in the certainty of promotion. In fact, the Negro and his diamond proceeded on their way in a flash of glory.

When the time came for him to be admitted into the royal presence, the dusky donor flung himself at the feet of the Prince, and handed over his gem. The gasp of

astonishment with which this was viewed must, in one sense, have repaid the poor man for all his travels. The thing was, apparently, a marvelous round diamond, of nearly a pound in weight! Therefore the stone was worth millions of pounds sterling!

A tremor of rejoicing filled the room in which it shone, and presently the astonishing gem was sent to be locked up under a strong guard. Presently also, alas! suspicions as to the genuineness of this gargantuan jewel became aroused, and Mawe himself was asked by the Conde de Linhares to view it. The visitor was led through apartments hung with scarlet and gold until he came to one abounding in strong chests, each of which possessed three keys, held by three different personages.

From the recesses of one of these the great jewel was produced, and Mawe, who appears to have been something of an expert, was obliged, somewhat to his embarrassment, to announce the thing a mere worthless crystal! The shining bubble had burst, and so had the fame of the Negro! The unfortunate black returned to his home minus his escort of soldiers, and without a single decoration. He was doubtless an honest man, who regretted the day he had dabbled in supposed jewelery!

This Mr. Mawe, it may be mentioned, experienced some sufficiently amusing adventures on his travels into the unsophisticated interior of Brazil. Thus in 1809 at the small town of Barbacena he found himself an object of intense curiosity. The shops of the place were stocked with British goods-articles which the inhabitants had already learned to regard with admiration. But never before had they had the opportunity of gazing upon an Englishman-one of those curious creatures capable of

manufacturing these marvelous objects which of late had lit down upon them from the skies-and they were determined to make the most of their time!

In this respect Walsh utters some remarks concerning the town of Villa Rica, which I much doubt could be repeated with the same fervor to-day. The place, he says, had shops "filled with a great variety and good assortment of all kinds of ware; cotton goods from Manchester, broad-cloths from Yorkshire, stockings from Nottingham, hats from London, and cutlery from Sheffield, actually sold in the heart of the mountains of South America, as abundant and almost as cheap, as in the towns where they were manufactured; and when I saw about me everywhere the produce of the labor of our hands, I could not help exclaiming with Æneas, and with a more literal application, Quae regio in terris nostri non plena laboris."

Returning to the topic of the Brazilian mines, it may be said that some seventy miles to the north of this town of Villa Rica were the Gongo Soco mines, which, together with some other properties of the kind, were purchased in 1825 by the Imperial Brazilian Mining Association, of London. At one time no less than one hundred and eighty British miners were working at the spot, which, it was hoped, would soon expand into a regular Cornish village in the interior of Brazil. The enterprise was under the supervision of a Mr. Tregoning and a Captain Lyons, the latter presumably a minecaptain. A church was begun at the place, and the Bishop of London appointed a chaplain to proceed there. But the expectations to which the venture gave birth do not seem ever to have been realized.

CHAPTER XVII

THE BRITISH IN BRAZIL (IV)

Establishment of the Brazilian regular army-Arrival of British officers -The introduction of the Irish soldier-agriculturists-Enthusiasm with which the proposal was received in Ireland-The voyage to the South-Arrival of the Irish in Brazil-Disappointment which awaited them there-Bitter experiences of the newcomers-Friction between the Irish and the negroes-Aggressive attitude of the latter—Affrays in the streets of Ric-The species of Justice meted out to the IrishTheir impossible siuation-The Emperor Pedro and the Hibernian immigrants-Curious incident at Mass-Rising of the Irish-Scenes in the streets of the capital-Attitude of the authorities-Panic-stricken officials-Work of the rabble-End of the insurrection-A number of the Irish return to their own country-Ultimate success of those who remained-Walsh's description of an idyllic homestead-Experiences of some foreign officers in the Brazilian regular army-Admiral Grenfell His early days and career in South America-He joins the Brazilian navy-His services against Argentina and the Southern rebels-As rear-admiral, he becomes Consul-General to Great Britain -Further services in Brazil and England-Impetuosity of the Emperor Pedro I-His eccentricity in private life-How he provided a new constitution for Portugal within a week-The fount of his knowledge of the English language-The unconscious linguistic solecisms of the royal couple.

HE reorganization of the Brazilian forces on the withdrawal of the European troops had been no

T

light matter. On the departure of the Portuguese battalions the sole national force of Brazil was the militia, a very moderately efficient body. Strenuous efforts were made, and with unusual promptness a battalion of artillery was formed of freed blacks, while a body of a thousand men was collected and sent to Bahia. In the province of Minas Geræs a cavalry regiment of six hundred men was equipped, and thus was established the beginning of the regular army of Brazil.

In many respects, the Brazilians themselves, that is

to say, the descendants of the European Portuguese, were fiery enough when roused; but the inevitable indolence brought about by the climate did not tend toward enthusiastic volunteering and to smartness in maneuvering or drill. Pedro himself took a very active interest in the matter, and he is said to have been almost childishly pleased at the formation of a small corps of cavalry.

A Colonel Bacon and a few other officers arrived from England for the purpose of organizing this, and very soon the nucleus of a cavalry regiment was established which was called the "Queen's Lancers." The chief element, nevertheless, from which the Brazilian army was constituted was that of the negro, whose black battalions and officers have already been referred to.

It was not long before trouble arose with the neighboring Spanish-speaking republic of Argentina. The old Spanish province of the Banda Oriental constituted the bone of contention. Hostilities broke out, and in order to increase the prestige of the Brazilian army the ministers determined to offer inducements to Europeans to enlist. A considerable number of German troops were secured in this fashion, but the most dramatic, and, indeed, tragic, of all the episodes of the kind was provided by the unfortunate Irish who were induced to come out to Brazil in 1828 in the double capacity of agriculturists and soldiers.

The terms of the experiment certainly sounded alluring to the poverty-stricken Irish peasants. The Brazilian government proclaimed that every man was to receive pay equal to one shilling per day, as well as one pound of beef and one pound of bread as rations. In return, the immigrants were to be employed four hours each day in learning military exercises. They were to be ready to act as soldiers at any time, but should not be sent out of the Province of Rio unless in the time of war and invasion. At the end of five years they were to be discharged from military service and each was to become a

farmer, pure and simple, and to have fifty acres of land assigned to him. However generous may have been the intentions of the Brazilian Government it is probably unnecessary to explain that fifty acres sound, and mean, far more in Ireland than in Brazil!

This proclamation, affixed to chapel doors in Cork, was received by the poor folk with exuberant joy, and the Irish peasantry said good-by to their pigs and peats, and prepared to flock to Brazil. Many even sold their farms and bought new agricultural implements with the proceeds, imagining that their military service was to be something in the style of the local yeomanry, and that their farming operations might begin at once.

There may have been a few undesirable characters among them, but the majority of the two thousand four hundred who proceeded to Brazil, and to an unfortunate fate, were decent and admirable folk, willing to work and, in fact, an excellent type of colonist. Among their number, too, were skilled mechanics, who carried their tools with them; most desirable immigrants, these.

These honest folk from the emerald isle took up the invitation of the Brazilian Government, and set out across the ocean, prepared to carry out every ounce of their share of the contract. Doubtless the news sent home from time to time from their flourishing kindred in the pastures of the river Plate had increased their confidence, and had made them bold enough to uproot themselves and their families for this momentous venture.

So this great company of agricultural Irish set sail. Their spirits rose when they found that the vessels which awaited them were as well found and as bountifully provisioned as could possibly have been expected. So it was with high hopes that they sweltered in the tropics, braved the terrors of the doldrums, and eventually sailed between the peaks which guard the entrance of the beautiful harbor of Rio.

They had arrived, and with their arrival sounded their