After the members of the Expedition had remained a short space in a corner of the audience chamber, they were conducted through a narrow boarded passage to the apartments of the Empress. In the ante-chamber we again encountered the Emperor, who had exchanged his admiral's uniform for plain clothes, and now stood before us in the undress black frock he usually wears.
We were now ushered into the small and very plainly furnished reception-room of the Empress, in which there was nothing to attract attention except a couple of highly-finished portraits. Her Majesty, a sister of the late King Ferdinand II. of Naples, and of Queen Maria Christina of Spain, was in mourning owing to a death in the family. She was only attended by one lady in waiting, and received us with infinite grace. She is rather short in stature, and although still young, looks aged; in conversation she becomes however very animated, and thereby gains in gracefulness; her favourite theme was Italy, on which she dwelt with childlike fondness. Speaking of Naples, its charming bay, of the Vesuvius, and the lovely walk of Santa Lucia, near the sea, the tone of her voice became involuntarily more lively. Notwithstanding the tropical splendour, and an Imperial throne, the Princess seems to have a great longing for her native land. Alas! even an imperial crown is no protection against the yearning for home!
During our stay here, the anniversary came round of the birth of our gracious Emperor, which was celebrated in the most festive manner. From early dawn the frigate appeared decked out in her gayest flags, which was similarly responded to by the English and French ships of war in the harbour. At 8 a. m., with the customary salutes of the ensign, a salute of twenty-one guns was fired, as also at mid-day and sunset. At 11 a. m., the crew were paraded and divine service was performed, to which our resident envoy and his family were invited, together with the acting Consul-General, the captain of an Austrian vessel, and a few Austrians who happened to be at that time in Rio. After service, the foreign guests and several officers of the staff were entertained by the commodore at breakfast. In the evening there was a banquet at the hotel of the envoy, at which were present several notabilities of the empire of Brazil, among others, Viscount Maranguapè, minister of foreign affairs, and the Senator Viscount de Uruguay. In the garden of the club the frigate's band of music played chiefly German and Austrian pieces, which awoke in the bosoms of many the most tender recollections.
The frequent arrival of men of war in the bay of Rio gives rise to an almost continual firing; each vessel entering fires a royal salute, which is answered by the fortress and the other ships of war in the harbour. During our stay we discharged not less than 432 salvos, while all the men of war together fired at least 1500 salvos, thus making, within three weeks, about 5250 rounds of gunpowder, used merely in salutes.
The 31st of August had been fixed as the date of our departure. During the latter days of our stay, there had been frequent collations on board to make some return to those who had shown us attention. Several of the sick, one midshipman and two sailors, had to be left behind in hospital, where they received the most careful treatment, while Dr. Avé Robert Lallemant, who, by the kind recommendation of Humboldt, had been permitted by the Archduke to accompany the Expedition with the rank of surgeon of corvette, for the purpose of prosecuting his studies of yellow fever, was, at his own request, put ashore at Rio, whence he afterwards undertook the journey through Southern Brazil already alluded to.
The night previous, three sailors had deserted from a boat sent on shore to bring back some officers. The system of kidnapping, as is well known, flourishes in Rio, and many a ship is said to have lost, in this way, from thirty to forty men. The crimps, who make their living by this traffic in man, entice young and robust sailors to desert by means of all imaginable allurements and promises, making advances in money, and leading them into a dissolute life, in order that, when afterwards they find themselves in a desperate state, and without resources, they may be sold by the scoundrels to the captains of vessels, as sailors, or, what is worse, as white slaves, to the planters in the interior. This abominable trade is said to be carried on, on a great scale, by an Italian, in Catumbý Grande, and though the Brazilian police is perfectly cognizant of the haunts of the fellow, yet it seems not to be powerful enough to put a stop to the nuisance.
These incidents did not, however, interfere with our departure at the specified hour, when we were towed out by the tug steamer Perseverancia, which we had hired for £25. Almost every large ship on leaving Rio is towed clear of the bay, so as to avoid having to tack between the islands, or perhaps have to anchor, so that the tug, which belongs to a private individual, and accompanied us eastward as far as the island of Razza, must be a source of considerable profit.
On 31st August, at six a. m., we bade farewell to the splendid harbour of Rio. We had fortunately reached Rio after the visit of the yellow fever, but the almost continual rainy weather had spoiled many an excursion, and deprived us of the opportunity of more closely examining the environs of the city. Nor were we more successful in making ourselves at home here, notwithstanding the kind reception with which we were favoured by the Government and some private individuals. There is, in short, a great want of sociability, and we may add, almost utter indifference to scientific pursuits, which indeed appeal in vain to the great majority of the Brazilian population. Of course there are numerous and agreeable exceptions; but slavery, the mixture of races, the egotism and indolence of the wealthier classes, are all reasons why a European, just arrived, cannot feel himself comfortable. The white Brazilians bear, in some respects, a strong resemblance to the Italians, but they are deficient in their pleasing, insinuating demeanour, in their cheerful humour, quickness of perception, and lively imagination. They occupy a lower scale in social culture, without depth of thought or feeling, and seem almost incapable of persevering activity. This perceptible deficiency of hearty, energetic temperament, in addition to the confused intermingling of other foreign nations, which seem to regard the country as booty, to be abandoned so soon as success has crowned their labours, imparts to each new arrival a feeling of depression, which, so far from being weakened, is yet more keenly felt by those who have lived some time in the country, so that not merely among foreigners recently arrived, but with those also who have spent years at Rio, the desire to leave these shores becomes rather increased than diminished by a longer acquaintance.
