vised to try the waters of Aix, I wrote
to the gentleman my design, and that I would go off my road as far as
Nismes, under the pretext of seeing the antiquities of that place, if
he would meet me there. He met me, and the following is the sum of the
information I received from him: "Brazil contains as many inhabitants
as Portugal. They are, 1. Portuguese. 2. Native whites. 3. Black and
mulatto slaves. 4. Indians, civilized and savage. 1. The Portuguese are
few in number, mostly married there, have lost sight of their native
country, as well as the prospect of returning to it, and are disposed
to become independent. 2. The native whites form the body of their
nation. 3. The slaves are as numerous as the free. 4. The civilized
Indians have no energy, and the savage would not meddle. There are
twenty thousand regular troops. Originally these were Portuguese. But
as they died off, they were replaced by natives, so that these compose
at present the mass of the troops, and may be counted on by their
native country. The officers are partly Portuguese, partly Brazilians;
their bravery is not doubted, and they understand the parade, but not
the science of their profession. They have no bias for Portugal, but no
energy either for anything. The priests are partly Portuguese, partly
Brazilians, and will not interest themselves much. The Noblesse are
scarcely known as such. They will, in no manner, be distinguished from
the people. The men of letters are those most desirous of a revolution.
The people are not much under the influence of their priests, most of
them read and write, possess arms, and are in the habit of using them
for hunting. The slaves will take the side of their masters. In short,
as to the question of revolution, there is but one mind in that
country. But there appears no person capable of conducting a
revolution, or willing to venture himself at its head, without the aid
of some powerful nation, as the people of their own might fail them.
There is no printing press in Brazil. They consider the North American
revolution as a precedent for theirs. They look to the United States as
most likely to give them honest support, and, from a variety of
considerations, have the strongest prejudices in our favor. This
informant is a native and inhabitant of Rio Janeiro, the present
metropolis, which contains fifty thousand inhabitants, knows well St.
Salvador, the former one, and the mines d'or, which are in the centre
of the