72. 



APPROACH RIO DE JANEIRO. 



1819 



doubtless, extremely prudent persons : — but rather unlike 

 those officers whose names will never be forgotten while Eng- 

 land has a navy. 



Of the measures taken for recovering the treasure sunk in 

 the Thetis, much has appeared in print ; therefore I will not 

 add a word to that subject of controversy. 



Weather such as that which caused the loss of the Thetis, 

 is only at times met with off Cape Frio ; a clear sky, with a 

 hot sun, and but little wind, is more usual ; and as my first 

 approach to Rio de Janeiro, on board H.M.S. Owen Glen- 

 dower, in 1819, made much impression upon me, I will endea- 

 vour to describe it's circumstances. 



High blue mountains were seen in the west, just after the 

 sun had set, and with a fair wind we approached the land 

 rapidly. The sea was quite smooth, but a freshening breeze 

 upon our quarter carried us on, nearly thirteen knots an hour. 

 Though dark as any cloudy tropical night, when neither 

 moon nor star relieves the intense blackness — astern of us 

 was a long and perfectly straight line of sparkling light, 

 caused by the ship's rapid way through the water ; and around 

 the bows, as far forward as the bowsprit end, was dazzling 

 foam, by whose light I read a page of common print. Sheet 

 lightning played incessantly near the western horizon : and 

 sometimes the whole surface of the sea seemed to be illuminated. 

 As the moon rose, and the breeze decreased, the contrasts of 

 light and darkness, of swift change of place and apparent tran- 

 quillity, lost their effect. Next morning we had a dead calm : 

 high land towered over the fog-banks, which were slowly 

 drawn upwards and dispersed by the heat of a powerful sun ; 

 and the sea was smooth as a lake. Numbers of that beautiful 

 fish, the dorado, often called a dolphin, were caught ; and the 

 vivid, various colours displayed, as they lay upon our deck, 

 exceeded description. Well I remember too the trouble we 

 middies had with the sun at noon on that day ; not with the sun 

 above our heads, but with its image reflected by our quadrants. 

 As he was almost vertical over us, we were dispersed round the 

 ship, each thinking he had brought the reflected image down 



