214 THE VOYAGE. JETAT. 23. [1832 



throws one into a delirium of delight, and a beetle hunter is 

 not likely soon to awaken from it, when whichever way he 

 turns fresh treasures meet his eye. At Rio de Janeiro three 

 months passed away like so many weeks. I made a most de- 

 lightful excursion during this time of 150 miles into the coun- 

 try. I stayed at an estate which is the last of the cleared 

 ground, behind is one vast impenetrable forest. It is almost 

 impossible to imagine the quietude of such a life. Not a 

 human being within some miles interrupts the solitude. To 

 seat oneself amidst the gloom of such a forest on a decaying 

 trunk, and then think of home, is a pleasure worth taking 

 some trouble for. 



We are at present in a much less interesting country. 

 One single walk over the undulatory turf plain shows every- 

 thing which is to be seen. It is not at all unlike Cambridge- 

 shire, only that every hedge, tree and hill must be levelled, 

 and arable land turned into pasture. All South America is 

 in such an unsettled state that we have not entered one port 

 without some sort of disturbance. At Buenos Ayres a shot 

 came whistling over our heads ; it is a noise I had never 

 before heard, but I found I had an instinctive knowledge of 

 what it meant. The other day we landed our men here, and 

 took possession, at the request of the inhabitants, of the cen- 

 tral fort. We philosophers do not bargain for this sort of 

 work, and I hope there will be no more. We sail in the 

 course of a day or two to survey the coast of Patagonia ; as 

 it is entirely unknown, I expect a good deal of interest. But 

 already do I perceive the grievous difference between sailing 

 on these seas and the Equinoctial ocean. In the " Ladies' 

 Gulf," as the Spaniard's call it, it is so luxurious to sit on 

 deck and enjoy the coolness of the night, and admire the new 

 constellations of the South. ... I wonder when we shall ever 

 meet again ; but be it when it may, few things will give me 

 greater pleasure than to see you again, and talk over the long 

 time we have passed together. 



If you were to meet me at present I certainly should be 

 looked at like a wild beast, a great grizzly beard and flushing 



