212 THE VOYAGE. ^ETAT. 23. [1832. 



except sea-sickness) of the expedition has answered. We 

 have already seen Teneriffe and the Great Canary ; St. Jago 

 where I spent three most delightful weeks, revelling in the 

 delights of first naturalising a tropical volcanic island, and 

 besides other islands, the two celebrated ports in the Brazils, 

 viz. Bahia and Rio. 



I was in my hammock till we arrived at the Canaries, and 

 I shall never forget the sublime impression the first view of 

 Teneriffe made on my mind. The first arriving into warm 

 weather was most luxuriously pleasant ; the clear blue sky of 

 the Tropics was no common change after those accursed south- 

 west gales at Plymouth. About the Line it became weltering 

 hot. We spent one day at St. Paul's, a little group of rocks 

 about a quarter of a mile in circumference, peeping up in the 

 midst of the Atlantic. There was such a scene here. Wick- 

 ham (1st Lieutenant) and I were the only two who landed 

 with guns and geological hammers, &c. The birds by myriads 

 were too close to shoot ; we then tried stones, but at last, proh 

 pudor ! my geological hammer was the instrument of death. 

 We soon loaded the boat with birds and eggs. Whilst we 

 were so engaged, the men in the boat were fairly fighting 

 with the sharks for such magnificent fish as you could not see 

 in the London market. Our boat would have made a fine 

 subject for Snyders, such a medley of game it contained. 

 We have been here ten weeks, and shall now start for Monte 

 Video, when I look forward to many a gallop over the Pam- 

 pas. I am ashamed of sending such a scrambling letter, but 

 if you were to see the heap of letters on my table you would 

 understand the reason. . . . 



I am glad to hear music flourishes so well in Cambridge ; 

 but it [is] as barbarous to talk to me of " celestial concerts " 

 as to a person in Arabia of cold water. In a voyage of this 

 sort, if one gains many new and great pleasures, on the other 

 side the loss is not inconsiderable. How should you like to 

 be suddenly debarred from seeing every person and place, 

 which you have ever known and loved, for five years ? I do 

 assure you I am occasionally " taken aback " by this reflec- 



