168 WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



were no opportunities, except slave ships. As the trans- 

 porting poor negroes from port to port for sale pays well in 

 Brazil, the ships' decks are crowded with them. This 

 would not do. 



Excuse here, benevolent reader, a small tribute of grati- 

 tude to an Irish family, whose urbanity and goodness have 

 long gained it the esteem and respect of all ranks in 

 Pernambuco. The kindness and attention I received 

 from Dennis Kearney, Esq., and his amiable lady, will 

 be remembered with gratitude to my dying day. 



After wishing farewell to this hospitable family, I em- 

 barked on board a Portuguese brig, with poor accommo- 

 dation, for Cayenne in Guiana. The most eligible bed- 

 room was the top of a hen-coop on deck. Even here, an 

 unsavoury little beast, called bug, was neither shy nor 

 deficient in appetite. 



The Portuguese seamen are famed for catching fish. One 

 evening, under the line, four sharks made their appearance 

 in the wake of the vessel. The sailors caught them all. 



