48 NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



provisions, of course, became dear ; but were driven back towards their 

 former standard, by large supplies from more distant parts. 



The great heat of the climate of Rio, has repeatedly been alluded 

 to ; I have seen Farenheit's thermometer, when exposed to the sun, as 

 high as 130°. ; at the same time, it reached 96". in the shade. The 

 country round about is, in general, cooler than the city ; in some of 

 the mountainous parts, it is much cooler than its immediate neigh- 

 bourhood. 



If a new resident would make the most of the advantages and com- 

 forts of the climate of Brazil, he should rise early in the morning. The 

 freshness of that season yields a peculiar gratification ; and those, who 

 use it for sea-bathing, speak in high terms of their pleasant sensations. 

 To a native of the country, the air of dawning day and the first of the 

 liand-breeze, seems chilly and irksome. Soon, however, the sun dissipates 

 the fogs, diffuses an oppressive warmth as the breeze decays, and leads 

 on a clear and brilliant day. He commonly pursues his course with 

 undiminished lustre; and when clouds arise they are all of the light, 

 fleecy kind, scarcely occasioning any change in the general deep-blue and 

 arid appearance of the sky. We have from them no more expectation 

 of a shower, than in England we should have of an earthquake. No 

 plans need to be interrupted by the weather ; no person need to go out 

 and return with wet clothes, laying the foundation of fevers and catarrhs ; 

 none by taking spirits, under the pretence of correcting the dampness of 

 the atmosphere, to destroy the tone of the stomach and produce com- 

 plaints in the viscera. The uniformly serene, gay, and exhilarating 

 prospect, seems to show, how happily man might have lived, under the 

 the influence of nature's God. Even the turbulent ocean is appeased ; 

 and the expanse of water, smooth and clear as a mirror, reflects the 

 mingled beauties of creation, the rich luxuriance of a Father's bounty. 



One of the greatest comforts he has bestowed upon sun-burnt regions, 

 is the daily wind which follows the sun, or blows from the ocean. This 

 great restorer of the languid, and cheerer of the oppressed, affords his 

 influence to Rio sometimes so early as eleven o'clock, and continues it 



