Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-07

CASCADE OF ITAMARIrY. NEAR PETRoPoL1s
with balconies for observation has its window
stills carefully cushioned so that the occupants
may hang over them with greater comfort; and
the doctor OF our party facetiously suggests
that probably they are fitted with rings inside
IN which the ladies may hitch their toes to pre-
vent them from tumbling out when more than
half their bodies are protruded. If by rare
chance mansion is situated little distance
from the street an ornamental arbor is con-
structed near the curb in which the family may
sit and See
Life in Petropolis. or Corrego Secco, or Sac
Pedro de Alcantara as the city has been called
at different times in its history, goes on in
much the same fashion as at the winter capital.
There IS no Rua do Onvider, with its gaily
dressed crowds and shops of diamond dealers
and Partisan goods, but there are plenty of
shops here such as they are and fashionable
promenade. which everybody patronizes at the
regulation hours. The town lies in a valley of
three clear mountain rivers. which engineers
and gardeners have so improved upon that
they are the feature of the place.
HOW THE STREETS ARE LAID OUT.
The Rio Piabanha (named from the small
fish that ab6unds in its waters) and its feeding
runnels pour babbling, gravel-foored streams
through the two principal avenues. called res
pectively Emperor and Empress street; and in
the square of Dom Pedro Segundo two streams
coming from opposite directions. unite, after
ward flowing through the ceuters of several
other streets till they are joined by third
stream. which forms a considerable river and
runs TO the limits of the town. whence it leaps
down the mountain side in numerous foaming
cascades on its way to join the broad Parahy ba.
Each city stream has an artificial channel from
ten to fifteen feet deep, and is crossed by
numerous little bridges painted scarlet and
black. Their gentle sloping banks. covered
with the greenest grass. is followed on both
sides by broad. macadamized roads and shaded
by fne old willow trees, interspersed with the
feathery, sweet-scented cedar (cedralIa odor-
ata). which Brazilians never cut, for they
believe II supplied the wood for the true
, Cross" as in England, centuries ago, the tremb-
ling aspen enjoyed that distinction.
1t Is not possible to obtain a view of the
whole town from any one point small it is
numerically. because SO scattered among the
hills and valleys. The yellowish brown palace
OF the emperor, In its twelve-acre setting of
highly ornamented grounds" is the central
point from which all things radiate. Business
Is confined to one short street. Some of the
avenues are comparatively level; others wan
der up and down in the most cratic fashion
There are many spacious and tasteful resi-.
dences-detached villas, kioshs, chalets. cot
tages most of them with scarlet painted roofs
and gardens that are indescribabIy gorgeous,
and roads bordered by country homes and coffee
plantations. stretch away between hills that are
yet covered with virgin forests.
HOTELS AND CHURCHES.
There are half dozO tolerable hotels, in
which the average rate of living is e. 25 per
diem. Most of them are kept by Swiss or
Germans, and some are perfect copies Of the
chalets one sees in Alpine valleys. There are
several Lutheran, Roman Catholic and other
churches, and every year the government
| makes special appropriation for sustaining
| its schools. This was begun when the place
was German colony, and the late Dom Pedro
took deep interest In ii, since il was founded
| by his father and named after himself And
! indeed II is no small matter TO the denizens of
| rocking. fever-haunted Rio to have within five
hours easy journey SO delightful refuge,
| where. as our Yankee friend observed, lone
may enjoy the rare luxury Of sitting in a dry
skin" However Yellow Jack may rage below,
! II has never reached Petropolis, though, as is
well known, it often climbs much higher. Per-
/ haps its absence here is partly due to the fer
| ruginous springs that abound in the locality
and supply what Brazilians particularly
I need-iron for the blood and a rem
| edy for gastric arrangements The latitude
produces not only the palm tree of the tropics,
but tie pine of the north, the aloe and the ce-
| dar, the orange and the apple. More rain falls
here than in Rio, sometimes lasting for days
| together, making roaring torrents Of the little
| rivers, and then We understand why their
| channels were dug so deep. The moisture
! freshens the flowers that cling to the cottage
| walls and makes the air so cool that wood fires
\ are comfortable mornings and evenings
| though after the Spansh-American fashion,
| no homes except those of resident foreigners are
provided with any sort Of heating apparatus.
FORESTS on THE EDGE OF THE TOWN.
| The yiscount of Maua, builder Of the rail-
way, has beautiful villa at the meeting of
two mountain brooks, and others of the best
houses are owned by members of the diplo-
| matte corps and wealthy foreigners. The town
Is barely nifty years old and Brazilians are not
| enterprising in hunting new localities. There
fore, within five minutes walk from your hotel.
| in almost any direction. you mayspfunge into
| primeval solitude, whose Columbus you seem
| to be, where nature 10 at her widest and no
sound is heard but the drowsy hum of insects,
| the whirr Of brilliant wings and maybe the
rustic Of a serpent gliding through the thickets
Within the limits OF the town were three conf
| cal hills, each about 500 feet high, covered
| from base to apex with verdant forests, in
| which the pale yellow OF the banana il mingled
with the dark green Of Wild bamboo. Far q