Chapter I (4)

This city is seldom visited by foreigners. The passes to it from the coast are so singularly situated, that it is almost impossible to avoid the guards who are stationed in them, to inspect all travellers and merchandize passing into the interior. Soldiers of the lowest rank on these stations have a right to examine all strangers who present themselves, and to detain them and their property, unless they can produce passports. I and my friends in our way hither were thrice obliged to exhibit our licence from the governor of Santos, which was attested. Our appearance at S. Paulo excited considerable curiosity among all descriptions of people, who seemed by their manner never to have seen Englishmen before; the very children testified their astonishment, some by running away, others by counting our fingers, and exclaiming, that we had the same number as they. Many of the good citizens invited us to their houses, and sent for their friends to come and look at us. As the dwelling we occupied was very large, we were frequently entertained by crowds of young persons of both sexes, who came to the door to see how we ate and drank. It was gratifying to us to perceive that this general wonder subsided into a more social feeling; we met with civil treatment every where, and were frequently invited to dine with the inhabitants. At the public parties and balls of the governor we found both novelty and pleasure; novelty at being much more liberally received than we were in the Spanish settlements, and pleasure at being in much more refined and polished company.

The dress of the ladies abroad, and especially at church, consists of a garment of black silk, with a long veil of the same material, trimmed with broad lace; in the cooler season black cassimere or baize. In the same veil they almost always appear in the streets, though it has been partially superseded by a long coat of coarse woollen, edged with velvet, gold lace, fustian, or plush, according to the rank of the wearer. This coat is used as a general sort of undress, at home, in their evening walks, and on a journey, and the ladies, whenever they wear it, appear in round hats. The appellation of Paulista is considered by all the females here as a great honor; the Paulistas being celebrated throughout all Brazil for their attractions, and their dignity of character. At table they are extremely abstemious; their favorite amusement is dancing, in which they display much vivacity and grace. At halls and other public festivals they generally appear in elegant white dresses, with a profusion of gold chains about their necks, their hair tastefully disposed and fastened with combs. Their conversation, at all times sprightly, seems to derive additional life from music. Indeed the whole range of their education appears to be confined to superficial accomplishments; they trouble themselves very little with domestic concerns, confiding whatever relates to the inferior departments of the household to the negro or negress cook, and leaving all other matters to the management of servants. Owing to this indifference, they are total strangers to the advantages of that order, neatness, and propriety, which reign in an English family; their time at home is mostly occupied in sewing, embroidery, and lace-making. Another circumstance repugnant to delicacy is, that they have no mantua-makers of their own sex; all articles of female dress here are made by tailors. An almost universal debility prevails among them, which is partly attributable to their abstemious living, but chiefly to want of exercise, and to the frequent warm-bathings in which they indulge. They are extremely attentive to every means of improving the delicacy of their persons, perhaps to the injury of their health.

The men in general, especially those of the higher rank, officers, and others, dress superbly; in company they are very polite and attentive, and shew every disposition to oblige; they are great talkers and prone to conviviality. The lower ranks, compared with those of other colonial towns, are in a very advanced state of civilization. It were to be wished that some reform were instituted in their system of education; the children of slaves are brought up during their early days with those of their masters; they are playmates and companions, and thus a familiar equality is established between them, which has to be forcibly abolished when they arrive at that age, at which one must command and live at his ease, while the other must labor and obey. It has been said, that by thus attaching the slave to his master, in early youth, they ensure his future fidelity, but the custom seems fraught with many disadvantages, and ought at least to be so modified as to render the yoke of bondage less galling by the recollection of former liberty.

The religious processions here are very splendid, grand, and solemn; they have a striking effect, by reason of the profound veneration and enthusiastic zeal manifested by the populace. On particular occasions of this kind, all the inhabitants of the city attend, and the throng is frequently increased by numbers of the neighbouring peasantry for several leagues round. The balconies of those houses, which command the best views of the spectacle, are crowded with ladies in their gala dresses, who consider the day as a kind of festival; the evening is generally concluded by tea and card-parties or dances.

We found very little difficulty in accommodating ourselves to the general mode of living at S. Paulo. The bread is pretty good, and the butter tolerable, but rarely used except with coffee for breakfast, or tea in the evening. A more common breakfast is a very pleasant sort of beans, called _feijoens_, boiled or mixed with mandioca. Dinner, which is usually served up at noon or before, commonly consists of a quantity of greens boiled with a little fat pork or beef, a root of the potatoe kind, and a stewed fowl, with excellent sallad, to which succeeds a great variety of delicious conserves and sweetmeats. Very little wine is taken at meals; the usual beverage is water. On public occasions, or when a feast is given to a large party, the table is most sumptuously spread; from thirty to fifty dishes are served up at once, by which arrangement a succession of courses is obviated. Wine circulates copiously, and toasts are given during the repast, which usually occupies two or three hours, and is succeeded by sweetmeats, the pride of their tables; after coffee the company pass the evening in dancing, music, or cards.

I may here observe, that neither in S. Paulo, nor in any other place which I visited, did I witness any instance of that levity in the females of Brazil, which some writers allege to be the leading trait in their character. I allude to the custom which has been said to prevail among them, of throwing flowers from the balconies on such of the passers-by, as they take a fancy to, or of presenting a flower or a nosegay to their favorites, as a mark of partiality. The circumstance which seems to have given rise to such an ill-founded conjecture is this: flowers are here considered an indispensable part of the female head-dress, and when a stranger is introduced to a lady, it is nothing more than an act of common courtesy for her to take one from her hair to present to him. This elegant compliment he is expected to return in the course of the visit, by selecting a flower from the profuse variety which adorn the garden, or the balcony, and presenting it to her.

One singular custom I must not omit to notice, that of throwing artificial fruit, such as lemons or oranges, made very delicately of wax and filled with perfumed water. On the two first days of Lent, which are here celebrated with great festivity, persons of both sexes amuse themselves by throwing these balls at each other; the lady generally begins the game, the gentleman returns it with such spirit that it seldom ceases until several dozens are thrown, and both parties are as wet as if they had been drawn through a river. Sometimes a lady will dexterously drop one into the bosom of a gentleman, which will infallibly oblige him to change his linen, as it usually contains three or four ounces of cold water. On these days of carnival the inhabitants parade the streets in masks, and the diversion of throwing fruit is practised by persons of all ages. It is reckoned improper for men to throw at each other. The manufacture of these missiles, at such periods, affords no inconsiderable occupation to certain classes of the inhabitants; I have been informed, that in the capital of Brazil, many hundreds of people derive a temporary subsistence from the sale of them. The practice (as I can testify) is very annoying to strangers, and not unfrequently engenders quarrels which terminate seriously.

During our stay here an unpleasant report was circulated, that the port of Lisbon was shut against the English, and that war was daily expected to be declared between the two powers. Had it not been for the kindness of the governor in offering to permit our departure before he should receive orders to the contrary, we should have felt ourselves in a very disagreeable predicament. But news soon arrived that his Royal Highness the Prince Regent had left Portugal with all the court, and that they were embarked for the Brazils, under the escort of a British squadron, dispatched by Sir Sidney Smith. This intelligence was most joyfully received by the Brazilians; they considered, indeed, that the occupation of Portugal by the French, was a disaster very likely to ensue, but they consoled themselves with the hope of receiving a Prince, in whose praise every tongue was eloquent, and to whose cause every heart was loyal. The Brazilian empire was considered as established; and the worthy bishop consecrated the auspicious era by ordaining daily prayers in the cathedral, to invoke, from Divine Providence, the safe arrival of the Royal Family. News of their having touched at Bahia arrived in about ten days, and was welcomed by every demonstration of public joy, processions, fire-works, &c. Hoping, every day, to hear of their arrival at Rio de Janeiro, I made all ready for my departure, and devoted the few remaining days to a second excursion to the gold-mines, and to some farewell visits among my friends in the vicinity of S. Paulo. The governor and many of the principal inhabitants gave us parting invitations, and by their urbanity rendered the last hours we passed with them at once delightful and melancholy. Some of the latter accompanied us two leagues on our way, and on separating testified the warmest wishes for our welfare.

I never recal to mind the civilities I received at this city without the most grateful emotions, in which those will best sympathize who have known what it is to visit a remote city in a strange country, where, according to the narratives of preceding travellers, nothing prevailed but barbarism and inhospitality, and where they have been agreeably undeceived. It may easily be supposed that I found it difficult to reconcile the character of the Paulistas, such as I beheld it, with the strange accounts of their spurious origin, quoted by modern geographers. These accounts, founded on the suspicious testimony of the Jesuits of Paraguay, and at variance with the best Portuguese historians, have been of late most ably confuted by an enlightened member of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Lisbon[22]. He fully exposes the inconsistencies of Vaissette and Charlevoix, in ascribing the origin of S. Paulo to a band of refugees, composed of Spaniards, Portuguese, Mestiços, Mulattos, and others, who fled hither from various parts of Brazil, and established a free-booting republic; and he satisfactorily shews that the first settlers were Indians of Piratininga and Jesuits, and that the city, from its first foundation, never acknowledged any other sovereignty than that of Portugal. The veracity of this account is further supported by the predominant character of the Paulistas, who, far from inheriting the obloquy, which an ancestry of rogues and vagabonds would have entailed upon them, have long been famed throughout all Brazil for their probity, their industry, and the mildness of their manners[23].

CHAP. VI.

_Coasting Voyage from Santos to Sapitiva, and Journey thence to Rio de Janeiro._

WE left S. Paulo at ten in the morning, and took the same road to Santos by which we had come, there being no other, fit to travel. On the following day, before noon, we arrived at Cubatão, where we were detained by rain, until four in the afternoon. About seven we arrived at Santos, and as we were provided with a letter of introduction to a judge, and another to a merchant, we relied on a kinder welcome than we had met with on our first visit, the more so as we came from S. Paulo. We were, however, deceived. The judge received us coldly, and when I asked him where the person lived to whom our other letter was addressed, he seemed quite rejoiced at the opportunity for shewing us out of his house. The merchant was as frigid as the judge, and made us a paltry excuse. We then repaired to an apothecary, from whom we had experienced some acts of urbanity, and who had attended one of our friends, who, having left S. Paulo in a bad state of health, had waited here three weeks for a passage to Rio de Janeiro. After telling him our situation, and stating that the wet weather prevented us from passing the night in our canoe, he kindly offered us his shop-floor for a lodging, it being the only place under cover he had to spare. We commissioned him to offer four dollars to any of his neighbours who would admit us for the night, but he said it would be of no avail, as the people of Santos were proverbially notorious for their want of hospitality. The great influx of strangers and renegadoes from all nations into this and other towns on the coast, had completely steeled the hearts of the people against those claims on their good-will, which the inhabitants of the interior, less frequently imposed upon, are ever ready to acknowledge and to satisfy.

Thus disappointed, we resolved not to wait at Santos for a ship, but to proceed to Rio de Janeiro, along the coast, in a canoe. Having hired one we embarked, and after rowing all night in a strait between the continent and the island of S. Thomas, which forms one of the passages to Santos from sea, we arrived by sun-rise at Bertioga, situated at the north end of that island. It is a village, consisting of some tolerably good buildings, erected for the convenience of the _Capitão Mor_ and his attendants, who superintend a fishing establishment here, similar to that near St. Catherine’s, and belonging to the same company, but very much inferior in extent and capacity. At both places the most expert of the negroes are employed in dressing whalebone, which is a considerable article of commerce, though smaller and less valuable than that of the Greenland whale. Along the coast which we passed, are several fine bays, where, in the best times of the fishery, large quantities of whales were annually caught. The buildings for boiling the blubber and storing the oil were conveniently situated.

The fine harbour of Bertioga is well sheltered from all winds, and the town itself, being situated at the foot of a hill, is protected from the inclemencies of the weather, and is at times inconveniently warm. The basis of the hill is primitive granite, composed of hornblende, feldspar, quartz, and mica. Fine springs of water, bursting from various parts, give variety to the scenery, and an agreeable freshness to the air. Though the place bore the appearance of poverty, we observed no signs of want; the sea affords great plenty and variety of eatable fish, and the soil produces pulse, of various sorts, and rice, quantities of which we saw loading in boats for Santos. The people with whom we had to treat used us civilly, and seemed anxious to anticipate and to gratify all our requests. As the _Capitão Mor_ was ill, he could not render us any assistance in procuring a passage for St. Sebastian; we were therefore obliged to hire the canoe to go forward.

A strong current setting in-shore detained us until midnight; we then took advantage of a calm which succeeded, and rowed away for a headland to the eastward, near which we arrived about sunrise, after a most laborious passage. The shore was quite solitary, with the exception of two very miserable huts, at which we could procure no better a breakfast than muscles. The face of the country is low and sandy, covered with underwood and groups of trees, and watered by rivulets from a range of mountains apparently about two leagues distant.

A breeze springing up about mid-day, we again embarked, but after contending with both elements for four hours, we were obliged again to take to our oars, in order to reach Porto d’Una before sun-set, which, with considerable exertion, we effected. At this place we observed a large plantation, belonging to a religious society at Santos, who hence derive a great part of their maintenance. After waiting till two in the morning for a change either of wind or current, we got out of port and proceeded on our voyage to Rio de Janeiro. We rowed against the wind till day-light, and then found ourselves near a bluff headland with steep rocks, forming a good harbour for boats, called Toque Toque, where we arrived about nine o’clock, having passed several conical islands, which are not laid down in any chart that I have hitherto seen. Off the point of Toque Toque, extends the fine island of St. Sebastian; the strait between it and the main affords an excellent passage, and a good harbour for ships of war.

The wind still blowing fresh against us, we rested awhile, and were amused by watching some fishermen haul their nets ashore with large draughts of _cavallos_ in them. These fish weigh from fifteen to twenty pounds each, and are caught in great numbers along this coast.

Passing point Toque Toque at noon, we entered the strait of St. Sebastian. Its width is about two leagues; the land on both sides is bold and steep, and being well cultivated has a very grand and rich appearance. The varied foliage of the trees, and the different shades of verdure in the enclosures, combined with the romantic situations of the houses dispersed among them, presented a view worthy the ablest pencil; we had full leisure to enjoy it, for the wind being still adverse, our progress depended on the toil of our wearied boatmen. Several vessels, going the contrary way, passed us in full sail, the crews of which added to our chagrin by ironically wishing us a pleasant voyage. At four in the afternoon we arrived at the town of St. Sebastian, situated on a low tract of ground about three hundred yards from the beach. The inhabitants, amounting to two or three thousand, are an indigent and not very industrious people; they subsist chiefly on fish, which was the only food we could procure during the three days we staid among them. There are some inconsiderable plantations in the neighbourhood, where a little indigo is made, and some tolerably good tobacco is grown. This town is noted (and formerly was much more so) for its very large canoes scooped out of the solid timber; some of them I have seen of almost incredible dimensions. The civil government is entrusted to a _Capitão Mor_, whose authority is supported by a garrison of ten or fifteen soldiers under the command of an ensign. At the house of the latter we took up our abode, while waiting for an opportunity to hire a large canoe to carry us to Sapitiva, near Rio de Janeiro. The people with whom we had to bargain, used every petty means to thwart and impose upon us, and our host shewed no disposition to protect us against their chicanery, so that we encountered many vexatious delays ere we could accomplish our purpose.

This place is by no means a desirable, or indeed, a tolerable residence for a stranger; it is exposed to all the inconveniencies peculiar to low and sandy situations; the hot unwholesome weather, seldom refreshed by a breeze, tends to multiply the immense swarms of mosquitos, which constitute one of the plagues of the torrid zone. The neighbouring island, on the contrary, being more elevated, has the advantage of a freer air, and is therefore less annoyed by these troublesome insects. It has the reputation of producing the best sugar, rum, and pulse, as well as the finest cattle in all Brazil, and these advantages, joined to its convenient situation, must render a plantation upon it highly valuable. In common with the opposite shore, and the rocks observable in various parts of the straits, the island appears to be composed of the same variety of granite I have before described. Near the town of St. Sebastian’s, I found some large pieces of green-stone, which, when struck, emitted a very clear sound; fragments of limestone were abundant on the beach, but these probably were part of some vessel’s ballast, which had been thrown overboard in the bay, and washed ashore.

Having at length hired a canoe, we embarked for a village about five miles distant, called Bayro, where we arrived safe, and staid all night at the house of a fisherman, who undertook the charge of our navigation until we should arrive at Sapitiva. Bayro is a pretty but poor village, built near the beach, and is chiefly noted as being the place where most of the earthenware, used at Rio de Janeiro, is made. The clay appears to be formed by the decomposition of feldspar. Here is a large convent, well built, and finely situated, fronting the bay and near the sea.

About nine in the morning, we embarked in our canoe, which was forty feet long, covered with an awning, and rowed by six men. In the afternoon we arrived at Porcos, a fine, bold, conical island, with good anchorage, but no port. Its coasts abound with excellent fish. Here was stationed a guard of soldiers to prevent contraband trade, and to give information respecting it; the officer, an ensign, made us welcome to all he had, and treated us with great kindness during our short stay. Leaving this place at two in the morning, we rowed through an archipelago of islets, and arrived at Porto Negro, within four leagues of Ilha Grande, and the morning following reached a bay in that island. The land is, in general, very high and irregular; in the interior it is well wooded, and contains some excellent iron ore, which is very little known. Its coasts are but partially inhabited. The strait, which separates it from the main land, is an excellent harbour in all its extent, and was the rendezvous of some English privateers during our war with Spain. The country, in its vicinity, is well clothed with large timber, and appears very fruitful, but is thinly peopled by a set of men, whose manners and pursuits denote them to be outcasts from society. In the evening we entered a fine bay, and procured some refreshment at a house on the beach, where we intended to pass the night, but a plan had been laid to rob us, and we were obliged, on discovering it, to re-embark before day-break, much rejoiced at having narrowly escaped the loss of our property and our lives. Pursuing our course among the many islands, with which this part of the coast is studded, we passed the beautiful and fertile island of Madeira, and, at noon, crossed two wide bays. A favorable breeze now, for the first time, sprung up, which lasted until we arrived at Sapitiva, and here ended our romantic canoe-voyage.

I would strongly impress on every traveller, pursuing a similar course, the expediency of providing himself with a soldier commissioned to attend him, and to protect his person and property against the evil-minded persons, who prowl about the coast in search of plunder, and greedily seek every opportunity of securing, by fraud or force, the property of defenceless passengers. We had more than once occasion to rue the neglect of this precaution.

At Sapitiva, we met with excellent accommodations. The owner of the house at which we put up, furnished us with a plentiful supper of fish, fowls, coffee, and excellent sweetmeats, which we relished the more from having, for eight days, subsisted wholly on fish. Our lodgings were tolerably comfortable, and were rendered more so by the earnestness with which every one in the family strove to please us. At sun-rise next morning, after diverting myself with shooting a few horned plovers on the beach, I took a survey of the romantic scenery around. Here are a few poor houses, and some plantations of indigo, sugar, and pulse. The beach is lined with fine aloes, and presents an interesting view of several islets in front of the bay, the most conspicuous of which is Madeira, before-mentioned. In another direction is seen that of Ilha Grande. Four leagues distant from Sapitiva is Santa Cruz, formerly the property of the Jesuits, and now the royal farm of the Prince Regent of Portugal, of which I shall have occasion, in the sequel, to speak more at large.

After settling with our host, we hired mules to carry us to Rio de Janeiro, distant forty miles. Owing to the weight of our baggage, we travelled but slowly: this, however, we did not regret, as the fatigues of our coasting-voyage rendered us rather averse to violent exertion. Proceeding through a low sandy country, covered with wood, for about three leagues, we skirted the boundary of the Prince’s farm, which encloses some of the finest and most fertile plains in South America, and gives employment to upward of fifteen hundred negroes. We soon afterwards reached the main road, which in general is very good, but the lands about it are little cleared, and seem almost destitute of cultivators. In the course of twenty miles, we saw only one house that deserved the name of a plantation; the only dwellings by the way-side were miserable huts and dram-shops, exhibiting deplorable symptoms of sloth and poverty. Before sun-set we halted at a kind of inn, where our mules were turned out to grass, and a supper was provided for us of fowls, milk, and coffee. The house, though pleasantly situated on an eminence among orange-groves and coffee-trees, was miserably deficient in those conveniences which its exterior had announced. The room where we supped was lighted by a small poor lamp, (here being no candles,) and the floor was so uneven, that our table stood on only two of its four legs. Tired with this cheerless gloom, we ordered our beds to be unpacked, and retired to rest. The want of candle-light is a serious inconvenience to travellers in all parts of Brazil, and no one ought to undertake a journey without an ample provision of candles, with the necessary implements for using them. Snuffers are articles of luxury, very rarely to be met with, except as curiosities. I need not add that beds are an equally indispensable part of a traveller’s equipage.

We resumed our journey at an early hour next day, along an excellent road in the middle of a valley, formed by lofty mountains. After travelling about three miles, we came to a house, called the _Padeira_ (bake-house), which is reckoned half way between Sapitiva and the capital. From this place the road gradually becomes more enlivened by dwellings and plantations, (but many of the former, are wretched hovels erected for the sale of bacon, corn, liquors, &c.) and by numbers of countrymen bringing produce from every part of the south-west, even from the far districts of Goyazes, Coritiva, Cuyaba, S. Paulo, and Mato Grosso. It is not uncommon to see eight hundred or a thousand mules passing and repassing in the course of a day, besides numerous droves of fine cattle for the use of the city. Our heavy-laden and weary mules travelled so slowly, that we did not come within sight of Rio de Janeiro, until about three in the afternoon. On reaching the eminence, which commanded the first prospect of this fine city, our joyful sensations banished every feeling of fatigue. One of the party, who had advanced a few paces, rode back as fast as his mule could go, exclaiming, “the English flag.” We hastened onward, and beheld one of the most welcome sights that ever greeted the eyes of a traveller, with a remembrance of his native country—a squadron of our men of war at anchor in the bay, which had recently escorted the court of Portugal to an asylum in their own dominions, beyond the reach of their foes. We no longer felt uneasy at the thought of entering a large city inhabited by strangers; we knew that the name of Englishman would be a passport among them, and we anticipated something of that delight which is connected with the near prospect of home. I, who had for eighteen months lingered in exile, and beheld each setting sun close another day of almost hopeless captivity, enjoyed this evening-scene with indescribable emotion; it was here, that, for the first time since my landing in South America, I had just reason to promise myself a night’s repose in freedom, safety, and peace.

We soon reached the suburbs, which are very large and pleasant, being agreeably interspersed with gardens and pleasure-grounds. About five o’clock we halted in the vicinity of Campo de Santa Anna, at an inn, or rather hostelry for cattle, whence, having secured our baggage in the miserable stall allotted to us, we sallied forth in search of the friends who left us at St. Catherine’s. Accustomed, as we long had been, to rude and solitary scenes, we were forcibly struck with the opulence of this city, displayed in its magnificent buildings and regular streets. While engaged in anxious enquiries after our friends, we accidentally met one of them, who, with unspeakable joy, conducted us to the rest; and the evening was passed most agreeably in relating our several encounters, and in asking and answering innumerable questions. Returning to our inn at midnight, we remained with our luggage until morning, when we carted it up to the house of our friends in Rua dos Pescadores.

During our journey from Sapitiva to Rio de Janeiro, we had not much leisure for geological observation. The stratum, in the course of the route, appeared to be generally granite, like that before described. In some parts we observed large stones, approximating to green-stone, and in other parts we found fine clay. Nearer to the capital, and particularly in the environs of St. Cristovão, the Prince’s country-palace, the stratum has a gneiss-like appearance, and produces some fine specimens of feldspar. In the precincts of the city, there is an extensive flat, covered with mangroves, and overflowed by the tide. At the foot of the mountains which bound it, are quarries of granite, large blocks of which are raised for building purposes, as well as for paving the streets of the city.

CHAP. VII.

_Description of Rio de Janeiro.—Trade.—State of Society.—Visit to the Prince Regent’s Farm at Santa Cruz._

RIO DE JANEIRO has been so often described by former travellers, that, were I to confine myself to the supply of what they have omitted, or to the correction of their mis-statements, my task would be speedily performed, but, as I have uniformly chosen to write freely from my own observation rather than follow the track of others, I shall trespass on the reader with a more detailed account than he might perhaps require. It will, however, be recollected that the period at which I visited this capital, being a political æra in the annals of Brazil, is sufficiently interesting to excuse, if not to justify me in the attempt to improve upon descriptions of an earlier date, though at the risk of a little repetition.

The finest view of the city is from the harbour[24], whence its lofty eminence crowned with convents, and the hills in its environs, interspersed with villas and gardens, have a rich and magnificent appearance. The royal palace skirts the beach, and is seen to great advantage from the principal landing-place, which is within sixty yards of its doors. This palace, though small, is the residence of the Prince Regent and the royal family: the mint and the royal chapel form parts of the structure. Parallel with the beach runs the main street, consisting of noble buildings, called Rua Dereita, from which the minor streets branch off at right angles, and are intersected by others at regular distances.

Some idea of the extent of the city may be formed from the population, which, including the negroes, (its most numerous portion,) is estimated at a hundred thousand souls: the dwellings, at the out-skirts, are generally of one story only.

The numerous convents and churches are well built, and rather handsome; the church of Candelaria, now finished, is in a superior style of architecture. The streets were formerly incommoded by latticed balconies, which had a very heavy appearance and obstructed the circulation of the air, but they have been taken away by order of Government. The greatest nuisances now remaining are those which arise from the custom of persons of all ranks on horseback to ride on the foot-paths, and from the preposterous hanging of shop and house-doors, which all open outward into the street, to the great annoyance of foot-passengers: I may also add the frequent pools of stagnant water, which, from the lowness of the site, cannot without much labor be drained away, and which, through the heat of the weather, often emit the most putrid exhalations. Water for the use of the city flows from the hills through aqueducts, and is distributed to several fountains in various public places. It is to be regretted that there are not more of these for the supply of the inhabitants[25], numbers of whom live a mile distant from any of them, and are obliged to employ persons continually in carrying water: many of the poorer classes earn a living by selling it. The fountains in dry weather are frequently so crowded, that the carriers have to wait for hours before they can be supplied. The water is good, and, when kept in large jars, drinks cool and pleasant. The inns and public houses are almost destitute of accommodations, and so very uncomfortable that a stranger will not reside in them if he can find a friend to take him in. House-rent, after the arrival of the Royal Family, became equally high as in London, owing, it should seem, to the dearness of building materials, and the high price of masonry. Timber in particular is unaccountably scarce, considering the quantity which grows in almost every part of Brazil; even firewood is dear. Provisions are in general plentiful, but not very choice in quality: the beef is very indifferent, and indeed bad; the pork is better, and, if the feeding were properly attended to, might be rendered fine; mutton is almost unknown, as the natives will not eat it[26]; the poultry of every description is excellent, but it is very dear. Pulse and vegetables of all kinds are very abundant, and the fish-market is not ill supplied. Turtles are frequently caught, as well as a great variety of fish; there are abundance of very fine large prawns. The oysters and muscles, though not equal to ours, are very tolerable.

Owing to its low situation, and the general filthiness of its streets, Rio de Janeiro cannot be called healthful. Improvements are now making which will in part remedy these evils; but other causes tend to increase the insalubrity of the air, and to spread contagious distempers, the principal of which are the large importations of negroes from Africa, who commonly land in a sickly state, the consequence of close confinement during a hot voyage. It is much to be regretted that the city was not originally built on the plan of those in the Netherlands, with canals for brigs and small vessels, which might then have been unloaded at the doors of the warehouses: such an improvement would have also greatly tended to the cleanliness and salubrity of the town.

The police is by no means ill regulated; and, from the attention which has been paid to it since the arrival of the court, there is every hope that it will be placed on a footing equally respectable with that of any European capital. The prisons are loathsome, and require the benevolent genius of a Howard to reform them altogether. One great step in favor of humanity has been gained: the inquisition has been abolished, and with it the spirit of persecution, so that no one can now be offended for his theological tenets, unless he openly insult the established religion.

This city is the chief mart of Brazil, and especially of the provinces of Minas Geraes, S. Paulo, Goyazes, Cuyaba, and Coritiva. The mining districts, being most populous, require the greatest proportion of consumable goods, and in return send the most valuable articles of commerce, hence innumerable troops of mules are continually travelling to and from those districts; their common burden is about three hundred weight each, which they carry to the almost incredible distance of 1500 or 2000 miles. Their homeward freight consists chiefly of salt for the consumption of the cattle, and iron for the working of the mines, and goods of all descriptions.

No colonial port in the world is so well situated for general commerce as Rio de Janeiro. It enjoys, beyond any other, an equal convenience of intercourse with Europe, America, Africa, the East Indies, and the South Sea Islands, and seems formed by nature as the grand link to connect the trade of those great portions of the globe. Commanding also, as the capital of a rich and extensive territory, resources of immense amount and value, it seemed to require only the presence of an efficient government to give it political importance, and this advantage it has now gained by becoming the chosen residence of the court of Portugal. The benefits resulting from this great event had but just begun to display themselves at the period to which this narrative refers; and the commercial relations of Rio de Janeiro, though considerably augmented, were still but in their germ. I shall proceed to state them according to the best information I was then able to procure.

The imports hither from the River Plate, and from Rio Grande de St. Pedro, consist in immense quantities of dried beef, tallow, hides, and wheat. Those from the United States are chiefly salt provisions, flour, household furniture, pitch, and tar. The North Americans generally send cargoes of these articles on speculation, and, as the market for them is fluctuating and not to be depended on, they frequently take them to other ports. Their provisions are commonly sent to the Cape of Good Hope. They bring European merchandize, which they exchange for specie wherewith to trade to China, and also take in necessaries on their voyages to the South Seas.

From the western coast of Africa, Rio de Janeiro imports wax, oil, elephant’s teeth, gum, sulphur, and some woods. The negro trade has been restricted to the kingdom of Angola by a decree of the Prince Regent, who has declared his intention of abolishing it altogether as soon as possible.

The trade to Mozambique is trivial; but, since the capture of the Isle of France by the British has cleared that coast from French privateers, it may be expected to increase. It affords many valuable products, such as gold-dust, brought from the interior, ivory, of which the Prince monopolizes the largest sort, ebony and other fine woods, drugs, oil, excellent columbo-root, and an abundance of various gums, particularly of the gum _meni_. The whale fisheries on the coast have proved a source of riches to many speculators.

The intercourse of this port with India, in common with Mozambique, has been much annoyed by the privateers of the Isle of France, and will therefore, in all probability, florish equally by their suppression. A voyage thither and back is performed with great expedition: one large ship of eight hundred tons sailed, loaded at Surat, and returned within the space of seven months. A voyage to China seldom occupies a longer period. The trade thither will no doubt be revived, and it is not improbable that this port may, at no great distance of time, become an entrepôt for India goods destined for Europe.

Rio de Janeiro is conveniently situated for supplying a great variety of necessaries to the Cape of Good Hope and to New South Wales; indeed, of late years, English manufactures have been sold here so cheap, that it has been found more advantageous to ship them hence for those colonies than from home. Ships going on the South Sea whale-fishery touch here, and lay in large quantities of spirituous liquors, wine, sugar, coffee, tobacco, soap, and live stock.

The imports from the mother-country consist chiefly in vinegar, hardware, coarse linen, hats, silks, wine, and oil. From Sweden some iron, also pitch and tar are occasionally brought: it is preferred to English iron, particularly for mules’ shoes, on account of its greater ductility.

The exports consist principally of cotton, sugar, rum, coffee, rice, ship-timber, various fine cabinet-woods, hides, tallow, indigo, and coarse cotton cloths, in immense quantities, for clothing the Peons in the provinces of the River Plate. Among the more precious articles of export may be enumerated gold, in chains and other ornaments, diamonds, topazes of various colors, amethysts, tourmalines, (that are frequently sold for emeralds), chrysoberyls, aqua-marinas, and wrought jewelry.

This market has been greatly overstocked with English manufactures, in consequence of the sanguine speculations to which our merchants were incited by the late emigration. The supply exceeded the demand in a tenfold degree, and the excess gave rise to auctions, where goods were sold at unprecedentedly reduced prices. In proportion as English merchandize lowered, that of Brazil rose in value; and so great was the demand for it, owing to the numerous vessels waiting for cargoes, that within a year after the arrival of the Prince Regent, the price of every article of produce was doubled. Gold quickly disappeared; for the monied Portuguese, perceiving the avidity and impolitic eagerness with which the English forced their goods upon them, cautiously withheld their specie, and, by the alternative of barter, got rid of their own produce at a very high price, and obtained our merchandize almost at their own valuation. The losing party in this unequal traffic, though they had chiefly to blame their own imprudence in engaging in it, were loud in their complaints and remonstrances against the Portuguese merchants. A treaty of commerce was concluded, by which the duties on English merchandize were fixed at fifteen_per cent_. while other nations were to pay twenty-four _per cent. ad valorem_. A judge was appointed to attend solely to the concerns of the English, and to see justice done them: he was entitled the _Juiz Conservador_ of the English nation. The person who now fills this important office is one of the most enlightened and upright of men; his official conduct, of which I have seen much, has secured him the respect of all parties, and has done credit to the choice of the Prince Regent, confirmed by the approval of his Excellency Lord Strangford. Further to cultivate and extend the interests of commerce, his Royal Highness has established a Board of Trade, in which are some experienced and intelligent men, to whose consideration every particular case, and every new regulation, is referred. One of the members of this Board, Dr. José da Silva Lisboa, has greatly distinguished himself by his zeal for the English nation, displayed in various publications on commerce, particularly in one dated May 1810, which contains a fund of solid argument on the principles laid down and acknowledged by our most celebrated statesmen and political writers. It is to be hoped that the diffusion of views so liberal, under the auspices of ministers, will banish that narrow-minded jealousy with which certain opulent individuals of the Brazilian capital regard the English merchants, whom they stigmatize as intruders; and that the general interests of commerce in this thriving colony will gain, through fair competition, what they have heretofore lost through overstocked markets.

The business of the custom-house, although still shackled with many troublesome and tedious regulations, especially with regard to small articles, has been considerably simplified; and in all cases, where a stranger finds himself at a loss how to proceed, he is sure to have every difficulty explained, and every obstacle removed, by appealing to the judge who presides over this department. The liberality and disinterestedness of this excellent officer are the more generally felt and acknowledged, from an apprehension of the inconveniences with which his situation might enable him to embarrass the trade, if he were inclined to a more rigorous execution of the laws.

In mentioning the advantages which have resulted to the English merchants from the liberality of the persons in office, I ought not to omit stating that much has been effected through the exertions of the British minister, who, while pursuing that conciliatory and moderate line of conduct, which gained him the esteem of the Prince Regent, ever firmly upheld the interests of his nation; and in all deliberations concerning them, reserved to himself the casting vote. With respect to individuals, it is true that he declined to be troubled on every trivial occasion, and scrupulously discountenanced every covert attempt at monopoly or peculation, from whatever quarter it came; but in great questions he acted with promptitude and decision; nor was he averse to use his influence in favor of a private individual, when a candid and manly appeal was made to him. Considering the peculiar circumstances attending his embassy, and also the jarring interests he had to reconcile, Lord Strangford conducted himself in a way highly honorable to his talents and character; and in continuing to merit the confidence of his own court, secured that of the Prince Regent and all his ministers. The treaty of commerce is a proof of the harmony which subsists between them, and may be regarded on our part as the most advantageous that, in the existing posture of affairs, could have been procured.

The harbour is easy of entrance and egress, generally speaking, at all times, as there is a daily alternation of land and sea breeze, the former blowing until about noon, and the latter from that hour until sun-set. Ships find here every conveniency for repairing, heaving down, &c. but it is to be hoped that docks will soon be formed, which will render the latter troublesome and dangerous operation unnecessary. There is an anchorage-duty paid, which forms an item in the bill of port charges.

Of the state of society in Rio de Janeiro, what I have to observe differs little from the description of the Paulistas given. The same habits and manners prevail at both places, allowing for some slight variation, caused by the greater influx of strangers to the capital. The Portuguese are in general rather punctilious and reserved in admitting a foreigner to their family parties; but having once received him, they are open and hospitable. The ladies are affable and courteous to strangers, extremely fond of dress, but less proud than those of other nations. In their mixed assemblies the utmost gaiety prevails, and is seasoned by that finished politeness for which the Portuguese are generally distinguished. The conversation of the best bred men, however, is more lively than instructive; for education is here at a low ebb, and comprehends a very limited course of literature and science. It is proper to add that, since the arrival of the court, measures have been adopted for effecting a thorough reform in the seminaries, and other institutions for public instruction; and that the Prince Regent, in his solicitude for the good of his subjects, has zealously patronized every attempt to diffuse among them a taste for useful knowledge. Under his auspices, the college of S. Joaquim has undergone considerable improvement: a lectureship on chemistry has been instituted, to which our countryman, Dr. Gardner, has been nominated by his Royal Highness; and it is to be hoped that from this appointment may be dated the introduction of experimental philosophy in that establishment.

Resuming my narrative, I am bound in gratitude to state that the reception I met with here exceeded my most sanguine hopes, and far more so any individual pretensions on which I could ground them. I must attribute it to the letter of introduction to the Viceroy, with which the Portuguese minister in London honored me on my departure thence, and which I presented to his noble relative, the Conde de Linhares, minister for foreign affairs. This distinguished statesman shewed me every attention, and granted me every privilege I could ask, so that, through his kind condescension, all went well with me. I may state this without incurring the imputation of vanity, since it is only one among the numerous proofs he has given of his disposition to serve the English by every means in his power.

A few weeks after my arrival, I solicited permission of His Excellency the Conde de Linhares to work an iron mine at Guaraceaba, representing at the same time the immense advantages which might accrue to the state from such an experiment, by opening its own resources for the supply of that useful metal. He in part assented to the proposal, but expressed a wish that I should previously devote a few days to an inspection of the Prince’s farm at Santa Cruz; and on my return make a report of the state in which I found it. While preparing for my journey, it was intimated to me as the Prince’s particular desire, that I should endeavour to establish a dairy on the principle of those in England, and direct the people in the management of it, to which I readily assented. Being provided with horses and a soldier to attend me, I set out on the journey accompanied by a gentleman named Paroissien, whose amiable disposition and scientific pursuits rendered him a very useful companion. After about fifty miles hard riding, we arrived at the farm about six in the evening, much fatigued. The accommodations we met with, fully explained to me the motive of His Royal Highness’s minister in enquiring into the state of his domain. Having presented my official letters, I was obliged to wait until ten o’clock before the slightest refreshment could be procured; not a dish of coffee was to be had; the only fare set before us was some lean beef half-boiled, certainly the worst I had ever tasted in Brazil. The mulatto who attended us engaged to have breakfast ready by seven next morning; we were in readiness at the hour, and though told it was coming immediately, we waited three hours, when just as we were ordering out the horses to Rio to avoid being famished, the repast was announced, with an excuse that it could not come sooner, because no milk could be procured.