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1864.]
Brazil and Brazilian Society.
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To those whoso power they now must own,had e'er each other known.Thus free again the oarsmen boreTheir barge upon the breaking shore,For they determined now to bringThe lovers to the Moorish King,From whom they deemed Fineo's skillAnd worth would gain deserving will;And more desired, that beauty's prizeWould prove more tempting to the eyesOf sovereignty than gold or grace.Fiamma thus might find a placeBeside the harem-lights that shedSuch pleasure round their kingdom's head.x.But now the lovers saw againWithin their hearts a doubl, and whenThey could conveive what might befall Their presence on a foreign shore—That separation would recall The ills that marred their life before,They welcomed not their present state,But dared the more to question fate.They came before the King at last,And kneeling, they their troubles castAt the feet of all his pomp and power.Their honor moved him from that hour;And when their story had revealedThe misery that lay concealedSo long within their faithful breasts,That sympathy which so investsA monarch's virtue when distressComes clothed in truth's most simple dress,Prevailed against the Moorish heart:He gave them escort to departTo Italy's fair shores, and liveIn all the joy such love can give.The feuds and follies which so long Requited envy, not at lastSank to the burden of this song— A simple relic of the past;The union of this faith and loveThe glory of the Muse must prove,Who dared so much of life to drawIn Finco and his Fiamma.Alfred Leonardson.

BRAZIL AND BRAZILIAN SOCIETY.

TRANSLATED FROM THE REVUE DES DEUX MONDES, BY ASHER HALL.

INTRODUCTORY.

Nearly four centuries have elapsed since Pedro Alvarez Cabral took possession of the Southern portion of the New World in the name of the crown of Portugal; yet, save in a few general aspects of its social and moral history, and excepting the seaports upon its coast daily visited by the commerce of the world, Brazil is very imperfectly known. This is not a matter of surprise, for the colonist is always inclined to take up his abode on the coast or at the mouths of rivers. The exploitation of mineral wealth only has drawn a few scattered groups of population to certain points in the interior. As for those travellers whose love of science brings them to this immense continent at long intervals, their observations, nearly always buried in special treatises, are lost to most readers. There remains to be traced a faithful picture of social life in Brazil; to show where, amid the various parts of that empire, the work of civilization has progressed. Perhaps a sojourn of several years in that country may have given us some title to attempt the task. The same picture must embrace the entire creole society, from the wealthy planter to the humble feitor or overseer, and must especially reproduce the peculiar characteristics of each of the various classes. But this society, the offspring of conquest, is based upon slavery. The white has pressed back the Indian, and with the lash bends the negro to the earth. Previously, therefore, to studying the industrial and political forces of the nation in the fazenzu, or interior development, and in the cidade or city, it is necessary to acquaint

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