44 
WANDERINGS IN 
FIRST 
JOURNEY 
Message 
from the 
• Portu¬ 
guese 
com¬ 
mander. 
Towards the close of the fourth evening, the canoe, 
which had been sent on with a letter, met us with 
the commander’s answer. During its absence, the 
nights had been cold and stormy, the rain had fallen 
in torrents, the days cloudy, and there was no sun 
to dry the wet hammocks. Exposed thus, day and 
night, to the chilling blast and pelting shower, 
strength of constitution at last failed, and a severe 
fever came on. The commander’s answer was very 
polite. He remarked, he regretted much to say, 
that he had received orders to allow no stranger to 
enter the frontier, and this being the case, he hoped 
I would not consider him as uncivil: u however,” 
continued he, “ I have ordered the soldier to land 
you at a certain distance from the fort, where we 
can consult together.” 
We had now arrived at the place, and the canoe 
which brought the letter returned to the fort, to tell 
the commander I had fallen sick. 
The sun had not risen above an hour the morning 
after, when the Portuguese officer came to the spot 
where we had landed the preceding evening. He 
was tall and spare, and appeared to be from fifty to 
fifty-five years old; and though thirty years of ser¬ 
vice under an equatorial sun had burnt and shrivelled 
up his face, still there was something in it so inex¬ 
pressibly affable and kind, that it set you immediately 
at your ease. He came close up to the hammock, 
and taking hold of my wrist to feel the pulse, “ I 
am sorry, Sir,” said he, “ to see that the fever has 
taken such hold of you. You shall go directly with 
