The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1868-04-10
Brasil-a. Seen eu Mr.. Aca.sis.

" In spite OF laud0ble deslrdeo finu some.
'thing,.o praise in people who have treatjd
l,hemwith 80 much kindness, neither the
Professor nor Mrs. Agassiz succeed in Civ.
Ing us very favorable idea Of their hosps.
table entertainers. The BRAZILIAN Govern
ment, they tell us, Is enlightened, and en-.
deavors to do what It can for science.
: Still this intelligent Government has a pleas.
ant wuy Of recruiting its armies It sends
out prcssgang which catches unlucky In.
dians, totally ignorant Of Portuguese, and
not having n notion OF the cause Of their
arrest /; it chains them together TWO and two
like criminals, and marches them TO the
towns, or has their legs passed through
heavy blocks of wood, and sends them on
board its steamboats,. They arc sent off to
the war, and tho province from which they
arc taken bousts of its largo contribution to
the national forces. Again, the emancipa.
ton question is treated % fur moro mod
crate spirit than has been the case In the
United States slavery is gradually dying
clown undsra reasonable system cmanci-
patton is frequent, and slave labor is by de-
grecs being limited to agricultural purposes.
On tho other hand, the mixture OF races
seems to be producing the worst effects.
According to Professor Agassiz, tho amalga.
nation of tho white, negro and Indian
raccssis producing "mongrel nondescript
type, deficient in mental and physical ener.
gy," aud without the good qualities of any
.bf its progcnitors. 1t is remarkable that in
these cross breeds tho tendency seems to
be IN revert to tho Indian type, with a grad.
ual olli,crniion both Of white and negro
characteristics. The absence Of any strong
prciulces against race IL marked by the
election of negro as Professor Of Latin,
in preference to candidates OF other races
but, if NJ. Agassiz is correct, tho absence
of social distinction produces anything but
4 healthy cfltct upon the physical clIarac-
ter, Of tho rnce. The whites themselves
tome in for some severe criticism. The
women. We are told, arc scarcely educated
at all F.; the priests have the mcri, of patriot
ism, hut seems to be ignorant. immoral and
indolent and the towns along the river
are for the most part in stnte Of decay.
It is only luir 10 Md that NJ. Agassiz dis
covers many more promising symptoms in
various directions, and expresses n 'deep.
rooted belief in the future progress and
prosperity of Brazil, aud sincere personal
gratitude towards her," But we cannot
say that n pcrusal Of the journal tends to
confirm this impression in his readers. We
are struck by the hospitality and Kindness
of the people, and even by tho sympathy
felt by many of them in the authors scicn.
,ifc pursuits; but, on the whole, we re.
ceive an impression of general Incidence
and apathy OH the part of the majority of
the civilized inhabitants. Mrs. Agassiz
tells us that the flowers Of tho Amazonian
forests always remind her of hot.house
plants there comes "a warm breath
from The depths of the wood laden will,
moisture aad perfume, like the air from the
open door OF n conservatory )" and we
seem to perceive that the Braziians them.
selves have suffered not little from the
hot.housc atmosphere in which they live.
The children, We are told, have generally
unhealthy appearance and the population
us well rs the products of the country seem
to bc rendered languid by tho everlasting
vapor.ba,h in whicl, they pass their days.