Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1876-09-01


| A MORNING RIDE THROUGH BRAZIL
IAN FoREsT.-As we got into the skirt of
the forest the morning broke, but the req
ell in Brazilian forest is wonderfully diff
ferent from the slow creeping on of tho
dawn of a Summer morning at home 10
the music of two thrushes answering one
another's full rich notes from neighboring
thorn-trees. Suddenly a yellow light
| spreads upward in the east, the stars quick
| ly fade, aud the dark fringes of the forest
and the tall palms show out black against
| the yellow sky, and almost before one has
| time TO observe the change, the sun has
risen straight and fierce, and the whole
landscape is bathed in the full light of day.
But the morning is cool and fresh for yet
another hour, and the scene Is indescrib-
ably beautiful. The woods, so absolute
ly silent and still before, break at once in
10 noise and movement. Flocks of toucans
hutter and scream on the tops of the high
est forest trees, hopelessly out of shot the
ear is pierced by the shrill wild screeches
of little band of macaws, which fly far
ing past like the rapped-up ghosts of the
birds on some gandy old brocade. There
is no warbling, no song, only harsh noises,
abrupt calls which those who haunt the
forest soon learn TO translate by two or
three familiar words in Portuguese or Eng
lish. Now and then set of cries moro
varied and more dissonant than usual tells
us that troop OF monkeys are passing
across from tree to tree among the higher
branches, and lower sounds to which ones
attention is called by the guide, indicate to
his practiced ear the neighborhood of
sloth, or some other of the few mammals
which inhabit the forests of tropical South
America. And the insects are now all
awake and adding their various notes to
swell the general din. A butterfly, of the
gorgeous genus Morpho, comes fiuttering
along the path like loosely folded sheet
of bright-bue tinsel, flashing brilliant re-
Elections in the sunshine great dark-blue
shining bees fly past with a loud hum;
tree-bngs in the most singular harlequin
colofing of scarlet and blue and yellow,
with metallic sheen, cluster round a
brancn so thickly as 10 weigh it down, and
make their presence perceptible yards off
by their peculiar and sometimes not un-
pleasant odor; but how weak it is TO say
and glittering in the air over that branch
of BignoniG bells and sucking the nectar
from Them with its long curved bill, has
head of ruby and breast of emerald and
wings of sapphire, as if any triumph of
the jewellers art could ever vie in bril-
liaucy with that sparkling epitome of life
and light! 1t was broad day when we
passed into the dense forest, through which
the greater pant of our way now lay. The
path, which had been cut through the
vegetation, was just wide enough to allow
US TO ride in Indian file, and with some
care to prevent our horses from bruising
our legs against the tree-trunks and we
| could not leave the path for single foot
on either side, the scrub was so thick, what
with fallen trees covered with epiphytes of
all descriptions, and Cycads and Arums
and great thorny spikes of Bromelia, and
close underground, chiefly of Melasto-
mads, many of them richly covered with
| blue or purple flowers. Above the scrub
| the tall forest trees ran up straight and
branchless for thirty or forty feet, and
when they began to branch a second tier of
vegetation spread over their heads, almost
shutting out the sky. Great climbing
| Monsteras and Arals, and parasitic Lor-
anths and epiphytic Bromelads and ferns;
and orchids, many OF them distilling from
their long trusses of lovely flowers a fra
| GRANGE which was almost overpowering;
and mazes OF Tillandsia hanging down like
tangled hanks of gray twine. Every avail
able space between the trees was occupied
by lianas twining together or running up
| singly, in size varying from a whip-cord
to foot in diameter. These lianas were
our chief danger, for they hung down in
long loops from the trees and lay upon the
| ground, and were apt to entangle us and to
catch the horses feet as we rode on. 1t
| was little consolation that we could scarce
| ly tear ourselves away from the charming
wreaths of Ipomea flowers or BgnonIa
trusses into which they burst, whenever
they had reached the required support. AS
the forenoon wore on it became very close
and hot on our bridle-path, and the forest
relapsed into silence, most of the creatures
retiring for their midday slesta. The false
roof of epiphytes kept off the glare of tho
sun, and it was only at intervals that
sheaf of vertical beams struck through
| rim in the green canopy and gave us
| passing glimpse of the tops of the forest
trees, blending in a delicate open tracery
| far above us.-GOOd Words.
| =
| Too LATE FoR TINE Roam -Tha woman