210 A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL. 



'a general stir of delight at this sudden and unexpected 

 liberation, for the delay was serious to all. One or two 

 of the passengers were merchants, to whom it was impor- 

 tant to meet the steamer of the 25th at Manaos, which 

 connects with other steamers all along the coast ; and the 

 members of the Spanish scientific commission, if they could 

 not at once transfer their effects to the other steamer, would 

 not only miss the next European steamer, but must be at 

 the expense and care of storing their various luggage and 

 maintaining their live stock at Manaos for a fortnight. 

 And lastly, to Mr. Agassiz himself it was a serious disap- 

 pointment to lose two or three days out of the precious 

 month for investigations at Tefle*. Therefore, every face 

 beamed when the kindly shock of the wind set us afloat 



i 



again ; but the work, so vainly spent to release us, was 

 but too efficient in keeping us prisoners. The anchor, 

 which had been sunk in the mud at some distance, was so 

 deeply buried that it was difficult to raise it, and in the 

 effort to do so we grounded again. Indeed, environed 

 as we were by mud and sand, it was no easy matter to 

 find a channel out of them. We now remained motion- 

 less all night, though the Captain was unremitting in his 

 efforts and kept the men at work till morning, when, at 

 about seven o'clock, the boat worked herself free at last, 

 and we thought our troubles fairly over. But the old pror- 

 erb "There 's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip" never 

 was truer ; on starting once more we found that, in the 

 strain and shock to which the ship had been submitted, 

 the rudder was broken. In view of this new disaster, the 

 passengers for Para gave up all hope of meeting the 

 steamer at Manaos, and the rest resigned themselves to 

 warting with such philosophy as they could muster. The 



