At a late hour last night, one of General Wood’s party, Mr. W. C. Kernan, reached the hotel Europa from Ybicaba, where he had been left sick. He accompanied me this morning to the diligence station, and upon my statement that Mr. Street would arrange for his passage, a seat was procured for him.
I found upon entering the diligence that Dom Pinto, Junr., was a passenger, and he introduced me to Mrs. Burton, the wife of the British Consul at Santos. She requested me to take charge of her on the trip, which was done, and upon arrival a servant was engaged to carry her baggage to the hotel, but my proffer of attendance was declined, as she said that she desired to give her husband a little surprise, and would prefer to go up alone.
She remarked that Captain Burton would be happy to see me at any time, when I replied that it would afford me pleasure to meet him if he should find it convenient to call upon me.
Our passage in the diligence was made in the shortest possible time, over the smooth road, to the top of the serra, but a tedious descent was caused by some derangement of the stop-block attached to the wheel of the diligence, and we had rather a slow boat from Cubitão to the city of Santos, where we arrived at 2 o’clock P. M.
After proceeding a short distance from the landing, I met a young man employed in the store of Mr. W. J. Wright, and accompanied him to the office, where I found the same cordial greeting and tender of hospitality which had met me in passing here previously. His intelligent and dignified lady subsequently received me with much kindness also.
Their two interesting little boys, Billy and Henry, recollected my former visit, and seemed likewise to welcome my return, so that I really felt very much at ease in my social relations to this pleasant family. After dinner we walked out, together with the children, to a cool fountain a short distance from the residence, and there enjoyed a sociable conversation, sitting upon the green sward.
I accepted the invitation of Mr. Wright to accompany him and Mrs. Wright to the theatre at night, to hear the bell-ringers and tumbler melodists. An intelligent young Brazilian gentleman, Dom Augusto T. Coimbra, went with us from the house, but I soon found that there was another attraction in the building for him more potent than the skill of the performers.
After entering the box with Mr. and Mrs. Wright, I bowed to General Wood, who was in the pit with the rest of the party, and upon his rising and bowing to me, he was invited by Mr. Wright to come into the box.
He came, accompanied by Mr. De Vi Valdi, United States consul at this port, who not being in good odor with my friend, Wright, was not presented to me, and after a short time he requested General Wood to introduce him. After the first performance, they returned to the seat with Dom Pinto, Junr., the General and his party being his guests for the evening.
The success of the bell-ringing was complete, and I was particularly impressed with the execution of a piece called Orpheus. But I did not find so much to admire in the musical tones of the friction upon the different glasses, though great skill and art were displayed by the operator.