tion of a people, who^ without these artifices and con- 



I trivances, would continue in unchangeable dullness. 



1 The enthusiasm of a freeman, stands in no need of 

 these aids; he has within himself, "that which pas- 

 seth show" — he has thought, sensations, recollections, 

 interests, and feelings, capable of elevating his mind 

 without the aid of trifles like these. 



The day after the coronation, I went on shore in 

 company with some gentlemen of the ship. The city 



