The new Emperor was the antithesis of his father in tastes and disposition. Whereas the father was a sportsman, the son was a student and an omnivorous reader. The first Pedro was a man of the world, the second was the inverse. He was a conscientious monarch, and aimed to decide all questions justly. He was respectful toward religion, but the priesthood had no hold upon him. Like his father he was democratic in his manners, but was negligent in his dress and cared naught for the glitter of a court. He would rather read a favourite author than preside over a state dinner. He kept his ear to the ground, and thus generally knew the state of public opinion. The people loved him, and it was this fact alone that forefended a republic for so many years. They sometimes laughed at his eccentricities, but they respected his opinion; they had confidence in the honesty of his purpose, which was a sincere compliment to him. Both internal and external peace generally reigned during the rule of Dom Pedro II. Rio Grande do Sul, that independent and ebullient province, remained in arms for several years, and it was not thoroughly subjected until 1845. This civil war had lasted ten years. The government aided Uruguay in her fight against the Argentine dictator, Rosas, but emerged from this fight with a number of advantages gained. The worst war in which Dom Pedro II engaged was the one waged with Paraguay, from 1865 to 1870. This little republic was under the domination of a dictator by the name of Lopez, who, because of some fancied affront, attacked a Brazilian steamer passing up the Paraguay River. Lopez followed this up by an expedition into Matto Grosso, and easily conquered the southern portion of that province. Soon afterwards Lopez declared war against Argentina, and Uruguay was also interjected into the struggle. Thus Lopez was fighting the three republics lone-handed, each of which was more powerful than his own; but Brazil was scattered, Argentina was not homogeneous and Uruguay was disintegrated into political factions. Furthermore, Paraguay was difficult of access, especially for Brazil, and the war dragged along several years. Lopez pushed every advantage and, by the very boldness of his initiative, seemed to carry everything before him at first. Sanguinary battles were fought on Brazilian soil on several occasions. The Duke of Caxias was finally made commander in chief. This new commander was very slow in making his preparations, but the tide soon turned after he got in the field. The audacious dictator was gradually driven in; he was at last defeated and slain. This did not supervene until nearly every man in Paraguay was slain or disabled. Brazil gained absolutely nothing. She piled up a debt of $300,000,000, and lost over fifty thousand much-needed citizens. Argentina and Uruguay profited, but Brazil, after bearing the brunt of the fighting and the lion’s share of the expense, realized no substantial result.