96 ELIZABETH CARY AGASSIZ 
great beautiful river for purposes of commerce only 
and stop only at the regular stations along the main 
stream; they don’t go off into the byways and know 
little of the life of the “‘Setios” and the forest popula- 
tion. I was telling Donna Maria and a young friend 
some of my experiences last evening, and they really 
seemed as much interested as you would be at home, 
and said over and over again, “You have seen more 
and know more about these things than we do, though 
we’ve lived all our lives on the Amazons.” Next 
week Agassiz is going on another excursion farther 
down on the coast. I am not quite sure whether I shall 
go with him. As I am going to have quite as much 
of sea voyages in the next three months as I care 
for (between our journey to Rio and our return to 
the States), I am rather inclined to stay quietly. In- 
deed after so many months of travelling, quiet is very 
grateful and if it were not that I feel bound as the 
Scribe of the expedition to gather all the material that 
offers for the journal, I should be rather inclined to be 
pusillanimous and rest on my oars for a little while. 
Of my longings for home I say nothing — what’s the 
use? But I must say the idea of next summer at 
Nahant is a vision of rapture I hardly dare to think . 
about. 
Ceard, April 1, 1866 
Ir is just a year today since we sailed from New York. 
My heart would have sunk if I had thought I should 
still have been writing to you from Brazil — it seems 
such a long time to be away. But I know that God 
is leading us wisely and it is my daily prayer that 
