Chapter 56 - Page 2

being seen in the train of their lord, you
would have sworn they were eldest sons of jewelers all, who had
run away with their fathers' cases on their backs.

Contrasted with these lamp-lustres of Barons of Brazil, how waned
the gold lace of our barons of the frigate, the officers of the
gun-room! and compared with the long, jewel-hilted rapiers of the
Marquises, the little dirks of our cadets of noble houses--the
middies--looked like gilded tenpenny nails in their girdles.

But there they stood! Commodore and Emperor, Lieutenants and
Marquises, middies and pages! The brazen band on the poop struck
up; the marine guard presented arms; and high aloft, looking down
on this scene, all _the people_ vigorously hurraed. A top-man
next me on the main-royal-yard removed his hat, and diligently
manipulated his head in honour of the event; but he was so far
out of sight in the clouds, that this ceremony went for nothing.

A great pity it was, that in addition to all these honours, that
admirer of Portuguese literature, Viscount Strangford, of Great
Britain--who, I believe, once went out Ambassador Extraordinary
to the Brazils--it was a pity that he was not present on this
occasion, to yield his tribute of "A Stanza to Braganza!" For our
royal visitor was an undoubted Braganza, allied to nearly all the
great families of Europe. His grandfather, John VI., had been
King of Portugal; his own sister, Maria, was now its queen. He
was, indeed, a distinguished young gentleman, entitled to high
consideration, and that consideration was most cheerfully
accorded him.

He wore a green dress-coat, with one regal morning-star at the
breast, and white pantaloons. In his chapeau was a single,
bright, golden-hued feather of the Imperial Toucan fowl, a
magnificent, omnivorous, broad-billed bandit bird of prey, a
native of Brazil. Its perch is on the loftiest trees, whence it
looks down upon all humbler fowls, and, hawk-like, flies at their
throats. The Toucan once formed part of the savage regalia of the
Indian caciques of the country, and upon the establishment of the
empire, was symbolically retained by the Portuguese sovereigns.

His Imperial Majesty was yet in his youth; rather corpulent, if
anything, with a care-free, pleasant face, and a polite, indifferent,
and easy address. His manners, indeed, were entirely unexceptionable.

Now here, thought I, is a very fine lad, with very fine prospects
before him. He is supreme Emperor of all these Brazils; he has no
stormy night-watches to stand; he can lay abed of mornings just
as long as he pleases. Any gentleman in Rio would be proud of his
personal acquaintance, and the prettiest girl in all South
America would deem herself honoured