22 
ISLANDS IN THE HARBOUR. 
masses from the surface of the water. They are generally of a conical 
form, rising from 10 to 50 feet in height, and are seldom more 
than 60 or 100 feet in circumference. They seem to be the apices 
of cones, whose bases are under water. I sounded round one of 
the smallest, and found within a yard of its side 15 feet water, which 
rapidly deepened as I withdrew from it. The larger of these rocky 
islets do not consist of single masses, but are broken into several of 
singular shapes. In more than one instance, I saw a large cone of 
granite, 30 feet high, split from its very apex to its base, the parts 
of which had seceded against their gravity ; proving, I imagine, that 
their separation could not have been the consequenee of disinte- 
gration. Was it produced by a cause coeval with their appearance 
above the surface of the water ? 
Could I have dwelt on the appearances presented by the exposed 
surfaces of these rocks, I should have found perhaps many interesting 
geological facts, traced upon them in very legible characters. But 
the time I was enabled to spend in their examination allowed me to 
derive little else from their contemplation than the pain of awak- 
ened, but unsatisfied curiosity. 
My pursuits having separated me from the suite of His Excellency, 
I lost the opportunity of witnessing the funeral solemnities of the 
Queen of Portugal. But from the information I obtained from those 
who saw them, I missed but little which my imagination had not 
supplied. I heard the tolling of bells, and the firing of cannon ; and 
when to these my fancy added their other elements in the church, 
illumination, magnificent bier, chanting, and solemn response ; in 
the streets, the glare of torches, priests, and nobles in procession, 
crowds of by-standers, and soldiers keeping the ground, I formed 
a picture which, if not agreeable to reality, was at least satisfactory 
to myself. 
On taking leave of Rio de Janeiro, I feel desirous of leaving on 
the minds of my readers some general notion of the characteristic 
features of the city of St. Sebastian, and of the country in its neigh- 
bourhood ; but I fear any description in my power to give would be 
