ARRIVAL AND SOJOURN IN RIO JANEIRO.
INTRODUCTION - ARRIVAL - DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN - THE BLACKS AND THEIR
RELATIONS TO THE WHITES - ARTS AND SCIENCES - FESTIVALS OF THE CHURCH -
BAPTISM OF THE IMPERIAL PRINCESS - FETE IN THE BARRACKS - CLIMATE AND
VEGETATION - MANNERS AND CUSTOMS - A FEW WORDS TO EMIGRANTS.
I remained in Rio Janeiro above two months, exclusive of the time
devoted to my different excursions into the interior of the country;
it is very far from my intention, however, to tire the reader with a
regular catalogue of every trifling and ordinary occurrence. I
shall content myself with describing the most striking features in
the town, and likewise in the manners and customs of the
inhabitants, according to the opportunities I possessed during my
stay to form an opinion of them. I shall then give an account of my
various excursions in an Appendix, and afterwards resume the thread
of my journal.
It was on the morning of the 17th of September that, after the lapse
of nearly two months and a half, I first set foot upon dry land.
The captain himself accompanied the passengers on shore, after
having earnestly advised each one separately to be sure and smuggle
nothing, more especially sealed letters. "In no part of the world,"
he assured us, "were the Custom-house officers so strict, and the
penalties so heavy."
On coming in sight of the guard ship, we began to feel quite
frightened from this description, and made up our minds that we
should be examined from top to toe.
