THE SIGHTS OF RIO.--PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AQUEDUCT, CHURCHES, MIRACLES, AND
FUNERALS.--VISIT TO TIJUCA AND PETROPOLIS.--THE SERRA.
The party remained several days in Rio, and had abundant occupation for
eyes and ears. One of the days was devoted to a religious festival;
there were processions on the streets and services in the churches, and
the whole population seemed to give itself to idleness in honor of the
saint to whom that date of the almanac belonged. Rio Janeiro is a
Catholic city, but less intense in its religious feeling than Bahia.
Many adherents of the Catholic Church regard Bahia as an American Rome,
from which all religious dogmas and teachings affecting the continent
are expected to proceed.
Rio is well provided with churches, and some of them are admirable
specimens of ecclesiastical architecture. The youths visited the
cathedral and perhaps half a dozen of the principal churches, but did
not take the trouble to go through the entire list. The churches of Rio
are never closed; at almost any hour service is going on in one of the
chapels of the cathedral, and the stranger who desires to see the people
at worship has no lack of opportunity.
Votive offerings are as numerous in the churches of Rio as at Para, if
we may judge by the accounts of the youths. Frank made a sketch of one
collection of these offerings, while Fred recorded the inscriptions
relating to them.
[Illustration: VOTIVE OFFERINGS IN A CHURCH AT RIO.]
The sketch included busts, arms, legs, hands, and faces, moulded in wax
or carved in wood, perhaps twenty in all. There was a representation of
a large tumor on the neck of one of the faithful, who was cured by the
interposition of the saint, and below it was a painting of a ship being
driven on the rocks at the base of a steep cliff. The ship and crew
seemed doomed to certain destruction, but though the ship was lost all
the crew escaped, in consequence of an appeal to the patron saint.
Another painting showed the saint appearing in the form of an angel, to
an invalid sitting in an arm-chair; the inscription says he had not been
able to walk for years, but by following the direction he received he
was a well man on the following day. Another picture represented a
similar visit to a man lying on a sick-bed, and the legend below it
records a similar miraculous result.
[Illustration: VIEW IN THE BAY.]
The abundance of these votive offerings shows the trusting faith of the
pious Brazilians, and their conscientious belief in saintly power. The
religion of the country is Catholic; the emperor is a devout worshipper,
and a careful observer of the feasts and fasts ordained by the Church,
but he is a firm believer in the fullest toleration of all religions,
and sternly represses any demonstrations of bigotry.
There are Protestant churches in most of the cities of Brazil. The
United States Board of Foreign Missions has an establishment in the
empire, which receives a small allowance from the Brazilian government;
the ministers of the German and Swiss colonies of emigrants are paid by
the imperial government; and, altogether, the adherents of other
religions than that of the state run no risk of persecution "for
opinion's sake." The constitution says that religionists other than
Catholics shall restrict their worship to buildings "without the
exterior form of temples."
For religious purposes the empire is divided into twelve dioceses,
comprising one metropolitan province, under the archbishop at Bahia. The
diocese of Bahia is presided over by the archbishop, and each of the
other eleven is under the control of a bishop. The empire is further
divided into twelve hundred and ninety-nine parishes; the vicars are
mostly foreigners, and among these foreign vicars the Portuguese
predominate.
[Illustration: ALMS-BOX.]
Some of the votive offerings and relics are very old, bearing dates of
two or three centuries ago. In one church our friends were shown an
alms-box which was anciently used for collecting donations for "Our Lady
of the Good Voyage." It was suspended by a strap from the neck of the
collector, who went among the sailors on the arrival of ships from any
part of the world, and especially from Portugal, in the days of the
viceroyalty. The honesty of the collector was insured by a lock, which
is a curious, three-cornered affair closing with a key. Key and lock are
now heavily rusted from long disuse. The front of the box has a picture
of Our Lady standing on the deck of a ship; the halo around the head of
the figure indicates its saintly character.
The fronts of the altars were adorned with candles, many of them set in
candlesticks of solid silver, of great original cost. They were the
gifts of wealthy worshippers in times gone by. One of the attendants
sighingly remarked to Fred that people didn't give such magnificent
candlesticks to the church nowadays. Even the candles seemed to be
yellow with age, and from the dust collected on them it was evident they
were not often renewed.
[Illustration: RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL IN FRONT OF A CHURCH.]
It was formerly the custom to offer the sails of a ship, or some one of
them, as a votive tribute to Our Lady of the Good Voyage, or to some
other saint, for protection in time of peril. The following story is
given by Mr. Ewbank in "Life in Brazil."
"A lady told me that some years ago she came from Rio Grande in one of
her father's vessels. The passage was pleasant till within a day's sail
of the Sugar-Loaf. A small cloud then rose rapidly from the horizon,
darkness settled over them, the sea began to swell, and other
indications of a storm so alarmed the captain that he called the men
aft, and asked them to join him in offering the mainsail to St. Francis
de Paula, on condition of his carrying them safe in. The lady remembers
them standing around the commander, and with loud voices calling on the
saint, reminding him of what they had promised, each man confirming the
gift so far as his proportion of the cost went.
[Illustration: MONK IN A PROCESSION.]
"On arriving safe in port they paid for a mass, and a few days
afterwards went to the saint's quarters in procession, barefoot, bearing
the sail through the streets, with the captain at their head. The
offering was deposited in front of the church. A fair value was put upon
it in presence of the priest; the captain laid down the money, and was
handed a receipt stating the amount which the pious commander, Antonia
Martinez Bezerra, had paid into the treasury of the saint--the value of
his mainsail--in fulfilment of a vow made at the approach of a storm
(naming the day), as an acknowledgment of the saint's miraculous
interposition in behalf of himself, his ship, and his crew."
The same writer says that auctions of ships' sails which have been vowed
to the saints for interposition are not yet obsolete. The captains
always buy them in, and frequently the priests have some one to run them
up to prevent their going too cheaply.
Our friends visited one of the hospitals, accompanied by a doctor to
whom they had been introduced. Dr. Bronson was greatly pleased with the
appearance of the place, and commended the excellence of its
arrangements, its perfect cleanliness, and the evidence of careful
training on the part of the physicians and nurses. Their escort told
them that the cases most often under treatment in Rio were diseases of
the respiratory organs, caused by the dampness of the climate and the
prevailing heat. The mean annual temperature is 82° Fahrenheit, and the
annual rainfall averages about forty-six inches. There is hardly a year
without yellow fever; it is not usually fatal, but in some seasons there
is great mortality from it. People from Europe and the northern cities
of the United States suffer greatly from the heat for months after their
arrival, and many of them flee to the mountains at the first
opportunity.
From the hospital they drove to the Paseo Publico, a pretty garden
within the city limits, and much resorted to as a promenade. There are
gravelled walks shaded by tall palms and other tropical trees, and on
the water front is a marble pavement, which is crowded on pleasant
evenings by groups of well-dressed people, listening to the music, and
indulging in conversation, which is never boisterous.
Hospitals, asylums, theatres, colleges, academies, schools, and similar
institutions appropriate to a great city are not lacking in Rio, and
their abundance and good management speak well for the administration
of the government. Beyond the Botofago suburb is the Botanic Garden,
which no visitor should neglect; it contains an avenue of palms not
surpassed in any similar garden in the world, and there are other
stately trees which tell of the tropical situation. The place is on the
plan of the Experimental Gardens of the English colonies, or the
_Jardins d'Essai_ of the French, and forcibly reminded our young friends
of what they had seen in Ceylon, Singapore, Algiers, and other places or
countries on the other side of the world.
Most of the trees and plants of the continent of South America are
cultivated in the Botanic Garden, and there are rare exotics from all
parts of the globe. Frank espied a grove of cinnamon and clove trees at
the same moment that Fred called his attention to a collection of
tea-plants from China and Japan; Dr. Bronson pointed out a bread-fruit
tree side by side with cacao and camphor trees, while not far off were
maples and pines that seemed like old friends from the home of their
boyhood. Many trees from tropical Asia have found a home in Brazil
through the instrumentality of the Botanic Garden, which has
demonstrated their fitness for the climate of South America.
[Illustration: THE AQUEDUCT.]
Water is brought to the city through an aqueduct which was built a
hundred years ago, and is in good condition; some of the best modern
houses are supplied through pipes from the aqueduct, but the greater
part of the inhabitants rely upon the water-carriers, who are similar to
their fellow-craftsmen whom we have already seen at Para. In the early
morning the streets abound with these men, and with numerous
house-servants, bearing buckets or small casks of water on their heads.
The fountains are the great meeting-places for gossipers, as similar
places have been since the days when the New Testament was written, and
sometimes the scenes at the fountains of Rio are animated to a degree
bordering on commotion. Of course, the aqueduct is one of the sights of
the city, and the drive along the road leading past it was greatly
enjoyed by the youths.
[Illustration: A BRAZILIAN FOREST, WITH CHARACTERISTIC MAMMALIA.]
The aqueduct is twelve miles long, and at one place it crosses a valley
seven hundred and forty feet wide and ninety feet deep, on double
arches. It is insufficient for the wants of the city, and a new one is
likely to be completed before long.
People die in Rio as well as in other cities, and the cemetery is one of
the institutions of the place. The old cemeteries of Rio adjoin the
churches; since 1850 no interments have been allowed in them, and new
cemeteries have been established in the suburbs. The foreign cemetery is
at Gamboa, on the shore of the bay.
[Illustration: COFFIN CLOSED.]
"We went to one of the cemeteries," said Frank, "and happened to arrive
at the entrance chapel just as a funeral was going on. The coffin was so
shallow that the body lying within it was distinctly visible above the
sides as it stood on a stand resembling a sarcophagus; the lid is shaped
like the roof of a house, and is made of two sloping boards meeting and
forming a ridge. The Catholic service for the dead was performed, and
then a procession of priests and mourners formed, and the coffin was
borne from the chapel to the cemetery.
[Illustration: COFFIN OPENED.]
"This was an enclosure with four thick walls, in which there were niches
for the coffins, in the same manner as in a receiving tomb at Greenwood
or Mount Auburn. The coffin was placed on a stand near one of the
niches, the cover was opened, a handkerchief was spread over the face of
the corpse, and one of the priests sprinkled the body with holy water,
and threw a scoopful of quicklime upon it.
[Illustration: CEMETERY OF THE PAULA CHURCH.]
"The other priests and the friends of the deceased followed his example
one by one, the sprinkler and scoop being passed to them by a sacristan.
The lime was thus heaped on until there was at least a bushel of it,
completely concealing the body; the coffin was slid into its niche; the
door was closed and locked, the key was delivered to one of the friends
of the deceased, and then the attendants proceeded to close the space in
front of the door with brick and plaster. Orations were pronounced by
those who chose to speak, and the ceremonies were over.
"We were told that the bodies do not decay, in the ordinary acceptation
of the word. The flesh is consumed by the quicklime; at the end of two
years the niche is opened, the bones are removed and placed in a funeral
vase, and the niche is then ready for another tenant. No names are
placed above the niches, but each one is numbered, and a reference to
the register of the cemetery will show by whom and for how long a
particular place is occupied. Fees are exacted for the funeral services
and the rent of the niches; in fact, there is hardly anything in life or
death in Brazil in which the Church does not have a place.
Christenings, baptisms, marriages, death, and burials are all within its
supervision."
[Illustration: VIEW OF RIO FROM BOA VISTA.]
Rio de Janeiro has beautiful surroundings, and there is no prettier spot
among them than Tijuca, a favorite resort of the residents who seek to
escape the heat of the city. Other retreats are Petropolis, Boa Vista,
Constantia, Nova Friborga, and Teresopolis, all of them at elevations of
from one to three thousand feet above the water front of the city. Boa
Vista offers a fine view of Rio as it nestles on the shore of the bay;
all these resorts are reached by carriage-roads, and some by railway,
and in whatever way the journey is made it is sure to be enjoyed.
It was decided to visit Tijuca first of all, and for this purpose a
carriage was engaged for a drive of less than two hours, over a
magnificent road. They started late in the afternoon, panting with the
heat, but within an hour each of the party had donned his overcoat, and
found its warmth acceptable. Frank thought he could perceive a fall of
the temperature with every foot of the ascent, and regretted that he had
not held a thermometer in his hand during the journey.
Tijuca beautifully is situated among the hills and in the midst of
dense forests and groves. There is a waterfall which has a local
reputation, something like that of Niagara; it possesses quiet beauty
rather than grandeur, and is in a charming retreat where the thickness
of the foliage keeps out the rays of the tropical sun. There are several
similar cascades in the neighborhood, and the sound of the water pouring
among the rocks is very gratifying to the ear of one just escaped from
the heat of the city.
[Illustration: HOTEL AT TIJUCA, NEAR RIO.]
Foreign residents of Rio have their summer residences at Tijuca, Boa
Vista, and other places within easy reach of the capital, and a liberal
expenditure has been made by them in the construction of houses and in
laying out gardens and lawns. There are several hotels at Tijuca, and
the stranger can be reasonably sure of satisfactory quarters during his
stay. Dr. Bronson and his young companions were highly pleased with what
they found there, and wrote a line of commendation in the register of
the hotel.
Frank had wearied of carrying a monkey as part of his baggage, but was
so much attached to his purchase on the Madeira that he was unwilling to
part with it except to some one who would treat it well. With some
trouble to the youth, and more to Manuel, Gypsy had been tenderly cared
for during all their travels, from the day of her purchase until they
reached Tijuca, where the tiny animal found a genuine admirer.
The daughter of the landlord was mourning the loss of a pet which she
declared was "the very image" of Gypsy. Frank was touched by her grief,
and with the permission of the proprietor of the establishment the
ownership of Gypsy was transferred to the child.
Frank rejoiced that his pet had found a good home; the girl was
delighted with the possession of the duplicate of the animal she
mourned; the father was pleased at the daughter's joy; and it is to be
presumed that the monkey was contented to give up travelling, and settle
down amid the pure air and charming scenery of Tijuca. But our record
closes without a distinct avowal from Gypsy of the sentiments that
swelled her simian breast.
Frank and Fred were up early in the morning after their arrival at
Tijuca, and ready for a horseback excursion to the top of a neighboring
mountain. Dr. Bronson concluded to remain at the hotel, and satisfy
himself with a promenade among the trees, and so the youths departed
without him.
[Illustration: CASCADE AT TIJUCA.]
They had an exhilarating ride, and came back about ten o'clock full of
enthusiasm concerning it. There is a carriage-road nearly to the top of
the mountain, and a bridle-path the rest of the way, so that they had no
occasion to leave their saddles. At every step they had beautiful views
of mountain and valley, thick forest and open lawn, and there were
frequent glimpses of the bay and the distant ocean. From the top of the
mountain the view embraces a considerable extent of country, backed by
the higher mountains of the Serra, which fills the horizon to the west.
[Illustration: THE ARMADILLO.]
Breakfast was served soon after their return, and they sat down to the
meal with good appetites. After breakfast they busied themselves with
letters and journals, and with the contemplation of a happy family of
monkeys and other Brazilian animals in a large cage in the court-yard
of the hotel. One occupant of the cage was an armadillo; as nature had
not adapted him for climbing, he wisely remained on the floor and
allowed the monkeys a monopoly of acrobatic feats. The upper half of him
was protected with scales like plates of mail, and when alarmed he
closed himself together till he resembled a cocoa-nut. At such times
there was little else than the mail-plates presented to outside view,
and he could be tossed around with impunity, at least to the tosser. The
monkeys had a way of rolling him from side to side of the cage, and
occasionally they carried him to the top and let him fall. This
application of the laws of gravitation did not affect his gravity, and
when they wearied of the performance he opened out his iron-clad coating
and looked as serene as ever.
Frank wished to know the uses of the armadillo; Manuel told him it was
an excellent article of food, and was liked by both native and foreign
residents of Brazil. The youth was sceptical until he had the
opportunity of tasting the new diet, whereupon he declared that he would
be a friend of the armadillo as long as he remained in South America.
From Tijuca they went to Petropolis, a summer resort higher in the
mountains and more distant from the sea than is the former place. They
took the carriage-route by the Union and Industry road, a magnificent
highway, which was built by private enterprise, and is a model of
engineering skill. It penetrates the coffee district back of Rio, and
until the railway was built from the capital to and beyond the mountains
of the Serra it had almost a monopoly of transportation. It still has a
large business, and the company which controls it runs a line of stages
and freight wagons, in addition to collecting tolls on every private
wagon and every pack animal that passes over it.
[Illustration: ROAD OVER THE SERRA, NEAR PETROPOLIS.]
The scenery along the road, where it crosses the Serra, elicited the
warmest expressions of admiration from the Doctor and his young
companions. Frank said it was a combination of the Corniche road from
Nice to Genoa and the mountain journey from Colombo to Kandy, in Ceylon.
Fred was reminded of the passage of the Alleghenies in Pennsylvania, and
the Simplon in the Alps, though he missed the snow-clad peaks of the
latter, and the pines and other northern trees of the former. They
unanimously agreed that the engineers who made the road understood their
work thoroughly, and had constructed a route which would endure through
everything except the demolition of the mountains by an earthquake, or
the outbreak of a volcano beneath them.
They were caught in a storm while ascending the Serra; one is generally
caught in a storm in some part of the day in the mountains near Rio. The
rain falls in such quantities as to drive the wayfarer to the nearest
shelter, and if he is not quick to reach it he is drenched to the skin.
Rain falls every afternoon at Tijuca, and so certainly may it be
expected that the sojourners so time their excursions that they may be
indoors when the showers come. The moisture from the ocean is driven
against the mountains, where it is condensed into rain, and by this
daily rain the streams around Tijuca have an unfailing source of supply.
The morning is clear and comfortable; from ten or eleven in the
forenoon until three hours after the meridian it is too warm to stir
about; and at three o'clock the clouds gather, and the rain falls an
hour or so later. At sunset the clouds roll away, and the night sees the
canopy of the heavens glistening with stars.
The storm on the Serra had the peculiarity of rolling below their route
and leaving them travelling above the clouds. It began at the summit of
the mountain and then descended; it wrapped them in its misty folds;
lightning played about them; they met wagons and pack-mules looming
suddenly out of the fog as though literally dropping from the clouds;
then the mist became less and less dense; and at length they emerged
from it into the open sky, and looked upon the storm sweeping over the
valley below. From the Alto do Serra, the highest point of the road,
they had a view of immense extent. The mountains rose above and around
them; the valley, visible through occasional breaks in the clouds, was a
picture of serene loveliness, disturbed only by the lightnings and the
rain that fell copiously. Far off was the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, dotted
with its many islands, dominated by the mountains that encircle it, and
lighted by the afternoon sun.
[Illustration: THE PALACE AT PETROPOLIS.]
Petropolis lies in a beautiful valley among the mountains; it was
founded by Dom Pedro I., who built a palace there and established a
colony of Swiss and Germans, which were imported from Europe at
considerable cost to the government. The plan was continued by his son
and successor, and of late years the place has become a fashionable
resort of no small importance. It has fifteen thousand inhabitants, and
many of the wealthy residents of Rio have their summer homes in
Petropolis; the imperial palace is an extensive building with beautiful
grounds, and the situation is certainly an attractive one.
The German settlers brought the names of their fatherland when they came
here to live, and also retained many of their home customs. Some of them
have become wealthy coffee-planters, and a good deal of business passes
through their hands. Many of the hotels are kept by Swiss or Germans,
and not infrequently the buildings are perfect copies of the chalets we
have seen in the Alps, or among the lowlands of Switzerland. Petropolis
has several Lutheran and other churches, and the government makes an
annual appropriation for schools, in which the children of the colonists
are educated. There are several hotels, and the stranger can pleasantly
pass a few days in this attractive spot.
[Illustration: RELIGIOUS PROCESSION IN BRAZIL.]