

40 SCENERY AT BOTOFOGO. [chap.-^ 



stick, they promised well for more earnest attempts. My 

 companion, the day before, had shot two large bearded 

 monkeys. These animals have prehensile tails, the ex- 

 tremity of which, even after death, can support the whole 

 weight of the body. One of them thus remained fast to a 

 branch, and it was necessary to cut down a large tree to 

 procure it. This was soon effected, and down came tree 

 and monkey with an awful crash. Our day's sport, besides 

 the monkey, was confined to sundry small green parrots 

 and a few toucans. I profited, however, by my acquaintance 

 with the Portuguese padre, for on another occasion he gave 

 me a fine specimen of the Yagouaroundi cat. 



Every one has heard of the beauty of the scenery near 

 Botofogo. The house in which I lived was seated close 

 beneath the well-known mountain of the Corcovado. It 

 has been remarked, with much truth, that abruptly conical 

 hills are characteristic of the formation which Humboldt 

 designates as gneiss - granite. Nothing can be more 

 striking than the effect of these huge rounded masses of 

 naked rock rising out of the most luxuriant vegetation. 



I was often interested by watching the clouds, which, 

 rolling in from seaward, formed a bank just beneath the 

 highest point of the Corcovado. This mountain, like most 

 others, when thus partly veiled, appeared to rise to a far 

 prouder elevation than its real height of 2300 feet. Mr. 

 Daniell has observed, in his meteorological essays, that 

 a cloud sometimes appears fixed on a mountain summit, 

 while the wind continues to blow over it. The same 

 phenomenon here presented a slightly different appearance. 

 In this case the cloud was clearly seen to curl over, and 

 rapidly pass by the summit, and yet was neither diminished 

 nor increased in size. The sun was setting, and a gentle 

 southerly breeze, striking against the southern side of 

 the rock, mingled its current with the colder air above, 

 and the vapour was thus condensed : but as the light 

 wreaths of cloud passed over the ridge, and came within 

 the influence of the warmer atmosphere of the northern 

 sloping bank, they were immediately redissolved. 



The climate, during the months of May and June, 

 or the beginning of winter, was delightfiil. The mean 

 temperature, from observations taken at nine o'clock, both 

 morning and evening, was only 72°. It often rained 

 heavily, but the drying southerly winds soon again rendered 

 the walks pleasant. One morning, in the course of six 



