HOMEWARD BOUND. 243 



promiscuously on roofs and eaves, and sprouting out of a 

 hundred corners and crevices. There is a row of large 

 trees on the four inner sides of the gravelled quadrangle, 

 but the place has " Ichabod " plainly written on it. During 

 the afternoon the rain ceased, and then it was hot. We 

 descended into the lower town by one of the numerous 

 very steep and narrow streets, and eventually found our 

 way to the markets. 



The sable market-women of Bahia have the reputation 

 of being some of the finest of their stock ; but though I 

 saw several fine women, and some of a respectable bulk, 

 I did not see any special points of superiority over the 

 dusky beauties of Rio, either in the markets proper or the 

 promiscuous one formed by the continuous row of women 

 with their baskets all along the quay. I was certainly 

 struck at Bahia with the very great preponderance 0/ 

 blacks over whites, but was told that it is called a cidade 

 dos pretos (the city of the blacks), and that out of a popula- 

 tion of some 230,000 there are only about 50,000 whites. I 

 noticed a peculiar form of Sedan chair made thus : An 

 ordinary wooden-framed cane-bottomed chair with a foot- 

 board is enclosed in a stout frame with a roof; from the 

 roof proceed two long bent poles, which are borne palanquin 

 fashion by negroes ; a curtain at each side completes the 

 furniture of this superior hackney carriage. When I saw 

 the elegant machine, it was at rest under a tree, while four 

 attendant blackies were coiled up asleep beside it. 



There was a splendid variety of birds and monkeys on 

 sale in the markets ; but a good-sized cage with about 

 twenty live toucans {Ramphastos Ariel) was, perhaps, the 

 most remarkable object there, and well worth seeing. I 

 invested in two marmosets, which I hope to bring home 

 alive. They are common in the woods round the Corco- 



