1B36.] BAHIA, BRAZIL. 475 



even in the slightest degree. The elements of the scenery are so 

 simple, that they are worth mentioning, as a proof on -what trifling 

 circumstances exquisite natural beauty depends. 



The country may be described as a level plain of about threa 

 hundred feet in elevation, which in all parts has been worn into 

 flat-bottomed valleys. This structure is remarkable in a granitic 

 land, but is nearly universal in all those softer formations of which 

 plains are usually composed. The whole surface is covered by 

 various kinds of stately trees, interspersed with patches of culti- 

 vated ground, out of which houses, convents, and chapels arise. 

 It must be remembered that within the tropics, the wild luxuriance 

 of nature is not lost even in the vicinity of large cities: for the 

 natural vegetation of the hedges and hill-sides overpowers in 

 picturesque effect the artificial labour of man. Hence, there arc 

 only a few spots where the bright red soil affords a strong contrast 

 with the universal clothing of green. From the edges of the plain 

 there are distant views either of the ocean, or of the great Bay with 

 its low-wooded shores, and on which numerous boats and canoes 

 show their white sails. Excepting from these points, the scene is 

 extremely limited ; following the level pathways, on each hand, 

 only glimpses into the wooded valleys below can be obtained. 

 The houses I may add, and especially the sacred edifices, are 

 built in a peculiar and rather fantastic style of architecture. They 

 are all whitewashed ; so that when illumined by the brilliant sun 

 of midday, and as seen against the pale blue sky of the horizon, 

 they stand out more like shadows than real buildings. 



Such are the elements of the scenery, but it is a hopeless attempt 

 to paint the general effect. Learned naturalists describe these 

 scenes of the tropics by naming a multitude of objects, and men- 

 tioning some characteristic feature of each. To a learned traveller 

 this possibly may communicate some definite ideas : but who else 

 from seeing a plant in an herbarium can imagine its appearance 

 when growing in its native soil ? Who from seeing choice plants 

 in a hothouse, can magnify some into the dimensions of forest 

 trees, and crowd others into an entangled jungle? Who when 

 examining in the cabinet of the entomologist the gay exotic butter- 

 flics, and singular cicadas, will associate with these lifeless objects, 

 the ceaseless harsh music of the latter, and the lazy flight of the 

 former, the sure accompaniments of the still, glowing noonday of 

 the tropics ? It is when the sun has attained its greatest height, 



