PEREIRA DA SILVA, Joao Manoel, Brazilian author, born in Rio Janeiro in 1818. He received his early education in Brazil, but finished his studies in "Paris, was graduated in law, and travelled through Europe. In 1841 he returned to Rio Janeiro, was admitted to the bar, and practised his profession with success. In 1844 he was elected to congress by the Liberal party, but disappointed his friends by taking his seat among the Conservatives, and has been since a supporter of the government. He has attained a wide reputation as a man of letters, and his "Historia da fundacao do imperio Brazileiro," published simultaneously in Portuguese and French, is a standard work (6 vols., Rio Janeiro and Paris, 1864-'8). His other works include " La litterature Portuguaise, son passe, son etat actuel" (Paris, 1868) ; "Plutarcho Brazileiro" (2 vols., Rio Janeiro, 1866)" and "Obras politicas e literarias" (1868). He has in preparation a general history of the conquest and civilization of Brazil.