AN 



HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, AND COMMERCIAL, 

 ACCOUNT 



OF THE 



BRAZIL. 



CHAPTEU 1. 



Voyage from England to Rio de Janeiro. 



ON the nth of March, 1819, I took my departure, in the brig Echo, Captain 

 Henderson, from the River Thames, and on the 18th, after contending with 

 adverse winds, arrived in Portland Roads, where we took shelter till the 21st. 

 On our departure from thence we were favoured with a fair wind for only a 

 short period ; and on the 24th it opposed us from the westward with such 

 violence, that it rendered our attempts to beat out of the Channel abortive. 

 We were in consequence obliged to submit to the only alternative of running 

 for safety to Falmouth Harbour, and remained there till the 2d of April. 

 Perhaps few situations can be conceived more irksome than this. To a mind 

 made up for departure, every delay is deemed a misfortune in proportion as 

 the object in pursuit is of desirable attainment, and especially in the considera- 

 tion of its prolonging the time that is to re-unite us to those we love best. A 

 light breeze from the north-east enabled us to clear the Channel on the 3d. 



This part of a voyage from England, though trifling in point of distance, 

 is regarded by sailors as pregnant with impending dangers and difficulties, 

 the Channel being so situated that the prevailing westerly winds, at certain 

 seasons of the year, render the egress extremely intricate. The constant 



B 



