CHAPTER II.LISBON TO MADEIRA.

ADJUDA PALACE, RESIDENCE OF THE ROYAL FAMILY OF PORTUGAL, NEAR LISBON.

Two more days’ pleasant Paddling on the Ocean.—Approach to Madeira.—Charming aspect of the Island.—Unique boats and benevolent boatmen.—Pastoral progression in bucolic barouches extraordinary.—Personal appearance of the inhabitants.—Atmospheric attractions of Madeira, and absence of all natural annoyances.—The Vine-Blight and its consequences, present and prospective, on the people at home and the consumption of their wine abroad.—Funchal, and its urban and suburban et ceteras.—Romance and reality of the History of the Island, ‘Once Upon a Time.’—Importance of English residents to the place.—Cost of living, and what you get for your money.—Royal and illustrious visitors.—Mercantile matters, and consular cordiality.—Grave Reflections in the British Burial Ground.

THE LAUREL TREE, MADEIRA.

Note to the Illustration.—Views of Funchal, of the English Burial-place, and other objects in Madeira, are so familiar, that in preference to any of them, there is here given, as being much less hacknied, one representing a small fort or outwork, called Loureiro, or the Laurel Tree, on the coast to the east of Funchal, being the first of the series copied from the portfolio of the gentleman to whom our volume is so much indebted for such privilege.

Oh! had we some bright little isle of our own,In a blue summer ocean, far off and alone,Where a leaf never dies in the still blooming bowers,And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers;Where simply to feel that we breathe, that we live,Is worth the best joy that life elsewhere can give.The glow of the sunshine, the balm of the air,Would steal to our hearts, and make all summer there.Our life should resemble a long day of light,And our death come on, holy and calm as the night.—Moore.

Oh! had we some bright little isle of our own,

In a blue summer ocean, far off and alone,

Where a leaf never dies in the still blooming bowers,

And the bee banquets on through a whole year of flowers;

Where simply to feel that we breathe, that we live,

Is worth the best joy that life elsewhere can give.

The glow of the sunshine, the balm of the air,

Would steal to our hearts, and make all summer there.

Our life should resemble a long day of light,

And our death come on, holy and calm as the night.—Moore.

Ocean sailing, perhaps, does not present anything more delightful than the trip from Lisbon to this island in fine or moderate weather. We soon bade adieu to the Tagus, with its merry-going windmills, and its palaces and churches, the bold dome of the Coraçao de Jesus being the last visible in the horizon as we steamed away; and, on the second morning at daylight, made the Island of Porto Santo, which looks bleak and dreary enough, but has the repute of having some verdant spots upon it; and a small harbour called by the same name. Madeira, some 35 miles distant, was in sight a-head, its mountains peeping out of the clouds; and a couple of hours brought us up to the south side, along which we steamed. The hills were covered with innumerable cottages, and huts built amongst the vine plantations, which rise in ridges, nearly from the water’s edge to the height of 2,000 feet; the best vine growths, no doubt, being found at about half that elevation. It is needless to say that thecoup d’œilso presented is as charming as it is singular. Immediately after passing Brazen Head, the Bay of Funchal opened before us, and a more beautiful sight cannot well be conceived, the hills towering to a considerable altitude, dotted a long way up with pretty-looking villas and well cultivated gardens, until, reaching the town, these become merged in its compact mass. Funchal, which contains a population of some 20,000 inhabitants, bears the usual Portuguese characteristics of white or fancifully-coloured houses, many being lofty, with look-outs to the sea, forts, churches, &c. The Loo Rock, commanding the entrance of the bay, is very remarkable, being quite separated from the main land, which it there protects from the roll of the sea. Here we found lying in the roads, amongst other vessels, two American men-of-war, just come over from the African station torefresh, as well as the Severn steamer, coaling on her way from the Brazils to Lisbon and England. This opportunity enabled us to send home dispatches forthwith. An assemblage of those peculiarly strong-built boats, with double keels to protect them from being stove in by the tremendous swell that sets in-shore so frequently, soon came to us with offers of service, chiefly in the shape of miscellaneous matters for sale; and we found ourselves amongst a pushing, energetic race, anxious to trade and make money, with an earnestness that was quite refreshing. Many spoke tolerably good English, and showed evident signs of being accustomed to deal with our countrymen. Landing on the beach is sometimes a formidable operation here; but the boats, as we have said, are well adapted for all emergencies incident to the operation, whether performed by those in robust health, or, as is too frequently the case, by invalids, in almost the last stage preceding dissolution. The boatmen are very active and obliging on such occasions, and considerate to a degree that would be perfectly incredible to a Thames wherry-man at Gravesend. We were immediately beset by a crowd of applicants for favours in one shape or another, amongst whom were not a few beggars, although I believe they are prohibited from soliciting alms, and a very good institution exists for the helpless and houseless. Some of our passengers, with the precipitancy of English in all such matters the moment a foreign shore is reached, proceeded to test the vehicular conveniences of the island, by a drive in one of those extraordinary bovine sledges drawn by two bullocks, and which travel up the hills at a pace sufficiently surprising, considering the apparently sluggish conformation of the steeds.

I took a ramble over the town, and made sundry diplomatic calls; afterwards proceeding [aloft, as may be literally said,] to enjoy the hospitality of Mr. Blandy, who occupies a charming country seat about a mile up the hill, where there is a splendid view of the town and bay, as well as of the towering mountains above. One of the sleighs or sledges, just mentioned, carried us along a succession of steep hills very quickly, a mode of conveyancewhich, notwithstanding its primeval fashion, appears to be of recent date here. Thischar rustiqueof the mountains resembles, as nearly as possible, one of our turn-abouts at a fair, with two seats opposite to each other; but the most curious uses to which this odd contrivance is put, is in coursing down-hill by express train, as they call it. Two persons seat themselves side-by-side in the sledge, and an equal number of boys, holding a strap attached to it, commence running down the steep declivities at a pace that must be felt to be understood; but an idea of it may be formed by those who remember the Vauxhall illustration of centrifugal force, some years ago, when an unhappy monkey was placed in a carriage and shot down an inclined plain, at the bottom whereof was a huge wheel, over and around which the traveller and his vehicle were propelled, and brought to a stand-still after attaining a level on the other side. The Madeira roads are paved with sharp stones set very close together; so the machine glides downwards without meeting with any resistance, and, in ten minutes, descends a distance that takes half an hour or more to mount on horseback. It was the most curious sensation I ever felt; and, though assured of its safety, one cannot make the experiment for the first time without thoughts of an upset running in one’s head, contact between which and the stones would not have been very agreeable. Mountainous countries are doubtless favourable to the promotion of personal activity; and certainly the way in which the natives go up and down the steep paths here, with burthens on their backs, especially in such a climate, is something remarkable.

It is no wonder that the English are fond of Madeira, but a very great wonder that far larger numbers do not resort thither, to pass the winter months, with the numerous facilities of steam navigation now presented to them. The climate, the total change of people and scenery, the teeming vegetation, yielding the produce both of Europe and the tropics, the picturesque disposal of the houses on the very ridges of the hills, with every regard to comfort and even luxury, all combine to render this a kind ofearthly paradise, to which the seeming rhapsody at the head of our chapter is really only literally applicable. Here indeed nature showers down her choicest bounties: no fogs, miasmas, or even hurtful dews; atmosphere almost always translucent and bright; the thermometer in winter scarcely ever falling below 60 degrees; and where, during the hot summer months, a cool and comfortable retreat, of almost any temperature, may be found up the mountains. Lastly, there are no poisonous reptiles, merely a brown lizard, harmless to everything save the vines; frogs are quite a recent importation; and so far as I could learn, there are none of that numerous tribe of annoying insects which infest the tropical regions, only the familiar household flea, that makes himself at home everywhere.

Unfortunately, the dependence of the population and the staple of Madeira has been its vines, whose produce this year, as well as last, has totally failed, from some cause almost as inscrutable, or at least as incurable, and in its consequences nearly as calamitous, on a small scale, as the potato rot in isles nearer home. I could not have believed without seeing it:—in every direction the grapes were withered up like parched peas, and, in many cases, the trees themselves dying. Such an extraordinary visitation has, I believe, never been known here before. It partakes very much of the same virulent character as the diseases that at times affect the cereal world, and something of the kind was experienced with terrible severity in the Canaries in 1704. Two years’ failure of a vintage, in an island like Madeira, would be almost annihilation, if it were not for its other boundless vegetable resources; and, as in the case of the destruction of the Irish root, it is augured that much good may arise to the people from the increased stimulus to industry so occasioned, and their being induced not to place too great a dependence on any one product. Still, it is a melancholy sight to behold the support of a whole people struck down by such an inconceivable blight. Every means have been tried to arrest its progress, but without success; and, should it continue its ravages, Madeira wine bids fare to become greatlyincreased in value a few years hence, when, as a matter of course, it will be more in vogue and sought after, than has been the case for a long time back.[33]

The streets of Funchal are narrow, but clean, and intersected by streams of water, brought also into nearly every large dwelling. Their silence, owing to the absence of vehicles, strikes the European stranger as extraordinary; especially at night, when he seems to be placed in a city of marionettes, as it were; and, from the presence of the palanquin, bearing fair occupants about, quite an oriental tinge is imparted to the aspect of the whole urban scene. Speaking of that, a note on the physical attributes of the Madeirans; and we cannot do better than quote the authority of a gentleman[33]—perhaps we should say a lady, as it is doubtless her impressions in letter-press that are reflected on this point[34]—who is the latest authority on what may be called theagremensof the island.

There are aqueducts made to bring the water from the mountain side, and several deep gullies or ravines run through the town and empty themselves into the sea. These cavities being crossed by bridges, the sides have been built up at a considerable expense, and are covered with verdure, tropical and European, producing a most picturesque effect. They are also most beneficial in a sanitary sense, being in fact main arteries for circulating pure fresh air, as well as for carrying off the impurities.

Excepting epidemics, Madeira, both town and country, must naturally be the healthiest place in the world, for the reasonsalready stated. The population of the island is estimated at upwards of 100,000, or, at least was so till lately; but there is a good deal of emigration going on, and owing to the late distress it is likely to increase materially, both to Demerara and the Brazils, where the natives prove to be most valuable labourers.

The history of Madeira, or at least its political history, is of no great importance. Like Brazil, it is named after its wood, and so is its capital, Funchal, from a species of fern abounding in still greater profusion than the magnificent timber. A romantic interest belongs to its early annals, as it was discovered, it is said, by Mr. Macham, an English gentleman, or mariner, who fled from England for an illicit amour. He was driven here by a storm, and his mistress, a French lady, dying, he made a canoe, and carried the news of his discovery to Pedro, King of Arragon, which occasioned the report that the island was discovered by a Portuguese,A.D.1345. But it is maintained that the Portuguese did not visit the place until 1419, nor did they colonise it until 1431.[35]It was taken possession of by the British in July, 1801; and again, by Admiral Hood and General (afterwards Viscount) Beresford, Dec. 24, 1807, and retained in trust for the royal family of Portugal, which had just then emigrated to the Brazils. It was subsequently restored to the Portuguese crown.

The residence of Englishmen here, is of course highly advantageous to the place, and they are welcomed, as they deserve to be, by a poor but industrious, and by no means abject or cringing, people. On the contrary, the population of all classes are remarkable for their frank and ingenuous bearing. Living[36]is reasonable;and it is to be hoped that thousands, instead of hundreds, of our countrymen, will ere long find their way here. The visits of our late estimable Queen Adelaide, of the Dowager Empress of Brazils, and others of eminent station and corresponding means, are dwelt upon with gratitude, as they not only caused a considerable circulation of money, but did much good personally. In no part of the world can the bounties of nature, or the precious gift of health be so richly enjoyed, or in a manner so agreeable to Europeans, as here. The island has some little commerce with different places, but administered in a manner that renders all we said about Lisbon restrictions, monopolies, and mercantile impediments, applicable in an aggravated degree, if that be possible; and, of course, until things mend there, no improvement can be looked for here. The trading portion of the community seem to be very social and friendly amongst themselves, although not mixing a great deal with the English, or rather, the English maintain their constitutional isolation from the natives, but with a rigidity which time is rapidly mitigating. The character for British hospitality is fittingly maintained by Mr. George Stoddard, our Consul, who occupies the palatial residence of a Portuguese noble, and dispenses the duties of his office in a manner that may well reconcile the strictest economist at home to the most inadequate stipend of£300 a year attached to it; for the obligations are often irksome, if not very onerous; and not a few of them arising out of melancholy occurrences, to whose frequency the tombstones and monuments in the English burial-ground bear such significant testimony. This AngloPère la Chaiseof the Western Atlantic is one of the first objects visited—and, alas! often the last, by the survivors of those whom

The verdant rising and the flowery hill,The vale enamell’d, and the crystal rill,The ocean rolling, and the shelly shore,Beautiful objects, shall delight no more.Now the lax’d sinews of the weaken’d eyeIn watery damp and dim suffusion lie.

The verdant rising and the flowery hill,

The vale enamell’d, and the crystal rill,

The ocean rolling, and the shelly shore,

Beautiful objects, shall delight no more.

Now the lax’d sinews of the weaken’d eye

In watery damp and dim suffusion lie.

Bidding adieu, however, to these melancholy matters, we again resume our course.

Oceanic Sailing again.—Halcyon weather, and modern steaming to theFortunatæ Insulæof the Ancients.—A stave on the saffron-coloured singing birds.—Touching Teneriffe, and Miltonic parallel to the Arch-Enemy.—Approach to Porto Grande, and what we found there, especially its extensive accommodation for steamers.—Deficiency of water the one draw-back.—Something concerning Ethiopic Serenaders under the Line.—Promethean Promontary extraordinary.—A memento of mortality midway in the world.—Portuguese rewards honourably earned by an Englishman.—Utility of Consuls in such places.—First acquaintance with an earthquake.—Verd Grapes soured by a paternal government.—Interchange of news between the Outward and the Homeward bound.—A good propelling turn towards a brother of the screw.

HOTEL, FORMERLY CONVENT, TENERIFFE.

Or other worlds they seem’d, or Happy Isles,Like those Hesperian gardens famed of old,Fortunate fields, and groves, and flowery vales,Thrice happy isles.—Paradise Lost, Book iii.

Or other worlds they seem’d, or Happy Isles,

Like those Hesperian gardens famed of old,

Fortunate fields, and groves, and flowery vales,

Thrice happy isles.—Paradise Lost, Book iii.

This track is, generally speaking, about the most pleasant in the Atlantic Ocean; fine sunny weather and fresh north-east trade winds, which blow with tolerable regularity nearly the whole year round, rendering it very easy sailing indeed, and proportionably agreeable to passengers, who may be supposed by this time to have attained their sea-legs. In our case the wind was, unfortunately too light to be of much use, as a vessel going from ten to eleven knots, under steam, must have a very strong breeze to get a-head of such speed and assist the machinery, as well as obtain another knot or two. We pass the Canaries (or Fortunate Isles, as they were called,) to windward, having in view the far-famed Peak of Teneriffe, upheaving high its giant bulk 12,182 feet, and keeping our course direct for St. Vincent. The Canaries are naturally associated with our earliest school-boy notions, as the original home of the charming little universal household songster,[37]to whom they have given their name, but here called thistle-finch, and having for its companions the blackbird, linnet, and others of the same tuneful and now Saxonized family. The real Canary of these islands, however, theFringilla Canariaof Linnæus, and which still abounds here, is not of the saffron or yellow colour it attains in Europe; but is, in its wild state, thecolour of our common field or grey linnet, the yellow hue being the result of repeated crossings in its artificial state amongst us. The Canaries are amongst several other islands that were known to the ancients, but not discovered by modern Europe until the middle of the fifteenth century, when, after a brave resistance from the natives, the Spaniards conquered and have since retained them.

Though not exactly in the route of the Argentina, nor intended to be touched at by any of the company’s vessels, still being comparatively so near the Canaries, and especially of that particular one whereof mention is made by the great English bard, in verse as majestic as the phenomenon he speaks of:

On the other side, Satan, alarmed,Collecting all his might, dilated stood,LikeTeneriffor Atlas, unremoved:His stature reach’d the sky, and on his crestSat horror plumed.—Paradise Lost, Book iv.

On the other side, Satan, alarmed,

Collecting all his might, dilated stood,

LikeTeneriffor Atlas, unremoved:

His stature reach’d the sky, and on his crest

Sat horror plumed.—Paradise Lost, Book iv.

we must present a souvenir of our proximity to so celebrated a vicinage; and we cannot do so in a more graceful or welcome form than the sketch prefixed to this chapter.

The Cape Verds consist of seven principal islands, and were tolerably populous, but of late years have been subjected to a continuous emigration to South America and the West Indies, where, like the hardy mountaineers from Madeira, they are found most useful in tilling the soil, and in other laborious occupations; thus demonstrating the fallacy of the old notion, that laziness is the predominant element in the Spanish and Portuguese idiosyncrasy. What appears to be a present disadvantage, in regard to this human flight from the Verds, may prove beneficial hereafter, when the Ilheos (as they are called) return to their homes, possessed of a little money wherewith to improve their social and moral condition. The islands produce wine, barilla, large quantities of orchilla weed, and cochineal, the cultivation of which is rapidly forming a more and more considerable item of export. Steam navigation will ere long bring them into much closer commercial contact with the world, and enhance the appreciation oftheir products and natural advantages. The climate is fine, though subject to occasional high temperature and frequent droughts. Despite the name Verds, suggestive of Arcadian animation, nothing can be more desolate than the appearance of the islands, as approached from the sea; bold, high rocks, against which the surge breaks violently, with mountains towering in the clouds, are general characteristics, to which those of the island of St. Vincent offer no exception. On our arrival the weather was thick, with drizzling rain, as we made Porto Grande; and only cleared up in time to enable us to see Bird Island, a most remarkable sugar-loaf rock, standing right in the entrance of the bay, after passing which we reached the anchorage ground in a few minutes. A more convenient little harbour can hardly be imagined, being nearly surrounded with hills (or mountains as they may be called), which protect it from all winds save the westward, where Bird Island stands as a huge beacon, most admirably adapted for a light-house, and on which it is to be hoped one will soon be placed. There is deep water close to the shore on most sides of the bay, that where the town is built being the shallowest; and here some wooden jetties are run out, having very extensive coal and patent fueldepôtsclose at hand, where these combustibles are put into iron lighters, and sent off to the vessels. So beautifully clear is the water in the bay that you can see the bottom at a depth of from twenty to thirty feet, literally alive with fish of all kinds, but for which the people seem to care very little, either for home consumption or export, though there is no doubt that, in the latter direction, a large business might be done with profitable results.

Porto Grande must become a most important coaling station, situated as it is midway between Europe and South America, and close to the African coast. Several important steam companies have already adopted it, viz., the Royal Mail (Brazil), the General Screw, the Australian, as also the South American, and General Steam Navigation Company, whilst occasional steamers are, likewise, glad to touch at it. At the period of which I am writing,the Great Britain was the last that coaled here, on her way to Australia. In order to meet this increased demand, a proportionate degree of activity and exertion is observable on shore; and a large number of iron lighters, carrying from 15 to 40 tons each, are now in constant requisition, loaded, and ready to be taken alongside the steamers the instant they cast anchor. Unfortunately, there is a very poor supply of water, the want of it having been the occasion of frequent emigration in the history of the islands; but it is understood to be attainable at a slight expense; and a small outlay conjointly made by the steam companies might not only procure a plentiful provision of this all-necessary element, but also other conveniences, essential to the comfort of passengers. There is no doubt that, as the place progresses, supplies of meat, fruit, and vegetables, will be forwarded thither from the neighbouring islands, which are so productive that there is a considerable export of corn; and the cattle are numerous. Until lately, fowls were only a penny a piece; and turtles abound. Hitherto there has been no regular marketable demand for such things; but one, and a large one too, is henceforth established, from the causes assigned, and will doubtless be regularly and economically supplied. The labourers here are chiefly free blacks and Kroomen, from the coast of Africa, most of whom speak English, and chatter away at a great rate, as they work in gangs, with a kind of boatswain over them, who uses a whistle to direct their toil—the movements of all the race of Ham to the days of Uncle Tom, being seemingly susceptible of regulation to musical noise of some sort or other; whether the ‘concord of sweet sounds,’ or what would appear to be such to more refined ears, does not greatly matter.

But for want of vegetation in its neighbourhood, a more picturesque little bay than Porto Grande can hardly be conceived. Towering a short distance above the town, is a kind of table mountain, some 2,500 feet high; and at the opposite side, forming the south-west entrance, is another very lofty one, remarkable as representing the colossal profile of a man lying on his back,à laPrometheus. He has his visage towards heaven, wherein there aregenerally soaring vultures enough to devour him up were he a trifle less tender than volcanic granite. The features are perfect, even to the eyebrows; and a very handsome profile it makes, though it does not appear that any tropical Æschylus has yet converted the material to the humblest legendary, much less epic, purpose. On the shore ground, forming the right side of the bay, looking towards the town, there is a neat little monument, erected to the lamented lady of Colonel Cole, who died here on her way home from India. The spot where she lies is, from its quietude and seclusion, most meet for such a resting-place, there being a small, conical hill behind, with a cottage or two near, and a sprinkling of vegetation on the low ground between, serving to ‘keep her memory green’ in the mind of many an ocean voyager in his halt at this half-way house between the younger and the elder world.

This little town was thrown back sadly by the epidemic which afflicted it in 1850 and decimated the population. During its continuance Mr. Miller, one of the few English residents, did so much in assisting the inhabitants, as to elicit from the late Queen of Portugal the honour of a knighthood, in one of the first orders in her dominions. It requires no small degree of patience and philanthropy to aid the development of a place like this, labouring, as it does, under such great natural difficulties, and where everything has to be brought from a distance, there not being a tree or a blade of grass to be seen—nothing but dry, arid sand, or a burnt-up kind of soil. Undoubtedly, the heat is very great at times; and there are about three months of blowing, rainy weather, which is the only period when vessels might be subjected to inconvenience whilst coaling, as the southerly winds drive up a good deal of sea into the bay. There is an English Consul resident here, Mr. Rendall, who has done much to assist in bringing these islands into notice, and into comparative civilization; and, by so doing, has many times over reimbursed this country in the cost of his stipend of £400 a year, saying nothing of the services he has performed to shipping, in the ordinary discharge of his duties.

Cape Verds are a very numerous family of islands, called aftera cape on the African coast (originally named Cabo Verde, or Green Cape, by the Portuguese) to which they lie contiguous, though at a considerable distance from each other in some cases. All are of volcanic formation—one, that of Fogo, or Fuego, once very celebrated as being visible, especially in the night time, at an immense distance at sea. The islands generally do not possess any very attractive points, being unlike Madeira and the Canaries in this respect, as well as in extent of population, that of the latter being four or five times more numerous than the others—say about 200,000 in one, 40,000 in the other case, though some statements make the inhabitants of the Verds considerably more. The islands are occasionally subject to shocks of earthquakes; and there was rather a strong one at Porto Grande the night before we left, supposed on board our vessel to be thunder, from the noise it made, though we were not aware until next day that a shock had been felt on shore. The chief product is salt, a valuable article for vessels trading to South America, though it is here manufactured by the somewhat primitive process of letting the sea-water into the lowlands, where the sun evaporates it. Though Porto Grande, in St. Vincent, is the great place for shipping, and as such almost the only place of interest for passengers in transit, Ribeira Grande, in St. Jago, the principal island, and most southerly of the group, is the chief town, though it is at Porto Playa, (often touched at by ships on the Indian voyage), that the Governor General resides, particularly in the dry season. The island second in importance, in point of size, is St. Nicholas, where are some small manufactories, in the shape of cotton-stuffs, leather, stockings, and other matters. The orchilla weed, however, is the great object of governmental interest, and its monopoly is said to yield some £60,000 per annum; the same wise policy that grasps at that interdicting the manufacture of wine, though grapes grow in profusion, and are of excellent quality for the production of a very acceptable beverage.

Before leaving Porto Grande we had the satisfaction of seeing the General Screw Company’s fine vessel, the Lady Jocelyn,arrive on the day she was due from India and the Cape of Good Hope, on her way to Southampton, with mails, and upwards of one hundred passengers. I went on board to give them the latest news from England, which was of course very acceptable, and the columns of the leading journals were eagerly devoured. In exchange I received the ‘Cape News,’ which did not contain anything very particular, all being quiet there, our old perturbed friend, Sandilli, and his ebonized insurrectionists of the hills having apparently subsided into lilies-of-the-valley of peace and philanthropy. The fine steamers belonging to the General Screw line appeared destined to convey a large portion of passengers between England and India, in preference to the overland route; and, certainly, when one could make the passage in about sixty days, direct, without change of conveyance, and with such splendid accommodation and such conveniences as these vessels afford, it was only natural that they should fill well; and a more comfortable, happy-looking group of passengers I never saw in any vessel.

But, alack for the worthlessness of such moralizings and anticipations as these. This enterprising company have been obliged to abandon their Indian contract, owing to their coaling expenses being out of all proportion to the small sum they received for conveying the mails. The Cape of Good Hope contract, too, will most likely be given up, to the great detriment of that important colony, and at the rate we are progressing, steam communication to Australia does not promise to require the coaling facilities of St. Vincent; still we are of opinion that this island must increase in importance, and that whenever coal freights revert to a moderate scale, steamers will gather there to and from the Southern Ocean.

Progress from Porto Grande to Pernambuco.—Steam triumphs against adverse wind.—Further Superiority of Screw over Sail.—The Argentina in a South-Wester.—Aproposof Malaria, and something sanitary about Brazil.—The yellow fever: whence it comes, and what has become of it?—Quarrels about Quarantine.—Brazil in advance of the old country in these matters.

Leaving Porto Grande, we shaped our rapid course southwards, to the Brazils, across the wide expanse of ocean lying between the two continents, and in all which prodigious waste of waters there is no port of call nearer than St. Helena, latitude, 15 deg. 55 min. S., long., 5. 44 E., unless we except the turtle-famed Island of Ascension, 800 miles N.E. of the Bonapartean place of exile, which itself is 1,200 miles from the coast of Lower Guinea. The trade winds vary a good deal in their extension towards the line, and in these latitudes commence the difficulties of a sailing ship, which has to deal with calms and variable winds, blowing from all points of the compass, until such time as it catches the south-east trade, and is carried onwards. Our course lay towards Pernambuco, a place I visited for the first time upwards of thirty years back, and where I have often been since, but never in a steamer; and only those who have experienced the difference between the two modes of propulsion, wind alone and steam, can fairly appreciate the value of the latter power. In former years, 40 to 50 days were considered an average passage to Pernambuco, lately reduced to about 30 to 35 by clipper-vessels, whilst a steamer will traverse the distance easily in 20 days, including stoppages to coal, and for any other requisite purpose. The consequence is, that numbers pass to and fro, who would never do so but for the facilities thus afforded, and which afford at the same time a further evidence of the trite truth, already frequently dwelt upon, andwhich will have to be still more frequently repeated, before we come to a close, that steam navigation becomes the great civilizer of the world, and brings distant nations so much nearer to our own shores.

Our run from St. Vincent to Brazil was a very hard one. Losing the trade-wind the day after that on which we left the island, it was replaced by an implacable south-wester, against which our little vessel steamed vigorously, and we could barely carry fore and aft canvas. When, after eight days’ tugging we arrived at Pernambuco, there was not an hour’s coal left, a consideration which naturally rendered all on board anxious for some short time before. We shaved close past the Island of Fernando de Noronha, showing a conical hill, very like a ship under canvas at a distance. It is a penal settlement of Brazil, and considered very healthy.

Before describing other ports of call on our way to the River Plate, let us just take a glance at the Empire of Brazil, which, from its geographical position, immense fertility and internal resources, is second only in importance to the great Empire of the West—the United States of North America. And, first, in regard to that primal consideration, health, as affected by the climate—a subject on which many years’ experience in my own person, and an attentive observation of the health of various classes of Europeans in the tropics enable me to speak with as much weight as should probably attach to the opinion of the majority of non-medical men on a medical topic; and some remarks on that head in the chapter on Pernambuco will probably be found not altogether unworthy of the attention even of the faculty.

Notwithstanding its well-known heat, in common with all other countries within the tropics, and especially a country so large a portion of which is directly beneath the equator, until within the last few years Brazil has been proverbially one of the healthiest climates in the world, and European residents could indulge almost with impunity in the pleasures and luxuries of tropical life. Unfortunately yellow fever has changedall this, and rendered the vital statistics of the harbours and cities of the empire mournful catalogues of suffering and disaster, threatening serious injury to its national prosperity, if the scourge does not soon finally depart from its shores. This, it is devoutly hoped may be the case, and fortunately seems to be so at present, as far as can be augured from the reports now continued for a considerable time. During over thirty years’ acquaintance with, and frequent residence in the country, I never experienced or heard of any existing epidemic worthy of the name, or such as could not be readily accounted for; but the aspect of things, at the period of my last arrival, had sadly indeed changed, and the dread pestilence in its ravages seemed to spare neither the hardy European mariner, the native resident, the blacks, nor indeed any class of persons brought within its influence. How or from whence this mysterious visitation had arisen it was impossible to say. Some maintain that it was brought from the coast of Africa, and is a kind of retributive punishment for the iniquitous traffic in human flesh carried on so extensively in the Brazils, until lately, that the government have shown themselves determined to put it down. But those who argue in this fashion forget that the same doctrine would apply in a thousand instances at home and abroad; that the exceptions are unfortunately more numerous than the rule which would be thus set up by human presumption for the admeasurement of the justice of Omniscience; and that it is always imprudent, to say the least of it, to attempt to interpret the causes of such dispensations of Providence by our own notions of human requirement. Others deny the fever to be either epidemic or contagious, affirming that it must be induced by some peculiar atmosphere, generated, no one knows how, on the sea coast; and it certainly is curious enough that vessels have had the sickness on board, whilst coming down the coast, before even touching at a Brazilian port. Whatever be the true cause of this affliction, it ought to teach the Brazilians a lesson not to abuse the bounties of Providence, which they enjoy in almost unexampled profusion, or neglect those means of sanitary protection which are needfuleven in the healthiest portions of Europe. No doubt much is required to be done in this way, and not in trying to enforce stupid quarantine regulations, which only add to suffering without arresting the arm of the devastator. Indeed, the Brazilian government has shown great good sense in eschewing the absurd formalities in question, therein again exhibiting an immense superiority of intelligence over the mother country; for at Lisbon all the antiquated and superannuated encumbrances and ceremonials are rigorously exacted, though there be not even the shadow of a pretext for enforcing them; for although a ship’s bill of health may be perfectly clean, and although the ports she last sailed from may have been long known to be uninfected, still the circumstance of their having been once tainted is sufficient warrant for the Portuguese procrastinators in exacting any amount of detention that may be agreeable to their caprice, whether the vessel be sail or steamer.

“Stern winter smiles on this auspicious clime;The fields are florid in eternal prime;From the bleak pole no winds inclement blow,Mould the round hail, or flake the fleecy snow;But from the breezy deep the groves inhaleThe fragrant murmurs of the eastern gale!”

“Stern winter smiles on this auspicious clime;

The fields are florid in eternal prime;

From the bleak pole no winds inclement blow,

Mould the round hail, or flake the fleecy snow;

But from the breezy deep the groves inhale

The fragrant murmurs of the eastern gale!”

Rather prefatory and not very particular, though somewhat personal.—Books on Brazil should be inMediam Viamfor the present route, avoiding the Scylla of extreme succinctness and the Charybdis of needless diffuseness.—Object of the Author to attain the golden medium.—With what success, gentle reader, say?—Discovery of the country by the Portuguese. Their subsequent disputes with, and final expulsion of the Dutch.—Extent and Population; variety of soil and produce.—Difficulty of communication between the provinces and the capital, in consequence of extreme distance and imperfect means of travelling.—Extraordinary instance of the roundabout nature of news circulating in Brazil some time ago.—Steam corrective of such sluggishness.—A glance at the Brazilian littoral, beginning with the Amazon, and ending with Rio Grande do Sul.—Pará and its productions.—Rio Negro, and its recent political elevation.—Maranham and its Mercantile importance.—Laird’s steam leveller, on the singular stream of the Itapecuru.—Justice for England by Maranham Magistrates.—Piauhy and its products; also Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte, and Paraiba.—Pernambuco revisited by the writer, and welcomed with a rhythmetical sentimental something concerning ‘Long, long, ago!’

Let not the reader suppose, from the heading of this chapter, ‘Empire of Brazil,’ that he is going to encounter either a dilution or a condensation of Southey, Kidder, Weech, Mawe, Prince Adalbert, St. Hilaire, and others, who have written at great length and in many languages, on so fertile and so expansive a theme. The object of the author in this portion of the volume is merely, by presenting at a glance the position and condition of Brazil generally, to enable those who accompany him in these pages the more readily to recognize the points he is about to put hereafter as the result of his own experience, more especially with reference to the machinery of commercial matters in Brazil. It is often the fault of men very full of a particular subject themselves to take for granted that the public either know a very great deal, or wish to know everything about it. Brazil has suffered much from both these causes in European, and especially in English estimation. Those familiar with and competent to write about it, have either presumed that the public were nearly as wise as themselves, and have passed over matters of great interest, believing them tobe stale and exhausted, and dwelling upon the trivialities of personal travel by way of varying a beaten track:—or, on the other hand, the exhaustive process has been applied, and historic and topographic disquisition have been employed with a minuteness that would be only tolerated in English county gazetteers or family chronicles. The consequence is that all but the student or the virtuoso in such matters have been repelled from their perusal. When the idea of writing this book occurred to the author—an idea suggested by frequent inquiries for works that should, in a brief compass, give a tolerable notion of things to be met with and that ought to be known in a route of yearly increasing importance between two quarters of the globe—it was suggested that he should steer between the two extremes just indicated. He has endeavoured to do so; and without further circumlocution, he places before the reader the means of deciding with what success.

Brazil,[38]as already noticed, was discovered by Cabral on his way to India in 1500 (although it has been asserted that the coast was visited by Martin Belem in 1484) who at first supposed it to be alarge island on the coast of Africa.[39]The reports as to her mineral wealth not being at that time encouraging, little progress was made in colonizing Brazil until 1542, when the Portuguese rulers sent out Thomas de Souza as first governor, who built San Salvador, (or Bahia, as it is now called, capital of the province of the same name,) and materially aided the mission of the Jesuits in civilizing the Indian population. This Portuguese possession was afterwards disputed both by the Spaniards and the Dutch, and the latter succeeded in appropriating several of the northern provinces, viz.:—Ceara, Seregipe, Pernambuco, and Bahia, which they held for a considerable time during the 17th century, and did much towards the permanent prosperity of the country, by building forts, enlarging towns, and carrying out a number of useful public works, which remain as monuments of their laboriousness and perseverance to this day, especially in the capitals of the two last-named provinces. Much gallantry and patriotism were shown by the native Brazilian and Portuguese residents in their conflict with the Hollanders, ending in the final expulsion of the latter from the entire coast, although this event may be considered a misfortune to the country itself, in losing so industrious and painstaking a race.

The Brazilian empire extends from about 4 degrees north, to 33 degrees south, latitude; its extreme length is from 2,500 to 2,600 miles, and breadth above 2,000 at the widest part; it contains some 2,500,000 square miles of territory, comprising every variety of soil and culture, and is possessed of considerable variety of climate. Its population has been variously estimated at from sixto seven millions; but no data exist from which one can form more than an approximate calculation. Out of this number, one half may be set down as slaves, and the other half mixed races, from the native-born Portuguese downwards to the pure Indian. One of the great draw-backs hitherto experienced in administering the government of the Brazils has been the distance of the towns and provinces from the metropolis, Rio Janeiro; and this has more especially applied to the northern provinces, from Pará to Pernambuco, where, owing to the almost constant prevalence of a northerly current, sailing-vessels took a very long time in getting down the coast; so that, in the absence of communication by land, the intelligence of disturbances or temporary rebellion only reached the seat of government a considerable period after the first outbreak. An extraordinary and almost incredible instance of this occurred on the occasion of the formidable revolt of the province of Pará, the first news of which was received at Rio Janeiro by way of England, sixty days after a British sailing ship had left Pará, and another recrossed the Atlantic, and anchored in the port of the Brazilian capital, no ship, within all that period, having been able to make way from Pará to Rio against the monsoon and current and wind that prevails for a great part of the year, blowing from the antarctic circle towards the equator. Perhaps the astonishment created by this state of things will, however, be triflingly mitigated if the reader will bear in mind that Brazil is as large as nearly a dozen Great Britains; and will also recollect what vagueness, incertitude, and delay characterise the receipt of intelligence in London from Constantinople and St. Petersburgh, notwithstanding special steamers, express trains, electric telegraphs, government couriers, and time-and-space-annihilating editors of innumerable newspapers, at both ends and all along the whole line of operations. Steam navigation has however in a great measure remedied this evil, as it has done so many others; and news is now regularly transmitted between Rio Janeiro and Pará by a steam company, liberally subsidized by the government, the former being bound to dispatch a vessel once a fortnight, calling at all theports. In the absence of internal roads or communications along the coast, steam must very properly be regarded as the main-stay of the executive, at the same time that it offers the needful facility for provincial deputies attending the sittings of the Rio chambers. Steam, valuable everywhere, is invaluable here, and may, indeed, be looked upon as the great civilizer and regenerator of a country like Brazil, with a sea-coast extending nearly 4,000 miles from north to south; while other tributary lines of steamers are being established in the innumerable bays and rivers. The northernmost point is the mighty Amazon, which is being explored and opened to general traffic by another steam company, established at Rio Janeiro, and likewise aided with an ample subsidy from the government; though from the terms in which certain North American and other writers, to some of whom we shall have to allude hereafter, speak of the Brazilian authorities, it might be inferred that not a particle of enterprise of this kind is tolerated, much less encouraged. Considering that it is only 20 years since the first funnel darkened the Brazilian waters, this wonder-working agent of steam may fairly be said to be only in its infancy, and its progeny will no doubt ere long be greatly multiplied on the coast and up the vast fluvial arteries of the empire. A brief glance along the littoral boundaries of this almost boundless dominion will soon shew the transcendent importance of steam to such a region. The northernmost province of the Brazils is

Pará, with a capital of the same name, otherwise called Belem, situated on the north-eastern bank of the Amazon, 80 miles from its entrance. From the cause already assigned (distance from the seat of government) the progress of this important province, containing upwards of a million square miles, much of which is yet unknown, has been greatly retarded by civil wars and an unruly population. Its chief productions are corn, caoutchouc (or gum elastic), ipecacuanha, nuts, &c.; but there is no doubt that the navigation of the Amazon will lead to great additional sources of export, and soon render this province one of the most flourishingin the empire, as its immense fertility, miscellaneous produce, and the incalculable advantages of having the greatest river in the world traversing its entire length, so well entitle it to be. The population, of whom some ten thousand are probably Indians, amounts to about 350,000. Of their condition, and that of the province and its capital, we shall speak in detail under the head of the Amazon; as also of

Rio Negro, an internal province situated on the Amazon, and communicating with the seaport of Pará. It has only lately been raised to the dignity of a province.

Maranhao, orMaranham, orSan Luiz, follows on the line of sea-coast, with a large, well-built capital, similarly named, but is not very densely populated, containing probably not more than a quarter of a million inhabitants to an area of nearly 70,000 square miles, the soil being well watered and fertile, and, like nearly the whole of the Brazilian empire, producing wood of the finest kind for almost every purpose. It has always been looked upon as a steady-going place, although its progress has not kept pace with other more favoured provinces to the southward. Its chief production is cotton, of which the export is considerable, averaging about 30,000 bags per annum, and rice and sarsaparilla also form considerable items. The town is situated on an island, some 30 miles from the coast, with rather a dangerous navigation to it, though of easy access for small vessels, a couple of forts defending the entrance. It is said to contain a population of 30,000, which is probably an exaggeration. Its buildings, however, are on a scale not unworthy of such numbers, and consist of a theatre, hospital, several convents, and schools of a very superior order. About 200 miles up the River Itapicuru is the important town of Caxias, formerly Aldeas Altas, and which, though suffering itself considerably in the civil wars of 1838-40, has nearly double the population of Maranham. Its connection with the latter has been greatly accelerated by means of a small steamer running between the two places, and called the Caxiense, built by the constructor of the Argentina, Mr. John Laird, of Birkenhead, under peculiarreservation as to her draught of water; which was not to be more than three feet, and even this appears too much for the shallow places in the river during the dry season, though she seems to have been eminently successful in other respects, and of great utility, not only in going up and down the river with freight and passengers, but also in towing vessels and small craft. The scenery on the Itapicuru is described as most romantic, the banks being high, and lined with towering trees, in many places almost meeting across. The navigation however is very uncertain and irregular, as will have been inferred from what we have said of the necessity of exceedingly shallow-bottomed steamers, in the dry season, when there is not more than from two to three feet of water in some places, whilst in the rainy season it will rise to 20 or 30 feet, inundating, or rather irrigating, the country round to some extent, and rendering it, like the Delta of the Nile, and for the same reason, uncommonly fertile, so much so, indeed, as to leave little scope for industry; for, by merely striking a few plants in the mud, two or three crops a-year can be obtained, more than sufficient for the wants of the inhabitants. On the banks of the river are many large fazendas, or estates, where cotton only was formerly grown, but they are now trying sugar likewise, and with encouraging assurance of remunerative results.

Ascending the river, the first important place arrived at is the Villa de Rosario, situated in a fertile district, and where many influential planters reside. Next in rotation are Paioul and St. Nicholas; afterwards, there comes Itapicuru-Merim, where vessels, drawing 4 feet of water can go in the driest season; but beyond the latter-named place, not more than two feet and a half. Nearly all the produce shipped at Maranham comes down this river in canoes, of about 40 tons register, carrying 300 bags of cotton; and in the dry season this voyage will take three months to perform what the steamer does now in less than four days! In the rainy season these river craft will come down much more quickly; but the average time then occupied in going up is still greater, owing to the strength of the freshes in the river, the vessel havingto be hauled up by bodily force, ropes being taken from tree to tree, and requiring a crew for the purpose. This slight sketch of the difficulties attending the navigation of one of the internal rivers of the Brazils by native craft, will show what may be effected by steam, even under the most unfavourable circumstances of a very shallow stream; and what may we not expect from such a communication being established along the mighty Amazon?

Maranham was a short time back the scene of a most brutal murder of an English resident; and, to the credit of the local government, four of the miscreants concerned in it were hanged, the force of which observation will be understood by those who know the difficulty of administering justice in a country like Brazil, where, owing to the vast distance of one town from another, and the consequent difficulty of sustaining the vigilance of pursuit, and the facilities for baffling it, crimes of this nature may be expected to go long unpunished, if the perpetrators be not caught almost red-handed in the very deed of blood. The acting President of Maranham is represented as most energetic and efficient, having done much to improve the town and maintain civil order in his district. His official residence is a very fine one, and should have been mentioned among the imposing structures of the town, or rather city, for such Maranham is, at least in the English sense of the term, being the residence of a bishop, and containing an episcopal palace of considerable dimensions, and of striking architectural appearance. The place, and some of its people, still retain slight traces of its French origin, having been founded by that nation, as late as the end of the 17th century; and, it is said, that that language is better spoken in Maranham than in any other part of Brazil, the capital itself not excepted.

Piauhy.—Beyond Maranham lies the little province of this name, which has no port or outlet; but in the district of Parahyba, 100 miles to the eastward of Maranham, are extensive plains, extending over 6,000 square miles, watered by numerous rivers and covered with cattle, which can be bought exceedingly cheap. Much carne seca (dried beef) is cured here and sent toMaranham, as well as cattle, in beautiful condition. It is easy to imagine what an important element of supply this will be to other parts of the empire not so well provided, so soon as better means of transit exist. Unlike most other portions of Brazil, Piauhy is deficient in wood; but, in addition to its fine pastures, it produces in great abundance maize, millet, sugar, rice, cotton, jalap, ipecacuanha, and some silver, iron, and lead, but none of these yield anything like what may be expected when there is a population something better proportioned to the area we have named, for at present the inhabitants do not exceed 70,000. Its capital, Oeyras, has but about 3,000 inhabitants, but contains some remarkable ecclesiastical evidences of the former presence of the Jesuits.

Cearais a very sandy district, but with a good back country where many cattle are bred, but which suffers much from occasional drought. Ceara exports a fair quantity of hides, some cotton, and fustic. The town of Aracati is situated on a picturesque river, but with a very bad bar entrance, on which several vessels have been lost; they, therefore, now generally load outside, some miles higher up the coast, where an indent admits of shelter, and to which the cotton is taken in jangadas (native craft.) Though the heat in this province is excessive in summer, the climate is nevertheless healthy. Its population is somewhat about 200,000; and gold, as well as copper, iron, and salt, is among its yet very imperfectly ascertained mineral resources. The town of Ceara is quite on the coast, and has no harbour, or protection, beyond a reef of rocks that forms a kind of breakwater, within which vessels can ride at anchor. It is a curious thing that the reef, of which this constitutes a part, extends along nearly the whole coast of Brazil, from Cape St. Roque to the Abrolhos, near Rio Janeiro, and is of the same hard coral nature. In many places an entrance through, or a break in the reef, enables vessels to get to small ports inside, and jangadas can sail along the coast, within these reefs for hundreds of miles, entirely protected from the sea, which rolls in and breaks upon them with a deafening noise.

Rio Grande do Norte, a name derived from the river which, after an east course, enters the Atlantic at Natal, its capital, possesses a good harbour, but has little direct trade, procuring its supplies chiefly from Pernambuco. Compared with any of the provinces already spoken of, it is well peopled, there being about 140,000 inhabitants to 32,000 square miles. A few cargoes of Brazil wood were formerly shipped here, being the best quality produced in the whole empire, and prized accordingly, till it fell into disrepute from the causes we have already specified, in speaking of that once-prized ingredient in the art of dyeing. Like Piauhy, Rio Grande do Norte is favourable to cattle-rearing; but exports of that kind, in the shape of hides, tallow, or jerked beef, are scanty, because of the paucity of means of transport.

Paraibais a very fertile province, bordering on that of Pernambuco, and vastly better peopled than the one last described, as it has a population of 70,000 to an area of 9,000 square miles; and cattle of European breeds are raised in considerable numbers with great facility. There is a fine river, some 20 miles in length, leading up to the town, of the same name as the province, where vessels can load alongside the trapixes. The bar entrance is rather intricate, but there is very good anchorage just inside. Paraiba exports largely of cotton, and also of sugar and hides. The upper city is extensive, with large, well-built houses; while the lower, or commercial part of the town, is also extremely good, possessing a splendid Government warehouse, and the whole indicating quondam prosperity, as well as affording additional proof of the industry and perseverance of the Dutch, who formerly held this province in conjunction with Pernambuco. The treasury, in particular, is considered a very fine building; its educational establishments are also excellent; and in the neighbourhood of the town are some of the best-managed coffee plantations probably in the empire.

Pernambuco.—We now approach the most flourishing and remarkable province in the Brazils, upon which the writer hopes he may be pardoned if he descant at some length, as a place intimatelymixed up with all his boyish ideas and first impressions; where he spent many happy days, and always returned with considerable pleasure, although, on this occasion, alas! very few of the old familiar faces he once knew any longer arrested his vision, as he cast his eye along the well-known mart and into the well-remembered homes of other days; for a quarter of a century makes a terrible void indeed in the limited ranks of one’s countrymen who take up their abode in such places.

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