from 1854 to 1858, he went to europe on special missions for the secretary of foreign affairs, where he studied the state of public instruction in the educational institutions there. in 1856, in leipzig, he published his three poetry books in a single volume entitled "cantos", wrote the first four cantos of the epic poem "os timbiras" (that he would leave unfinished) and also published a dictionary of old tupi. returning to brazil in 1860, he founded the magazine "guanabara" alongside joaquim manuel de macedo and manuel de araújo porto-alegre in 1849, and went on expeditions to negro and madeira rivers, as a member of the scientific commission of exploration. in 1862 he returned to rio de janeiro, but shortly after went to europe again. in october 1863 he went to lisbon, where he translated friedrich schiller's "the bride of messina" and some poems by heinrich heine.