8 
VOYAGE TO THE 
CHAP, than those above mentioned ; and they have been so frequently de- 
scribed that they are familiar to every reader, and, as vrell as the 
J«iy. picturesque scenery of Eio Janeiro itself, are quite proverbial. Indeed 
there is little left in the vicinity of this magnificent port, of which the 
description will possess the merit of novelty. 
The observations which were made during our stay in Kio Janeiro 
will be found in the Appendix. It may, however, be interesting to 
insert here the height of the Peak of Corcovado, a singularly shaped 
mass of granite which overlooks the placid waters of Bota-F ogo, as the 
measurements hitherto given are at variance with each other, and as 
it is a subject which has caused many discussions among the good 
people who live in its vicinity. 
Our first measurement was with barometers, which, calculated by 
]Mr. DanielFs new formula, gave the base of the flag-staff on the Peak, 
above half-tide, 2308 feet. 
The next, by trigonometrical measurement, gave . • 2306 
On my return to the same place, three years after- 
wards, I repeated the observations, which gave the height as 
follows : — 
By barometrical measurement 2291^'^ feet. 
By trigonometrical measurement 2305^ -j- 
The Sugar Loaf by the first base in 1825 was . . 1286 
by the second base in 1828 was . 1299t 
The astronomical observations were made at an observatory erected 
in Mr. May’s garden at Gloria, an indulgence for which I feel particu- 
larly indebted to that gentleman, as well as for other civilities which I 
received from him during my stay at the place. 
* This cliiFers sixteen feet from the first result, which may partly be owing to the 
barometers, on this occasion, not being in such good order as at first : the amount, however, 
is so small as almost to need no apology, particularly as the observations were made on days 
as opposite as possible to each other — the first in drizzling rain, the last on a clear sun- 
shining day — whereby the formula was put to the severest trial. 
f In this operation I was assisted by Captain Henry Forster, R. N., an officer well known 
to the scientific world, with whom I had the pleasure to become acquainted at this place. 
f The difference in these measurements is, no doubt, owing to there being no object on 
the summit of the hill sufficiently defined for the purpose of observation, and it is almost im- 
possible to ascend it. 
