"Indeed, mamma," said Martim, "I think the crowd's the greatest fun of all. I shall never forget the procession the day of the parade in honour of your Senhor Root, Maria. It was one of the finest we ever had in Rio."
"I wish I had seen it," said Maria. "When our President is inaugurated we have grand processions in Washington. My grandfather took me to the last one, and it was splendid."
"Our inauguration procession is fine, too. You will see to-day that they know how to do things down here as well as you do," said Martim, as they started for the reviewing-stand.
"I don't doubt that," said Maria pleasantly. "But I can't quite make out why you have a President at all. Brazil used to be an empire and have a splendid emperor. You showed me his statue in the park. What became of him?"
"The last emperor of Brazil is dead, my child," said her uncle. "He died in Paris in 1891, some said of a broken heart, because he had been sent away from his beloved Brazil."
"Why did you send him away; wasn't he a good man?" asked Maria.
"Yes, indeed, very good, and many of the people were very fond of him," was the reply. "He was always interested in the people and tried to arrange the laws for their best interests. He was very democratic and travelled about a great deal, keeping his eyes wide open to learn everything which might help his people. He even went to your United States at the time of the Centennial in Philadelphia."
"If he was so good, why did they send him away?" asked Maria puzzled.
"It is rather hard to explain politics to little folk," said her uncle, smiling.