RIO DE JANEIRO 
It does not do to examine everything too closely in 
detail when you land—for while there are buildings of 
beautiful architectural lines, there are others which sug¬ 
gest the work of a pastrycook. To any one coming direct 
from Europe, some of the statuary by local talent which 
adorns the principal squares gives a severe shock. Ladies 
in evening dress and naked cupids in bronze flying 
through national flags flapping in the wind, half of their 
bodies on one side of the flags, the other half on the other 
side, look somewhat grotesque as you approach the 
statues from behind. Rut Rio is not the only place where 
you see grotesque statuary; you have not to go far from 
or even out of London to receive similar and worse shocks. 
If Rio has some bad statues, it also possesses some re¬ 
markably beautiful ones by the sculptor Bernardelli— a 
wonderful genius who is now at the head of the Academy 
of Fine Arts in Rio. This man has had a marvellous 
influence in the beautifying of the city, and to him are due 
the impressive lines of the finest buildings in Rio, such as 
the Academy of Fine Arts. Naturally, in a young 
country like Brazil — I am speaking of new Brazil, now 
wide awake, not of the Brazil which has been asleep for 
some decades — perfection cannot be reached in every¬ 
thing in one day. It is really marvellous how much the 
Brazilians have been able to accomplish during the last 
ten years or so in their cities, on or near the coast. 
Brazilians have their own way of thinking, which is 
not ours, and which is to us almost incomprehensible. 
They are most indirect in their thoughts and deeds — a 
characteristic which is purely racial, and which they 
themselves cannot appreciate, but which often shocks 
Europeans. For instance, one of the most palatial 
buildings in the Avenida Central was built only a short 
time ago. In it, as became such an up-to-date building, 
was established a lift. But do you think that the archi¬ 
tect, like all other architects anywhere else in the world, 
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