NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



437 



with the thick forests, narrow and swampy roads, which we travelled 

 for about two leagues, when our guide, the only one of the party to 

 whom the place was familiar, made a short turn to the right, and sud- 

 denly the Downs lay before us. We were at the foot of a short and 

 steep hill, the morning was advanced and sultry, and among the woods 

 not a breath of air was stirring. At once we were saluted by a fine 

 bracing breeze in our faces, and hailed it with a burst of joy ; we dis- 

 mounted, and in the shade, at the very verge of the forest, refreshed 

 ourselves and the horses. This was indeed a luxurious hour, I breathed 

 ambrosial gales, and felt my nerves new strung. I had often heard of 

 invalids who left the city in the last stages of debility, and on arriving 

 at these salubrious regions, were so much recovered, that, according to 

 their own phrase, " they could buffet with, and subdue a sturdy mule ;" 

 and though healthy, experienced myself a wonderful renovation, both 

 of power and spirits. From the summit of the hill we looked backward 

 over the tops of the tr6es, and before us upon an open country quite 

 destitute of wood, to an almost unbounded horizon. 



After riding about six miles over these open and level Downs, we 

 arriv^ed at a small neat-looking Church, siu'rounded by a low wall and 

 joined to a parsonage house. Its appearance at a distance was extremely 

 interesting, for the day was a holy one, and though not a single habita- 

 tion had been seen, at least three hundred people had assembled to hear 

 Mass. Service was already closed, and the females dressed in white and 

 showy colours, were seated in parties on the grass, with green and blue, 

 red and purple umbrellas held over them, as a shelter from the sun. 

 Their thin features and sallow complexions distinctly marked them for 

 country BraziUans, while the black woollen hats and baetas, which they 

 wore, gave them some resemblance to a congregation of Welsh Women 

 in Summer. Tlie older men were engaged at a little distance among the 

 horses, and gave to their group the appearance of a fair ; the young ones 

 were occupied in sprightly sports, and enlivened the scene by their 

 clamour and vivacity ; the slaves were mingled with their Senhoras, or 

 guarding the cattle which they rode. 



