ace 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
hers