BRITISH

No. XI.

GLASGOW, 11TH MONTH, 1st, 1856.

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE,

THE celebrated authoress of Uncle Tom's Cabin, has paid a quiet visit to this country, having carefully avoided the least approach to the excitement which attended her former tour. Her health, though stronger, not being equal to much exertion, her visit this time was to friends and interesting places, rather than to the public. She was, however, very glad to meet anti-slavery friends, when opportunity offered; and in Edinburgh she had a social interview with the Ladies' Emancipation Committee, whom she encouraged to pursue their efforts for the cause of the slave She gave them much interesting information respecting the present exciting state of the question in America, in which she takes a deep and absorbing interest. She spoke of the different parties in that country, referring back to the framing of the constitution to explain their origin. The constitution was framed with some express provisions for the benefit of the slaveholders, such as permitting them to have votes in the representation, in proportion to the number of their slaves, who are represented as three-fifths. These, with the immense cultivation of cotton, have tended to increase the number of slaves; but, at the same time, excessive cultivation has exhausted and impoverished the soil of the slave states-hence, the planters have been obliged to look out for fresh territory to which to transfer their labourers, and are on the alert to grasp for their own, every fresh annexation to the United States. This grasping disposition has aroused to meet it a spirit of determined opposition, which, in one manifestation, has formed itself into the free soil party, which has for its object to prevent the extension of slavery to any new states, with the belief that if the system is confined within its present limits it must die out. This is the party to which Fremont, the anti-slavery Presidential candidate, belongs. H. B. Stowe freely admitted that he would have no power over existing slavery, but she would rejoice in his election as an evidence of improved public opinion, and because it would prevent the extension of slavery to Kansas, by the president's disallowing the votes of the Missourian invaders, which alone caused the pro-slavery party to assume the majority in the decision of the inhabitants, respecting the admission of the state to the union; he

VOL. XIV.

would also have the power of filling all the public state offices, and it would be of essential importance to have these filled by anti-slavery men.

H. B. Stowe then spoke of that party of abolitionists who conscientiously decline to vote under the constitution. She showed how important their position is; they bear aloft uncompromisingly the antislavery Standard, unswayed by the temptations of politics; and by their earnest indefatigable labours they lead public sentiment on the question, and are instrumental in awakening the feeling that is the necessary preparation for all movements on behalf of the slave. Theirs is a deeper work than that of other parties: they collect valuable documentary evidence, from which they are ever ready and willing to give forth information. Their recent issue of tracts has been of much value, and their organ, the National Anti-slavery Standard, is an excellent and useful paper. She encouraged those friends who contribute to the support of this society through the Boston Bazaar, by assuring them, that she believed the proceeds of the bazaar were scrupulously and wisely applied to very important operations in the cause, under the direction of the executive committee, a noble disinterested band of philanthropists.

She said that the sad shortcomings of the American church had called forth severe denunciations from this society, which had led to the accusation of infidelity against it-a charge which, as a whole, was quite inapplicable. She did not mean to say there were not men in that society in whose opinions she entirely disagreed; but while they acceded to a rule of the society to bring forward no irrelevant discussions on the anti-slavery platform, they were free to work alongside of others for the one object in view.

H. B. Stowe thanked those friends who aided the fugitives in their escape from slavery by contributions to vigilance committees. She assured them these committees have some appreciable effect on the general question, by rendering slave" property" more insecure, and consequently weakening the hold of masters upon it. She also thanked those who manifested an interest in the elevation of the coloured people by contributions to F. Douglass' paper, or to their schools. She gave an interesting sketch of Miss Miner's school at Washington, which she considers an impor

tant agency. She also encouraged those who united in the Free Labour Movement, as another branch of the great agitation. For all she expressed gratitude, in the persuasion that every effort honestly undertaken on behalf of the slave in this country, is of the utmost value to the cause in America.

A FEW DAYS AT RIO DE JANEIRO.
(Continued from page 254.)

I WAS much amused to see the style in which ladies,
young and old, came to market to make purchases of
fish, fowl, vegetables, &c., &c. The young ladies were
always arrayed in costly silk or satinet dresses, with
low bodies and short sleeves, the breasts and sleeves
being edged with fine lace; satin slippers, sometimes
white, sometimes coloured; bareheaded, with the hair
tastefully put up; white gloves; a parasol of very
gaudy coloured silk; and a liberal, often profuse, sup-
ply of trinkets, such as massive gold armlets, rings,
chains, brooches, &c., &c.; and followed always by one,
sometimes by two, domestic slaves. The outfits of the
old ladies was quite as stylish, though different in
material and the mode of displaying it. The bare
head, however, is peculiar to both old and young; but
the older ladies generally carry a large lightly framed
silk umbrella, instead of the little parasol. When an
article requires to be handled, either before or after
purchase, the slave has to do it; indeed, he does all,
even to the dealing out of the "dumps"-the ladies
merely striking the bargain, and seeing the requisite
sum paid.

Having one day been taken, along with some others, to a French restaurant, in one of the back streets, we had a very nice dinner, and cheap withal. Next day I went alone, to the same shop, wishing to repeat the dose. On trying to order my dinner, I found to my astonishment, that not one could speak to me. In this dilemma I took up the bill of fare, and managed to get the waiter to comprehend my first want: this done, I wished fried eggs and shrimps. Looking again at the bill, I thought I had fixed on the right thing, and pointed it out to the waiter. Judge of my astonishment on finding that instead of shrimps I had ordered "eggs and snails!" Notwithstanding, I ate and found them to be excellent. The snails used in Rio are reared on purpose for consumption, and are the little shelless slug found in such numbers on the cabbages in England.

Like the English shilling, a milreis (2s. 6d.) is almost a universal piece in Rio. Eggs, a milreis per dozen; fowls, a milreis each; hair-cutting, a milreis in the principal hairdressers', and ten dumps in the second rate. In connection with hair-cutting, I may relate what befell myself in Rio, as an illustration of the universally talkative nature of barbers. Walking into a very nice shop in a quiet street, I told the knight of the shears, by signs, what I wanted, pointing to his own hair which was very neatly cut. Sitting down, he fell to work, and went on snick, snick, snick, chatting to me all the time. Now and then I told him to be sure not to take too much off, when he talked all the faster. At last I rose and looked in the glass, when lo! my head was completely shorn! There was no use talking, however, so I paid my ten dumps and

came off.

In Rio, the Roman Catholic religion prevails. In all quarters there are open chapels where service is almost constantly going on-week-day and Sunday. The chapel which the emperor attends, being the most gorgeous, I went to it several times for an hour in the evening, to hear the music and see the pageants. The interior surpassed all my conceptions, the skill of the painter, the sculptor, the embroiderer, and other

The

artists having been, to all appearance, exhausted in its
decoration. Of the service, not being able to under-
stand the language, I can say but little. Judging,
however, from the appearance of most of the wor-
shippers around me, I would say that it did not touch
the heart, for a smile or titter was visible throughout
the proceedings on the faces of the majority.
music, both vocal and instrumental, was charming,
but theatrical in character. The singers, I believe,
belonged chiefly to the opera. The processions to and
from the altar were very imposing, the glare of light
from almost innumerable wax candles heightening
the effect. As to the paintings, representing, as they
did, the chief events in our Saviour's history, from his
birth in the manger to his death on the cross, they
were chef d'œuvres as works of art; but viewed as
objects of worship, they overwhelmed my mind with
indescribable feelings of pity for the objects of such
alienation from the only true Hearer of prayer. The
scene of the crucifixion which forms the altar-piece, is
an extremely large painting. On entering the chapel
this cannot be seen, but at a particular part of the
service a gorgeous curtain is suddenly withdrawn, and
the picture displayed to view, surrounded by a host
of priests and their assistants, burning incense and
singing. The raising of the screen is the signal for a
burst of music from the orchestra, and for bowing,
crossing, and prostration of the person, on the part of
the audience. Some minor acts of bell-ringing, candle-
lighting, &c., wind up the proceedings.

Those nights on which the emperor and empress attend are always grand. Their intention of being present is intimated by the letting off of fireworks, and the illumination of the front of the chapel, up to the very summit, with lamps, such as may be seen on royal birth-nights in London amongst the west end tradesmen. The fire works being somewhat peculiar, I shall endeavour to give an idea of them. Fancy a bamboo of immense thickness and length placed upright, immediately opposite to the principal entrance of the chapel. This pole is wound around with what appears to be a whitish cord, and at certain distances there are tulip-shaped lumps about the size of an ordinary breakfast-cup, only solid, which hang like apples on a tree. This erection strikes a stranger at first as rather peculiar, and puzzles him not a little to fancy what it can be; by and by, however, a small thread of smoke is seen to issue from the seeming cord, and presently one of the lumps drops, like a ripe apple, to the earth: this almost immediately explodes with a loud report, and a force which shakes the solid street. Another and another falls until the pole is bare, and report follows report with such regularity as leads one, when at a distance, to suppose the discharge proceeds from field-pieces at a review. Two or three of these poles are used each grand week night; and on Sundays, at set periods during the day, the incessant bang, bang, bang is kept up. Following each discharge of fireworks, falls sweetly on the ear a chime of music from little bells in the chapel tower, and then the services begin again. If true religion consists in noise and smoke, and lighting candles and blowing them out again, and crossing, kneeling, bowing, incenseburning, and what to us sober-thinking Protestants seems tom-foolery, then are the people of Rio the most religious in the world.

Having learned one day, that the emperor would attend chapel that evening, I resolved to have a look at him. As the appointed hour approached, putting a bold front on the affair, I marched past the sentinel into the lobby of the palace, and took my station, with other three passengers, within a short distance of the foot of the grand staircase. Presently the officers of state in their brilliant uniforms began to

move, and down came the royal pair. Of course, as royalty approached, we all uncovered, and, seeing us, they both bowed. At this time an idea seemed to have come into the mind of the emperor, for he made a dead pause for a moment, just where we stood, bowed a second time, and smiled most condescendingly, the empress also graciously recognizing us, and then, walking on, we were left in amazement.

driver lifted up his whip with an ominous twirl, and came over one of the foremost mules with such goodwill as almost to upset me, and at the same time take a piece of flesh from the poor animal's flank! The whip used by the driver resembled very much those used in Gordon Cumming's South-African exhibition, but was scarcely so heavy. In this way "coachee" from time to time urged on his four-in-hand, while I had to hold on with both hands to prevent myself from being unseated; so that from the rough roads and the unyielding nature of the vehicle itself, I was well nigh kuocked all of a heap with my five-penny ride. Having enough to do in holding on, I never thought of anything else, when, lo! I received such a bang on the front of my hat as to drive it in, and almost to land me on the street! On looking up to see who or what had struck me with such force, I discovered that the driver had brought me in contact with one of the ponderous swinging lamps used for lighting the streets at night, and which hang far out into the carriage way.

To help to pass a leisure hour, I went one afternoon along with the same three fellow-voyagers to the principal monastery in Rio, which stands prominently on the top of a hill, close by the navy yard. The buildings are spacious, and cover a great extent of ground. I must confess, however, that I am inadequate to the task of a minute description. There silence reigns--a silence which settles down over one's spirit like a chill November fog, and makes the very blood run cold. On entering within the walls, we were met by two fine little slave youths--one a quiet, thoughtful child of about five years, the other, a rollicking boy full of life and glee, and seemingly two years older. He went hounding along as if made of India rubber, Having reached the country by this conveyance, I while his companion walked with the staid step of a spent several hours in a ramble, seeing many pretty friar. Except this boy and a pretty humming-bird retired spots amongst the hills, the houses more rewhich we saw flitting from flower to flower, we be-sembling pictures than anything else. How the proheld few objects that could be said to have life, or at prietors manage to get the hills cut and carved into least its signs, in them; every one about the place such fanciful shapes, to receive many of their toy-like moved like automata, or the figures in front of a dwellings, I am at a loss to understand, for they surGerman clock. passed all my previous conceptions of the romantic. Everything exteriorly seems designed for show; as to interiors I can say nothing. During my stroll I came upon a party of female domestic slaves, who were washing clothes and bleaching them in the broiling sun, while men assisted to hang up such as had passed through the various operations. They do not use tubs, but a large stone trough, something like a plunge-bath. The clothes to be cleaned were spread out on a sloping ledge, soaped over, and the process of washing began by rubbing the articles together, then dipping in the water, which is used cold. A man stood by, and assisted in the wringing and shaking parts of the business.

At the principal entrance we were met by a friar, as I conjectured from the robes he wore, who motioned us to follow him. This we did in silence, and were led through dimly-lighted halls and dark passages, then up a long gloomy stair leading to a balcony, to which our conductor merely pointed. We went out and had a full view of Rio and its magnificent bay and harbour, lying bathed in sunlight at our feet. Here we began to breathe more freely, while we spoke to each other in half-suppressed whispers, accompanied by certain gestures with the hands and fingers, our attendant waiting by us as motionless as a statue. After feasting our eyes for a time, we stepped in again, and the procession once more moved on in solemn silence.

Passing through an immensely long stone passage, where every step and every breath were distinctly heard, and produced anything but agreeable feelings, as we looked upon the massive iron-bound doors, to the right and to the left, and thought of their unfortunate inmates, we were ushered into the chapel, where our conductor left us alone for a little. Here the "religious light" was "dim" enough in all reason. Though the sun shone in all his glory outside, we had almost to grope our way. After a time, however, the eye became more accustomed to the sombre shade, and we examined the pictures, images, books, carvings, embroidery, &c., &c., with much interest, the building being of considerable antiquity. Presently in stalked our ghostly guide, which was the signal for our onward progress; so off we set again, down stairs, along passages, through halls, across a square in the centre of the building, to the door by which we had entered, where our silent friend "bowed us out;" and, to our no small satisfaction, we stood once more in the free air of heaven-the glorious orb of day pouring down upon us his gladdening and life-giving rays.

The Rio omnibus and waggon are amongst the most clumsy, break-down affairs you could look upon. Mules are used to draw the former, and oxen the latter. For the fun of the thing, I took my seat one fine sunny afternoon on the outside of a suburban omnibus, determined to have five dumps' worth of shaking. In a few minutes off went the machine; the four mules seeming rather unwilling to set out, the

The Rua do Ouvidor is the Regent Street of Rio. The contents of the shops are the most recherché and magnificent I have ever seen. The most fashionable London emporium never presented a finer display of the products of the loom than may be viewed in every second window in this street. As to shops in which "feather flowers" and "shell flowers" are made and exhibited, they are quite gorgeous. Many little bouquets of four or five "feather flowers" sell as high as £5 or £6, and are, as specimens of art, well worth the money. Even this street, however, like all the rest, is very narrow, and down its centre runs a stream of impure water, the gutter being in that position instead of at the sides, as in England.

Britain! thour't my home, my rest:
My own land, I love thee best!"

-Sydney Morning Herald.

THOMAS STORY.

(Continued from page 249.)

ON the 2d day of the 1st Month, 1693, we came to Kintore, where, in our road towards Inverness, we had seen one John Gellie of whom take this account: he was a priest's son (by Mary, sister of Andrew Jeffrey, of Kingswells, an eminent Friend), and had been convinced of Truth some years, and had behaved as becomes Truth, so far as could be observed by his neighbours: and Aaron Atkinson (a young man belonging to the border meeting in Cumberland, who had lately come forth with a testimony to Truth, being