126 Voyage of the Novara. 



we then were of what we learned afterwards, that Rio is as 

 fairy-looking by night as it appears gloomy by day. 



Not less surprising, and forming a strong contrast with the 

 deficiencies and requirements in other particulars, are the stately 

 fountains that adorn the squares. Close by the corner of each 

 street, gushes out through metal cocks, a stream of clear, 

 fresh spring-water, which has been conveyed by the great 

 aqueduct a distance of 10 or 12 English miles from the slopes 

 of the neighbouring Carioca or Tejuca mountain-chains. The 

 water supply has been in existence for 120 years, but the 

 present immense reservoir and various improvements in it have 

 been introduced by the Brazilian Government. With the 

 exception of the Croton aqueduct, near New York, which 

 supplies that city with 40,000,000 gallons daily, we do not 

 remember to have seen in any part of the world a similar 

 work of such magnitude. 



The dreary, uncomfortable feeling left by the city, gives 

 way to most enjoyable impressions so soon as one emerges 

 from the suburbs of Rio, and seeks compensation for the 

 absence of the appliances of European civilization in the 

 eternal grace and majesty of Nature. Walks may be taken 

 in every direction, each opening up a fresh point of view, 

 while, if the visitor take horse or mule, he may in the course 

 of an hour or two transport himself into the very midst of 

 the most extraordinary features of tropical vegetation. 



Among the most charming of these is a ride to the rocky 

 peak called Corcovado, 2300 feet high, the road to which runs 



