"And I shall see my cousin Martim!" cried Lola. "Yes, we shall visit my dear brother, and you shall have a very happy time with two cousins to play with. "Now you must be good children and give me a chance to pack up your clothes. No questions!" She held up her finger playfully. "Those you may save to ask me on ship-board. Here is a map which shows just where we are going, and you may trace out the course and Affonzo can tell you about all the places from his geography, Lola," and she left the two children poring over the geography, their tongues fairly clacking in their excitement. The _Icamiaba_ is a large steamer plying from Mañaos to Rio, and by noon the next day the little party of four were safely embarked and the steamer made its way out of the beautiful harbour. The long voyage was begun, but to Affonzo and Lola it was not tedious, for, the only children on board, they soon became pets with all and were in a fair way to being spoiled with attention. The second day out the steamer made its first stop at Pernambuco on the easternmost point of Brazil, and the children watched the entrance into the harbour with great interest. "Pernambuco is called the Venice of America," said their father. "You know Venice is an Italian city built on islands, with waterways instead of streets, and here there are so many canals and arms of water reaching in from the sea that Pernambuco is called the Venice of America." "What a lot of steamers there are!" exclaimed Affonzo as they approached the reef which protects the harbour. This reef runs along the Brazilian coast for hundreds of miles, forming a natural breakwater, sometimes twelve feet above high tide. "N-I-L-E," spelled Affonzo as they passed a huge steamer anchored outside the harbour. "What kind of a boat is that?" "English," said his father. "The English run a line of steamers from Southampton to Lisbon, and thence to Rio Janeiro. These boats carry a thousand passengers, and are so large that they cannot go through the cut in the breakwater." "Oh, papa! What a queer building! What is it?" asked Lola, as they passed an odd-looking fort on the rocks. "That is a relic of Dutch days in Brazil," said the Senhor. "You know the Dutch once laid claim to all this part of the country." "Did they?" asked Lola in surprise. "How did they get here and what became of them?"