But as most of them are obtained in this way, it may be doubted whether the result is a very strong evidence of patriotism. The abuses mentioned above are not, however, confined to these remote regions.[84] It is not uncommon, even in the more populous and central parts of Brazil, to meet recruits on the road, so-called volunteers, chained two and two by the neck like criminals, under an armed guard. When we first met a squad of men under these circumstances, on the Juiz de Fora road, we supposed them to be deserters, but the Brazilians who were with us, and who seemed deeply mortified at the circumstance, said that they were no doubt ordinary recruits, arrested without inquiry on the one side, or power of resistance on the other. They asserted that this mode of recruiting was illegal, but that their chains would be taken off before entering the city, and no questions asked. A Brazilian told me that he had known an instance in which a personal pique against an enemy had been gratified by pointing out its object to the recruiting officer, who had the man at once enlisted, though a large family was entirely dependent upon him. Our informant seemed to know no redress for tyranny like this. The hospitality we have received in Brazil, the sympathy shown to Mr. Agassiz in his scientific undertakings, as well as our own sentiments of gratitude and affection for our many friends here, forbid us to enter into any criticism of Brazilian manners or habits which could have a personal application. Neither do I believe that a few months’ residence in a country entitles any one to a judgment upon the national character of its people. Yet there are certain features of Brazilian institutions and politics which cannot but strike a stranger unfavorably, and which explain the complaints one constantly hears from foreign residents. The exceedingly liberal constitution, borrowed in great part from our own, prepares one to expect the largest practical liberty. To a degree this exists; there is no censorship of the press; there is no constraint upon the exercise of any man’s religion; nominally, there is absolute freedom of thought and belief. But in the practical working of the laws there is a very arbitrary element, and a petty tyranny of the police against which there seems to be no appeal. There is, in short, an utter want of harmony between the institutions and the actual condition of the people. May it not be, that a borrowed constitution, in no way the growth of the soil, is, after all, like an ill-fitting garment, not made for the wearer, and hanging loosely upon him? There can be no organic relation between a truly liberal form of government and a people for whom, taking them as a whole, little or no education is provided, whose religion is administered by a corrupt clergy, and who, whether white or black, are brought up under the influence of slavery. Liberty will not abide in the laws alone; it must have its life in the desire of the nation, its