Aug. 1836. 



BAHIA— ^BRAZIL. 



589 



hideousness. The lava streams are covered with hummocks^ 

 and are rugged to a degree^ which^ geologically speakings is 

 not of easy explanation. The intervening spaces are con- 

 cealed with layers of pumice^ ashes^ and volcanic tuft. In 

 some parts rounded volcanic bombs^ which must have 

 assumed this form, when projected red-hot from the crater, 

 lie strewed on the surface. Whilst passing at sea this end 

 of the island, I could not imagine what Avas the nature of 

 the white patches, with which the whole plain was mottled ; 

 I now found they were seafowl, which were sleeping in such 

 full confidence, that even in midday a man could walk up 

 to, and seize hold of them. These birds were the only 

 living creatures I saw during the day. On the beach a 

 great surf, although the breeze was light, was tumbling over 

 the broken lava rocks. 



Upon leaving Ascension the ship's head was directed 

 towards the coast of South America, and on August 1st, we 

 anchored at Bahia or San Salvador. We staid here four 

 days, in which time I took several long walks. I w^as glad 

 to find my enjoyment of tropical scenery had not decreased 

 even in the slightest degree, from the want of novelty. The 

 elements of the scenery are so simple, that they are worth 

 mentioning, as a proof on what trifling circumstances exqui- 

 site natural beauty depends. 



The country may be described as a level plain of about 

 three hundred feet in elevation, which in every part has 

 been worn into flat-bottomed valleys. This structure is 

 remarkable in a granitic land, but is nearly universal in 

 all those softer formations, of which plains usually are com- 

 posed. The whole surface is covered by various kinds of 

 stately trees, interspersed with patches of cultivated ground, 

 out of which houses, convents, and chapels arise. It must 

 be remembered that within the tropics, the wild luxuriance 

 of nature is not lost even in the vicinity of large cities ; for the 

 natural vegetation of the hedges and hill-sides, overpowers in 

 picturesque effect the artificial labour of man. Hence, there 



