The ground immediately surrounding the hospital has been reclaimed by the hand of man, and transformed into a garden, in which flourish, in solitary majesty, the shady Aleurites triloba and the Anda Gomesii, growing in avenues or other regular groups, after all wild vegetation had been cut down. But at the first step beyond, the foot of the wanderer through these solitudes strikes into paths leading through the richest, densest forest scenery Casuarinas (Anacardium occidentale), with its luscious pear-shaped fruits, the Indian mango-tree, the various species of Eugenia, so rich in ethereal oil, the Figuera Branca (ficus doliaria), the canoe-tree, a gigantic species of Bombax, protected by sharp spines, and other lofty forest-children, reach to the very buildings; while, amid the dense underwood that grows unchecked, and a few paces distant only from the dwellings of man, lurk dangerously poisonous snakes, who find here a secure haunt. Within our own experience, as one of the botanists of the Expedition was placing a ladder against a primæval forest tree, the progenitor of numberless scions, he stumbled upon a poisonous Jacaraca, ready to defend from intrusion his accustomed resting-place.
At the north-west entrance of Jurujuba Cove, rises a lofty island, with the appropriate name of Bom Viajem ("a happy voyage"), with its church of the Virgin of the same name, situate on the extreme summit, 400 feet in height. As, during our visit to the hospital, the twilight had crept stealthily on, we returned without further stoppage to Rio; when the company, landing at the usual landing-place of the arsenal, separated, full of the most pleasing impressions, arising from the beautiful scenery enjoyed during the day, and a deep sense of gratitude for the noble hospitality shown us by our amiable hosts.
Another favour was conferred by Drs. de Lagos and Schüch, who formed a fishing-party on a grand scale, which was greatly enjoyed by all, though the gun proved more profitable to our naturalists than rod, line, or net.
As the number of days at our disposal in Rio Janeiro began to diminish, we applied ourselves to seeing the utmost possible with the smallest sacrifice of time. The morning after our excursion on board the Santa Cruz, we attended a sitting of the Chamber of Deputies. The hall, oval in shape, is plainly, but comfortably fitted up. The members sit on benches in a semicircle. Opposite the president stand tables for the ministers of state; at the upper and lower end of the hall are galleries for the public, and one is specially assigned to the diplomatic body. Each member speaks from his place. Their language is very free and their behaviour still more so,—they sometimes carry this so far as not to allow a speaker to proceed; and in screaming, brawling, and violence, they excel even certain members of the late French Chamber of Deputies. There are said to be some very able speakers amongst the Brazilians. The subject of debate was a petition presented to the House for an inquiry into the conduct of a late minister of justice, who was accused of having tyrannically dismissed a government officer in the province of Maranhao. The subject had created great interest in the public mind, and the galleries were crowded to suffocation; we did not remain till the conclusion of the debate, but the minister is said to have justified the proceeding by proving that the officer had allowed himself to be bribed.
On the same day we made an excursion to the Serra da Estrella and Petropolis, a place which has of late excited so much attention in the public journals, since the question of German emigration to Brazil, with its accompaniments of agitations by the Brazilian recruiting agents, began to assume its present remarkable proportions. Though the distance from Rio to Petropolis may be accomplished in four hours, yet three different vehicles are required:—in the first place, a steamer from Rio to the railway-station on the opposite side of the bay, then the railway to Fragosa, and lastly, a carriage to the final destination over an excellent road which runs through the mountains to Petropolis.
This fine work, which was opened in 1848, is unfortunately the only one of its kind in the whole empire,[42] as are likewise the five miles of railway between Mauá and Fragosa; and yet how highly important would railway communication prove from the metropolis to the northern provinces, by means of which the excessive cost of carriage by mules might be so considerably reduced, benefiting alike the landowner and the merchant! As an illustration, the fact may be mentioned, that the cost of transit for an arroba (32 lbs.) of coffee from the coffee district of Vassouras to Rio, a distance of about 50 miles, amounts to from 700 to 800 reis (about 1s. 8d.). The trouble and expense connected with this miserable mode of conveyance, so much enhance the price of some kinds of natural produce, that it does not pay to transport them to the harbour of the capital. Several companies have latterly been projected, and money subscribed for constructing railways in the various provinces of the empire, and a few of these are already under weigh, as, for example, that of Dom Pedro Segundo, which will put the richest provinces in direct communication with Rio, and for which the amount of money required has been entirely subscribed. But in this, as in all other Brazilian enterprises, energy is wanting to make these good intentions bear fruit; and so long as there is not a greater admixture of foreign go-a-head-ativeness in the country, much must remain confined to the mere expression of patriotic wishes. And in this connection, foreign immigration, of which we shall treat further on, will prove of immense importance.
[42] This road is to be continued from Petropolis as far as Parahyba; and in various other directions also the building of roads for commercial traffic is being fostered by Government. The Brazilian Government are at the same time turning their attention to improving the existing means of transport by importing dromedaries for use. As it withstands variation of temperature, and thrives on almost any kind of nourishment, the dromedary is certain to do well, especially in the northern provinces, and will prove exceedingly serviceable in the transport of the products of that section of the country. The great heat and drought which prevail in Maranhao, Piauhy, Matto Grosso, and that direction generally, is eminently suitable to the dromedary, which does not thrive in hot damp weather. It is calculated that a dromedary, which can carry an average weight of 700 pounds, (being six times what a horse, and four times what a mule will carry on his back), costs, in his own country, from £12 to £16; and after paying cost of transport to Brazil, will be worth £48. With the introduction of the "ship of the desert," that of the date-palm must go hand in hand, as that fruit constitutes the chief food of the dromedary, and will probably simultaneously effect a great change in the articles of consumption by the lower orders.
The journey by carriage through the Sierra from Fragosa to Petropolis is extremely beautiful. He who is not fortunate enough to enter deeper into the interior, at least obtains here an idea of what constitutes a primæval Brazilian forest. The wonders of tropical vegetation, as manifested not only by vastness of form but also by gorgeous and rank luxuriance, strike the eye at first-sight almost the same way as an overpowering chorus affects the ear. It requires time to collect the thoughts, so as to be able to appreciate and enjoy thoroughly the extraordinary beauties that impress the wondering mind.
If the eye of the astonished traveller has been but in the most cursory manner directed to the vegetable phenomena that surround him, it must have rested on a climbing plant, which constitutes one of the chief marvels of the native woods. This singular creeper is the Cipo matador, a climbing plant of a very peculiar aspect, at once the most powerful and most destructive of all the Cipo tribe. It twines round the stems of lofty trees, which its flattened coils gradually constrict with almost life-like cruelty! Its aërial roots run out from all parts and embrace the tree like artificial clamps, forming in some places complete rings, and in others growing into the very bark. The tree, in consequence of this parasitic embrace, dies away by degrees, whilst its destroyer continues to grow gaily on the corpse of its victim, and spreads its leafy crown until it falls and perishes simultaneously with the support that had hitherto upheld it. To what profound reflections does the contemplation of this spectacle give rise! Involuntarily our thoughts fly from the wild Brazilian forest to the plains of civilization,—to the modern society where, likewise, many a noble human nature is slowly undermined by a treacherous Cipo matador of flesh and blood, till too surely he falls prone on the ground!
Petropolis is, on account of its more temperate and healthy climate, a favourite residence of the wealthy Rio de Janeirians, and during the hot season, when the sultriness of the air, if not something worse, renders life almost unendurable, Petropolis is said to have the appearance of a European spa. It is at the same time the summer residence of the Emperor, and the only place in Brazil where an electric telegraph—uniting it with Rio de Janeiro—has been established. The town contains about 7000 inhabitants; the streets, when completed, will be broad and handsome,—but only one has as yet been finished, the others being merely marked out, while even among the clean and neat houses already erected, there are frequent and wide gaps.