girls and their smiling partners, furnish forth combinations in which
poetry and romance delight, and which one must be stoical indeed to
contemplate without emotion. I never loved dancing myself, perhaps
because I never excelled in it; but yet, a ball-room is to me a
delightful place. There are happy faces, and hearts not the less happy
for the little anxious palpitations that arise now and then, and
curiosity, and hope, and all the amiable feelings of youth and nature;
and if among it a little elderly gaiety mingles, and excites a smile, I,
for my part, rather reverence the youth of heart which lives through the
cares and vexations of this life, and can mingle in, without disturbing,
the hilarity of youth.
_17th_.--Nothing remarkable yesterday or to-day, but the perfect quiet
of the town. The Prince goes on discharging the soldiers.
_19th_.--This day the new ministers arrived from St. Paul's; the chief
of whom in station, as in talent, is Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva.
According to the opinion entertained of him by the people here, I should
say that Cowper had described him, when he wrote
Great offices will have
Great talents. And God gives to every man
The virtue, temper, understanding, taste,
That lift him into life, and lets him fall
Just in the niche he was ordained to fill.
To the deliverer of an injured land
He gives a tongue to enlarge upon, a heart
To feel, and courage to redress her wrongs.
He had been sent early from Brazil to study at Coimbra, where he lay
sick at the time of the King's departure from Lisbon; and afterwards,
during the time of the French, he could not find means to return to his
native country; but upon the first rising of the people in the districts
round Oporto and Coimbra, he put himself at the head of the students of
the university, in their successful resistance to Junot, and afterwards
served in the campaign against Soult. When he returned to Lisbon, I
believe, he there entered the regular army; for after bearing arms
against Massena, I find that at the end of the war he had the rank of
lieutenant-colonel, with which he returned to Brazil in 1819. But his
whole time in Europe was not spent in warfare: he had travelled, and had
become acquainted with several among the most distinguished characters
in England, France, and Italy, and had contracted a particular esteem
for Alfieri. The object of his travels was rather to see and learn what
might be useful to his own country, than the mere pleasure of visiting
different parts of the world; and I am told, that he has particularly
attended to those branches of science which may improve the agriculture
and the mining of Brazil.
One of his brothers, Martin Francisco, is possessed of scarcely less
talent than himself; and their family, their character, and the esteem
in which they are held, add weight not only to their own interest, but
to the government which employs them.
The guards and patroles were doubled along the road, by which they and
the veteran General Corado arrived, as it was feared the Portuguese, who
since the 12th have been completely distinct from the Brazilians, might
have impeded their progress. However, every thing was perfectly
tranquil.
20_th_.--The Aurora arrived from Pernambuco and Bahia, at both which
places it appears that every thing is quiet. But as the meeting of the
camara of Bahia is to take place early next month, for the purpose of
chusing a new provisional government, the English are apprehensive of
some disturbance, and therefore we are to return thither to protect our
friends in case of need.
21_st_.--I went ashore to shop with Glennie. There are a good many
English shops, such as saddlers, and stores, not unlike what we call in
England an Italian warehouse, for eatables and drinkables; but the
English here generally sell their goods wholesale to native or French
retailers. The latter have a great many shops of mercery, haberdashery,
and millinery. For tailors, I think, there are more English than French,
and but few of either. There are bakers' shops of both nations, and
plenty of English pot-houses, whose Union Jacks, Red Lions, Jolly Tars,
with their English inscriptions, vie with those of Greenwich or
Deptford. The goldsmiths all live in one street, called by their name
_Rua dos Ourives_, and their goods are exposed in hanging frames at each
side of the shop-door or window, in the fashion of two centuries back.
The workmanship of their chains, crosses, buttons, and other ornaments,
is exquisite, and the price of the labour, charged over the weight of
the metal, moderate.
Most of the streets are lined with English goods: at every door the
words _London superfine_ meet the eye: printed cottons, broad cloths,
crockery, but above all, hardware from Birmingham, are to be had little
dearer than at home, in the Brazilian shops; besides silks, crapes, and
other articles from China. But any thing bought by retail in an English
or French shop is, usually speaking, very dear.
I am amused at the apparent apathy of the Brazilian shopkeepers. If they
are engaged, as now is not unfrequently the case, in talking politics,
or reading a newspaper, or perhaps only enjoying a cool seat in the back
of their shop, they will often say they have not the article enquired
for, rather than rise to fetch it; and if the customer persists and
points it out in the shop, he is coolly desired to get it for himself,
and lay down the money. This happened several times during the course
of our search for some tools for turning to-day along the Rua Direita,
where every second house is a hardware shop, furnished from Sheffield
and Birmingham.
_22d_.--The Princess's birth-day was celebrated by firing of cannon, a
review, and a drawing-room. Capt. Prescott, of the Aurora, and Capt.
Graham, attended it. It seems the Prince took little or no notice of
them, or any of the English. I think it probable that the Brazilians are
jealous of us, on account of our long alliance with Portugal; and
besides, they may take the converse of the maxim, "those that are not
against us are for us;" and think because we are not for them, we are
against them.[90]
[Note 90: I have since learned that some very warm expressions of
personal regard and sympathy used by an English officer (not, however,
belonging either to the Aurora or Doris) to a Portuguese, with whom he
had but a slight acquaintance, on occasion of his embarking for Praya
Grande, had led the Portuguese to believe that it meant something more,
and that, in case of need, the English would join with the Portuguese.
This at least was whispered in the town, and very naturally accounts for
the jealousy entertained against us.]
_24th_.--We sailed at daylight for Bahia. It was one of the finest
mornings of this fine climate, and the remarkable land behind the
Sugar-loaf was seen to its best advantage in the early light. The
extreme beauty of this country is such, that it is impossible not to
talk and think of it for ever; not a turn but presents some scene both
beautiful and new; and if a mountainous and picturesque country have
really the power of attaching its inhabitants, above all others, the
_Fluminenses_ ought to be as great patriots as any in the world.
_February 8th, Bahia_.--After a fortnight's sail, the two first days of
which were calm, followed by a gale of wind, which lasted nearly three
days, we anchored to-day in the bay of All Saints, which we found
looking as gaily beautiful as ever. The election of the new provisional
government took place yesterday, quite peaceably; and of the seven
members of the junta, only one is a native of Portugal.
I remark, that the language of the writers of gazettes here is much
bolder than at Rio; and I think that there is here a truly republican
spirit among a very considerable number of persons: whether it extends
throughout the province I cannot judge; but I am assured that a desire
for independence, and a resolution to possess it, is universal.
_10th_.--We went ashore yesterday. The advance of the season has ripened
the oranges and mangoes since we left Bahia, and has increased the
number of insects, so that the nights are no longer silent. The hissing,
chirping, and buzzing of crickets, beetles, and grasshoppers, continue
from sunset to sunrise; and all day long the trees and flowers are
surrounded by myriads of brilliant wings. The most destructive insects
are the ants, and every variety of them that can hurt vegetable life is
to be found here. Some form nests, like huge hanging cones, among the
branches of the trees, to which a covered gallery of clay from the
ground may be traced along the trunk: others surround the trunks and
larger branches with their nests; many more live under ground. I have
seen in a single night the most flourishing orange-tree stripped of
every leaf by this mischievous creature.
_16th_.--We sailed from Bahia, finding every thing, to all appearance,
quiet[91]; and no apprehension being entertained by the English, a ball
at the consul's, another at Mrs. N.'s, and a third at Mrs. R.'s, at each
of which, as many of our young men as could get ashore were present,
made them very happy, and we had some very pleasant rides into the
country. I had intended, if possible, visiting a huge mass, said to be
so similar to the meteoric stones that have fallen in different parts of
the world as to induce a belief that it is also one of them, although it
weighs many tons, and I hoped to get a piece of it; but I find it is
near Nazareth de Farinha, on the other side of the bay, and too far off
for this present visit to Bahia. The first time we were at Bahia, I
could not even learn where it was, so incurious are my countrymen here
about what brings no profit.
[Note 91: Very shortly after we sailed, I believe within a day or
two, those disturbances broke out at Bahia, which lasted until the 2d of
July, 1823.]
_24th. Rio de Janeiro_.--Nothing remarkable occurred on our passage here
from Bahia. The school-room proceeds exceedingly well, both with the
master and the scholars; and as we are all in tolerable health, we look
forward with no small pleasure to our voyage to Chile, for which we are
preparing.
During our absence, the Prince Don Pedro has been very active, and has
dismissed all the Portuguese troops. On the ships being provided to
transport them to Europe, they refused to embark, on which His Royal
Highness caused a heavy frigate to anchor opposite to their quarters,
and went on board himself the night before the morning appointed by him
for their sailing. The steam-vessel attended for the purpose of towing
the transports, in case of necessity; and several gun-vessels were
stationed so as to command the barracks of the refractory regiments,
while a body of Brazilian soldiers was stationed in the neighbourhood.
The Prince was, during the greater part of the night, in his barge,
going from vessel to vessel, and disposing every thing to make good his
threat, that if the Portuguese were not all on board by eight o'clock
the next morning, he would give them such a breakfast of Brazilian balls
as should make them glad to leave the country. This he had been provoked
to say, by a message from the officers and men, insolently delivered
that very night, desiring more time to prepare for their voyage. Seeing
His Royal Highness in earnest, which they could hardly be brought to
believe he was, they thought it most prudent to do as they were bid; and
accordingly embarked, to the no small joy of the Brazilians, who had
long cordially hated them.
_Friday, March 1st_.--The weather is now excessively hot, the
thermometer being seldom under 88°, and we have had it on board at 92°
Fahrenheit. Capt. Graham has had a slight attack of gout, for which
reason I have not been ashore since our return from Bahia; but as he is
a little better to-day he has insisted on my accompanying a party of our
young men in an expedition up the harbour to see a country estate and
factory.
At one o'clock, our friend, Mr. N. called for us, with a large boat of
the country, which is better for the purpose than our ship's boats.
These vessels have a standing awning, and two very large triangular
sails: they are managed according to their sizes by four, six, eight, or
more negroes, besides the man at the helm: when rowing, the rowers rise
at every stroke, and then throw themselves back on their seats. I think
I have heard that within the memory of persons now in the navy it was
the fashion to row the admiral's barges so in England. The boatmen are
here universally negroes; some free, and owners of their boats; others
slaves, who are obliged to take home a daily fixed sum to their masters,
who often pass a life of total indolence, being fed in this way by their
slaves.
The place we were going to is Nossa Senhora da Luz, about twelve miles
from Rio, up the harbour, near the mouth of the river Guaxindiba, which
river rises in the hills of Taypu; and though its straight course is
only five miles, its windings would measure twenty or more: it is
navigable, and its banks are astonishingly fertile.
The evening was charming, and we sailed past many a smiling island and
gay wooded promontory, where gardens and country-houses are thickly
scattered, and whence provisions in innumerable boats and canoes cross
the bay every morning for the city. Our first view of N.S. da Luz
presented such a high red bank, half covered with grass and trees,
overhanging the water in the evening sun, as Cuyp would have chosen for
a landscape; and just as I was wishing for something to animate it, the
oxen belonging to the factory came down to drink and cool themselves in
the bay, and completed the scene. The cattle here are large and
well-shaped, something like our own Lancashire breed, and mottled in
colour, though mostly red. On doubling the point of the bank, we came
upon a small white church, with some venerable trees near it; beyond
that was the house, with a long veranda, supported by white columns; and
still farther on, the sugar-house, and the pottery and brick-work. We
landed close to the house; but as the beach is shallow and muddy, we
were carried ashore by negroes. Nothing can be finer than the scenery
here. From the veranda, besides the picturesque and domestic
fore-ground, we see the bay, dotted with rocky islands; one of these,
called Itaoca, is remarkable as having, in the opinion of the Indians,
been the residence of some divine person: it is connected with the
traditions concerning their benefactor, Zome, who taught them the use of
the mandioc, and whom the first missionaries here contrived to convert
into St. Thomas the apostle. It consists of one immense stone cleft
throughout, and a little earth and sand gathered round it, on which are
trees and shrubs of the freshest verdure; some of the other islets are
bare, and some again have houses and villages on them: the whole scene
is terminated by the Organ Mountains, whose spiry and fantastic summits
attracting the passing clouds, secure an everlasting variety to the eye.
We found, that owing to our neglect in not sending beforehand to
announce our visit, neither the master of the house nor his housekeeper
were at home: however, Mr. N. being an old friend, went into the poultry
yard, and ordered thence an excellent supper; and while it was
preparing, we went to look at the pottery, which is only for the
coarsest red ware. The wheel used here is the clumsiest and rudest I
ever saw, and the potter is obliged to sit sideways by it. The clay,
both for the pottery and the bricks, is dug on the spot; it is coarse
and red: it is tempered by the trampling of mules; but all that we use
spades and shovels for is done by the bare hands of the negroes: the
furnaces for baking the bricks and jars are partly scooped out of the
hill, and faced with brick. Leaving the pottery, we climbed the hill
that marks the first approach to N.S. da Luz; and on the way up its
steep and rugged side, our dogs disturbed a flock of sheep, as
picturesque and as ragged as Paul Potter himself could have desired:
they had been lying round the root of a huge old acacia, decorated with
innumerable parasite plants, some of which cling like ivy to the trunk,
and others climbing to the topmost boughs, fall thence in grey silky
garlands, or, like the tillandsia, adorn them with hundreds of pink and
white flowers; among these, many an ant and bee had fixed his nest, and
every thing was teeming with life and beauty.
The moon was up long before we returned from our ramble, and long before
our host arrived. Had the Neapolitan ambassador, who told George the
Third that the moon of his country was worth the sun of England, ever
been in Brazil, I could almost forgive the hyperbole. The clear mild
light playing on such scenery, and the cool refreshing breeze of
evening, after a day of all but intolerable heat, render the night
indeed the season of pleasure in this climate: nor were the rude songs
of the negroes, as they loaded the boats to be ready to sail down the
harbour with the morning’s land-breeze, unpleasing.
As we were looking over the bay, a larger boat appeared: it neared the
shore; and our host, Mr. Lewis P., who superintends the fazenda, landed,
and kindly received our apology for coming without previous notice. The
visit had long been talked of; but now our time at Rio was likely to be
so short, that had we not come to-day, we might not have come at all. He
led the way to the garden, where we passed the time till supper was
ready. The midshipmen found more oranges, and better than they had yet
met with, and did full justice to them. The fruit and vegetables of
Europe and America, of the temperate and torrid zones, meet here; nor
are their flowers forgotten: over against the little parterre, an orange
and a tamarind tree shade a pleasant bench; close to which, in something
of oriental taste, the white stucco wall of the well is raised and
crowned with flower-pots, filled with roses and sweet herbs.
_2d._--I rose at daylight, and rode with Mr. N. through the estate,
while Mr. Dance, my cousin Glennie, and the two boys, went to shoot in
the marsh by the river side.
Every turn in our ride brought a new and varied landscape into view:
beneath, the sugar-cane in luxuriant growth; above, the ripening orange
and the palm; around and scattered through the plain enlivened by the
windings of the Guazindiba, the lime, the guava, and a thousand odorous
and splendid shrubs, beautified the path.--But all is new here. The long
lines of fazenda houses, that now and then take from the solitariness of
nature, suggest no association with any advance either of old or present
time, in the arts that civilise or that ennoble man. The rudest
manufactures, carried on by African slaves, one half of whom are newly
imported, (that is, are still smarting under the separation from all
that endears the home, even of a savage,) are all the approaches to
improvement; and though nature is at least as fine as in India or in
Italy, the want of some reference to man, as an intellectual and moral
being, robs it of half its charms. However, I returned well pleased from
my ride, and found my young sportsmen not less pleased with their
morning's ramble. Not, indeed, that they had shot snipes, as they
intended, but they had gotten a huge lizard (_Lacerta Marmorata_), of a
kind they had not seen before. They had seen the large land-crab
(_Ruricola_), and they had brought down a boatswain bird, a sort of
pelican, (_Pelicanus Lencocephalus_), which they proposed to stuff.
Accordingly after breakfast, as the weather was too hot to walk farther,
the bird and the lizard were both skinned, the guns were cleaned, and I
made a sketch of the landscape.
In the evening I took a long walk to a point of view whence the whole
bay with the city in the distance is distinctly seen, and on the way
stopped at a cottage, where Mr. P. who is, literally, here "king,
priest, and prophet," had some enquiry to make, concerning the health of
the indwellers: these were two negroes, who have grown old in the
service of the estate, and are no longer useful. I have seen examples of
such being freed, that is, turned out of doors to starve. Here they
would be entitled, by the rules of the estate, if not by law, to come
every day for the same allowance as the working negroes: but they do not
choose it. They indeed live in a hut, and on the ground of their master;
but they maintain themselves by rearing a few fowls, and making baskets:
so dear is the feeling of independence, even in old age, sickness, and
slavery.
_Sunday, 3d._--I went out before breakfast, with a negro carpenter for
my guide. This man, with little instruction, has learned his art so as
to be not only a good carpenter and joiner, but also a very tolerable
cabinet-maker, and in other respects displays a quickness of
understanding which gives no countenance to the pretended inferiority of
negro intellect. I was much pleased with the observations he made on
many things which I remarked as new, and with the perfect understanding
he seemed to have of all country works. After breakfast, I attended the
weekly muster of all the negroes of the fazenda; clean shirts and
trowsers were given the men, and shifts and skirts to the women, of very
coarse white cotton. Each, as he or she came in, kissed a hand, and then
bowed to Mr. P. saying, either "Father, give me blessing," or "The names
of Jesus and Mary be praised!" and were answered accordingly, either
"Bless you," or "Be they praised." This is the custom in old
establishments: it is repeated morning and evening, and seems to
acknowledge a kind of relationship between master and slave. It must
diminish the evils of slavery to one, the tyranny of mastership in the
other, to acknowledge thus a common superior Master on whom they both
depend.
As each slave passed in review, some questions were asked concerning
himself, his family, if he had one, or his work; and each received a
portion of snuff or tobacco, according to his taste. Mr. P. is one of
the few persons whom I have met conversant among slaves, who appears to
have made them an object of rational and humane attention. He tells me
that the creole negroes and mulattoes are far superior in industry to
the Portuguese and Brazilians; who, from causes not difficult to be
imagined, are for the most part indolent and ignorant. The negroes and
mulattoes have strong motives to exertion of every kind, and succeed in
what they undertake accordingly. They are the best artificers and
artists. The orchestra of the opera-house is composed of at least
one-third of mulattoes. All decorative painting, carving, and inlaying
is done by them; in short, they excel in all ingenious mechanical arts.