24 RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n. 



light to admire the solemn stillness of the scene ; at last, the 

 silence, was broken by the morning hymn, raised on high by the 

 whole body of the blacks ; and in this manner their daily work 

 is generally begun. On such fazendas as these, I have no doubt 

 the slaves pass happy and contented lives. On Saturday ar,d 

 Sunday they work for themselves, and in this fertile climate the 

 labour of two days is sufficient to support a man and his family 

 for the whole week. 



April \\th. Leaving Socego, we rode to another estate on 

 the Rio Macae, which was the last patch of cultivated ground in 

 that direction. The estate was two and a half miles long, and 

 the owner had forgotten how many broad. Only a very small 

 piece had been cleared, yet almost every acre was capable of 

 yielding all the various rich productions of a tropical land. 

 Considering the enormous area of Brazil, the proportion of cul- 

 tivated ground can scarcely be considered as any thing, compared 

 to that which is left in the state of nature : at some future age, 

 how vast a population it will support ! During the second day's 

 journey we found the road so shut up, that it was necessary that 

 a man should go ahead with a sword to cut away the creepers. 

 The forest abounded with beautiful objects ; among which the 

 tree ferns, though not large, were, from their bright green 

 foliage, and the elegant curvature of their fronds, most worthy 

 of admiration. In the evening it rained very heavily, and 

 although the thermometer stood at 65, I felt very cold. As 

 soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to observe the extraordi- 

 nary evaporation which commenced over the whole extent of the 

 forest. At the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried in 

 a dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smoke from the 

 most thickly-wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. I 

 observed this phenomenon on several occasions : I suppose it is 

 owing to the large surface of foliage, previously heated by the 

 sun's rays. 



While staying at this estate, I was very nearly being an eye- 

 witness to one of those atrocious acts which can only take place 

 in a slave country. Owing to a quarrel and a law-suit, the 

 owner was on the ^oint of taking all the women and children 

 from the male slaves, and selling them separately at the public 

 auction at Rio. Interest, and not any feeling of compassioQj 



