TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 283 



mulatto, well-acquainted with the way, to attend us 

 to the Hospicio da Mai dos Homens, in the upper 

 part of the mountain, and took leave of us with cor- 

 dial benedictions. The road led up the west side 

 of the mountain, over grassy slopes, intersected by 

 numerous trenches. The landscape gradually be- 

 came more bare and rugged ; numerous plants of 

 singular forms grew on the lonely, rocky path ; 

 gloomy wooded hills and ravines alternated with 

 smiling pastiu'es ; or dazzling white rocks, and 

 streams rushing between thick enclosures of ferns, 

 Aroidece, and Orchidece, invited to repose. At 

 length, proceeding by a narrow path through 

 thick low wood, we came to an elevated valley, 

 closed like an amphitheatre, in which the cheerful 

 building of the Hospicio struck our view. All 

 nature here breathes content, and an inexpressible 

 feeling of tranquillity and calm pleasure fills the 

 mind of the traveller. 



We ascended a flight of broad stone steps to the 

 convent, which, even at a distance, seems to an- 

 nounce, through the crown of waving palms which 

 overshadow it, that here is a secure retreat for the 

 unhappy, a peaceful asylum for him who is weary of 

 life. No place on earth is more calculated to dis- 

 engage the mind from worldly inclinations and 

 cares, than this secluded abode of pious contempla- 

 tion. The traveller more willingly indulges in the 

 agreeable impressions which the place excites, be- 

 cause they are very rare in a country so thinly 



