RIO DI JANEIRO. 
.5 
The Portuguese lost Ormus in 1623, in consequence of a treaty be¬ 
tween the English and Shah Abbas ; by which the English agreed to 
aid the Persians with their ships, and, at a joint expence, to pass them 
over to the island : and Shah Abbas, on the other hand, agreed that the 
English should not only be exempt from all duties at Bender Abassi, 
but should also share equally the profits of the customs, provided that 
they always kept four men of war, or at least two, in the Persian Gulf, 
to protect the Persian ports and trading vessels. At present the name 
of Portugal is scarcely known in Persia. 
We passed a fortnight at Rio di Janeiro, in the various employments 
of public visits and public dinners, and in the examination of the 
more curious objects in the town and in its environs. The place 
is large, and well built for a colonial town, possessing several hand¬ 
some churches and large monasteries. It ought, therefore, to 
afford a much better residence to the Prince Regent than the mean 
palace which he at present inhabits. It is not fortified, but has several 
detached works to protect its harbour; the most considerable of which 
is the castle of Santa Cruz, at the entrance, and a smaller castle on an 
island nearer the anchorage abreast the town. Over the town, on an 
eminence, is a fortification called the Citadel, and another on the Isola 
das Cabros ; however, nothing appeared sufficiently formidable to save 
the town from the dangers of a bombardment from the sea. A great 
quantity of fruit is produced in the gardens around the city, and much 
is also brought from the villages. Its oranges are highly esteemed; 
some of which, containing within them an incipient orange, were sent 
as a present from the Prince Regent to the Ambassadors. They have 
all the tropical fruits here ; but the mango and the pine-apple are said 
to be inferior to those of the East Indies. Meat and poultry are dear, 
and we had great difficulty in recruiting our sea stock of the latter. 
Black pigs were to be seen in great abundance; and we remarked a 
race of disgusting looking dogs, without hair, with a black skin, long 
body, long muzzle, short and crooked legs, and a long curling tail, 
ranging about through all the filth of the streets, and apparently with¬ 
out masters. 
