304 



RETURN VOYAGE. 



sun had power to raise up clouds of steam, which 

 covered the whole plain as far as the base of the 

 mountains. 



No very violent rain fell after this furious burst, 

 till the evening of the 4th of June, when the pe- 

 riodical wet season set in. During the mornings 

 it was generally clear and fair ; but about half 

 past three or four oVlock, the sky became rapidly 

 overcast, and at five the rain began : though it 

 was seldom before eight that it fell in the torrents 

 I have described, or that the thunder and light- 

 ning commenced with great violence. 



After such a warning as we had received on the 

 first of the month, we were glad to imitate the ex- 

 ample of the inhabitants, and take our departure 

 as soon as possible. Accordingly, on the 15th of 

 June, all our business being concluded, we sailed 

 from San Bias ; and after a voyage round Cape 

 Horn, of nearly eight thousand miles, anchored 

 in Rio Janeiro on the 12th of September 1822 ; 

 having been at sea twelve weeks and five days 

 without seeing land. 



