SOUTH AMERICA. 
83 
towards the interior, none of them of any consider- second 
able height. A singular reef of rocks runs parallel- 
to the coast, and forms the harbour of Pernambuco. 
The vessels are moored betwixt it and the town, safe 
from every storm. You enter the harbour through 
a very narrow passage, close by a fort built on the 
reef. The hill of Olinda, studded with houses and 
convents, is on your right hand, and an island 
thickly planted with cocoa-nut trees, adds consider¬ 
ably to the scene on your left. There are two 
strong forts on the isthmus, betwixt Olinda and 
Pernambuco, and a pillar midway to aid the pilot. 
Pernambuco probably contains upwards of fifty Pemam- 
thousand souls. It stands on a flat, and is divided 
into three parts; a peninsula, an island, and the 
continent. Though within a few degrees of the line, 
its climate is remarkably salubrious, and rendered 
almost temperate by the refreshing sea breeze. Had 
art and judgment contributed their portion to its 
natural advantages, Pernambuco, at this day, would 
have been a stately ornament to the coast of Brazil. 
On viewing it, it will strike you that every one has 
built his house entirely for himself, and deprived 
public convenience of the little claim she had a right 
to put in. You would wish that this city, so famous 
for its harbour, so happy in its climate, and so well 
situated for commerce, could have risen under the 
flag of Dido, in lieu of that of Braganza. 
As you walk down the streets, the appearance of streets 
the houses is not much in their favour. Some of houses, 
them are very high, and some very low 5 some newly 
