"For the first two miles of its course the Rua de Nazareth is lined with pretty dwelling-houses, and every year there is an addition to the number. Few avenues that we have seen are more picturesque than this. The sidewalks are shaded with tropical trees, and the air is filled with the odor of lemon and orange blossoms, together with similar floral perfumes. In our morning's ride we saw, on this avenue, and on some of the streets leading from it, not less than a dozen varieties of trees peculiar to the region of the equator, and we needed to shut our eyes only for a moment to imagine ourselves again in Singapore or beneath the tropical sky of Ceylon.
[Illustration: STREET IN PARA WITH SILK-COTTON TREES.]
"Orange and lemon trees alternated with traveller's palms and silk-cotton trees, and these again with the producers of the almond and cocoa-nut. One of the most attractive of the arboreal ornaments is the silk-cotton tree; it has a broad base, tapering rapidly towards the top, where it spreads out into a leafy tuft like that of the palm. It is an evergreen, and the changes of the seasons make no difference in its foliage. The product that gives the name to the tree is a species of cotton, as soft as silk; it can be spun and woven, and is used by the Indians for wrapping the arrows of their blow-guns to prevent the escape of air when the weapon is discharged.
"We came to the Largo de Nazareth, or Nazareth Square, which must have been named by a Hibernian, as it is round, and not rectangular. It contains the church and chapel where Our Lady of Nazareth is worshipped; on our return from the end of the railway we stopped at the square and visited the revered place. What struck us particularly was the great number of votive offerings on the walls of the church and chapel; they represent heads and limbs of the faithful who have been cured of diseases through the interposition of the patron saint of the edifice. We had seen the same sort of things in European churches, but the large number at Para seems to indicate that the cures have been as numerous as they are miraculous.
"The festival of Our Lady of Nazareth occurs in October, and the event draws great numbers of people to Para from all the provinces of the Amazon. It lasts for two weeks, and during that time the square is crowded, especially at night, and many of the scenes that are witnessed at that period are anything but pious. There are many festivals during the course of the year, somewhat to the inconvenience of visitors, as it is the rule to close the government offices on these days, and no business of an official character can be transacted. Many of the laboring classes refuse to work on saints' days, and only those who are in debt to their employers can be required to do so.