Those impatient spirits, who imagined that the present contest would be a short and easy one, are beginning now to discover their mistake; we would still further recommend them to restrain their indignation, even if the summer of 1854 should close, and the Russian flag be still flying on the ramparts of Cronstadt and Sebastopol. It will not do to undertake great enterprises in a hurry, because the newspapers are clamorous for material, and the public desire to hear the Park and Tower guns heralding the gazette of a decisive victory. France and England are emulous of mutual glory, when, for the first time, fighting side-by-side; but they are fully aware of what would be the consequences of failure, induced by undue precipitance. The Russian. autocrat will not yield until he is well beaten; that this will happen, we feel assured; and we also remember that it is necessary to move with caution, as, in the great operations of war—

"We work by wit, and not by witchcraft,
And wit depends on dilatory time."

Russia is not only colossal as the elephant, but, like that unwieldy animal, is more formidable in defending herself than in attacking others. With an empty military chest, a nominal commissariat, and neglected hospitals, her armies cannot bring long and distant campaigns to a successful conclusion, according to the ordinary calculations by which the movements of armies are regulated. But the foe that follows her into her interminable wastes will place himself within the horns of a dilemma, which Napoleon discovered too late, when he penetrated to Moscow. A small invading force Russia can overwhelm a large one will overwhelm itself. We are not likely to give her this chance, while we possess the power of utterly annihilating her commerce, with no risk beyond the immediate expense, which, in due time, her Emperor must reimburse, either from his boasted gold-mines of the Ural Mountains, or from the hides and tallow of his unfortunate subjects.

III.

CALEDONIAN.

IN one of our recent articles on modern books of travel, we had occasion to remark on the superiority of those written by scientific travellers over all others. This is, perhaps, in great measure due to the object of their inquiries, which, being the enduring features of nature, have a permanent interest for us all. It is, however, still more due, perhaps, to the power of accurate observation which scientific men acquire, and their habits of precise description; so that even when they turn aside to describe transient scenes and occurrences, their sketches become more graphic and life-like than those of other men, their equals, perhaps, in natural ability, but not having had the same advantages of training.

The book which we have now under examination, and to which we shall be indebted for some of the matter of the present article, forms a case in point. It is written by a commercial man, or man of business, one who seems first to have visited South America as an employé of a Liverpool commercial house, and who is now secretary to the South American and General Steam Navigation Company.

We might have expected that a man of business would be likely to go directly to the point; to say what he had to say with as little circumlocution as possible, and tell us where we might find further information if we wished it. Here, as elsewhere, however, we observe that practical men become the most unpractical of beings the moment you take them out of their own jogtrot routine. They are invariably the wildest theorists and the most desultory describers, introducing all sorts of irrelevant matters, and "riding off" continually in all manner of directions.

Mr. Hadfield is not free from these errors of his class, and he has, in addition, their not uncommon accompa niment, a very incorrect and inelegant style. He is frequently ungrammatical, often cumbrous and involved, and

*

it is only when he has really something new or interesting to tell us, that he lets his pen run into a natural, unembarrassed, and therefore pleasant style of writing. His book opens very badly. In the very first page of what is called the Explanatory Preface," occur the following sentences :-"The old process of sailing-ships, and a monthly sailing-packet from Falmouth, conveying mails, were the only medium of communication"-i.e., a "process" and a "sailing-packet" were joined to become a "medium of communication.' In the next sentence we are told that "the Royal Mail Company entered upon the service they had undertaken with government," and just afterwards, that their vessels "performed the voyage with regularity, and in a space of time which reduced to one half that ordinarily occupied by the sailing-craft ;" or, in other words, that the time occupied by the Company's vessels made the sailing-craft go one-half quicker than usual.

In the next page a note begins as follows::—" In the original prospectus of the Company, whose calculations, apart from two wrecks, as to the performances of their vessels, have since been so well verified by experience, it was stated that," &c. Why did they make their calculations apart from two wrecks? and what had the wrecks to do with the performances that were verified by experience?

Farther on we have "Hence the ramifications of such enterprises as steam are most interesting in their results to mankind." Henceforward, we shall look upon our tea-kettle as full of enterprise every morning and evening, and only hope its ranifications will not be very outrageous or destructive. Then the author says of himself, "He is no bookmaker; though he ventures to hope that his book will, in some degree, fill a vacuum left by certain recent accomplished professors of that branch of

the fine arts in this department of travellers' information for the untravelled public." To which, all we can say is, that if the bookmakers did not make them of better stuff than such a sentence as that, we think they would hardly have persuaded any bookseller to run the risk of printing them.

Meeting with such clumsy attempts at using the English language as these in the first seven pages, we felt strongly inclined to pitch the book into a corner, as worthy of no further notice or attention. Urged, however, by our sense of critical duty and justice, we proceeded in our task, and we must say that it has not been without its reward in other portions of the volume.

We have gained some information and instruction, even if we did not derive much pleasure or amusement, by the operation. The very next chapter, styled an "Introduction," is a very great improvement, both in matter and manner, on that we have just noticed, so that we doubted almost if they had been written by the same hand. If they have, they must have been done at different times, and under different circumstances.

We have, then, four chapters_respectively headed "Liverpool to Lisbon," "Lisbon to Madeira," "Madeira to Cape Verd," and "Cape St. Vincent to Pernambuco."

From these four chapters we learnt only one new fact-namely, that they have lately established at Funchal, in Madeira, a kind of sledge, drawn by oxen, for the conveyance of passengers up the steep hills of that beautiful island. When we visited it, we certainly never saw anything so drawn except a wine cask. We are, therefore, happy to hear of the improve

ment.

There is another novelty, also, which is not a fact, for by a curious mistake in several of the headings, and in the table of contents, the island of St. Vincent, forming one of the Cape de Verd group, is confounded with Cape St. Vincent, which certainly in our day, as in that of the first Earl St. Vincent, used to form the southwestern extremity of Portugal. In the fifth, and five following chapters, we have a rather desultory account of Brazil, and of some of the principal cities and rivers of that great Empire, which have so much of inte

rest as belongs to the news brought by the most recent observers.

The great improvement that has taken place during the last few years in the policy, the mode of government, and the whole internal and external life of that country, renders Brazil most interesting alike to the statesman and the philanthropist. We shall, therefore, extract from this portion of the work such passages as contain any. thing new to ourselves, in the hope that they may prove equally novel to most of our readers.

We will first let Mr. Hadfield describe his earliest landing at Pernambuco:

"After a lapse of more than thirty years, the sensations I experienced on my first arrival here are as fresh in my memory as if occurring only yesterday. The voyage, which occupied no less than fifty-six days; the eager anxiety for a sight of land; the first view of the foreign port and outlandish looking craft; and then the pilot coming on board with a crew of blacks, seen for the first time; the debarkation amongst strange faces of every possible shade of colour; with the curiously formed streets and singular houses, filled with a population of hues so different from that left behind-every one apparently shouting at the top of their voices; whilst hundreds of rainbow-tinted parrots, and harlequin-skinned animals, more numerous than the menagerial knowledge of a boy of fifteen believed had ever appeared out of the Ark, all helped to aggravate the preternatural and perpetual din-the whole scene, as may be imagined, being such as to become indelibly engraven on such a spectator for the remainder of his life."-pp. 100-101.

The present state of Pernambuco is thus described :

66 The town, or city, of Pernambuco is divided into three compartments :-the first, called the Recife (literally Reef), being that directly opposite the reef, and where most of the foreign commercial firms are located; crossing a wooden bridge, is St. Antonio, inhabited chiefly by shopkeepers; and a well-built and extensive compartment, further on, is Boa Vista, to which you cross by another long wooden bridge, but protected with a light iron railing at the sides. The river runs under these bridges very rapidly at times, and with a snake-like course, almost insulating the two first divisions. From Boa Vista good roads branch off to the country, and a new one has latterly been made to Olinda along the margin of the river, lighted with lamps, &c., a very useful

and praiseworthy undertaking on the part of the Government.

"The town is generally well-built; lofty houses whitewashed, with red tiles, and plenty of verandahs, and windows to admit the cool breezes; and for miles in every direction, towards the interior, are comfortable villas, some very large and constructed with considerable taste. When I first came here in 1821 only two or three carriages existed in the place, old-fashioned ones belonging to equally old-fashioned Portuguese, and I should suppose something like the "dormeuse' of the Grand Prior of Alcobaça, so graphically described by Beckford, when he travelled with that dignitary to the grand abbey of Batalha [vide Lisbon, page 36]; now there are some 200 vehicles, of all sorts and sizes, and many very good ones for hire, besides those belonging to private individuals; and no doubt taste and luxury would be still more extended in this direction if it were not for the narrow archways through which the Recife is traversed.

"In all respects, Pernambuco has been not only a thriving but an improving place, so much so that one who would visit it now for the first time could hardly believe it to be the same town of which Koster, a comparatively short time ago, said that the shops were without windows, light being admitted only by the door, and that there were no distinctions of trades, and no municipal regulations worthy of being so called.

Extensive waterworks have heen constructed, which bring good water some distance to the town; and doubtless, in a few years, it will be lighted with gas. A bank has been established on a safe and respectable footing; and the merchants have their news-room, as a sort of rendezvous for business, instead of an exchange, whilst extensive quays have been formed on the margin of the rivers that would serve as models for the conservators of Father Thames." "-pp. 102-3.

Mr. Hadfield gives an interesting description of the country around Pernambuco, which has a natural division into two districts, called the "Matta," or forest country, and the "Catinga," or "Sertao,"-Catinga being the name of a peculiar kind of herbage abounding in that district and Sertao, meaning "desert," in allusion to its bare and unwooded appearance. The "Matta," or forest land, occupies a belt of some fifty miles next the coast, moistened by the sea-breeze, the humidity of which is condensed and deposited by the comparatively low temperature of the woodland. The Sertao is subject to droughts, lasting sometimes two or three years, which have lately increased in frequency in consequence of the felling of the few belts of

timber that were to be found. It is nevertheless good and fertile soil, and, on the occurrence of rain, vegetation soon springs to life again. Speaking of one of these droughts, Mr. Hadfield says:

"On the third year copious rain fell, and although the young plants of former years had been literally toasted, and the leaves, together with those of all the trees and grass throughout the country, had long fallen to the ground, and might be discerned in heaps where they had been whirled by eddies of wind, looking more like mounds of stuff than foliage of trees, the rain had hardly slaked the thirsty ground, when all the plants, even those longest in the ground, showed signs of vigour in green buds that developed themselves; and pasture land that had been converted into bare earth by the incessant rays of a scorching sun, was, as by magic, from one day to another, converted into fields of the most delicate verdure."-p. 107.

To compensate for these droughts, the Sertao is much more healthy than the Matta, and, during the prevalence of the yellow fever in the latter, it proved as "fatal to the Sertanejos who came down to the coast, as to Europeans freshly arrived by sea from cold climates.' It appears, too, that the Sertao is wonderfully sanatory to pulmonary complaints, and seems absolutely to cure consumption.

Of the improvement of Bahia, both in its trade and in its local and municipal arrangements, Mr. Hadfield speaks equally strongly, as he says "The streets have, since 1845, been generally repaired, the roads leading to the upper town being put in an ef ficient state, so that carriages can travel them safely; new quays, extending along the margin of the bay, are in process of erection; also a new custom-house, with many other muchneeded improvements, chiefly owing to the personal activity of Senor Gonsalvez Martins, formerly President of Bahia, and late minister of the empire, who is a native of the place.'

Of Rio Janeiro, however, so much cannot be said, although it is the capital of the country, as it seems to be still left in its old dirty and disreputable condition. This is the more to be regretted, inasmuch as the situation, as every one knows, is one of the most beautiful and magnificent of all the cities of the world.

It is probable that great improve

ment, will shortly take place in the sanatory and other regulations of the city, as the Emperor and his ministers seem to be fully alive to the necessity of it.

"Speak not evil of dignities," is a command we are bound to observe, and it is not very often we can with truth speak well of them. The present instance, however, we believe to be an exception, and we can quite concur in the following description:

Born

"The present Emperor is in every respect admirably fitted for his high station. in the country, without the advantage of a knowledge of European life, and that finished tone of education it affords, but possessed of natural endowments of an exalted order, and having turned to the utmost advantage the opportunities of a studious and virtuous

youth, he carries with him the full national sympathies of the native Brazilians, the respect of the old Portuguese party, and the esteem of the whole foreign diplomatic body, to whom he dispenses the honours and hospitality of a prudently managed court. As the sovereign of a constitutional country, content to abide within the strict limits imposed by his coronation oath, his reign has been prosperous and happy. In his private capacity he is kind and attentive to all around him, as well as a close observer of passing events. Possessed of a benevolent heart, and actuated by a noble singleness of purpose, he knows how to direct the reins of government, without undue interference, or an injudicious exercise of his prerogative. It has often been emphatically said that the Emperor is not only the highest, but the best man in the country, both from his public conduct and his private virtues. The value of such a compliment is not enhanced, or probably we should say is not impaired, by any universal laxity and corruption around him, as in the case of another empire nearer home, wherein it is said that the principal personage is not only the most honest, but the only honest man in his own dominions. Probity and high-mindedness of every kind in public life are as general in Brazil as in any part of Europe, England itself certainly not excepted; consequently the standard the Emperor is measured by is one by no means conventional or equivocal, but is such as any sovereign in the western world might feel proud of having applied to himself. Certainly, in the matter of truthfulness, the rarest of all monarchic virtues, he has set an example to the royal brotherhood of kings that might be followed with infinite profit to the reputation of the regal race, and with corresponding advantage to their subjects in numerous instances. His Brazilian Majesty is admirably supported by an excellent and high-minded partner, who, like her

husband, is beloved by all classes in the empire. The imperial couple frequently attend public balls, and mix in social parties with citizens and foreigners, taking also the warmest interest in all local improvements or measures calculated to benefit the country, and to raise the character of their subjects. When the kind of life they are compelled to lead is fairly considered, and the extent of court intrigue necessarily prevailing where parties are so much divided, and respectively so potent, too much merit cannot be ascribed to the Emperor and Empress for the manner in which they conduct themselves, and the controlling influence they exercise over others. Every one who has been in Rio well knows how exceedingly popular he is, and how strong is the conviction that that popularity is most just and most deserved, though he never goes out of his way to obtain it by any ad captandum arts, or any conduct whatever that is not the result of sound judgment guiding an estimable nature--pp. 148-53.

From this high personal character of the sovereign, and that of the ministers he has chosen, and who have been in office for the last five years, it results that great improvements have been effected in the general state and condition of the empire.

Its foreign debt now stands at only £5,900,000, and the interest has always been punctually paid even in times of the greatest difficulty. this point Mr. Hadfield says:

On

Under

"Ten years ago the finances of Brazil were in very great embarrassment. all circumstances of distress and difficulty, Brazil had, indeed, paid, as she continues regularly to pay, the interest on her debt, thereby honourably distinguishing herself from other South American, and not a few European states. But, at that time, her expenditure largely exceeded her income. Gradually Brazil has reversed this state of things; instead of a heavy deficit, she has now a steadily increasing surplus, has been able to reduce the rate of interest on part of her foreign debt, is slowly reducing its capital, and is in a position to compete in the money-market of London with the most favoured European governments. Ten years ago Brazil was not a little embarrassed by the fiscal restrictions she had imposed on herself by her commercial treaties with other countries. Now she is free from all such embarrassments, has full powers over her own trading and financial system, and has no treaties at all with other states. Intermediately she raised for revenue purposes her tariff of custom duties; but now that she has a surplus to dispose of, her Government is engaged in reducing those duties, to the