WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 111 



rising towards the interior, none of them of any 

 considerable height. A singular reef of rocks 

 runs parallel to the coast, and forms the harbour 

 of Pernambuco. The vessels are moored betwixt 

 it and the town, safe from every storm. You 

 enter the harbour through a very narrow passage, 

 close by a fort built on the reef. The hill of 

 Olinda, studded with houses and convents, is on 

 your right hand, and an island thickly planted 

 with cocoa-nut trees, adds considerably to the 

 scene on your left. There are two strong forts 

 on the istlmius, betwixt Olinda and Pernambuco, 

 and a pillar midway to aid the pilot. 



Pernambuco probably contains upwards of fifty 

 thousand souls. It stands on a flat, and is divided 

 into three parts — a peninsula, an island, and the 

 continent. Though within a few degrees of the 

 line, its climate is remarkably salubrious, and 

 rendered almost temperate by the refreshing sea 

 breeze. Had art and judgment contributed their 

 portion to its natural advantages, Pernambuco 

 at this day, would have been a stately ornament 

 to the coast of Brazil. On viewing it, it will 

 strike you that every one has built his house en- 

 tirely for himself, and deprived public convenience 

 of the little claim she had a right to put in. You 

 would wish that this city, so famous for its har- 

 bour, so happy in its climate, and so well situated 

 for commerce, could have risen under the flag of 

 Dido, in lieu of that of Braganza. 



As you walk down the streets, the appearance 

 of the houses is not much in their favour. Some 

 of them are very high, and some very low; some 

 newly whitewashed, and others stained, and 



