234 TRAVELS ON THE RIO NEGRO. [February, 
fore now entering upon ground gone over fifty years 
before by that illustrious traveller. At tbe landing-place 
I was agreeably surprised to see a young Portuguese I 
bad met at Guia, and as he was going up the river to 
Tomo in a day or two, I agreed to wait and take him 
with me. I went with him to the house of the Com- 
missario, got introduced, and commenced my acquain- 
tance with the Spanish language. I was civilly received, 
and found myself in the midst of a party of loosely- 
dressed gentlemen, holding a conversation on things in 
general. I found some difficulty in making out any- 
thing, both from tho peculiarity of accent and the num- 
ber of new words constantly occurring ; for though 
Spanish is very similar to Portuguese in the verbs, pro- 
nouns, and adjectives, the nouns are mostly different, and 
the accent and pronunciation peculiar. 
We took our meals at the Commissario’s table, and 
with every meal had coffee, which custom I rather liked. 
The next day I walked into the forest along the road to 
Solano, a village on the Cassiquiare. I found a dry, 
sandy soil, but with very few insects. The village of 
Sao Carlos is laid out with a large square, and parallel 
streets. The principal house, called the Convento, where 
the priests used to reside, is now occupied by the Com- 
missario. The square is kept clean, the houses white- 
washed, and altogether the village is much neater than 
those of Brazil. Every morning the bell rings for matins, 
and the young girls and boys assemble in the church and 
sing a few hymns ; the same takes place in the evening ; 
and on Sundays the church is always opened, and service 
performed by the Commissario and the Indians. 
