22 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 



April, 1832. 



dark we passed under one of the massive, bare, and steep 

 hills of granite which are so common in this country. This 

 spot is notorious from having been, for a long time, the 

 residence of some runaway slaves, who, by cultivating a 

 little ground near the top, contrived to eke out a subsistence. 

 At length they were discovered, and a party of soldiers being 

 sent, the whole were seized with the exception of one old 

 woman, who sooner than again be led into slavery, dashed 

 herself to pieces from the summit of the mountain. In a 

 Roman matron this would have been called the noble love of 

 freedom : in a poor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy. We 

 continued riding for some hours. For the few last miles the 

 road was intricate, and it passed through a desert waste of 

 marshes and lagoons. The scene by the dimmed light of 

 the moon was most desolate. A few fireflies flitted by us ; 

 and the solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its plaintive cry. 

 The distant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely broke the 

 stillness of the night. 



April 9th. — We left our miserable sleeping-place before 

 sunrise. The road passed through a narrow sandy plain, 

 lying between the sea and the interior salt lagoons. The 

 number of beautiful fishing birds, such as egrets and cranes, 

 and the succulent plants assuming most fantastical forms, 

 gave to the scene an interest which it would not otherwise 

 have possessed. The few stunted trees were loaded with pa- 

 rasitical plants, among which the beauty and delicious fra- 

 grance of some of the orchideee were most to be admired. As 

 the sun rose, the day became extremely hot, and the reflec- 

 tion of the light and heat from the white sand was very dis- 

 tressing. We dined at Mandetiba ; the thermometer in the 

 shade being 84°. The beautiful view of the distant wooded 

 hills, reflected in the perfectly calm water of an extensive 

 lagoon, quite refreshed us. As the venda* here was a very 

 good one, and I have the pleasant, but rare remembrance, of 

 an excellent dinner, I will be grateful and presently describe 



* Venda^^ the Portuguese name for an inn. 



