shady gardens around the city. No progress had been made in
clearing the second-growth forest which had grown over the once
cultivated grounds, and now reached the end of all the suburban
streets. The place had the aspect of one which had seen better
days; the public buildings, including the palaces of the
President and Bishop, the cathedral, the principal churches and
convents, all seemed constructed on a scale of grandeur far
beyond the present requirements of the city. Streets full of
extensive private residences, built in the Italian style of
architecture, were in a neglected condition, weeds and
flourishing young trees growing from large cracks in the masonry.
The large public squares were overgrown with weeds and
impassable, on account of the swampy places which occupied
portions of their areas. Commerce, however, was now beginning to
revive, and before I left the country I saw great improvements,
as I shall have to relate towards the conclusion of this
narrative.

The province of which Para is the capital, was at the time I
allude to, the most extensive in the Brazilian empire, being
about 1560 miles in length from east to west, and about 600 in
breadth. Since that date--namely in 1853--it has been divided
into two by the separation of the Upper Amazons as a distinct
province. It formerly constituted a section, capitania, or
governorship of the Portuguese colony. Originally it was well
peopled by Indians, varying much in social condition according to
their tribe, but all exhibiting the same general physical
characters, which are those of the American red man, somewhat
modified by long residence in an equatorial forest country.