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Mr. Smith then read the following account of the Reef of 

 Pernambuco : — 



The subject I have to bring before your notice this evening 

 is that remarkable feature of the coast of South America, com- 

 monly called the " Reef of Pernambuco/' which extends with 

 a greater or less degree of regularity along the shores of Brazil, 

 from Maranham on the north, to Bahia, and probably further 

 to the south, a distance of nearly 1200 miles. 



To our mercantile community the subject should be one of 

 much interest, since it is to this reef that several of the princi- 

 pal towns on the coast of the Brazils owe their commercial 

 prosperity, as it forms natural harbours for the secure lading 

 and discharge of the vessels that visit them. 



Before proceeding to state my own views and observations, 

 with regard to tins important and interesting formation, I shall 

 take the liberty of giving you extracts from the writings of 

 other travellers, who have described its general appearance, 

 and the impressions it made upon them. 



The first account I have seen of it, is by Mrs. Maria Graham, 

 the wife of Captain Graham, of the " Doris " frigate, who 

 visited the city of Pernambuco, in the year 1823. She says, 

 (to quote her own words,) — "No previous knowledge could 

 " do away the wonder with winch one must enter that very 

 " extraordinary port : from the ship, which is anchored three 

 " miles from the town, we see that vessels lie within a reef 

 "on which the sea is perpetually breaking, but till I was 

 " actually within that reef, I had not the least idea of the 

 " nature of the harbour — the swell going ashore was tremen- 

 dous, had we not been prepared for it, and made our 

 " passage of three miles a very long one ; we approached the 

 "sandy beach between Becife and Olinda so nearly that I 

 " thought we were going to land there, when coming abreast 

 " of a tower on a rock, where the sea was breaking violently, 

 " we turned short round and found ourselves within a marvel- 



