20 
RIO DE JANEIRO 
CHAP. 
Ithacaia ; this small village is situated on a plain, and round 
the central house are the huts of the negroes. These, from 
their regular form and position, reminded me of the drawings 
of the Hottentot habitations in Southern Africa. As the moon 
rose early, we determined to start the same evening for our 
sleeping-place at the Lagoa Marica. As it was growing dark 
we passed under one of the massive, bare, and steep hills of 
granite which are so common in this country. This spot is 
notorious from having been, for a long time, the residence of some 
runaway slaves, who, by cultivating a little ground near the top, 
contrived to eke out a subsistence. At length they were dis¬ 
covered, and a party of soldiers being sent, the whole were 
seized with the exception of one old woman, who, sooner than 
again be led into slavery, dashed herself to pieces from the 
summit of the mountain. In a Roman matron this would have 
been called the noble love of freedom : in a poor negress it is 
mere brutal obstinacy. We continued riding for some hours. 
For the few last miles the road was intricate, and it passed 
through a desert waste of marshes and lagoons. The scene by 
the dimmed light of the moon was most desolate. A few fireflies 
flitted by us ; and the solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its 
plaintive cry. The distant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely 
broke the stillness of the night. 
April gtk -—We left our miserable sleeping-place before sun¬ 
rise. The road passed through a narrow sandy plain, lying between 
the sea and the interior salt lagoons. The number of beautiful 
fishing birds, such as egrets and cranes, and the succulent plants 
assuming most fantastical forms, gave to the scene an interest 
which it would not otherwise have possessed. The few stunted 
trees were loaded with parasitical plants, among which the 
beauty and delicious fragrance of some of the orchidese were 
most to be admired. As the sun rose, the day became ex¬ 
tremely hot, and the reflection of the light and heat from 
the white sand was very distressing. We dined at Mandetiba ; 
the thermometer in the shade being 84°. The beautiful view of 
the distant wooded hills, reflected in the perfectly calm water of 
an extensive lagoon, quite refreshed us. As the venda 1 here 
was a very good one, and I have the pleasant, but rare re¬ 
membrance of an excellent dinner, I will be grateful and 
1 Venda, the Portuguese name for an inn. 
