_And thou, great-hearted Ruler, through whose mouth The word of God is said Once more:--“Let there be light!”--Son of the South, Lift up thy honoured head, Wear unashamed a crown by thy desert More than by birth thy own, Careless of watch and ward; thou art begirt By grateful hearts alone. The moated wall and battleship may fail, But safe shall Justice prove; Stronger than greaves of brass or iron mail, The panoply of Love._ JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER (_Condensed_) DOM PEDRO was born December 2, 1825 Was made Emperor at five years of age, April 7, 1831 Visited the United States, 1876 His daughter, Princess Isabel, emancipated the slaves, 1888 He abdicated, and Brazil was proclaimed a Republic, 1889 Dom Pedro died, December 5, 1891. THE BRAZILS MAGNIFICENT Robinson Crusoe, after escaping from Moorish slavery with the boy Xury, was rescued by a Portuguese ship bound for South America. He was carried by the ship’s captain to the Brazils. There he settled, bought a plantation and made a fortune. Then, away from those same Brazils, he sailed and was wrecked and cast upon his Desert Island. Magnificent and rich were Robinson Crusoe’s Brazils, or the Country of Brazil, stretching vast and unknown far westward into the interior of the continent. Near the sea-coast, in the parts inhabited by civilized men, were plantations of coffee, tobacco, and fruits. Primeval forests covered the shores of the rivers whose mighty waters rushed far out into the ocean. Fierce savages roved the forests. There were gold, spices, and diamonds in Robinson Crusoe’s Brazils, and rare woods, brilliant birds, butterflies, and flowers. And so is the country of Brazil to-day--a magnificent land! Only there are cities there now, and towns and villages. And to-day, Brazil is a Republic with a Constitution like that of our own United States. In Robinson Crusoe’s time, Brazil was owned and ruled by the Kingdom of Portugal, just as other parts of South America were owned and ruled by the Crown of Spain. How Brazil won Independence and became a Republic, is a fascinating story. THE EMPIRE OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS Brazil, on which the Southern Cross of four bright stars, looks down, first became a Kingdom, then an Empire and after that a Republic. When Napoleon’s Army threatened to invade Portugal, the Royal Family of Portugal fled in terror of their lives. They escaped from Lisbon, crossed the Atlantic, and found refuge in the royal Colony of Brazil. In 1815, Brazil was declared a Kingdom, though still to remain a part of Portugal. The first and only European Kingdom in America! When the time arrived, that the Royal Family might safely return to Portugal, the King left his son, Dom Pedro, to be Regent or Governor of Brazil.