2 
TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON. 
\_May^ 
in a cloudless sky, the city of Para, surrounded by the 
dense forest, and overtopped by palms and plantains, 
greeted our sight, appearing doubly beautiful from the 
presence of those luxuriant tropical productions in a 
state of nature, which we had so often admired in the 
conservatories of Kew and Chatsworth. The canoes 
passing with their motley crews of Negroes and Indians, 
the vultures soaring overhead or walking lazily about the 
beach, and the crowds of swallows on the churches and 
house-tops, all served to occupy our attention till the 
Custom-house officers visited us, and we were allowed 
to go on shore. 
Para contains about 15,000 inhabitants, and does not 
cover a great extent of ground ; yet it is the largest city 
on the greatest river in the world, the Amazon, and is 
the capital of a province equal in extent to all Western 
Europe. It is the residence of a President appointed by 
the Emperor of Brazil, and of a Bishop whose see ex- 
tends two thousand miles into the interior, over a coun- 
try peopled by countless tribes of unconverted Indians. 
The province of Para is the most northern portion of 
Brazil, and though it is naturally the richest part of that 
vast empire, it is the least known, and at present of the 
least commercial importance. 
The appearance of the city from the river, which is 
the best view that can be obtained of it, is not more 
foreign than that of Calais or Boulogne. The houses 
are generally white, and several handsome churches and 
public buildings raise their towers and domes above 
them. The vigour of vegetation is everywhere apparent. 
The ledges and mouldings support a growth of small 
