American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1845-04-25

Exhausted nature" says Caudle, could
hold out no longer. Here my wife went to
sleep"
SOUTH AMERICAN CORRESPONDENCE.
RIO DE JANEIRo, February 10, le45.
The two principal landings are those called
cred Stairs and the palace" and as may
readily be conjectured, they are necessarily
thronged by a miscellaneous crowd OF bpeds,
that put description at defiance. These great
focal centres TEEN with life, and are alive with
the shouts of boatmen the chattering of female
fruit vendors, calls for all sorts of things; solicit
tations for fares to 'row you over the terry;"
and no few imprecations bestowed on the chap
who secures a customer; gathering OF boats
against shallops; light caques tanning nlen-ot-
wars cutters; canoes battering whale boats, and
each other; mixed and jumblcd together with
floating catamarans of queer form and shape,
the names of which the 'Mysterious Lady"
alone could define, are the daily views these
spots afford: the air too is redolent of perfumes,
not at all as acceptable to the oliactories as the
spicy gales of Araby the Best, or the sweet
South wind over bed of violets. Markets are
held in the immediate vicinity of each Of these
landings, and the numerous boats necessary to
convey so large quantity and variety OF arti-
Giles for the daily consumption of the city, as
are offered for sale, also lay alongside; SO that
the confusion and astounding noise created may
be conceived, that Is, should one ever have been
in the midst of Brazilian crowd; not else, for
Babel assuredly could not have mated 1t. The
Palace Stairs, is a high-soundlng appeIlatlon, at
least to an American, and one might presume
it to bear, IN some degree, an appearance In
accordance with the title; but not whit The
open plateau fronting the Palace, binding on
the waters of the Bay, is not even graced with
decent wall to protect it from the washing of
the tide the landing is embellshed and adorned
with rough looking flight of wooden steps,
fronting the entrance to the Cafe Franeais, as
fine an establishment as can be found in our
land, kept by one Monsieur Pharoux instead of
the Palace itself; and the Campo, quite an Eek
tensive piece of ground, and an eligible site for
improvement" as an auctioneer would have 1t,
cannot boast of a single plant, flower, shrub or
tree, either ornamental or otherwise, of any de-
scrption whatever all is meagre, bare, barren
and unsightly to the eye, as are the plateaus
around our monument erected to the memory
of the Cincinnatus of the West. There has
been some amend made however, some endea-
vor used towards ornamenting this spot, which
deserves mention and approval. In one cor
ner stands yery handsome and noble fountain,
constructed of fine grey granite, sprngng from
!
form, to an elevation of some forty feet, hand
somely adorned, having four jets in the upper
fall, subdvded in the lower one into sixteen
streams, the waters being received in circular
basin, and elected by its eastern front. Daily
and hourly hundreds of slaves may be seen
bearing the singularly formed earthen jars Of
the country on their heads, coming from or pro-
ceeding to this fountain; crowds surrounding it,
awaiting an opportunity to fill their jugs, and
hundreds struggling for place and precedence;
all chattering and jabbering, Ching and ges-
ticulating with an earnestness and an apparent
fierceness totally unknown to us of colder blood,
but an invariable characteristic of these child
rem of the sun. There is singular admixture
of proud magnlicence and petty and trivial
meanness, together with disregard of some of
the conventional forms of social life, regarded
by those of the Anglo-Saxon race as OF the first
importance, very observable throughout this
land; their manner of living, their domestic ha-
bits, absence of sundry arrangements in their
dwellings, are strange and by no means prepos-
sessing; their filthy habits indeed, are apparent,
even in the streets, and around all edifces of
public character.
AS case in point, it may be observed that
the surplus water from this fountain is suf-
fered to form little pools of mud and filth of
Tile HlOSL OHGIlSlVc I'D SuiOoi, hO
artificial means being used to aid its progress,
though even simple, homely Republican might
"admire" that so august and mighty person.
age as an Emperor should not bid marble con-
duits to arise, and fresh and fragrant flowers
spring forth, where at present sinking puddles
greet the vision and annoy the sense. Sur
rounding this ditch may be seen dozen or so
grim isaged boatmen, or hucksters, or loaiers,
their faces resembling hairy mop, seated on
stools, undergoing, with infinite gusto, the ton
serial application, itnerants of that profession
(that, believe, is the title assumed by dancing
masters, boot blacks, teachers of music, Jug
glers, lecturers, and such small deer,) being
quite numerous in this good city OF st. Sebas-
tian. In another quarter may be observed num-
bers Of the female kind rinsing the garments
they have for the last three hours been Justify
engaged in pounding against or between two
stones-the way they wash clothes in this
enlightened land-.exceedngly profitable to
knights of the shears and thimble, and annoy
ing to wives and spinsters. Then in close prox-
unity come the market folks, using it as most
needed; whilst not a few are engaged in per-
forming their matutinal and other additions,
personally or by proxy, in any case, to Judge
by appearances, not before they were needed.
The Market building adioins the extremity Of
the Palace Square, and is a very handsome ed
ifce, fronting the water some 200 feet. 1t is
built of granite, open to the air i'll the centre,
the stalls fronting inwardly, and having foun-
tain in the middle; fruits, vegetables, ETC., are
sold in the centre, the stalls are occupied by
vendors of fish, poultry, housekeeping articles,
ETC. The fish market presents an immense va
riety, most Of them totally unknown tn our
part of the world, and generally Of fine quail
ty. The space Of ground in front of the mar
ket house, and above it, close to the water, pre-
sents to the eye of a stranger most curious
and animated scene-a map of busy life of the
most unique description. 1t would be super
fluous to mention, that in this genial climate
the vegetable kingdom numbers among its sub
iects hundreds of species whose very titles we