1836.] BAHIA, BRAZIL. 361 



find a spot, on which close investigation will not discover signs of that 

 endless cycle of change, to which this earth has been, is, and will be 

 subjected ? 



On leaving Ascension we sailed for Bahia, on the coast of Brazil, in 

 order to complete the chronometrical measurement of the world. We 

 arrived there on August 1st, and stayed four days, during which I took 

 several long walks. I was glad to find my enjoyment in tropical 

 scenery had not decreased from the want of novelty, even in the 

 slightest degree. The elements of the scenery are so simple, that they 

 are worth mentioning, as a proof on what trifling circumstances exquisite 

 natural beauty depends. 



The country may be described as a level plain of aoout three hundred 

 feet in elevation, which in all parts has been worn into flat-bottomed 

 valleys. This structure is remarkable in a granitic land, but is nearly 

 universal in all those softer formations of which plains are usually com- 

 posed. The whole surface is covered by various kinds of stately trees, 

 interspersed with patches of cultivated ground, out of which houses, 

 convents, and chapels arise. It must be remembered that within the 

 tropics, the wild luxuriance of nature is not lost even in the vicinity of 

 large cities ; for the natural vegetation of the hedges and hillsides 

 overpowers in picturesque effect the artificial labour of man. Hence, 

 there are only a few spots where the bright red soil affords a strong 

 contrast with the universal clothing of green. From the edges of the 

 plain there are distant views either of the ocean, or of the great Bay 

 with its low-wooded shores, and on which numerous boats and canoes 

 show their white sails. Excepting from these points, the scene is 

 extremely limited ; following the level pathways, on each hand, only 

 glimpses into the wooded valleys below can be obtained. The houses, 

 I may add, and especially the sacred edifices, are built in a peculiar 

 and rather fantastic style of architecture. They are all whitewashed ; 

 so that when illumined by the brilliant sun of midday, and as seen 

 against the pale blue sky of the horizon, they stand out more like 

 shadows than real buildings. 



Such are the elements of the scenery, but it is a hopeless attempt to 

 paint the general effect. Learned naturalists describe these scenes of 

 the tropics by naming a multitude of objects, and mentioning some cha- 

 racteristic feature of each. To a learned traveller this possibly may 

 communicate some definite ideas ; <but who else from seeing a plant in 

 an herbarium can imagine its appearance when growing in its native 

 soil ? Who from seeing choice plants in a hothouse, can magnify some 

 into the dimensions of forest trees, and crowd others into an entangled 

 jungle ? Who when examining in the cabinet of the entomologist the 

 gay exotic butterflies, and singular cicadas, will associate with these 

 lifeless objects, the ceaseless harsh music of the latter, and the lazy 

 flight of the former, the sure accompaniments of the still, glowing 

 noonday of the tropics ? It is when the sun has attained its greatest 

 height, that such scenes should be viewed: then the dense splendid 

 foliage of the mango hides the ground with its darkest shade, whilst 

 the upper branches are rendered from the profusion of light of the most 



