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CHAPTER II.
The Family leave England. Introduction to Dr. Lewis. Arrival at Madeira. The Southern Cross. Rio Janeiro. Visit to the country house of Don Alvarez. Departure from Rio Janeiro.

"OH, mistress! honey mistress!" said Nanny, on their return from this, the most wonderful experience of her life. "What a pity it is you are such a poor ailing creature; you could not see yon bonny place, that's more like a grand picture out of a great book than aught real. And they're all alive, mistress,--such creatures! Why, at Winston we want sending to school; we ken no more than half of the things God has made. There was a great black awful creature; one of his legs was bigger than Master Charles, but lie was as quiet as a lamb. And the bonniest things, that I thought were great butterflies! But Master Tom says they are birds, and we shall see lots where we are going; and you shall have some, mistress, if we cannot get a gold linnet. But surelie the awfullest beasts that ever was seen was them monkeys. Would you think it, mistress, they sniggered at me ; and telled one another, and pointed their ugly hands at me ; and Master Charles got me away from them, for he said they had found it out as I was a North-country body."

"No doubt they had, Nanny," said Charles; "for monkeys are knowing creatures. When we touch at Rio Janeiro I intend to buy one, to amuse us for the rest of the voyage, and you will find out what a conjurer the fellow will be. And now, dear Aunty, all is ready, and to-morrow we must embark; so take your warm cloak, to be ready to wear till we get to a warmer latitude, when you will have to relinquish it awhile."

It was really a serious undertaking for Charles, who was by no means fond of trouble, to get the family and their extensive baggage safely embarked in the Maypo, a commodious vessel, which was bound to Valparaiso with a valuable cargo of British manufactures. Captain Russell, to whom they had previously been introduced, was a gentlemanly and intelligent man, who was glad of pleasant society during his long voyage. He introduced them to the only passenger besides themselves that he had consented to take out,--Dr. | | 25 Lewis, a young Physician, whose health had not been very good, and who, as be had no ties to bind him to England, and was fond of travel and of the study of Natural History, hal decided to go out to Valparaiso, where, if the climate suited him, he proposed to remain and practise his profession. Captain Russell appropriated two large cabins, surrounded by convenient berths, to the use of his passengers; and before the first twenty-four hours had passed, Mrs. Merton, reclining on an easy sofa, and surrounded by comforts, was almost reconciled to the change. The cabin was much more luxuriously furnished, and kept cleaner and neater than their London Lodgings. A bookcase, filled with the light literature of the day, supplied her with amusement; and she listened with pleasure to the animated description given by her children of the wonders of the ship.

But Dr. Lewis was certainly an unexpected addition to the pleasure of the voyage. Every one acknowledged this. He had erudition enough to discuss learned points with Mr, Merton ; knowledge of society, to render him agreeable to Charles; a taste for Natural History, to delight Tom; medical science, to command the respect and attention of Mrs. Merton; and a happy good nature, that won him the affection of the younger party. He prescribed for Mrs. Merton, won her confidence, and by degrees succeeded in persuading her to make a little exertion, to walk about the cabin; and before they had sailed ten days she was actually seated on deck; supported by cushions, certainly, but enjoying the fresh breeze and the lively pleasure of her children at mamma's improvement. "Do you know, Captain Russell," said Matilda, whose education had given her a little conceit, "I cannot see the use of that man remaining in such a dangerous position up at the top of that mast."

"But I see the use of it," replied the captain, good-humouredly; "he is looking out for the appearance of land."

"Oh! I could see the land well enough from this spot, if there was land to see," said she, "without risking my neck by climbing up there. I only wish we were in sight of laud, for I should then beg of you, Captain Russell, to sail close to it. It would be decidedly more agreeable to be passing fields and towns, as we do on a railway, than to sail for days with one unvarying prospect of water before us."

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"My dear young lady, pray mind your dolls and your crochet-work," answered Captain Russell, "and leave tha management of the ship to wiser heads. I am despotic here, and never allow any one to advise or censure."

"You silly goose," cried Jack, laughing, "don't you know that there is nothing a sailor dreads so much on sea as land--keep clear of land, and we keep clear of danger. No likelihood of your seeing fields or houses for some time yet."

"Not before we reach Madeira, I hope," said the captain; "there I intend to land and take in fresh water. I have a sacred duty to fulfil there."

From Dr. Lewis they afterwards heard that Captain Russell had buried a wife and daughter in the lovely but melancholy island of Madeira--that forlorn hope of the consumptive patients of the bleak northern climates and he wished to visit the graves of all he held dear on earth.

A few days after, they anchored opposite the port of Funchal, and were struck with equal delight and astonishment at the picturesque appearance of the shores, which are bounded by lofty cliffs, rising in many parts, perpendicularly from 1,000 to 2,000 feet. Captain Russell proposed to his passengers to join him in his visit to Funchal, and they gladly accepted the opportunity of relieving the tedium of a long voyage by seeing a new country. The children leaped about in ecstacy, as they arrayed themselves neatly for their expedition. Mr. Merton was interested, Mrs. Merton passively willing, and Nanny, though she murmured greatly at all the trouble of preparation for a few days absence from the vessel, was in her heart very glad to see grass and trees once more.

"Come, Villars," cried Dr. Lewis, "the boat is ready; what in the world can detain you now, when you were the most anxious of us to go on shore?"

In truth, Charles was under the hands of his valet; for to appear in his careless ship costume at Funchal, where they should assuredly meet elegant English society, was unworthy of Charles Villars. It was only the captain's positive assurance that he must be left behind, if not ready, that induced him to complete hastily his grand toilet; and he then sprung into the boat, arrayed in his fashionable English morning dress.

"Observe the ridges of the mountains," said Dr. Lewis to | | 27 his young friends, "broken into mimic pyramids and towers, standing out so strongly against that clear blue sky, which you would fancy was never ruffled by a cloud. Can anything be more picturesque than those heights, and the deep and precipitous gorges which so abruptly sever them?"

There was some difficulty in landing on the stony beach at Funchal but they were met by the noisy, bustling boatman of the town, who accomplished the landing with much greater ease and expedition than the sailors from the ship, unacquainted with the coast, could have done. Sedan-chairs were waiting near the landing-place, in which Mrs. Merton and her daughters were placed and Nanny, though very reluctantly, was induced to enter a similar conveyance. They were then borne by men to an hotel in the town, the gentlemen walking by their side.

The pretty town of Funchal stands in the midst of an amphitheatre of mountains, scattered over with groves of lofty and luxuriant heaths and brooms. White villas gleam through the rich verdure, and contrast pleasantly with the green cultivated terraces that surround the town.

After Captain Russell had left them, to make his melancholy visit to the graves of his family, the party spent the few days they remained in this beautiful place in rambling up the hills by roads hedged with geranium, hydrangea, and myrtle, passing through groves of orange and lemon, and vineyards purple with their rich produce. A little higher grew bananas, figs, and pomegranates; then they reached the region of the familiar fruits of England,--apples, pears and peaches, though on the ground were still spread the melon, tomato and eggplant. Still higher, and only the potato can be cultivated.

Tom collected plants with untiring assiduity, and all enjoyed the delicious fruit. Dr. Lewis wished them to see something of the process of making the rich wine for which Madeira is famed; but time would not permit this; and, laden with as much fruit as they could conveniently stow, the gratified party left "fair Madeira's groves," and, returning to the vessel, pursued their voyage.

After leaving this island, Tom had several times the high gratification of pointing out to his brother and sisters the flying fish. These curious creatures were found in numbers, skimming like swallows over the waves; sometimes they | | 28 pended their flight for a few seconds, then rose again, and were always pursued by the larger fish, which frequently leaped high out of the water, attempting unsuccessfully to seize their prey. These observations charmed the children till they forgot the monotony of the voyage. Then they passed within sight of the Canary Islands, and were amazed with a distant view of the lofty peak of Teneriffe, gilded by the sun, while the lower part was shrouded in clouds.

They were glad to adopt their light summer dresses now, and as they approached the burning regions of the equator, were rarely able to remain long on deck till the evening.After crossing the line, they began to look round for the peculiar novelties of the south; but it was not till they reached the 16° of south latitude that, on one delicious night, Dr. Lewis, the keenest observer, pointed out to the assembled family, in the clear heavens, the glory of the southern hemisphere, the Cross of the South.

"I am now content with my expatriation," said Mr. Merton, gazing with fervent admiration on the cruciform arrangement of the stars ; "how often, in my quiet study, have I longed to study the heavens of the south ; especially I have desired to look on this constellation, the sight of which hushed the fears of the first voyagers, on the unknown Southern Ocean, who hailed with astonishment and renewed hopes, the extraordinary appearance of the symbol of the faith of Jesus."

"Yes, papa," added Matilda, "and you taught me the beautiful passage in Dante, describing these quattro stelle. I have not forgotten it."

"But we do not understand Dante," said Jack, "and therefore, if you please, we will speak English--the language of the sons of freedom."

But notwithstanding Jack's admiration of the English language, he had, with the rest of the young people, been studying Spanish and Portuguese for some weeks, under Mr. Merton, who was an accomplished linguist; Charles Villars, who had not forgotten his early Spanish acquirements, undertook to be under-teacher, for Mr. Merton was not skilful in rudimentary instruction; and before they reached Rio Janeiro, they were all able to understand and even speak the Spanish, as well as a little of the language common at that place--the Portuguese.

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With all the delight which youth ever experiences at novelty, the young people stood on deck, looking at the first land they had seen of a new world, as the vessel entered the magnificent harbor of the city of St. Salvador, usually called Rio Janeiro. As they approached the principal landing-place, the bright sunshine of that climate lighted up the splendid scene in glorious beauty. The grand and spacious harbor, with the amphitheatre of mountains, the rich tropical woods, and the fair white city, and scattered villas, formed an unrivalled picture.

As soon as they landed, they entered an hotel near the harbor, till Charles, accompanied by Captain Russell, went to call on a rich Portuguese merchant, who was a distant relation of his mother, and a friend and correspondent of his uncle. He was welcomed with ready hospitality by Don Alvarez, who insisted on receiving the whole party during their stay at Rio, and immediately dispatched his strange old picturesque carriage, drawn by mules, driven by a negro coachman, to the hotel and the Mertons, with Dr. Lewis, were conveyed to the house of Don Alvarez, in the city. The lower part of the house was occupied as warehouses, the upper rooms forming the residence of the family, when they were in town. At present, his wife and daughters were at his estancia, or farm, in the country, whither he proposed to conduct his visitors, after introducing them to the novelties of a city in a new hemisphere.

The Europeans were not long in discovering that the greatest and most disagreeable novelty to them was the prevalence of slavery. Slave domestics, slaves carrying burdens, slave vessels in the harbour, and slave traffic in the markets, made them regard Rio with other feelings than those they had first experienced. Besides, a nearer view of the city robbed it of much of the first brilliant effect. The streets were narrow and ill-paved, the houses, public buildings, and even the royal palace, had a mean and gloomy appearance though, in the better class of houses, the open balconies in front, filled with brilliant and fragrant flowers, imparted a degree of cheerfulness to their aspect. The churches, numerous and richly decorted, were built in a better style but there was a want of grandeur in their appearance, and all felt disappointed. Nanny declared this foreign place was no better nor London.

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"Well worth our own canny Winston," sighed she, "where else have we seen clean white cotttgcs, and a bonny green wi' bits of bairns, playing about on it? and folks there were no way shamed to do their own turn, and not sin again God by such sights as we look on here. God forgive them that use those poor black niggers no better than if they were carthorses, and put decent women to shame by making these black creatures work openly int' streets, barely a rag to cover 'em. I like none of your grand cities."

But though the streets were dull and dirty, the party were charmed with a delightful promenade by the seaside, where numbers flocked every evening to inhale the refreshing breeze, and to rest or wander under shady avenues of lofty trees unknown in England, or only seen in the dwarfed specimens cultivated in green-houses.

"Do tell me, papa," said Tom, "is not this noble tree, which cannot be less than forty feet in height, the breadfruit tree?"

"It is the Artocarpus integrifolia, is it not?" said Mr. Merton, appealing to Dr. Lewis.

"Certainly," answered Dr. Lewis; "it is commonly called The Jack, a native of the Indian Archipelago, but successfully cultivated here. The fruit is much larger than that of the Artocarpus incisa, which I see is also growing at a little distance from us; but as an article of food, the large nuts are less agreeable to the palate. Both are, however, nutritious, and of priceless value in the Indian Islands, where they are natives, supplying wholesome and pleasant food at all seasons. But see, Tom, here is a tree familiar to all who are learned in tales of travel; the Mango,--Mangifera Indica, one of the most delicious of the tropical fruits, and handsomest of trees. I am truly glad we have had an opportunity of viewing these exotics in such a favorable situation."

"But do leave the trees now," said Mary, "and let everybody come with me to a charming market which is close by the avenue. There are hundreds of beautiful birds, far more extraordinary than those we saw at the Zoological Gardens. I never saw so many brilliant colors grouped together in my life. You might fancy you were entering a delightful flower-garden, and that all the flowers were alive. And do, Charles, listen to the extraordinary confusion of a hundred parrots all chattering at the same time."

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"And doubtless," said Charles, "they are holding a very pleasant conversazione. Look at that old green fellow, he has noticed us, and now, with his head turned on one side, he is looking very significantly at his companion, and declaring his opinion of us. I will tell you what the impertinent knave says: 'I say, friend, what do you think of these new arrivals I see no style about them--no brilliancy. Did you ever hear anything so discordant as their shrill, squeaking notes? I conclude they must be some of the stupid wild geese, who have made a flight from their dark, cold homes, to bask in the sunshine of our bright world.'"

"Oh, Charles!" cried Mary, "I am too old to believe that you can understand the language of birds, like the gifted vizier in the wonderful Arabian tales. Even papa, who knows all the languages of men, does not pretend to know those of animals."

"Well, calm your indignation, my fair cousin and to atone for my fault, I will purchase the critical fellow, and present him to you," said Charles. And Mary was in great delight to take home the handsome bird and she set about teaching it English on that very day for, of the known languages, the bird had, till then, only spoken Portuguese.

Captain Russell called next morning to announce to them that he should inevitably be detained a few days longer than he had proposed, for six of his best sailors had deserted, and he could hear nothing of them, though he strongly suspected that they had been tempted to enter an American vessel which had sailed the day before for California, as the Captain of the ship had been offering high wages for the best sailors in Rio. Captain Russell had had several Portuguese sailors to offer their services, but, like a true son of John Bull, he bad a great prejudice against the natives of any country but his own he was therefore waiting in hopes of meeting with English sailors.

The Mertons accepted the invitation of their host to pass a day or two at his country house, to which they were conveyed the same day and here they enjoyed in full perfection the beauties of tropical scenery. The climate in the country of Rio is delicious; an equal temperature keeps up a perpetual spring, and neither winter nor summer withers or destroys the verdure. The house was large, airy, and richly furnished, | | 32 and the ladies welcomed them with courtesy and kindness. They were well-bred and graceful, but seemed to possess few intellectual resources, spending the day in dressing, eating fruit, or playing on the guitar.

The young Europeans took great interest in looking over the farm, which consisted not only of grazing-lands, which fed multitudes of cattle, but also of a coffee plantation of five thousand trees in fall bearing, cultivated by slaves, under the inspection of over-lookers.

"Do observe, Matilda," said Tom, "the elgance of the slender stem, the beauty of the white jasmine-looking flower, and the red berry, like a swall cherry, all in perfection at the same time. How little I expected we should have had this gratification; I am already delighted wdh America, where everything is so new and interesting."

"To enjoy to perfection the grandeur of new and foreign scenery," observed Dr. Lewis, "a man ought either to he a painter, to feel the pleasure of painting in his niind an ideal picture of the whole before him a geologist, to look with interest and admiration at the naked rock, and trace its gradual formation or a botanist, to whom every blade of grass is a page in the Book of Nature, and who perceives, amidst the wealth of vegetation, those minute distinctions which create the harmony of the whole."

There were certainly great attractions in a country residence in this delicious climate. The young men had riding, fishing, and sailing under skies ever clear and bright; and the ladies reclining in bowers simultaneously fragrant in blossoms and rich in fruits, playing, singing, conversing, but rarely reading. And when Captain Russell joined them to say they must be at Rio to embark next day, it was not without reluctance they took leave of the glorious woods, where the trees, closing above, formed natural avenues, and the bright sunbeams shone through leaves of every shade, from the dark green of the stranger pine to the paler hue of the natives of the tropics. In these shades millions of gorgeous butterflies floated lazily on the air, and the long grass beneath their feet was noisy with the eternal chirping of the cicada.

But they were compelled to depart. Captain Russell had manned his vessel, and, leaving behind him some English goods, had completed his lading with rice, cotton and sugar.

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They took leave of their hospitable friends, and once more found themselves confined in the cabins of the Maypo, and sailing on the mighty Atlantic.