The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-12-13
BRAZILIAN LITERATURE.
twu. Reginald Ream. ia Literary Life,

tWsA. Reginald Reau,. ia Literary Life.
 oae day, during one of my Aimless wonderings through the back streets of Rio de aneiro, ! strayed into one of the crowded and dingy little shops that line both sides ot a portion of Seventh of Sep tenber street. This unobttusive estao- tishment though to all outward appear. ances similar to dosenS of others in the same rua, was yet unique in its loneliness and almost lost in the midst ot plebeiAn charcoal and fruit shops. lt was only a secondhand hoookstore, or. to speak more correctly, little den filled with muSty and worn volumes, presided over by a sleepy old fellow who paid no at tention to the Yankee visitor burrowing into the stock and turning the leaves ot the many curious tones, While thus engaged, picked up plain little volume which. on opening, found bore the ,itle, 70 Cabaina do pi Thomss: on Vida dos pretas na America, DOT Ha..se. Beecher Stowe" In this pleonastic title the reader may not be able to recognize the more familiar one. but the book was only copy of "Uncle Toms Cabin translated into the Portuguese language. It was surprise io had this ant-slavety masterpiece ot Mrs. Stove here ln BvaI,l, where to-day there are more than one hundred thousand blacks held in bond- age, but it was more of surprise 10 learn th at thousands of copies of the Portuguese translation have been sold in the empire and distributed by the abolition party as an argument for emancipation.
 IL was while rummaHing in the con fusion of all this polyglo, collection oi books that hrst noticed the indications of an impoverished native literature, and formed an inference that in subsequen, research became certain conviction. It is strange that an American empire of its s,te, importance and natural wealth should be so poor in literature. ye, the truth IS tha, Btafl is, In this respect, a veritAble p,up:r. Though the Biblio- theca NaeionAl should he made to con. tain many times it's huadred thousand volumes, and book-makers of the world should pour their wates by Ship-loAds into the country, BTaTlllanS could not be transformed into readers and where there are no readers |, follows there can be na literature. There are writers enough, |, IS true, but not one who shows even the slightest promise of being to MsEl what Lu,s dc Camoens was to the patiia Portugal, and, lacking ss they are in contemporary reputation, thete is little hope for posthumous fame.
 In comparatively few of the bes, houses in Rio may we be able to ind even small collection of books, and a private library IS almost curiosity to the Flumenensians. In many of the homes -f al -t-k unless Il be a prayer. book. ar possibly copy of "The Art ot Stealing" a volume that attained such immense popularity Tn Brazil that it Is said to have had the best sale of any book in the empire. This statement. which consider authentic, illustrates the degree of rehncmen, pos sessed by the people whose literary tastes arc satisfied wirh the questionable mental pabulum supplied by the countless penny dreadful daily and weekly papers pub | llshed Tn the capital city. The bulk Q, the literary talent finds a vent through ! the channel of the political, Sallrloal i revolutionary and incendiary sheets of Rio, and the efforts may be either i maudlin, or. If noticeable at all, perhaps be the means of deporting the author to | a foreign shore for his countfy's good.
 The emperor, Dom Pedro Segundo, Is | known as a patron of everything, at and | literature included. His weakness for | great variety of hobbies, ss well as his superior intelligence, tends to open his ! hear, to aspirants for imperial favors and ! the accompanying stepping stones to fame, but it IS doubtful if he d,scovefs many deserving ones among his o~n subjects. Failures at home do not, how. ever, deter the philan,hfopic Dom from patronizing the literature Of other and more advanced countries, as was recently evidenced by his heading a Brazilian to the Longtellow memorial fund. He may justly be proud Of his own a,tainments. but he can scarcely be Sanguine enough 10 hope for anything remarkable in ietiras BraEileiyo.
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