THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE 523 



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 color, add most to the beauties of those climes. 



When quietly walking along the shady pathways, and ad- 

 miring 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 vegetation, yet I must recur to it. The land 

 is one great wild, untidy, luxuriant hothouse, made by 

 Nature for herself, but taken possession 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 tale heard in 

 childhood, a picture full of indistinct, but most beautiful 

 figures. 



August 6th. In the afternoon we stood out to sea, with 

 the intention of making a direct course to the Cape de Verd 

 Islands. Unfavourable winds, however, delayed us, and on 

 the I2th we ran into Pernambuco, 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 to- 

 gether by two long bridges built on wooden piles. The 

 town is in all parts disgusting, the streets being narrow, ill- 



