Kitabı oku: «Our Little Brazilian Cousin», sayfa 4

CHAPTER VII
IN THE CAPITAL

A week after they had left home, the children saw for the first time the harbour of Rio de Janeiro, the Icamiaba entering the beautiful bay between the Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Fortress of Santa Cruz, in all the glory of a Brazilian sunset.

At the left was the curious mountain called Seria dos Orgaos, so named from its resemblance to a church organ. Charming islets dotted the bay, and orange trees, bananas, always green and loaded with fruit, and flowers everywhere met the eye.

Mountains seemed to rise from the sea; the cliffs are nearly perpendicular with scarce a yard of greensward at the water's edge, and they guard jealously the most beautiful harbour in the world. Scarcely two ships can enter between the islands marking the entrance of the bay, which is so narrow that the discoverer thought it a river and named it "Rio." Within, however, the sheet of water widens until it is a glorious inner sea, called by the Indians, "Nictheroy" – Hidden Waters.

The houses of the city, walled in stucco, are of a deep canary yellow with roofs tiled in deep red, turning to fire beneath the sun's departing rays.

"How beautiful it is," said the Senhora. "It seems to me my old home never looked so fair!"

"It is one of the most beautiful places in the world," said her husband. "See those large buildings, children. That is the Sailors' Hospital on Ilha da Governador,¹¹ which was once used as a hunting preserve by the royal family. It is a beautiful island and many strange things have happened there. One was the death of the founder of the city, Estacio de Sa. He was a famous Indian fighter, and here received a fatal wound from an arrow."

"Something seems to have happened everywhere in Brazil," said Lola. "How near we are to land."

"Yes," cried her mother. "And there is your uncle waving his hat upon the wharf. Martim is with him! He sees us! Wave to him, daughter!" and the usually calm Senhora, flushed and excited, waved her handkerchief, smiling happily.

"I have not seen you look so gay for many months," said her husband, and she replied, "It is so long since I have seen my dear old home and my own people!"

Soon the ship was made fast, and the children stepped off the gang plank to be greeted warmly by the uncle whom they had not seen since Lola was a baby, and the cousin whom they had never seen before.

"Your Aunt Luiza and Maria are anxiously awaiting you at home," he said. "Here is the carriage, so we will hasten."

"Drive through the Street do Ouvidor, papa, will you not?" asked Martim. "It is so gay with the French shops, my cousins will enjoy it."

Martim was a handsome boy of twelve, with a bright, pleasant face, an only child, for the Senhor and Senhora Lopez had lost all their other children in an epidemic of yellow fever some years before.

"What are those men doing with long poles over their shoulders," asked Lola, pointing to several men who carried bamboo rods with baskets hung at the ends.

"They are fish and vegetable vendors," Martim replied. "Some of those baskets weigh over a hundred pounds. Those other men with the gaily-painted tin trunks on their backs peddle clothing."

"They make a lot of noise," said Affonzo.

"Yes, they warn people they are coming by clapping together two pieces of wood fastened to their hands by a leather strap," said his cousin.

"Oh! What a beautiful statue!" cried Lola.

"That is the Emperor Dom Pedro I," said her uncle. "It was made by a noted French sculptor and represents the Emperor shouting the Brazilian watch word 'Independencia ou morte.'¹² Here we are at home!" as the carriage turned into a broad street on either side of which were old fashioned houses with broad verandas and red and white blinds. "There is Aunt Luiza waiting to welcome you!"

The children jumped out of the carriage and ran to meet their aunt, who kissed them warmly and drew forward a tall girl of ten, who looked pale and sad. Her hair was very light, her eyes deep blue, and she was a great contrast to black-eyed, brown-cheeked Lola.

"This is Maria, your North American cousin," said their aunt, and Lola kissed her warmly on either cheek.

"We are so glad to have you come," she said. "And my mother is going to take you home with us for a nice long visit. I have always wanted a sister, so let us play we are sisters."

Maria kissed her and smiled, while Aunt Luiza said, "Come, children, it is very late; dinner is waiting and then all you little folk must get to bed early so you will be ready for to-morrow. There are ever so many things for you to see."

Early next day the four cousins set out for a morning's sight-seeing, accompanied by their Uncle Hilario. The Senhor Lopez was one of those rare men who are really fond of children, and he enjoyed their society.

Most of the streets of the city have no curbing, and the children had to be careful lest they be run down by passing carriages.

Their uncle decided first to take them to the famous Botanical Gardens and as they entered the main gateway, they saw the avenue of fine royal palms.

"The avenue is almost half a mile long," said the Senhor. "And the trees are a hundred feet high."

"Aren't they fine," said Affonzo. "They are the tallest palms I ever saw."

"They meet together at the top and form a regular archway the whole length of the walk," said Martim.

"What is that very high mountain?" asked Lola.

"That is the Corcovado, and some day we shall go over there and ascend it," said Martim. "We shall have to start very early in the morning, for it is a long trip."

"Here comes Doctor Barbosa, papa," said Martim. "I wonder if he will go around the gardens with us."

"Perhaps he will, if he is not too busy. If he does, he can tell you all about the trees and flowers for he has explored the country along the Amazon and knows all about the Brazilian flora."

As the Senhor spoke, Doctor Barbosa came up smiling, for he and Senhor Lopez were old friends.

"You have quite a bevy of little folk with you to-day," he said pleasantly.

"This is my nephew, Affonzo Diaz, Doctor Barbosa," said the Senhor. "And these girls are my nieces, Charlotta and Maria. Of course you know Martim."

"I am very glad to see you all," said the doctor with a smile.

"This is the first visit of Affonzo and his sister to our city," said Senhor Lopez.

"Indeed," replied the doctor. "I really think then that you should let me help show them around the gardens. I have a few moments of leisure just now, that I will be glad to devote to you."

"That will be delightful," said the Senhor. "You know so much about this place and I so little that I am sure the children will much prefer you as a guide." Bowing in appreciation of the compliment, the doctor led the party down the avenue.

"These gardens," he said, pointing down across the avenue, "as you see, are on the border of a large sheet of water. That is called the Lagoa de Rodrigo Freitas, and is separated from the sea only by a narrow strip of sand."

"What are those crooked, twisted trees," asked Lola, as they passed into another long avenue.

"They are mangoes. They are not very handsome to look at, but you know what delicious fruit they bear."

"Indeed I do," said Lola.

"This," said the doctor, pointing to a tall palm beside the pathway, "is a Bahia palm. It is from trees of this kind that your brooms and brushes at home are made."

Next they saw the great candelabra tree.

"It looks," said Maria, "as if it were already to be lighted for church, doesn't it?"

"See the beautiful grove of orange trees," said the Senhor.

"Oh yes," said Affonzo. "And the trees have both fruit and blossoms on them."

"That is not at all uncommon with many of our tropical fruit trees," said Doctor Barbosa.

"Many of the trees here," he continued, "are useful for other purposes than fruit-bearing. There is the cow tree over yonder. Its sap looks like milk, and when exposed to the air is soon changed to glue, and from this a useful cement is made."

As the party approached a little lake in the centre of the gardens, they saw a small eight-sided pavilion. On its top was a bust.

"Whose statue is that?" asked Affonzo.

"If you will step closer, you can read the inscription on the tablet," said the doctor. "And that will answer your question."

"To the Memory of Friar Leandro do Sacramento of the Order of Carmelites, a graduate in the natural sciences at the University of Coimbra, first professor of botany in the School of Medicine in Rio, and first technical director of the Botanical Gardens."

"If I can do as much for this beautiful park as Friar Leandro did, I shall be content," said Doctor Barbosa.

"What a magnificent palm that is!" said the Senhor Lopez, as they turned from the pavilion and came in sight of an unusually tall tree.

"Yes," said the doctor, "that is a royal palm, over one hundred and twenty-five feet high. The seed is said to have been brought here by a Portuguese naval officer who escaped from prison on the Isle de France. It was planted with great care by the regent, Dom Joao himself, and here is the splendid result. I am sorry that I must leave you now, but you must come again to see the gardens."

"Thank you very much for all that you have shown us," said Affonzo, and all the children chorused, "Thank you very much."

"It is past noon and we ought to be at home now," said the Senhor looking at his watch.

"I believe I am hungry," said Martim, "though I hadn't thought about it before."

So they all went back to the house with appetites such as the balmy air of Rio gives to young and vigorous boys and girls.

CHAPTER VIII
A GALA DAY IN RIO

In the fortnight which followed the four cousins became very well acquainted with each other. Maria soon lost her shyness, and taught the others many new games and sports, while they in turn taught her the Brazilian ones which her father had played when a boy at home.

The little Brazilians found their North American cousin very interesting. She was different from them in many ways and they never tired of hearing her tell of things in the United States. Although admiring her father's country very much, she was devoted to her mother's as well, and could never be made to admit that things were better in South America than they were in the north.

"Come, children," said the Senhora Lopez one morning, "this is the day of the inauguration. The President himself has given your father tickets, for they are great friends and we must all be ready early so as to escape the crowd."

"Indeed, mamma," said Martim, "I think the crowd's the greatest fun of all. I shall never forget the procession the day of the parade in honour of your Senhor Root, Maria. It was one of the finest we ever had in Rio."

"I wish I had seen it," said Maria. "When our President is inaugurated we have grand processions in Washington. My grandfather took me to the last one, and it was splendid."

"Our inauguration procession is fine, too. You will see to-day that they know how to do things down here as well as you do," said Martim, as they started for the reviewing-stand.

"I don't doubt that," said Maria pleasantly. "But I can't quite make out why you have a President at all. Brazil used to be an empire and have a splendid emperor. You showed me his statue in the park. What became of him?"

"The last emperor of Brazil is dead, my child," said her uncle. "He died in Paris in 1891, some said of a broken heart, because he had been sent away from his beloved Brazil."

"Why did you send him away; wasn't he a good man?" asked Maria.

"Yes, indeed, very good, and many of the people were very fond of him," was the reply. "He was always interested in the people and tried to arrange the laws for their best interests. He was very democratic and travelled about a great deal, keeping his eyes wide open to learn everything which might help his people. He even went to your United States at the time of the Centennial in Philadelphia."

"If he was so good, why did they send him away?" asked Maria puzzled.

"It is rather hard to explain politics to little folk," said her uncle, smiling.

"Some of the Brazilians wanted to have a republic like the United States, for they thought that country was so prosperous that they wanted Brazil to be like it.

"The people thought that the United States had progressed more rapidly and was more prosperous than Brazil and they did not see why their own land should not be as great or greater than any other American country. Brazil was the only South American country which was not a republic. I think the chief reason, however, was that the heir to the throne was not at all liked, and the Brazilians were afraid that he would not be as wise a ruler as Dom Pedro had been. Even those who most wanted a republic were sorry to have the old emperor expelled, and many of them cried bitterly when he went away."

"I should think they might have waited until he died," said Maria. "If he was old he wouldn't have lived long, and then they needn't have had his heir whom they didn't like. I do not think it was nice at all to send him away when he had always been good and kind."

"If it had been in the United States you would have shot him, like you do your Presidents, wouldn't you?" asked Affonzo mischievously, for he loved to tease his cousin.

"We have only had three Presidents killed out of twenty-six," said Maria. "How many of yours have been assassinated?"

"I'm sure I don't know," said Affonzo, rather taken aback at the quickness of her retort.

"In the early days," said Uncle Hilario, "before the republic was very firmly established, the Presidents used to have to be taken from the army so they could fight to keep their positions. Now, however, things are quieter and we do not have to have our ruler backed by sword and guns."

"Here we are at the grand stand. The music is just beginning to draw near. Hurrah! There come the soldiers!" cried Affonzo. "Aren't they fine-looking fellows!"

"What gorgeous uniforms they have!" cried Lola, and Maria exclaimed,

"Aren't the plumed horses splendid!" And they chattered all at once till their uncle fairly covered his ears with his hands.

They had a good look at the two Presidents – President Campos-Salles whose term of office was just over, and Affonzo Penna who was the new President – and returned home quite excited with the events of the morning.

Next day they had planned an excursion to the top of Corcovado, that beautiful mountain which rises above Rio, serene and lofty, toward the clouds, and all was excitement as the little party started off.

"Think of having mamma with us!" cried Lola. "Uncle Hilario, have you and mamma been up the mountain before?"

"I should say we had," he laughed, then turning to his sister, "Do you remember the time we were caught in the terrible storm?"

"It was a terrific cloud burst, but we didn't mind it," she said, laughing too. "In those days climbing Corcovado was something of a feat. There was no cog-wheel railway as there is to-day but only a bridle-path. We had to start long before daybreak and climb up the side of the mountain. We had to take servants along to carry provisions and there was always a large party going.

"The time your uncle speaks of, he and I got separated from the rest of the party going down and we came near losing our way entirely. There came up a terrible storm and when we finally arrived at home an hour after the others we were drenched to the skin, and they had sent people out to hunt for us.

"It is a very different thing to-day to go up the mountain seated in a carriage, find a café at the top, and have nothing to do but look at the sights as we pass. They are well worth looking at! See! There is the bay, its water as blue as the sky, and you get a fine view of the old aqueduct."

"I wondered what that was," said Maria. "It looks like the pictures I have seen of the Campagna at Rome. Is it made of stone?"

"Yes," said her uncle. "It was built of stone nearly two hundred years ago and is over four miles long. In some places its arches are over sixty feet high and it is as strong as when it was built. Through it passes all the water drunk in Rio, and is so delicious that we have a saying 'Who has drunk of the waters of Carioca can drink no other water,' and 'When you have drunk of the water of Carioca, you can live nowhere else but here.'"

"When Rio people speak of the friends who have lived in Rio they say, 'He is a Cariocan.'"

"Then mamma is a Cariocan!" cried Lola, and Maria added,

"And my father, too."

"It seems to almost walk across the chasm," said Affonzo. "Where does the water come from?"

"When we reach the top of the mountain, I will show you," said his uncle. "See those magnificent waterfalls and cascades! The scenery around here is as fine as any in Brazil."

"It is almost as nice as the White Mountains at home," said Maria wickedly. She loved to stir up her cousins and knew that to compare anything with the States always provoked a discussion. This time her remarks were met with a storm of protest, at which she only laughed naughtily.

"I don't believe you have such trees," said Lola at last. "There are mangoes, tamarinds, bread-fruits, bananas, cocoa trees, oranges and palms all growing together. Aren't they splendid?"

"Yes, indeed," said Maria. "And the flowers are simply gorgeous. Those trees with the flowering vine all draped around them and hanging down in long racemes are as beautiful as anything I ever saw."

"Here we are at the end of the railway," said Martim. "Now for a climb."

It was but a short distance to the top, and the children hurried along, followed more slowly by their elders.

"Here we are at last," said the Senhor as they reached the top. "Now you can see seventy miles, for there is Organ Mount fifty miles away, and yonder is Cape Frio, which is seventy miles away."

"Among the mountain peaks there lies the sea of gold," said Uncle Hilario. "There is a tale told that in the early Portuguese days in Brazil a murderer, who had been condemned to death, escaped from prison and fled to the hills. He wandered about, fed only by the bounty of the forest and at last he discovered the Lake of Gold. From its shining sands he made a fortune, and returned in two years to Rio to buy his pardon."

"The Lake of Gold," said Affonzo. "I wonder if that is where the Gilded Man washed himself."

"Who was the Gilded Man?" asked Maria.

"It's an Indian story Vicente told me," said Affonzo.

"Do tell it to me," she said, and he told her the quaint tale with which she was delighted.

They lunched in picnic fashion on the grass and had a merry time, resting afterwards while the Senhora and Uncle Hilario told them stories of old days in Brazil. At last it came time to return and the two boys, after whispering together went to their uncle with a request.

"May we not walk down?" Martim asked. "We won't get lost and we want to do what you and mother did."

"Oh, do let us!" cried Maria, who always wanted to do every thing the boys did, but the Senhora shook her head. At last it was arranged that Uncle Hilario should walk down with the boys, while the girls went discreetly home in the train with the Senhora. The boys were jubilant.