20 



VOTAGE FROM ENGLAIsTD 



Unluckil}^ when we came up to this desert island, we found that it 

 was impossible to get on shore : all around were steep broken rocks, 

 on which a multitude of creeping plants formed a real net of roots 

 and branches ; the furious breakers, dashing the M'hite foam high 

 into the air, raged with such violence, that we m ere obliged to con- 

 tent ourselves with admiring, at a respectful distance, the beautiful 

 forms of the trees in the thick clumps on the flat surface of the 

 island, and enjoying the cheerful singing of the birds. The sight of 

 this island, the first w^e had the opportunity of observing within the 

 tropic, was entirely new to us, and extremely interesting. On the 

 points of the rocks were perched in pairs, great numbers of white 

 gulls with black backs, exactly resembling the Larus mariniis of the 

 European seas. We fired frequently at them, but without success, 

 for on the first shot they all rose high into the air, where they ho- 

 vered round us like swallows, uttering loud cries. After a stay of 

 about an hour, we left the island, and looked round for the ship, 

 but she was quite out of sight. 



Our situation was now critical ; for at the entrance of this great 

 bay of Rio there are currents in the sea, which imperceptibly carry 

 ships out of their course ; by which means many have been wrecked, 

 when there has been no wind to assist them in escaping from the 

 danger. A remarkable instance occurred a short time before our 

 arrival. An American ship entered the bay ; and soon after an 

 English privateer : the American long hesitated to leave the port, 

 but was at last obliged to put to sea ; and the Englishman resolved 

 immediately to follow, with a view to take him. According to the 

 regulations of the port of Rio, an interval of three hours is granted 

 to vessels, before an enemy's ship is permitted to pursue them. The 

 Englishman was therefore obliged to w ait three hours ; but then he 

 set all his sails, and hastened after the enemy. He had scarcely 

 reached the neighbourhood of the Ilha rotunda, when it fell a dead 



