EIO DE JANEIRO. 17 



January 2Srd. — I shall not soon forg'et my first 

 view of the shores of the new world. The morning' 

 was beautifully fine, and with a light breeze scarcely 

 sufiicient to cause a ripple on the water, we were 

 sUpping past the high and remarkable promontory 

 of Cape Frio, which at first appeared like an island. 

 A long beach of glittering sand stretched away to 

 the westward, and was lost in the distance ; behind 

 this a strip of undulating country, clad here and 

 there in the richest green, was backed by a range of 

 distant wooded hills, on which many clumps of 

 palms could be distinguished. Few harbours in the 

 world present a more imposing entrance than that 

 of Eio de Janeiro. Several islands lie off the 

 opening, and on either side the coast range ter- 

 minates in broken hills and ridges of granite, one 

 of which, Pao d'A^ucar, the Sugar Loaf of the 

 English, rises at once from near the water's edge 

 to the height of 900 feet, as an apparently inac- 

 cessible peak, and forms the well known landmark 

 for the entrance. 



Passing the narrows (where the width is a mile 

 and a quarter), strongly guarded by fortifications, 

 of which Fort Sa. Cruz, an extensive work, with 

 several tiers of guns occupying- a rocky point, is 

 the principal, the harbour widens out with beautiful 

 sandy bays on either side, and rocky headlands 

 covered with luxuriant vegetation. Here the view 

 of the city of Rio de Janeiro is magnificent. The 

 glare of the red-tiled buildings, whitewashed or 



VOL. I. c 



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