THE TROPICAL ZONE. 217 



out in bold relief against the clear blue sky, is an earnest, as 

 we hope, of still better things to come ; and on no account 

 would we have missed the sights and aromatic scents which 

 greet us, when at last the lovely Bay of Bio de Janeiro 

 breaks upon our sight, with all its "beautifully varied 

 scenery, scenery which is perhaps unequalled on the face 

 of the earth, and on the production of which Nature seems 

 to have exerted all her energies. As far up the Bay as the 

 eye can reach, lovely little verdant and Palm- clad islands are 

 to be seen rising out of its dark bosom ; while the hills and 

 lofty mountains which surround it on all sides, gilded by 

 the rays of the setting sun, form a befitting frame for such 

 a picture."* The city, with its white churches and houses, 

 contrasts imposingly with the verdure which surrounds it ; 

 " rocks of grand forms rise boldly behind it, the declivities 

 of which are clothed in all the luxuriant diversity of a tro- 

 pical forest " and to complete our happiness, in the midst 

 of this beautiful scene, a rich odour of Orange-blossoms and 

 other perfumed flowers is borne upon the breeze. 



It is sad when pleasing first impressions are obliterated, 



* The following particulars of Brazil and its flora are collected from the 

 account of travels in that country by Spix and Von Martius, who explored it 

 more than thirty years ago; and from the more recent 'Travels in Brazil' 

 by Dr. Gardner. 



