476 JJAHIA, BRAZIL. [c-iur. xxi. 



that such scenes should be viewed : then the dense splendid foliage 

 of the mango hides the ground with its darkest shade, whilst the 

 upper branches are rendered from the profusion of light of the 

 most brilliant green. In the temperate zones the case is different 

 the vegetation there is not so dark or so rich, and hence the rays 

 of the declining sun, tinged of a red, purple, or bright yellow 

 colour, add most to the beauties of those climes. 



When quietly walking along the shady pathways, and admiring 

 each successive view, I wished to find language to express my 

 ideas. Epithet after epithet was found too weak to convey to 

 those who have not visited the intertropical regions, the sensation 

 of delight which the mind experiences. I have said that the 

 plants in a hothouse fail to communicate a just idea of the vege- 

 tation, yet I must recur to it. The land is one great wild, untidy, 

 luxuriant hothouse, made by Nature for herself, but taken posses- 

 sion of by man, who has studded it with gay houses and formal 

 gardens. How great would be the desire in every admirer of 

 nature to behold, if such were possible, the scenery of another 

 planet ! yet to every person in Europe, it may be truly said, that 

 at the distance of only a few degrees from his native soil, the 

 glories of another world are opened to him. In my last walk I 

 stopped again and again to gaze on these beauties, and endeavoured 

 to fix in my mind for ever, an impression which at the time I knew 

 sooner or later must fail. The form of the orange-tree, the cocoa- 

 nut, the palm, the mango, the tree-fern, the banana, will remain 

 clear and separate ; but the thousand beauties which unite these 

 into one perfect scene must fade away ; yet they will leave, like a 

 talc heard in childhood, a picture full of indistinct, but most 

 beautiful figures. 



Ai.igvM Gth. In the afternoon we stood out to sea, with the 

 intention of making a direct course to the Cape de Yerd Islands. 

 Unfavourable winds, however, delayed us, and on the 12th we ran 

 into Pcrnambuco, a large city on the coast of Brazil, in latitude 

 8 south. We anchored outside the reef; but in a short time a 

 pilot came on board and took us into the inner harbour, where we 

 lay close to the town. 



Pernambuco is built on some narrow and low sand-banks, which 

 are separated from each other by shoal channels of salt water. The 

 three parts of the town are connected together by two long bridges 

 built on wooden piles. The town is in all parts disgusting, the 



