are found, to say the least, are not behind any they meet, where boldness and intrepidity are in requisition. The distance, in a direct line, from the Sugar-Loaf to the city, is about five miles; but the shores on either side sweep from the channel into several bays, making the rout by them much more circuitous. Botafogo, the largest and deepest of these inlets, first meets the eye. The entrance to it is very narrow, and almost entirely shut from the sight. Encircled by wild and lofty mountains, it exhibits, at almost every point of view, the characteristic features of a fine lake. In a momentary glance as we passed, it seemed, though so near the imperial capital, to be reposing in all the quiet of a sequestered loch in the Scottish highlands. The vapors of the morning still hung on the sides of the mountains, and but for a cottage here and there, with the boat of a fisherman along the shore, it might have been thought still a haunt only for the numerous sea-fowl seen hovering around its waters, or soaring among the inaccessible crags above. Next to Botafogo, and forming a kind of outer bay to it, comes the widely curving Praya do Flamengo, or beach of the Flamingos, lined with a range of fine houses. Immediately adjoining is the Gloria Hill, a place of great beauty, and one of the most conspicuous points in the panorama of the whole bay. Upon its brow stands the first public building, attracting particular notice in approaching the anchorage-the church "Nossa Señora de Gloria," of Our Lady of Glory. The building is a VOL. I. 5 50 THE GLORIA HILL. small octagon, with lofty towers of neat and well proportioned architecture, the whole beautifully white, ornamented with pilasters, cornices, and casements of brown freestone. It is delightfully located, and surrounded and overhung by trees and shrubbery of splendid growth. Around the Gloria is another indenture, over which is seen a long, stone causeway, lined with houses on the inner side; and above and beyond, a section of a lofty and massive aqueduct, running from the mountains to the city. Then comes another hill, surmounted by a monastery-a gloomy pile and in poor repair; immediately beneath which, on a low piece of level ground, lies the city, with its numerous steeples and towers, the most conspicuous being those of the imperial chapel and cathedral. The imperial residence fronts the water, and with the public square adjoining, is in full view from the anchorage; while the episcopal palace stands on a hill some two hundred feet high, in the centre of the city. This is an extensive building, and more finely located than that of the emperor, but of heavy and monkish architecture. Near it, on the west, is another hill and convent; and closely adjoining, the imperial navy yard; from which a small rocky and fortified island runs into the harbor, and completes the outline of the sketch on this side of the bay. With these leading objects, surrounded by masses of building for a foreground; backed by verdant hills in high cultivation-having cottages and villas embowered in bloom and beauty, scattered over them-the whole terminated by a splendid range of mountains, with the shaft of the Corcovado, two thousand feet in height, rising in the centre, like a pinnacle against the sky; and you will have some conception of the magnificence of the scene. At the city the bay is three miles wide. The opposite shore on the north is called Praya Grande. It is less wild and lofty in its general features; but equally rich in the varied beauty of hill and dell, and wood and lawn-of plantation in all the luxuriance of artificial improvement, and mountain forest standing in perennial verdure, undisturbed, as for ages, by the inroads of civilization. This section, except in the charm, which the evidences of taste and improvement seen in the church tower and villa, and wide spreading plantation throw over it, is strikingly like the central and more beautiful parts of Oahu, on which we have so often gazed together with untiring admiration. In much less time than I have taken to give you this outline, we ran up the bay into all the hurry and bustle of a busy port, amidst boats of every size and description; and dropt anchor inside the Bristish and French squadrons, in a range with the U. S. ship Vandalia-the only American man-of-war at present here. As we passed her, she gave us the customary salute to a flag ship, which we returned, as we rounded to, with the appointed number of guns. It was now too late for the morning service, and we had no worship till evening prayers. Most of the afternoon was spent by the officers of the Guerriere and Vandalia in an interchange of visits. The only indulgence I allowed myself, was that of gazing occa 52 MOLE AND LANDING. sionally on the magnificent panorama around me. There may be scenery in the world that equals, but there scarce can be any that surpasses it. As a whole, it is sublime, while every distinct section would in itself make a picture; and whether viewed in mass or in detail, exceeds in beauty and variety every thing I have before seen. LETTER II. OPENING OF THE IMPERIAL CORTES. U.S. Ship Guerriere, Rio de Janiero, AFTER Scribbling the preceding letter, on Monday morning, I prepared to visit the shore. The day was lowering, and threatened rain; and Mr. Wilson, our purser, and myself, had scarce proceeded half way to the city, before it began pouring in torrents. The landing is on an inclined plane of massive granite, leading to the water from a fine mole of the same material; and affording a convenient footing, in stepping from the boat, at any state of the tide. The mole, with a principal fountain of the city in the centre, forms the front of a large uninclosed square and from the view of the bay and shipping it presents, is a favorite promenade and evening lounge of the citizens. The palace lines two of the remaining sides of the square, and a row of private dwellings, shops, and cafés, constitutes the fourth. BRAZILIAN BOAT. 53 The rain was so excessive, that we made little observation as we hurried across it to the American consulate, in a narrow street leading from the farther side. The chief object with me, was to place in the hands of Mr. Tudor, our diplomatist at the court of Brazil, several packets which had been committed to my keeping, with a charge to deliver them in person. Learning that his residence was at the Praya do Flamengo, three miles distant, I began to fear, as the clouds continued to deluge the city, that I should be obliged to return to the Guerriere without seeing him. After two or three hours, however, the rain began in some degree to abate; and unwilling to withhold a moment from one who, for seven years had been separated from his home and country, the joy of perusing large communications from his dearest friends, I took a boat, at the advice of the gentlemen of the consulate, in preference to a carriage, with directions to be rowed to Flamengo. The boat, such as ply in great numbers about the harbor and across the ferry to Praya Grande, was furnished with a wooden canopy over the stern, and oiled curtains to keep off the rain. Beneath this, the owner, a fine looking Brazilian, with bare neck, chest, and feet, and a high crowned grass hat, sat beside me smoking his cigar; while four stout, muscular negroes, clad in loose drawers only, pulled the oars. The manner of rowing is different from any I have After every stroke, which is long and slow, the rowers rise entirely from their seats, and throw themselves forward as they lift the oar from the water; and then in a measured and uniform motion, seen. |