re levied on all natives and foreigners, and
the misery of a siege was coming upon the city.

Rio de Janeiro presented a very different spectacle. The inhabitants
were decorating their town with triumphal arches for the coronation of
their Emperor, who, on the 1st of December, was solemnly crowned in the
chapel of the palace, which serves as the cathedral; and it is no
exaggeration to say, that the whole of southern Brazil presented one
scene of joy.

The ministers, no less than the monarch, were beloved. The finances
began to assume a flourishing aspect: large subscriptions flowed in from
all quarters for the equipment of a fleet; and an invitation had been
sent to Lord Cochrane to command it. The Emperor had accepted the most
moderate income that ever crowned head was contented withal[98], in
order to spare his people. He visited his dock-yards and arsenals
himself; attended business of every kind; encouraged improvements in
every department, and Brazil had begun to assume a most flourishing
aspect. Such was the state of things when I arrived for the second time
in Brazil, along with Lord Cochrane, on the 13th of March, 1823.

[Note 98: Less than twenty thousand pounds sterling a year.]

[Illustration:]

_March 13th, 1823. On board the Col. Allen, at anchor in Rio de
Janeiro_.--One of the most windy and rainy days that I ever remember
seeing in Brazil; so that the beautiful landscape of the harbour is
entirely lost to the strangers from Chile, and I cannot get ashore
either to provide lodgings for myself and my invalid[99], or to assist
my friends in any way. When the officer of the visiting boat came on
board, the captain of the ship showed him into the cabin, and left him
with me. I found he spoke English, and immediately began to enquire of
him concerning the news of Rio. And first he mentioned the coronation of
the Emperor, and then the war at Bahia; on which I questioned him very
closely, on the ground of having formerly visited the place. It appears
that last night only His Imperial Majesty's ships Una[)o], (now Piranga,)
Nitherohy, and Liberal, with a fleet of transports, had returned from
Alagoas, where they had landed reinforcements for General Labatu; whose
head-quarters are at Cachoeira, and who is investing the city of Bahia
closely. General Madeira has a strong force of Portuguese soldiers,
besides 2000 seamen which occasionally do duty ashore, and a
considerable naval force.[100] But it appears, tha