20 RIO DE JANEIRO. [CHAP. n. 



to give us something to eat. "Anything you choose, sir," was his 

 usual answer. For the few first times, vainly I thanked providence 

 for having guided us to so good a man. The conversation pro- 

 ceeding, the case universally became deplorable. "Any fish can 

 you do us the favour of giving ? " " Oh ! no, sir." " Any soup ? " 

 " No, sir." " Any bread ? " " Oh ! 110, sir." " Any dried meat ? '' 

 " Oh ! no, sir." If we were lucky, by waiting a couple of hours, 

 we obtained fowls, rice, and farinha. It not uufrequently happened, 

 that we were obliged to kill, with stones, the poultry for our own 

 supper. When, thoroughly exhausted by fatigue and hunger, we 

 timorously hinted that we should be glad of our meal, the pompous, 

 and (though true) most unsatisfactory answer was, "It will be 

 ready when it is ready." If we had dared to remonstrate any 

 further, we should have been told to proceed on our journey, as 

 being too impertinent. The hosts are most ungracious and dis- 

 agreeable in their manners; their houses and their persons are 

 often filthily dirty ; the want of the accommodation of forks, knives, 

 and spoons is common; and I am sure no cottage or hovel in 

 England could be found in a state so utterly destitute of every 

 comfort. At Campos Novos, however, we fared sumptiiously ; 

 having rice and fowls, biscuit, wine, and spirits, for dinner ; coft'ee 

 in the evening, and fish with coffee for breakfast. All this, with 

 good food for the horses, only cost 2s. Gd. per head. Yet the host 

 of this venda, being asked if he knew anything of a whip which 

 one of the party had lost, gruffly answered, " How should I know V 

 why did you not take care of it? I suppose the dogs have 

 eaten it." 



Leaving Mandetiba, we continued to pass through an intricate 

 wilderness of lakes ; in some of which were fresh, in others salt 

 water shells. Of the former kind, I found a Limmea in great 

 numbers in a lake, into which, the inhabitants assured me that 

 the sea enters once a year, and sometimes oftener, and makes the 

 water quite salt. I have no doubt many interesting facts, in 

 relation to marine and fresh water animals, might be observed in 

 this chain of lagoons, which skirt the coast of Brazil. M. Gay * 

 has stated that he found in the neighbourhood of Eio, shells of the 

 marine genera soleu and mytilus, and fresh water anipullariaj, 

 living together in brackish water. I also frequently observed iu 

 the lagoon near the Botanic Garden, where the water is only a little 

 * Annales cles Sciences Naturelles for 1833. 



