Page:Knickerbocker 1864-11 64 5.pdf/28

has his own. I knew a mascate, or peddler, who, not being very successful in disposing of his wares, one day improvised one of these heroic potions, and having provided himself with half a dozen certificates signed by Brazilian doctors, set out for Europe, expecting to obtain 'the cross.'

Without regard to these occasional epidemics, however, it must be observed that Europeans, and especially those lately arrived, have to keep constantly on their guard, if they would not become victims to one of those terrible maladies which the earth, the sun, the atmosphere, and moisture seem to rival each other in engendering. On my departure for southern lands, I only saw upon the ship's deck young men with cheerful faces, full of life and vigor. On my return to Europe, I found many women clad in black, They were widows, and told me their misfortunes. Pneumonia, malignant fevers, and violent enteritis, caused by sudden chills or imprudent exposure, were the burden of their story. All their husbands had been laborers, and it is hard for these brave fellows to persuade themselves, in the ardor of their work, that they are in a country that is ungrateful to the artisan. This mortality contrasts painfully with the invariable health of the quiet fazendeiros, who, in their opulent dwellings, have nothing to fear from rain, sun, or fatigue.

Once at Rio Janeiro, one is inclined to forget the unpleasant influences of the climate. The city presents aspects that cause the traveller to forget the new country in which he finds himself, and remind him of the monumental wealth of European cities. It is true one sees few monuments in Brazilian cities. The conquistadores were soldiers of fortune and not artists, and the pursuit of gold and slaves absorbed all their attention. Nevertheless, there is at Rio an aqueduct that would compare with those left behind by the Romans, and a hospital that would be no discredit to London or Paris. Two other establishments also deserve attention—the Museum and the Botanical Gardens. Many of the European capitals might covet the Museum; yet it is far from representing the wealth of the country, or satisfying the curiosity of strangers. It is not an easy matter to make a complete collection of the arms, the costumes and ornaments, and the various utensils used by the Indian tribes before the arrival of the Portuguese; nor of specimens of all the wild animals that people the American forests, and samples of the different varieties of diamonds and precious stones, gold-bearing quartza and other minerals contained in the dl of this immense empire. It may be added that the founder of the Museum is the Baron d'Uba, whose name is so dear to the savans and artists who have visited the country.

The establishment of the Botanical Gardens is due to the King Dom João VI. of Portugal. That unlucky prince sought to beguile the hours of his long exile in superintending and promoting the progress of this magnificent establishment, situated a short distance from the city. An omnibus runs regularly between the two points. The entrance is imposing, and fully accords with the majestic forests that surround it. It is formed by an immense alley, bordered with gigantic palms, whose branches seem to raise their thick fan-like foliage and clusters of fruit into the very clouds, In the side-alleys are found all the plants of the tropics remarkable for their beauty or the products obtained from them—camellias, tea shrubs, cacao trees, pears, nutmegs, vanillas, cinchonas, bananas, cocoas, llianas, orchids, etc. Some trees bear fruit of extraordinary size. It is fortunate that La Fontaine did not know of this garden. If he had seen the enormous cocoa-nuts, and calabashes still more gigantic, proudly swinging in the air in response to the fresh ocean breeze, and threatening the heads of the promenaders, Garo could