CORONATION ROBES. 59 Precisely at One, the hour appointed, Don Pedro, preceded by two officers, and followed by the cabinet and the whole cortes in procession, entered the farther end of the hall. Having to walk the whole length of it towards us, before reaching the throne, we had time for a deliberate survey of him. He was in full coronation attire, wearing the crown, and bearing the sceptre. The crown is lofty, of a beautiful, antique shape, and one of the richest in the world. Except the cap of green silk velvet, and the band or rim of gold, it seemed one mass of diamonds. Around the neck was a Spanish ruff of lace, and beneath it, in place of the ermine in other regal attire, a deep cape of the bright yellow feathers of the toucan, a splendid Brazilian bird. This cape was a part of the dress of the ancient caciques of the country, and was, with great propriety, retained in the coronation parapharnalia on the establishment of the empire. It is very like the feather capes of our Sandwich Island chieftains. Then came the robe of green silk velvet, lined with white satin, the whole gorgeously embroidered with gold. A recollection of some of the dresses in David's "Coronation of Josephine," will give you the best idea of this, as it swept far behind him. It was supported at a distance of ten or twelve feet by a couple of pages, who as the emperor became seated, cast it on one side, leaving it widely spread over the steps of the throne. His under dress was of white satin embroidered with gold-high military boots, gold spurs, and a diamond hilted sword. The loftiness of the crown, and general effect of the dress, made him appear tall, though his person is only of middle height, but stout and finely formed. His step was long, firm, and deliberate, and more artificial I should think than essential to true dignity; while the expression of his countenance and whole air were decidedly haughty. This was probably attributable to an ill mood arising from circumstances connected with the special session of the legislature about to be opened. When within a few steps of the throne, he stopped for a moment, and bowed to the diplomatic corps. This afforded me a full view of his face. His features are regular and of good style, with dark complexion, and full prominent eyes of light hazle. A projection of the cheeks near each corner of the mouth, whether natural when his face is in fixed dignity, or the effect of ill humor at the moment, imparted great sullenness to his appearance; to which a pair of black whiskers and mustaches, added something like a touch of fierceness. As soon as he was seated, a private secretary, kneeling on a step of the throne, presented a rich portfolio containing a single sheet of letter paper, on the first page of which was the imperial speech. He read it in a distinct, emphatic, and dignified manner; and in less than five minutes, descended from the throne, bowed again to the embassadors, and left the chamber in the same manner he had entered. The address was in Portuguese, and its principal point the presentation, for a fourth time, of the absolute necessity of measures to replenish a treasury completely exhausted by the late impolitic war with Buenos Ayres. There is much opposition to the administration in the legislature, and considerable anarchy throughout the empire. But the fault is not particularly that of the emperor; he is a man of energy and talent, and though said to be defective in early education, is of enlightened and liberal sentiments; and desirous of pursuing a policy that will best promote the interest of the empire, and highest good of his subjects. All who know any thing of the people, their general ignorance, and corruption, think it happy for them that they have an emperor. Without a perpetual executive, the country would soon, there is reason to fear, be deluged with blood. On descending from the tribune, we found the anti-rooms filled with the deputies and officers of state; and groups for conversation were formed, till the emperor, having laid aside his robes, made his appearance from the private apartments; and with relaxed and benignant countenance bowed his way through the lines formed for his passage to the staircase. I stood very near, and was much more pleased with the expression accompanying a bow, than in the senate hall. A window in front commanded a view of his equipage. It was a high chariot, covered with gilding, drawn by six mules in gilt harness. The front wheels were so low as to move under the body of the carriage, admitting it to be turned on the spot, like a gig; and the moment the footman closed the door, it was wheeled short round, and hurried off at a rapid rate, with three or four cadets on the full canter before, and VOL. I. 6 62 MARQUIS DE ARACATY. a whole troop of body guards, in a uniform of white and gold, behind. The livery of the charioteer and footmen was also white, stiffly laced with gold. Mr. Tudor, being on terms of great cordiality with the leading individuals of the court, remained in conversation some time after the departure of his majesty. With the Marquis de Aracaty, the minister for foreign affairs, I was particularly pleased. He is said to be the most highly educated, and most intelligent nobleman in the empire; perfectly accessible in his manners, and free and winning in conversation. He evidently regarded Mr. Tudor with great respect; and mentioned before our taking leave, that the emperor had expressed special satisfaction in seeing the representative of the United States in the senate hall on this occasion. Having engaged to dine with Mr Birkhead, Esq., principal American merchant at Rio, we drove to his residence on our return to the city; where I was happy, in company with Mrs. Birkhead, to find our friend Miss Phelps, of New York. Mr. Armstrong, from the Guerriere, an intimate friend of the family, was also of the party; and in the excitement and warmth of kind feeling which the meeting of friends and countrymen in a foreign land, surrounded by strangers, naturally produces, we for the evening at least forgot all the state and pageantry of the morning. PRAYA DO FLAMENGO. 63 LETTER II. RESIDENCE OF MR. TUDOR. Praya do Flamengo, at Rio de Janiero, BEFORE entering on a further detail of my visit at Rio, dear H, I must domiciliate you with me in the Brazilian habitation of Mr. Tudor, by a short description of its localities and architecture. Praya is the Portuguese word for "beach," or "shore," and the Praya do Flamengo is a beach, stretching in a long curve of a mile or more, from the Gloria Hill near the city towards the entrance of the bay of Botafogo next the sea; so called from having once been a favorite resort of the gorgeous and stately flamingo. It is lined in its whole length by a row of handsome houses fronting the bay; and so near the water as to leave room only for a flagged side-walk and a carriage-drive between the entrances and a low parapet of stone washed by the surf. The houses near the Gloria hill, of which Mr. Tudor's is one, stand in a single block, under a continued roof, as in a city. His residence is of stone, two stories high, stuccoed and whitewashed, with a low, square roof covered with red tile: an article in universal use for this purpose in Rio and its environs. The building is about forty feet in front, by seventy or eighty in depth; and is entered by one large, central, and barn-like door, opening into a spacious hall, roughly plastered and whitewashed, furnished only with a wooden bench |