Rio was evidently built with a view to permanence. At least Frank and Fred thought so, as they landed at the piers of solid granite, with steps leading down to the water and facilitating debarkation at every stage of the tide. Near the landing-place was a market, where they found groups of negroes waiting for work, or possibly waiting to avoid having work to do. There were heaps of fruit and vegetables, similar to what they had seen in Para and Pernambuco, and the same chatter and commotion prevailed among the venders and their patrons.
We depended upon Fred for an account of the visit to Bahia, and will ask Frank to tell us about Rio de Janeiro.
"From the landing-place we went first to the hotel," said Frank, "under the guidance of a runner, who had met us at the steamer. We went without our baggage, which was taken directly from the ship to the custom-house. Nobody is in a hurry in this country; we knew there would be a delay in bringing the trunks and bags from the steamer, and that we could utilize it by securing our quarters. We made all arrangements for our stay, and then went to the custom-house, which we reached just as Manuel arrived with our impedimenta.
"The officials were polite but slow. We managed to get the attention of one of them, who promised to 'expediate' our business; as he took at least an hour for accomplishing what might have been done in five or ten minutes, I shudder to think what would have been our fate without any 'expedition.' Porters were ready to seize upon the parcels as they were released from the custom-house, and it was a comical spectacle that Manuel presented as he marched at the front of a column of scantily-dressed negroes, each of whom bore some part of our personal effects on his head.
COFFEE-CARRIERS.
"Down to a few years ago nearly all the transportation of Rio was conducted in this way. Coffee, sugar, and other merchandise was placed on the heads of negroes, who trotted nimbly along, carrying sacks weighing one hundred and sixty pounds as though they were only a tenth of that amount. Articles that were too much for one man were slung on poles, or balanced on the heads of two, four, or possibly eight or ten porters; it was no uncommon sight to see a piano or a large box poised on the heads of four or six men, and the stranger could not help thinking what might be the result if one of the number should make a misstep and fall to the ground.