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of arches, one placed above another ; and thus presents a 
structure that adds great ornament to the town. A guard 
constantly attends at the fountains throughout Rio, to regu¬ 
late the distribution of the water, which is probably scanty, 
as there are people who wait a long time with buckets for 
their share. A sufficient proportion of the water from the 
fountain upon the quay opposite to the palace, is allotted for 
the use of the shipping, and is conveyed to the casks, 
remaining in the boat, by means of a woollen or canvas 
tube, called a hose, stretching from the fountain to the cask. 
Captain Cook complained that the water was not good •, but 
this circumstance Sir Erasmus Gower ascribes to some acci¬ 
dental impurities that must have remained in the casks which 
lie filled with it. 
The shops of Rio, says Staunton, were full of Manchester 
manufactures, and other British goods, even to English 
prints, both serious and caricature. A Portuguese merchant 
adverting to these supplies of goods, and the advantages 
gained by the country that furnished them, observed that the 
prosperity both of Portugal and its dependencies redounded 
chiefiy to the benefit of England. The benefit has probably 
been reciprocal; and, it is hoped, will thus continue. The 
exterior appearance of the inhabitants indicated ease and 
comfort; their dwellings were generally in good condition, 
many of them large, and well adapted to the climate; the 
magazines and markets well stored with merchandize ; new 
buildings, private and public, erected ; tradesmen busily 
employed; and besides the aqueduct and fountains which 
adorned the city, it had some public walks, and a spacious 
quay of granite, of which material, found upon the spot, 
many of the chief edifices were constructed. The place, 
however, is said to be unhealthy; and instances of longevity 
are rare. This insalubrity may be owing, perhaps, to local 
and temporary circumstances, more' than to the necessary 
influence of the climate. The situation of the town upon a 
plain, almost wholly surrounded by hills thickly covered 
with forest trees, deprives it of a free circulation of air, and 
exposes it to the morning and evening damps of humid 
nights, preceded by scorching days, and of course putrid 
and intermitting fevers must often be the consequence. 
Water is also suffered to stagnate in marshes near the town ; 
and to these disadvantages we may add the tormenting in¬ 
fluence of infinite swarms of musquitoes, or large gnats, 
which attack strangers for some time after their arrival. But 
none of these real, or any imaginary evils restrain the pro¬ 
pensity of all classes of society towards gaiety and pleasures. 
The inhabitants of Rio are very numerous, and consist of 
Portuguese, Negroes, and Indians, the original natives of the 
country. This township, which is but a small part of the 
capitanea, or province, is said, according to Cook, to contain 
37,000 white persons, and 629,000 blacks, many of whom 
are free, amounting together to 666,000, in the proportion of 
17 to 1. The Indians, who are employed to do the king’s 
work in this neighbourhood, can scarcely be considered as in¬ 
habitants ; their residence is at a distance, from whence they 
come by turns to their task, which they are obliged to per¬ 
form for a small pay. The guard-boat was constantly rowed 
by these people, who are of a light copper-colour, and have 
long black hair. 
When walking abroad, men of the lower classes generally 
wearcloaks; and those of the middling and higher ranks never 
appear without swords. The ladies wear their hair hanging 
down in tresses, tied with ribbands and adorned with flowers; 
their heads being uncovered. In their visits to the churches, 
both at matins and vespers, they are regular; at other times 
they are generally seated at their windows or balconies. 
Many of them have fine dark eyes, with animated counte¬ 
nances. In the evenings they amuse themselves by 
playing on some kind of musical instrument, chiefly the 
harp-ichord or guitar. At this time the doors and windows 
are thrown open for the admission of cool air. If a stranger 
should happen to stop to hear the music, it often happens 
that the father, husband, or brother of the lady that is playing, 
steps out and politely invites him into the house; and the 
ladies, not unfrequently, having bunches of flowers in their 
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hands, exchange them with gentlemen as they pass by. This 
practice may perhaps be an imitation of that of the ladies of 
Lisbon, who on particular days, called “ days of intrusion,” 
throw nosegays from their balconies upon persons walking 
under them. 
Among the pleasures of Rio de Janeiro, are operas, plays, 
and masquerades. Company often assembles at a garden, 
situated near the sea, at one extremity of the town, and laid 
out in grass plats, shrubberies, and parterres, ornamented in 
various ways. In these recesses the gay society of Rio, after 
taking the exercise of walking in the evening, and after hear¬ 
ing songs and music, sit down to partake of banquets, occa¬ 
sionally accompanied by music and fire-works. On the side 
of this garden next the sea is a terrace, and at the extremities 
of the terrace there are two neat square buildings, like English 
summer-houses. In one the walls are decorated with paint¬ 
ings, representing views of the harbour, and particularly of 
the whale fishery, which was formerly carried on in it; until 
the large black whale, which formerly frequented it, was dis¬ 
turbed and driven away, in consequence of the increased con¬ 
course of shipping. The cieling of this and the other, sum¬ 
mer-house are covered with various appropriate devices, in 
shell or feather-work ; and the walls of the latter are decorated 
with eight large paintings, descriptive of the principal pro¬ 
ductions to which the country is indebted for its opulence, 
including views of the diamond and gold mines, with the 
operations performed in them ; of the cultivation ot the sugar¬ 
cane, and the processes by which its juice is extracted and 
granulated into sugar; of the manner of collecting the small 
animals which produce the cochineal, and preparing the rich 
dye from them; of the culture of the manioc, with the pro¬ 
cess of making cassada and tapioca ; and of the culture and 
preparation of coffee, rice, and indigo. Near the town is 
another garden, originally intended for promoting the pro¬ 
gress of botany, but now chiefly curious for a small fnanufac- 
ture of cochineal ; but the garden at Rio does not produce 
annually above thirty pounds of this commodity. The pre¬ 
paration of cochineal, however, is now encouraged by the 
trade being laid open, which was formerly a monopoly to 
the crown. Another species of manufacture is carried on in 
the vicinity of Rio ; an exclusive privilege having been given 
to a company, upon paying one-fifth of its profits to the 
crown. To this harbour was brought, for the purpose of 
converting it into oil, the blubber or firm fat of the black 
whales. The whalebone or cartilages of the jaw were also 
properly separated and cleansed here, before they were sent 
to Europe. In another part of the harbour of Rio, called 
Yal Lengo, are warehouses for the reception and sale of 
slaves. 
The high conical rocks at the entrance of the harbour of 
Rio, and the surrounding hills, are all of granite, in which 
the only remarkable circumstance is the large proportion of 
feld-spath contained in it. About two miles wiihin the har¬ 
bour, on the south-west side, is one high rock, entirely com¬ 
posed of columnar masses, bearing the resemblance of ba- 
saltes: it rests upon clay. In all the quarries of granite, it is 
found incumbent upon clay and sand. Here are three spe¬ 
cies of granite: the first red-coloured, soft, and shining; the 
second deep blue coloured, harder, and of a closer texture; 
and the third of a whitish shining colour, containing much 
mica, and little feld-spath; its texture soft, and incapable of a 
good polish. 
The riches of this place consist chiefly in the mines, that 
lie at a considerable distance in the country, from which 
much gold is brought, at the expence of many lives. Pre¬ 
cious stones are also found here in such plenty, that a certain 
quantity only is allowed to be collected in a year: they are 
diamonds, topazes of several kinds, and amethysts. 
Upon the whole, Rio de Janeiro is a very good place for 
ships to put in at that want refreshment: the harbour is safe and 
commodious; and provisions, except wheaten bread and flour, 
may be easily procured: as a succedaneum for bread, here 
are yams and cassada in plenty : beef both fresh and pickled, 
may be bought, says Cook in 1768, at about 2jd. a pound, 
but it is very lean. The people here pickle, their beef by tak¬ 
ing 
