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that, in letters, a copyist is, as a general rule, by no means necessarily unoriginal, except at the exact points of the copy. Mr. Simms is, beyond doubt, one of our most original writers.

It is really difficult to conceive what must have been the morbidity of the German intellect, or taste, when it not only tolerated but truly admired and enthusiastically applauded such an affair as "The Sorrows of Werter." The German approbation was, clearly, in good faith:-as for our own, or that of the English, it was the quintessence of affectation. Yet we did our best, as in duty bound, to work ourselves up into the fitting mood. The title, by the way, is mistranslated :-Lieden does not mean Sorrows but Sufferings.

The works of Christopher Pease Cranch are slightly tinged with the spirit of mixed Puritanism, utilitarianism, and transcendentalism, which seems to form the poetical atmosphere of Massachusetts-but, dismissing this one sin, are among the truest of American poetry. I know nothing finer of its kind (and that kind is a most comprehensive one) than one of his shorter pieces entitled,

MY THOUGHTS.

Many are the thoughts that come to me
In my lonely musing;
And they drift so strange and swift
There's no time for choosing
Which to follow-for to leave
Any seems a losing.

When they come, they come in flocks,
As, on glancing feather,
Startled birds rise, one by one,
In autumnal weather,
Waking one another up

From the sheltering heather.

Some so merry that I laugh;

Some are grave and serious;
Some so trite, their last approach
Is enough to weary us:
Others flit like midnight ghosts,
Shrouded and mysterious.

There are thoughts that o'er me steal,
Like the day when dawning;
Great thoughts winged with melody,
Common utterance scorning;
Moving in an inward tune

And an inward morning.

Some have dark and drooping wings,
Children all of sorrow;

Some are as gay, as if to day

Could see no cloudy morrow-
And yet, like light and shade, they each
Must from the other borrow.

One by one they come to me

On their destined mission;
One by one I see them fade
With no hopeless vision-
For they've led me on a step
To their home Elysian.

There is, here, a great deal of natural fancy-I mean to say that the images are such as would naturally arise in the mind of an imaginative and educated man, seeking to describe his " thoughts." But the main charm of the poem is the nice, and at the same time, bold art of its rhythm. Here is no merely negative merit, but much of originality—or, if not precisely that, at least much of freshness and spirit. The opening line, barring an error to be presently mentioned, is very skilful-and, to me, the result is not less novel than happy. The general idea is merely a succession of trochees (for the long syllable, or cæsura proper, at the end of each odd line, is a trochee's equivalent) but, in lieu of a trochee, at the commencement of the opening verse, we have a trochee and a pyrrhic (forming the compound foot called, in Latin, Pæon primus, and in Greek, arpoloyos.) Here is a very bold excess of two short syllables-and the result would be highly pleasurable if the reader were prepared for it-if he were prepared, my monotone, to expect variation. As it is, he is at fault in a first attempt at perusal, and it is only on a second or third trial, that he appreciates the effect. To be sure, he then wonders why he did not at first catch the intention :-but the mischief has been committed. The fact is that the line, which would have been singularly beautiful in the body of the poem, is in its present position, a blemish. Mr. Cranch has violated a vital law of rhythmical art, in not permitting his rhythm to determine itself, instantaneously, by his opening foot. A trochaic rhythm, for example, should invariably commence with a trochee. I speak thus at length on this apparently trival point, because I have been much interested in the phenomenon of a marked common-place-ness of defect, involving as marked an originality of merit.

BRAZIL.

(Concluded.)

BUT Don Pedro VII., although proclaimed with the highest enthusiasm, never fixed himself firmly in the affections of his people. He continued to reign about ten years, during which time the country was prosperous, and advanced rapidly in the path of improvement. His war against Montevideo was, however, unsuccessful; and, while it checked the prosperity of Brazil, resulted in the loss of a province to the empire. There were also several insurrectionary movements in the distant provinces during his reign. But it was, probably, his continual interference in the affairs of Portugal, and his partiality to native Portuguese in the distribution of his public favors, that most excited against him the prejudices of a people, whose success in rebellion had made them at once bold and restive.

A variety of popular agitations succeeded each other, widening the breach between the emperor and the patriots, till the latter, in a tumultuous assembly, demanded the dismissal of the ministry. This demand brought the affairs of the empire to a crisis. The Emperor, after a variety of subterfuges, finally declared that he would suffer death rather than consent to the dictates of a mob, and gave utterance to the offensive remark, that "he was willing to do everything for the people, but nothing by the people." As soon as this answer was made known at the Campo where the multitude had assembled, the most seditious cries were raised, and the troops of the Emperor deserted his cause and went over to the populace. Pedro, at length, finding that all was lost, and that he must either yield to the people or abandon the crown, chose the latter alternative, and abdicated in favor of his son, Don Pedro II., then a lad of six years old; and immediately took his departure for Portugal.

These events took place in April, 1831, and the next nine years were signalized by violent party contests, hav

ing their origin in the disposition of the regal power during the minority of the heir to the throne. Several changes were made in the regency, and dispositions to cast off the imperial yoke were manifested in different parts of the empire. One party succeeded another in the administration with great rapidity, but none of them had the good fortune long to satisfy the expectations of the people.

The constitution provided that the minority of the Emperor should terminate when he had attained the age of eighteen. He was now fifteen, but a motion was made by the opposition in the House of Deputies, in favor of abolishing the regency, and vesting him at once with the imperial sovereignty of Brazil. This movement was highly satisfactory to the populace; and the constitutional objections to it, though urged with great power and eloquence, were urged in vain. The people were seized with the idea-the popular excitement became intense-the deputies yielded to the clamor of the multitudethe regency was declared to be at an end, and young Pedro, in defiance of the fundamental law of the empire, was brought before the deputies, took the oath of office, and acceded to the full exercise of his prerogatives as Emperor. He was crowned on the 18th of July, 1841, with great ceremony, parade and splendor.

Since this event, there have been several changes in the ministry, and the affairs of the empire do not appear to have been more stable than before. There have been disturbances in Rio Grand do Sul, San Paulo, Minas Geraes and Ceara ; but for some time past the country has been more quiet. In 1842 the Emperor was married to the Princess Donna Theresa, sister to the king of the Two Sicilies. In the following year, 1843, the Emperor's sister, Donna Francesca, was married to the Prince de Joinville, son of Louis Philippe, king of France. In 1844,

* SKETCHES OF Residence anD TRAVELS IN BRAZIL; Embracing Historical and Geographical Notices of the Empire and its several Provinces. By Rev. Daniel P. Kidder, A. M. In two volumes, with illustrations. Philadelphia: Sorin & Ball. London: Wiley & Putnam. 1845.

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another sister, Donna Januaria, Imperial Princess and heir to the Brazilian throne, was married to the Count of Aquilla, of Naples, brother to the Empress. These alliances are regarded as giving strength and respectability to the Brazilian throne, and have given much gaiety to the court scenes at Rio, though they have not materially improved the finances, or relieved the treasury.

"No one," says Mr. Kidder, "can reflect upon the history of these children, the descendants of the Braganzas, without emotion. Never was parental solicitude more intense than has been the unwavering anxiety of the Brazilian nation in their behalf. Thrown upon its protection in a state of virtual abandonment and orphanage, they were cherished as the fondest objects of the nation's hopes," and during the eight years of the Emperor's minority, "amid all the political agitations and party intrigues of so long a period, neither individuals nor factions presumed to question the prerogatives of the youthful monarch," but all bore towards him the warmest affections and the most enthusiastic reverence."

The Palace of Boa Vista, occupied by the young Emperor and his bride at Rio, is a building of considerable size and splendor, located in a suburb about four or five miles from the denser portion of the city. It was originally a private residence, and was presented by its generous owner to Don John VI. It has been gradually enlarged and improved, and rendered very suitable to the purposes to which it is devoted. The Emperor and his sister here received their education, under the direction of a tutor appointed by the go

vernment.

There is probably no country in the world where a subsistence is so easily procured as in Brazil. Mr. Kidder observes, "that the stern voice of necessity-work or die—never disturbs the day-dreams of the Brazilian as he yawns in his hammock during the bright hours of sunshine. The great mass of the lower classes live as they list. Their wants are few and simple, and to a great degree confined to the spontaneous productions of nature." This circumstance is undoubtedly the chief bar to the advancement of the country. "If the people were only industrious in collecting what nature fur

nishes so bountifully to their hands, they could not avoid being rich. If enterprising cultivation were added to that degree of industry, there is no limit to the vegetable wealth which might be drawn from this treasury of nature."

Although wheat may be grown in the southern provinces, yet no attention is paid to its cultivation. Large quantities of flour are imported from the United States, and bread is used for food in the cities and towns along the coast; but in the interior there are thousands of people who have never tasted, or even seen, what in this country is regarded as the staff of life. Mr. Kidder relates an anecdote of a Matuto from the far Sartao, who, in one of his visits to the coast, resolved to gratify his curiosity, and test for himself. the qualities of that bread of which he had heard so much. He accordingly went to a baker and purchased a hatfull of rolls. He then seated himself under the shade of an out-spreading tree, and commenced paring them as he would have done an orange or banana. But even at that, the taste did not please him, and he threw them away as unfit to be eaten.

In some parts of Brazil melaneia, or water-melons, grow to a large size, and are produced in such unwonted profusion, as to be sold at 18 or 20 cents per hundred. The inhabitants, especially the Indians and mixed races, use them as a principal article of food.But a better and more usual substitute for the bread of the north is mandioc, the principal farinaceous substance of Brazil. It is an indigenous plant, and was known to the Indians long before the discovery of the country by Europeans. The Portuguese, on taking possession of the country, soon acquired the habit of using it, and by applying to its cultivation and preparation the arts of a more advanced condition, greatly improved it, and brought it into very general use as food. It is now to be found on every Brazilian table, forming a great variety of healthy and palatable dishes.

The striking peculiarity of this valuable plant is the union, in its fibrous structure, of a deadly poison with a substance highly nutricious and healthful. The root is the part used. ground into a pulp, then subjected to high pressure, by which means the

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greater portion of the poisonous juice is expelled, then placed over a fire or in a heated oven, where it is stirred continually till all the poisonous moisture is evaporated, when its appearance is white and beautiful, though its particles are rather coarse. From the

fine substance deposited by the juice of the mandioc is made the tapioca of commerce, a substance in general use among us, and which is becoming an article of considerable export from Brazil.

The accounts with which we have long been familiar, respecting the richness of the soil and the luxuriance of the vegetation, have not, according to Mr. Kidder's observations, been exaggerated. On the borders of the Amazon the forests appear in their greatest strength and beauty. Some of the trees are decked from top to bottom with the most splendid flowers, and others are interlaced with innumerable parasites, or creeping vines, which twist around the trunks, and climbing to their tops, drop again to the ground, where they take root, spring up again, and crossing from bough to bough and from tree to tree, spread themselves, till the whole woods are hung with their garlanding. In the great province of Para, along the waters of the Amazon, thousands, and perhaps millions, of acres of the most fertile land in the world lie as wild and almost as useless as the sandy deserts of Africa. It is in this region that the caoutchouc, or gum-elastic, flourishes. The use of this plant was learned from the Omaguas, a tribe of Brazilian Indians. The improvements in its manufacture have, however, vastly extended its use, and made it essential to the health and comfort of the whole enlightened world. It now enters largely into the commerce of the country.

The tree from which this valuable gum is produced, grows to the height of eighty or a hundred feet, being quite straight, and without branches for half that distance. Its top is spreading, and ornamented with thick and glossy foliage. On the slightest incision the gum exudes, having at first the consistence and appearance of thick, yellow cream. The trees are tapped in the morning, and about a gill of the fluid flows from each incision during the day. It is caught in small cups of clay, moulded for the purpose with the

hand, and is immediately ready for use. It is poured over moulds of clay, to which a thin coating adheres, which is exposed to fumes of smoke, rendering it harder and giving it a deeper color. Coatings are thus added until the shoe or bottle has attained the desirable thickness. The export of shoes only amount to some three or four hundred thousand pairs annually.

The mineral region lies deep in the interior, being confined to the provinces of Matto Grosso, Goyaz and Minas Geraes. Goyaz and Matto Grosso abound in gold, diamonds and precious stones; but their distance from the seashore, and the lack of suitable means of communication, are great obstacles to the full development of their resources. The few inhabitants with which they are peopled have been lured thither in their pursuit of gain. The gold was formerly procured with such great facility, that each slave was required to return three or four ounces per day; and so greedy were the adventurers in their eagerness to secure the golden harvest, that they braved the dangers of a desolating pestilence, and even neglected the ordinary provisions of comfort and subsistence. They soon found, however, that food was more precious than gold, and that mountains of this precious metal could not purchase exemption from disease or death. A pound of gold was often given in exchange for a bushel of corn, and an ounce and a half was at one time the price for a pound of meat. The discoverer of all this vast wealth fell a prey to his avarice, and with many others, laid his bones in the wilderness, cut off prematurely by privation and disease.

Villa Bella, one of the principal towns of Matto Grosso, is in a direct line from the city of Para, at the mouth of the Amazon, about one thousand miles. But so difficult is it of access, that not less than two thousand five hundred miles must be traversed in making the usual passage by water.The Amazon and Madeira are navigable in this direction for 1500 miles, to the Falls of St. Anthony, above which there is a succession of falls and rapids for two hundred miles, around which the canoes and their burthens must be carried with immense labor by gangs of Indians or slaves. This portion of the route is seldom passed in less than

four months. For the remainder of the distance (700 miles) the navigation along the Mamora and Guapore is uninterrupted. But the ascent through the whole distance is slow and toilsome on account of the strong flowing cur

rent.

The trade is carried on by companies, and vast numbers of Indians and negroes are required as oarsmen and bearers of burdens.

The first printing-press in this province was established in 1838 by the government. The state of education, both in Goyaz and Matto Grosso, may be inferred from the fact, that in the latter country there are only eight primary schools, and in the former eighteen, two of which are for girls.

But these are the most neglected portions of the empire. The other mining province, Minas Geraes, is much nearer the coast, and much more cultivated. Its name signifies the general or universal mines, which very well designates its inexhaustible mineral wealth. Gold, silver, copper and iron are all found within its borders, besides a great variety of precious stones. The most valuable of these mines are wrought by an English company; and the improvements which they have introduced, and the enterprise and intelligence which they have diffused through this portion of the empire, have shed new lustre on the Anglo-Saxon race. This province takes the lead in education as well as in other improvements. There are about one hundred primary schools for boys, fifteen for girls, and twenty-six Latin schools, with enrolled pupils amounting to about eight thousand, independent of those schools which have been established by private enterprise. Notwithstanding the great extent of Brazil, the temperature of the different portions appears to be pretty uniform. In the city of Para, at the mouth of the Amazon, and nearly under the equator, the thermometer ranges from 75 to 93. At Bahia, 13 degrees south, the changes of temperature are still less, the extremes being 74 and 86. At Rio de Janeiro, which is located near the tropic of Capricorn, the temperature in the course of the year varies from 54 to 108. If we except the far interior, the whole country must be regarded as remarkable for its salubrity. Mr. Kidder observes, that the plague and

Asiatic cholera have never desolated Brazil, and that although many causes exist in its cities to favor pestilential diseases, yet the general salubrity of the air and its equable temperature have proved a steady protection.

Brazil is not well advanced in the arts and improvements of modern times. Even in its large cities carriages are but little in vogue, and the roads are not constructed for their use. Maranham, Mr. Kidder thinks, is better built than any other city of Brazil, yet the rise and descent of the streets are very abrupt, and there is but one good carriage road in the place. Ladies in going about the city are usually carried by slaves in a rede or hammoc. Even at Rio a horse and dray are very unusual, most of the drudgery being performed by gangs of negroes. Docks are also wanting, and the loading and unloading of vessels is a work of double labor, performed by the intervention of small boats, which ply between the shore and the ship. Rail-roads, stagecoaches, and all other vehicles for public conveyance, are entirely unknown, and all who do not walk must be conveyed on horses or mules, and have their baggage transported by the same means.

The religious state of Brazil, as presented by Mr. Kidder, is well worthy to be studied by the Christian philanthropist, and demands the attention of the whole Christian world. That the religion of a country has a deep influence on its prosperity and well-being, no intelligent man can doubt. When the mind is fettered by superstition and bound up in the chains of religious bigotry, it is not to be expected that it should act with the directness and energy which it manifests when freed from such embarrassing restraints, and left to the full swing of its inherent powers.

The religion of Brazil was introduced contemporaneously with the settlement of the country, several centuries ago. Portugal and Spain, which were then among the most enlightened and enterprising nations on the globe, have since that time fallen into a state of degrading apathy, and have suffered the meanest of their neighbors to outstrip them in the race of improvement. Brazil, bound up in colonial chains, and since her emancipation, shut off as it were from the rest of the world,

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