Journal Of A Voyage To Brazil Part 13

[Note 78: This was no longer the case at my second visit to Rio, and every thing eatable was much improved.]

We have hired a horse for our invalid, and I have borrowed one for myself. These animals are rather pretty at Rio, but far from strong; they are fed on maize and capim, or Guinea gra.s.s, which was introduced of late years into Brazil, and thrives prodigiously: it is cultivated by planting the joints; the stem and leaves are as large as those of barley; it grows sometimes to the height of six or seven feet, and the flower is a large loose pannicle. The quant.i.ty necessary for each horse per day costs about eightpence, and his maize as much more. The common horses here sell for from twenty to one hundred dollars; the fine Buenos Ayres horses fetch a much higher price. Mules are generally used for carriages, being much hardier, and more capable of bearing the summer heat.

_December 19th_.--I walked by the side of Langford's horse up one of the little valleys at the foot of the Corcorado: it is called the Laranjeiros, from the numerous orange trees which grow on each side of the little stream that beautifies and fertilises it. Just at the entrance to that valley, a little green plain stretches itself on either hand, through which the rivulet runs over its stony bed, and affords a tempting spot to groups of washerwomen of all hues, though the greater number are black; and they add not a little to the picturesque effect of the scene: they generally wear a red or white handkerchief round the head; and a full-plaited mantle tied over one shoulder, and pa.s.sed under the opposite arm, with a full petticoat, is a favourite dress. Some wrap a long cloth round them, like the Hindoos; and some wear an ugly European frock, with a most ungraceful sort of bib tied before them.

Round the washerwoman's plain, hedges of acacia and mimosa fence the gardens of plantains, oranges, and other fruits which surround every villa; and beyond these, the coffee plantations extend far up the mountain, whose picturesque head closes the scene. The country-houses here are neither large nor magnificent; but they are decorated with verandas, and have often a handsome flight of steps up to the dwelling-house of the master, beneath which are either store-houses, or the habitations of the slaves: they have all a gateway, large and handsome, whatever the house may be; and that gateway generally leads to at least one walk where every kind of flower is cultivated. Brazil is particularly rich in splendid creeping flowers and shrubs; and these are mingled with the orange and lemon blossoms, and the jasmine and rose from the East, till the whole is one thicket of beauty and fragrance. I scarcely know whether my invalid or myself enjoyed the morning most. A few more such, and I should think all sickness must disappear.

_December 20th._--Spent in paying and receiving visits in the neighbourhood. The houses are built a good deal like those of the south of Europe: there is generally a court, on one side of which is the dwelling-house, and the others are formed by the offices and garden.

Sometimes the garden is immediately close to the house, and in the suburbs this is generally the case. In town, very few houses have the luxury of a garden at all. These gardens are rather like oriental flower-plots, but they a.s.similate well with the climate. The flowers of the parterres of Europe grow by the side of the gayer plants and shrubs of the country, shaded by the orange, banana, bread-fruit (now nearly naturalised here,) and the palms, between straight alleys of limes, over whose heads the African melia waves its lilac blossoms; and on the raised water channels, china vases are placed, filled with aloes and tuberoses, and here and there a statue intermixed. In these gardens there are occasionally fountains and seats under the trees, forming places of no undelightful rest in this hot climate.

_Friday, December 21st._--Mr. Hayne, one of the commissioners of the slave trade commission, and his sister, having proposed a party to see the botanic gardens, we set off soon after daylight; and drove to their house on the bay of Boto Fogo, perhaps the most beautiful spot in the neighbourhood of Rio, rich as it is in natural beauty; and its beauty is increased by the numerous and pretty country-houses which now surround it. These have all grown up since the arrival of the court from Lisbon; before that time, this lovely spot was only inhabited by a few fishermen and gipsies, with, it might be, a villa or two on the sloping banks by the fruit gardens. Beyond the bay, we drove through a beautiful lane to the Lake of Rodrigo de Freitas: it is nearly circular, and about five miles in circ.u.mference; it is surrounded by mountains and forests, except where a short sandy bar affords an occasional outlet to the sea, when the lake rises so high as to threaten inconvenience to the surrounding plantations. It is impossible to conceive any thing richer than the vegetation down to the very water's edge around the lake.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

We were to breakfast at the gardens, but as the weather is now hot, we resolved first to walk round them. They are laid out in convenient squares, the alleys being planted on either side with a very quick-growing nut tree, brought from Bencoolen originally, now naturalised here. The nut is as good as the filbert, and larger than the walnut, and yields abundance of oil; the leaf is about the size, and not unlike the shape, of that of the sycamore. The timber also is useful.

The quick growth of this tree is unexampled among timber trees, and its height and beauty distinguish it from all others. The hedges between the compartments are of a shrub which I should have taken for myrtle, but that the leaves though firm are not fragrant. This garden was destined by the King for the cultivation of the oriental spices and fruits, and above all, of the tea plant, which he obtained, together with several families accustomed to its culture, from China. Nothing can be more thriving than the whole of the plants. The cinnamon, camphor, nutmeg, and clove, grow as well as in their native soil. The bread-fruit produces its fruit in perfection, and such of the oriental fruits as have been brought here ripen as well as in India. I particularly remarked the jumbo malacca, from India, and the longona (_Euphoria Longona_), a dark kind of lechee from China. I was disappointed to find no collection of the indigenous plants. However, so much has been done as to give reasonable hopes of farther improvement, when the political state of the country shall be quiet enough to permit attention to these things.

The stream that waters the garden flows through a lovely valley, where the royal powder-mills are situated; but being fearful of too much exertion for Langford we put off visiting them to another day, and returned to the garden gate to breakfast. His Majesty John VI. built a small house there, with three or four rooms, to accommodate the royal party, when they visited the gardens. Our breakfast was prepared in the veranda of that house, from whence we had a charming view of the lake, with the mountains and woods,--the ocean, with three little islands that lie off the lake; and in the fore-ground a small chapel[79] and village, at the extremity of a little smooth green plain.

[Note 79: Dedicated to St. John Baptist. I am not sure whether this or N.S. da Cabeca is the mother church; the same clergyman officiates in both.]

After waiting with our agreeable and well-informed friends till the sea-breeze set in, we returned part of the way along the lake, and then ascended to the parsonage of Nossa Senhora da Cabeca, where we were joined by several other persons who had come to dine there with us. The Padre Manoel Gomez received us very kindly, and our pic-nic was spread in the ample veranda of his parsonage. Behind the veranda three small rooms served for sleeping-room, kitchen, and pantry. Half a dozen small cottages in the field behind contain the healthy-looking negroes who are employed in his coffee-grounds, and a swarm of children of every shade, between black and white. On a little eminence in the midst of these stands the chapel of Our Lady, which is the parish church of a large district. It is exceedingly small; but serves as the place where the sacraments are administered, and the licences granted for marriages, burials, and christenings. The owners of estates have generally private chapels, where daily ma.s.s is performed for the benefit of their own people; so that the parish church is only applied to on the above-mentioned occasions. About a stone's throw behind the chapel, a clear rivulet runs rapidly down the mountain, leaping from rock to rock, in a thousand little cascades, and forming, here and there, delightful baths. Nor is it without its inhabitants, which increase the simple luxuries of the Padre's table. He tells me the crawfish in his stream are better than any in the neighbourhood; the water itself is pure, light, and delicate.

At length all our friends had a.s.sembled, and we returned to the veranda to dine. To judge by the materials of the feast, so blended were the productions of every climate that we could scarcely have p.r.o.nounced in what part of the world we were, had not the profusion of ananas and plantains, compared with the small quant.i.ty of apples and peaches, reminded us of it. As is usual on such occasions, the oldest inhabitants of Brazil praised most what came from afar; while _we_ all gave the preference to the productions of the country.

I was soon drawn away from the table by the beauty of the prospect, which I endeavoured to sketch. The coffee plantations are the only cultivated grounds hereabouts; and they are so thickly set with orange trees, lemons, and other tall shrubs, that they form in appearance rather a variety in the woods, than that mixture of cultivated with wild ground, which might be looked for so near a large city, where we expect to see the labour of man encroaching in some degree on the wild beauties of nature. But here vegetation is so luxuriant, that even the pruned and grafted tree springs up like the native of the forest.

As every body was determined to be pleased, we all felt sorry when it was time to separate; but Burns has made all the reflections one can make on breaking up a pleasant party--

"Pleasures are like poppies spread,-- You seize the flower, the bloom is shed; Or like the snow-falls in the river,-- A moment white, then lost for ever; Or like the rainbow's fleeting form, Evanishing amid the storm; Or like the borealis race, That flit ere you can point their place.

No man can tether time or tide: The hour approaches,--_we_ must ride."

And so we did.--We walked down to the foot of the hill, and each took his or her several conveyance; Colonel and Mrs. Cunningham their comfortable English chariot, Mr. and Miss Hayne their pretty curricle, and I my Rio caleche or _sege_,--a commodious but ugly carriage, very heavy, but well enough adapted to the rough roads between the garden and the town. The gentlemen all rode, and most of us carried home something.

Fruit and flowers attracted some; Langford got a number of diamond beetles, and a magnificent b.u.t.terfly, and I a most inadequate sketch of the scene from the Padre's house.

_December 27th._--Since the jaunt to the botanical gardens, some of our invalids have been gaining ground: others who were well have become invalids, and I have done nothing but ride about or talk with them, and look at the beautiful views of the neighbourhood, and get a little better acquainted with the inhabitants; of whom the most amusing, so far as I have yet seen, are certainly the negroes, who carry about the fruit and vegetables for sale. The midshipmen have made friends with some of them. One of them has become quite a friend in the house; and after he has sold his master's fruit, earns a small gratuity for himself, by his tales, his dances, and his songs. His tribe, it seems, was at war with a neighbouring king, and he went out to fight when quite a boy, was taken prisoner, and sold. This is probably the story of many: but our friend tells it with action and emphasis, and shows his wounds, and dances his war dance, and shouts his wild song, till the savage slave becomes almost a sublime object. I have been for an hour to-night at a very different scene, a ball given by Mr. B----, a respectable English merchant. The Portuguese and Brazilian ladies are decidedly superior in appearance to those of Bahia; they look of higher caste: perhaps the residence of the court for so many years has polished them. I cannot say the men partake of the advantage; but I cannot yet speak Portuguese well enough to dare to p.r.o.nounce what either men or women really are. As to the English, what can I say? They are very like all one sees at home, in their rank of life; and the ladies, very good persons doubtless, would require Miss Austin's pen to make them interesting. However, as they appear to make no pretensions to any thing but what they are, to me they are good-humoured, hospitable, and therefore pleasing.

_Monday, 31st Dec. 1822_.--I went to town for the first time; our road lay through the suburb of the Catete for about half a mile. Some handsome houses are situated on either hand, and the s.p.a.ces between are filled with shops, and small houses inhabited by the families of the shopkeepers in town. We then came to the hill called the Gloria, from the name of the church dedicated to N.S. da Gloria, on the eminence immediately overlooking the sea. The hill is green, and wooded and studded with country-houses. It is nearly insulated; and the road pa.s.ses between it and another still higher, just where a most copious stream issues from an aqueduct (built, I think, by the Conde de Lavradio), and brings health and refreshment to this part of the town from the neighbouring mountains. Farther on, after pa.s.sing the beach of the Gloria, we turned to the left, and entered the new part of that town through the arches of the great aqueduct built in 1718 by the viceroy Albuquerque. This supplies four copious fountains. The largest is the Carioca[80], near the convent of Sant Antonio; it has twelve mouths, and is most picturesque in itself: it is constantly surrounded by slaves, with their water-barrels, and by animals drinking. Just beyond are troughs of granite, where a crowd of washerwomen are constantly employed; and over against these, benches are placed, on which there are constantly seated new negroes for sale. The fountain of the Marecas is opposite to the public gardens, and near the new barracks; and, besides the spouts for water for the inhabitants, there are two troughs always full for the animals. The third is a very handsome one, in the palace square; and the fourth, called the Mouro, I did not see. The aqueduct is of brick, and is supported on two ranges of arches across the valley between two of the five hills of the city. The public buildings at Rio have nothing very remarkable about them. Even the churches present no architectural beauty, and owe the good effect they have in the general view to their size and situation. There are seven parish churches, and numerous chapels dependent on each. The first and eldest parish is that of St. Sebastian; the church dedicated to whom is the royal chapel, the only one I saw to-day. It is handsome within, richly gilt, and the pictures on the ceiling are far from contemptible; but I cannot praise that of the altar-piece, where Our Lady is covering with her cloak the Queen Dona Maria, and all the royal family, on their arrival in Brazil.

The choir is served in a manner that would not disgrace Italy. I attended at vespers, and have seldom been more gratified with the music of the evening service. This the chapel owes to the residence of the royal family, whose pa.s.sion and talent for music are hereditary.

Adjoining to this chapel is the church and convent of the Carmelites, which forms part of the palace; and within which is the royal library of 70,000 volumes, where on all days, except holidays, the public are admitted to study from nine till one o'clock in the forenoon, and from four o'clock till sunset. This part of the palace occupies one side of a handsome square: the palace itself fills up another; a third has private houses, built uniformly with the palace, besides the fish-market; and the fourth is open to the sea. The water-edge is faced with a handsome granite pier and steps, the blocks of which are bolted with copper. In the centre of the pier there is a fountain, supplied from the aqueduct of Albuquerque; and altogether the appearance of the palace square is extremely handsome. We went thence into a street behind it, and saw the front of the senate-house, which is connected with the palace, and the cemetery of the Carmelite church, which is a prettier thing than church-yards usually are. In the centre of a small quadrangle there is a cross, and by it a young cypress tree: all around there are flowers, and sweet herbs, and porcelain vases, containing roses and aloes placed on little pedestals and on a broad low wall that surrounds the square. I looked at first in vain for graves; at length I observed on these low walls, and on the higher ones in the outer circle, indications of arches, each being numbered. These are the places for the dead, who are walled up there with quick-lime; and, at a certain period, the bones and ashes are removed to make room for others. At the time of removal, if the dead has a friend who wishes it, the remains are collected in urns or other receptacles, and placed in a building appropriated for them, or where the friend pleases; otherwise they go to the common receptacle, and perish totally by the addition of more quick-lime. This is, I doubt not, the wholesomest way of disposing of the dead; and, even to the sense, is better than the horrid burials at Bahia, where they must infect the air. But there seems to me so little feeling in thus getting rid at once of the remains of that which has once been dear to us, that I went away in disgust.

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[Note 80: The nickname of the inhabitants of Rio is Carioca, from this fountain.]

The city of Rio is more like an European city than either Bahia or Pernambuco; the houses are three or four stories high, with projecting roofs, and tolerably handsome. The streets are narrow, few being wider than that of the Corso at Rome, to which one or two bear a resemblance in their general air, and especially on days of festivals, when the windows and balconies are decorated with crimson, yellow, or green damask hangings. There are two very handsome squares, besides that of the palace. One, formerly the Roca, is now that of the Const.i.tuca, to which the theatre, some handsome barracks and fine houses, behind which the hills and mountains tower up on two sides, give a very n.o.ble appearance. The other, the Campo de Santa Anna, is exceedingly extensive[81], but unfinished. Two of the princ.i.p.al streets run across it, from the sea-side to the extremity of the new town, nearly a league, and new and wide streets are stretching out in every direction. But I was too tired with going about in the heat of the day to do more than take a cursory view of these things, and could not even persuade myself to look at the new fountain which is supplied by a new aqueduct.

[Note 81: It is 1713 feet square.]

There is in the city an air of bustle and activity quite agreeable to our European eyes; yet the Portuguese all take their siesta after dinner. The negroes, whether free blacks or slaves, look cheerful and happy at their labour. There is such a demand for them, that they find full employment, and of course good pay, and remind one here as little as possible of their sad condition, unless, indeed, one pa.s.ses the street of the Vallongo; then the slave-trade comes in all its horrors before one's eyes. On either hand are magazines of new slaves, called here _peices_; and there the wretched creatures are subject to all the miseries of a new negro's life, scanty diet, brutal examination, and the lash.

_Tuesday, January 1st, 1823_.--I went to pay a second visit to an ill.u.s.trious exile, Count Hogendorp, one of the Emperor Napoleon's generals: my first had been accidental. One morning last week, riding with two of our young midshipmen, we came to a pleasant-looking cottage, high on the side of the Corcovado, and at the door we saw a very striking figure, to whom I instantly apologized for intruding on his grounds, saying that we were strangers, and had come there accidentally.

He instantly, with a manner that showed him to be no common person, welcomed us; asked our names, and on being told them, said he had heard of us; and, but for his infirmities, would have called on us. He insisted on our dismounting, as a shower was coming on, and taking shelter with him. By this time I perceived it was Count Hogendorp, and asked him if I had guessed rightly. He answered, yes; and added a few words, signifying that his master's servants, even in exile, carried that with them which distinguished them from other men.

The Count is the wreck of a once handsome man: he has not lost his martial air: he is tall, but not too thin; his grey eyes sparkle with intelligence, and his pure and forcible language is still conveyed in a clear well-toned voice, though a little the worse for age. He ushered us into a s.p.a.cious veranda, where he pa.s.ses most of the day, and which is furnished with sofas, chairs, and tables: he then ordered his servant to bring breakfast; we had coffee, milk, and fresh b.u.t.ter, all the produce of his own farm; and, as we sat, we saw the showers pa.s.sing by and under us across the valley, which leads the eye to the bay below. The General entered frankly into conversation, and during breakfast, and while the shower lasted, spoke almost incessantly of his imperial master. Early in life the Count had entered the army, a soldier of fortune, under Frederick of Prussia. On his return to his native country, Holland, he was employed by the States, successively, as governor of the eastern part of Java, and as envoy to one of the German courts. During his residence in Java, he had visited many of the English settlements on the main land of India, and had learned English, which he spoke well.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

On the annexation of Holland to France, he entered the French service with the rank of full colonel. He was always a great favourite with Napoleon, to whom his honesty and disinterestedness in money matters seem to have been valuable, in proportion as these qualities were scarce among his followers. The Count's affection for him is excessive, I should have said unaccountable, had he not shown me a letter written to him by the emperor's own hand, on the death of his child, in which, besides much general kindness, there is even a touch of tenderness I had not looked for. During the disastrous expedition to Russia, Hogendorp was entrusted with the government of Poland, and kept his court at Wilna. His last public service was performed in the defence of Hamburgh, where he was lieutenant governor. He would fain have attended the emperor into exile; but that not being allowed, he came hither, where, with the greatest economy, and, I believe, some a.s.sistance from the prince, who has great respect for him, he lives chiefly on the produce of his little farm.

Most of these particulars I learnt from himself, while resting and sheltered from the rain, which lasted nearly an hour. He then showed me his house, which is small indeed, consisting of only three rooms, besides the veranda; his study, where a few books, two or three casts from antique bas reliefs, and some maps and prints, indicate the retirement of a gentleman; his bedroom, the walls of which, with a capricious taste, are painted black, and on that sombre ground, skeletons of the natural size, in every att.i.tude of glee, remind one of Holbein's Dance of Death; and a third room occupied by barrels of orange wine, and jars of liqueur made of the grumaxama, at least as agreeable as cherry brandy which it resembles, the produce of his farm; and the sale of which, together with his coffee, helps out his slender income.

The General, as he loves to be called, led us round his garden, and displayed with even fondness, his fruits and his flowers, extolled the climate, and only blamed the people, for the neglect and want of industry, which wastes half the advantages G.o.d has given them. On returning to the house, he introduced to me his old Prussian servant, who has seen many a campaign with him, and his negroes, whom he freed on purchasing them: he has induced the woman to wear a nose jewel, after the fashion of Java, which he seems to remember with particular pleasure. I was sorry to leave the count, but was afraid some alarm might be felt at home concerning us, and therefore bade him adieu.

This evening I paid him another visit, and found him resting after dinner in his veranda. We had a good deal of conversation concerning the state of this country, from which, with prudence, every thing good may be hoped; and then the Count told me he was engaged in writing his memoirs, of which he showed me a part, telling me he meant to publish them in England. I have no doubt they will be written with fidelity, and will furnish an interesting chapter in the history of Napoleon. I was sorry to see the old gentleman suffering a good deal; and his age and infirmities seem to threaten a speedy termination to his active life.[82]

[Note 82: Count Hogendorp died while I was in Chile. Napoleon had left him by his will five thousand pounds sterling, but the old man did not live to know this proof of the recollection of his old master. As he approached his end, the Emperor Don Pedro sent to him such a.s.sistance, and paid him such attention as his state required or admitted of, and had given orders concerning his funeral; but it was found at his death that he was a protestant, and one of the protestant consuls therefore caused him to be properly interred in the English burial-ground. On undressing him after death, his body was found to be tattooed like those of the natives of the eastern islands. I never saw the count after the 1st of January.]

_January 8th, 1822._--The only variety in my quiet life since the first, was afforded by a large and pleasant party at Miss Hayne's. There I saw abundance of jewels on the heads and necks of the elderly Portuguese ladies, and a good deal of beauty, and some grace, among the younger ones, whom I begin to understand pretty well. We had some good music, and there was a great deal of dancing, and not a little card-playing.

To-day we left the house on sh.o.r.e, and are again at home on board the Doris, with all our invalids much better. Having settled every body comfortably, I went ash.o.r.e to the opera, as it is the benefit night of a favourite musician, Rosquellas, whose name is known on both sides of the Atlantic. The theatre is very handsome; in size and proportion, some of our officers think it as large as the Haymarket, but I differ from them.

It was opened on the 12th of October, 1813, the Prince Don Pedro's birth-day. The boxes are commodious, and I hear, that the unseen part of the theatre is comfortable for the actors, dressers, &c.; but the machinery and decorations are deficient. The evening's amus.e.m.e.nts consisted of a very stupid Portuguese comedy, relieved between the acts by scenes from an opera of Rossini's by Rosquellas, after which, he wasted a great deal of fine playing on some very ugly music.

_Wednesday, January 9th._--To-day is expected to be a day of much importance to the future fate of Brazil. But I must go back to the arrival of a message from the cortes at Lisbon, intimating to the Prince their pleasure, that he should forthwith repair to Europe, and begin his education, and proceed to travel incognito through Spain, France, and England. This message excited the most lively indignation not only in His Royal Highness, but in the Brazilians from one end of the kingdom to the other. The Prince is willing to obey the orders of his father and the cortes, at the same time he cannot but feel as a man the want of decency of the message, and being thus bid to go home; and especially forbidden to carry any guards with him, as it should seem, lest they might have contracted too much attachment for his person. The Brazilians regard this step as preliminary to removing from this country the courts of justice, which have for fourteen years been held here, and so removing causes to Lisbon, by which means, Brazil would be again reduced to the condition of a dependent colony instead of enjoying equal rights and privileges with the mother country, a degradation they are by no means inclined to submit to.

The feelings of the people are sufficiently shown, in the address sent to the Prince, a few days ago, (24th of December,) from St. Paul's; as follows:--

"SIR,

"We had already written to Your Royal Highness, before we received the extraordinary gazette of the 11th instant, by the last courier: and we had hardly fixed our eyes on the first decree of the Cortes concerning the organization of the governments of the provinces of Brazil, when a n.o.ble indignation fired our hearts: because we saw impressed on it a system of anarchy and slavery. But the second, in conformity to which Your Royal Highness is to go back to Portugal, in order to travel _incognito_ only through Spain, France, and England, inspired us with horror.

"They aim at no less than disuniting us, weakening us, and in short, leaving us like miserable orphans, tearing from the bosom of the great family of Brazil the only common father who remained to us, after they had deprived Brazil of the beneficent founder of the kingdom, Your Royal Highness's august sire. They deceive themselves; we trust in G.o.d, who is the avenger of injustice; He will give us courage, and wisdom.

"If, by the 21st article of the basis of the const.i.tution, which we approve and swear to because it is founded on universal and public right, the deputies of Portugal were bound to agree that the const.i.tution made at Lisbon could then be obligatory on the Portuguese resident in that kingdom; and, that, as for those in the other three parts of the world, it should only be binding when their legitimate representatives should have declared such to be their will: How dare those deputies of Portugal, without waiting for those of Brazil, legislate concerning the most sacred interest of each province, and of the entire kingdom? How dare they split it into detached portions, each insulated, and without leaving a common centre of strength and union?

How dare they rob Your Royal Highness of the lieutenancy, granted by Your Royal Highness's august father, the King? How dare they deprive Brazil of the privy council, the board of conscience, the court of exchequer, the board of commerce, the court of requests, and so many other recent establishments, which promised such future advantage? Where now shall the wretched people resort in behalf of their civil and judicial interests? Must they now again, after being for twelve years accustomed to judgment at hand, go and suffer, like petty colonists, the delays and chicanery of the tribunals of Lisbon, across two thousand leagues of ocean, where the sighs of the oppressed lose all life and all hope? Who would credit it, after so many bland, but deceitful expressions of reciprocal equality and future happiness!!!

"In the session of the 6th of August last, the deputy of the Cortes, Pereira do Carmo, said, (and he spoke the truth,) that the const.i.tution was the social compact, in which, were expressed and declared the conditions on which a nation might wish to const.i.tute itself a body politic: and that the end of that const.i.tution, is the general good of each individual, who is to enter into that social compact. How then dares a mere fraction of the great Portuguese nation, without waiting for the conclusion of this solemn national compact, attack the general good of the princ.i.p.al part of the same, and such is the vast and rich kingdom of Brazil; dividing it into miserable fragments, and, in a word, attempting to tear from its bosom the representative of the executive power, and to annihilate by a stroke of the pen, all the tribunals and establishments necessary to its existence and future prosperity? This unheard-of despotism, this horrible political perjury, was certainly not merited by the good and generous Brazil. But the enemies of order in the Cortes of Lisbon deceive themselves if they imagine that they can thus, by vain words and hollow professions, delude the good sense of the worthy Portuguese of both worlds.

"Your Royal Highness will observe that, if the kingdom of Ireland, which makes part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, besides that it is infinitely small compared to the vast kingdom of Brazil, and is separated from England but by a narrow arm of the sea, which is pa.s.sed in a few hours, yet possesses a governor-general or viceroy, who represents the executive power of the King of the United Kingdom, how can it enter the head of any one who is not either profoundly ignorant, or rashly inconsiderate, to pretend, that the vast kingdom of Brazil, should remain without a centre of activity, and without a representative of the executive power: and equally without a power to direct our troops, so as that they may operate with celerity and effect, to defend the state against any unforeseen attack of external enemies, or against internal disorders and factions, which might threaten public safety, or the reciprocal union of the provinces!

"Yes, august Sir! It is impossible that the inhabitants of Brazil, who are honest, and who pride themselves on being men, particularly the Paulistas, should ever consent to such absurdity and such despotism.

Yes, august Sir, Your Royal Highness must remain in Brazil, whatever may be the projects of the const.i.tuent Cortes, not only for the sake of our general good, but even for the sake of the future prosperity and independence of Portugal itself. If Your Royal Highness, which is not to be believed, were to obey the absurd and indecent decree of the 29th of September, besides losing, in the world, the dignity of a man and of a prince, by becoming the slave of a small number of factious men, you would also have to answer before heaven for the rivers of blood which would a.s.suredly inundate Brazil on account of your absence: because its inhabitants, like raging tigers, would surely remember the supine sloth in which the ancient despotism kept them buried, and in which a new const.i.tutional Machiavelism aims even now to retain them.

"We therefore entreat Your Royal Highness with the greatest fervour, tenderness, and respect to delay your return to Europe, where they wish to make you travel as a pupil surrounded by, tutors and spies: We entreat you to confide boldly in the love and fidelity of your Brazilians, and especially of your Paulistas, who are all ready to shed the last drop of their blood, and to sacrifice their fortunes, rather than lose the adored Prince in whom they have placed their well-founded hopes of national happiness and honour. Let Your Royal Highness wait at least for the deputies named by this province, and for the magistracy of this capital, who will as soon as possible present to Your Highness our ardent desires and firm resolutions; and deign to receive them, and to listen to them, with the affection and attention, which your Paulistas deserve from you.

"May G.o.d preserve Your Royal Highness's august person many years.

"From the Government House of St. Paul's, 24th Dec. 1821.

John Carlos Augusto de Oeyenhausen, President.