RIO DE JANEIRO chap. 



Ithacaia ; this small village is situated on a plain, and round 

 the central house are the huts of the negroes. These, from 

 their regular form and position, reminded me of the drawings 

 of the Hottentot habitations in Southern Africa. As the moon 

 rose early, we determined to start the same evening for our 

 sleeping-place at the Lagoa Marica. As it was growing dark 

 we passed under one of the massive, bare, and steep hills of 

 granite which are so common in this country. This spot is 

 notorious from having been, for a long time, the residence of some 

 runaway slaves, who, by cultivating a little ground near the top, 

 contrived to eke out a subsistence. At length they were dis- 

 covered, and a party of soldiers being sent, the whole were 

 seized with the exception of one old woman, who, sooner than 

 again be led into slavery, dashed herself to pieces from the 

 summit of the mountain. In a Roman matron this would have 

 been called the noble love of freedom : in a poor negress it is 

 mere brutal obstinacy. We continued riding for Some hours. 

 For the few last miles the road was intricate, and it passed 

 through a desert waste of marshes and lagoons. The scene by 

 the dimmed light of the moon was most desolate. A few fireflies 

 flitted by us ; and the solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its 

 plaintive cry. The distant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely 

 broke the stillness of the night. 



April gth. — We left our miserable sleeping-place before sun- 

 rise. The road passed through a narrow sandy plain, lying between 

 the sea and the interior salt lagoons. The number of beautiful 

 fishing birds, such as egrets and cranes, and the succulent plants 

 assuming most fantastical forms, gave to the scene an interest 

 which it would not otherwise have possessed. The few stunted 

 trees were loaded with parasitical plants, among which the 

 beauty and delicious fragrance of some of the orchideae were 

 most to be admired. As the sun rose, the day became ex- 

 tremely hot, and the reflection of the light and heat from 

 the white sand was very distressing. We dined at Mandetiba ; 

 the thermometer in the shade being 84°. The beautiful view of 

 the distant wooded hills, reflected in the perfectly calm water of 

 an extensive lagoon, quite refreshed us. As the venda^ here 

 was a very good one, and I have the pleasant, but rare re- 

 membrance of an excellent dinner, I will be grateful and 



' Venda, the PorUiguese name for an inn. 



