The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-08-26

served several negro men in priestly
| robes. We convcrsed with one al
these in sort Of mixed Portuguese,
Spanish and French, and found him
quite intelligent. The private houses
here are handsomer than in any city we
have yet seen and the gardens OF
bright Brazilian flowers are suprcmcly
charming. Imagine gigantic cact, 100
feet high The beast Of burden are
fine fat oxen and very small mules and
horses. The oxen draw carts heavily
laden, while the mules and horses besr
their burdens saddle bag fashion-from
huge baskets of fruits and vegetables to
two bales Of cotton, one on either side.
The inhabitants evidently improve in
appearance and intelligence as we travel
further South. At Pernambuco we are
joined by pleasant gentleman, who is o
deputy Of the National Assembly now
in session at Rio.
Adieu to Pcrnanbuco! And again on
the bosom Of the deep sea. This time
we steer out into waters Of the darkest
blue, indicative Of great depth, and
quite out of sight Of land. A merciful
Providence has brought US safely
through thus far, and realizing Gods
hand-great and good-more than At
any period Of my life, lay me down in
my narrow n berth in peace and trust.
On the 4th Of July, our national holi-
day, at 6 o'clock in the morning, while
hundreds Of church bells were Ginning
,nusicaly for early mass, Bahia, the Sec
ond city of the great Brazilian empire,
shone before our wave weary eyes in all
its superb beauty. The lovely bay of
All Saints. like ripping lake, lay be-
fore us, thickly lotted with shipping of
every cline. The greater part Of this
bay's semicircle is occupied by the old
Portuguese city OF Gan Salvador, called,
in these present times, Bahia, which
means bay. Viewed from the water, it
is Of magnificent proportions, and pic
turesque indeed. II is divided into two
distinct parts. The upper part stands
upon well-marked elevation, reached
from the lower half by steep crooked
streets, and also by means of gigantic
modern elevator. Upon this elevator
you pay four cents lift. Here was an
other novel and pleasant episode. Co
ing up from dirty business city below,
to an elegant and airy city above, in an
elevator! The lower city is devoted to
business and the lower classes. Its
characteristics. are stores, wharves, i'm
mense warehouses, and badly paw cd,
dirty street, four miles long, extending
the whole length. In the upper city
are hundreds of elegant residences, gov
crnment buildings, colleges, converts,
churches and promenades, Bahia con-
tains 10000 inhsbitsnts. Among 9th
er public works, We looked at a monu-
ment to Sohn vi, first royal governor
Of Brazil. The churches and converts
arc enormously costly. Here We got
delicious scedless orangcs-a speciality
Of the place. Another specially is the
use Of the old-fashioned sedan chair-in
lieu of the carriages, many of the
streets being steep, crooked and almost
impassablc. took turn in a sedan
chair, and tried to imagine myself a
belle Of the time Of Quecne Anne and
George 1st. The Bshian negress is also
picturcsqe. She wears costume like
a senator Of ancient Romr-a tosa.
At Bahir, the fear Of yellow fever
again hurried our movements and
again, as at Para, looked with longing
eyes Mt the great and handsome opera
house, brilliantly illuminated OH account
Of some extra performance. Not only
French, but often frst-class Italian
troupes come here. But We must no,
spend night in the midst Of yellow &C.
yer. Consequently VIC. again tread this,
monotonous gang plank, and are soon
"rockcd in the cradle of the deep"
Between Bahia and Rio we draw q
veil-bccause the monotony Of sea life
is unintcrosting alike to narrator and
reader.
On the 14th July We dcscry bankx oi
beautiful blue and green mountains,
which denote an early arrival at haven
Of rest-Rio Janerio, the capital Of the
great western empire where NC need
have no serious fear Of yellow fever
and where, after month on the ocean
We may sleep on bed-and drink fresh
milk. even though it be Mt 25 cents q
pint. But we feel sincere regret at hav.
ing to separate SO soon from the pleas,
ant passengers of various natiomslities,
with whom we have been brought into
such close fellowship Of late. On,
ships commander, Captain Beers, hi.
daughter. and her acco Nplished friend
from Brooklyn, Miss Risk, have contrib.