24 lUO DP, JAXEIRO. 



ed. We arrived by midday at Itliacaia; this small 

 village is situated on a plain, and round the central 

 house are the huts of the negi'oes. These, from 

 theu' regular form and position, reminded me of 

 the drawings of the Hottentot habitations in South- 

 ern Africa. As the moon rose early, we deter- 

 mined to start the same evening for our sleeping- 

 place at the Lagoa Marica. As it was gi'owing 

 dark we passed under one of the massive, bare, and 

 steep hills of granite which are so common in this 

 country. This spot is notorious fi'om having been, 

 for a long time, the residence of some runaway 

 slaves, Avho, by cultivating a little ground near the 

 top, contrived to eke out a subsistence. At length 

 they were discovered, and a party of soldiers being 

 sent, the Avhole were seized, with the exception of 

 one old woman, who, sooner than again be led into 

 slavery, dashed herself to pieces from the summit 

 of the mountain. In a Roman matron, this Avould 

 have been called the noble love of fi-eedom : in a 

 poor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy. We con- 

 tinued riding for some hours. For the few last 

 miles the road was intricate, and it passed through 

 a desert waste of marshes and lagoons. The scene 

 by the dimmed light of the moon was most deso- 

 late. A few fireflies flitted by us ; and the solitary 

 snipe, as it rose, uttered its plaintive cry. The 

 distant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely broke 

 the stillness of the night. 



April 9t7i. — We left our miserable sleeping-place 

 before sunrise. The road passed through a nar- 

 row sandy plain, lying between the sea and the 

 interior salt lagoons. The number of beautiful 

 fishing birds, such as egrets and cranes, and the 

 succulent plants assuming most fantastical forms, 

 gave to the scene an interest which it would not 

 otherwise have possessed. The few stunted trees 



