354 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 
see this famous lily growing in its native waters ; but, 
though frequently told that it was plenty at certain sea- 
sons in the lakes and igarapds, we have never been able 
to find it. Yesterday some of the officers of the 'ship, 
who had been on an excursion to a neighboring lake, 
returned laden with botanical treasures of all sorts, and, 
among other plants, an immense lily-leaf, which, from its 
dimensions, we judged must be the Victoria regia, though 
it had not the erect edge so characteristic of it. This 
morning, accompanied by two or three of yesterday's 
party, who kindly undertook to be our guides, we went 
to visit the same lake. A short walk from the river- 
bank brought us to the shore of a large sheet of water, 
the Lago Maximo, which connects with the Ramos 
by a narrow outlet, but at a point so distant from our 
anchorage that it would have been necessary to make 
a great detour in order to reach it in a canoe. We 
found an old montaria, with one or two broken paddle?, 
left, as it seemed, at the lake-shore for whom it might 
concern, and in that we embarked at once. The banks 
of this lake are bordered with beautiful forests, which do 
not, however, rise immediately from the water, but are 
divided from it by a broad band of grass. We saw many 
water-birds on this grassy edge, as well as on several 
dead trees, the branches of which were completely cov- 
ered with gulls, all in exactly the same attitude, facing 
one way, to meet the wind which blew strongly against 
them. Ducks and ciganas were plenty ; and once or 
twice we startled up from the woods small flocks of 
mackaws, not only the gaudy red, green, and yellow 
species, but the far more beautiful blue mackaw. They 
flew by us, with their gorgeous plumage glittering in the 
