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Show 22 RIO DE JANEIRO· April, 1832. dark we passed under one of the ma~sive: bare, an~ stee? hills of granite which are so common m this countr~ · This spot is notorious from having been, for a long time, the residence of some runaway slaves, who, by cultiva~ing a little ground near the top, contrived to eke out a su?siste~ce. At length they were discovered, and a party o~ soldiers bemg sent, the whole were seized with the exceptiOn of one old woman, who sooner than again be led into slaver!, dashed herself to pieces from the summit of the mountam. In a Roman matron this would have been called the noble love of freedom: in a poor negress it is mere brutal obstinac~. 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 9•ra.-We left our miserable sleeping-place before sunrise. 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, crave 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 orchidere were most to be admired. As the sun rose, the day became extremely 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* here was a very good one, and I have the pleasant, but rare remembrance, of an excellent dinner, I will be grateful and presently describe * Venda, the Portuguese name for an inn. April, 1832. RIO DE JANEIRO. 23 it, as ~he typ~ of its ~lass. These houses are often large, and are bmlt of thiCk upnght posts, with boughs interwoven, and afterwards plastered. They seldom have floors and never glazed windows ; but are generally pretty well ro~fed. U niversally the front part is open, forming a kind of verandah in which tables and benches are placed. The bed-room~ join on each side, and here the passenger may sleep as comfortably as he can, on a wooden platform, covered by a thin straw mat. The venda stands in a courtyard, where the horses are fed. On first arriving, it was our custom to unsaddle the horses and give them their Indian corn· then W.i t h a 1o w bow, to ask the senhor to do us the ' favour' to give us something to eat. " Any thing you choose s1. r, " was h'I S usual answer. For the few first times' vainly I thanked Providence for having guided us to s~ good a man. The conversation proceeding, the case universally became deplorable. "Any fish can you do us the favour of giving ?"-" Oh! no, sir."-" Any soup?"" No, sir."-" Any bread?"-" Oh! no, sir."-" Any dried meat?"-" Oh! no, sir." If we were lucky, by waiting a couple of hours, we obtained fowls, rice, and farinha. It not unfrequently happened, that we were obliged to kill, with stones, the po~try for our own supper. When thoroughly exhausted by fatigue and hunger, we timorously hinted that we should be gl~d of our meal, the pompous, and (though true) most unsatisfactory answer was, "It will be ready when it is ready." If we had dared to remonstrate any further, we sho~ld ha~e been told to proceed on our journey, as being too Impertment. The hosts are most ungracious and disagreeable in their manners ; their houses and their persons are often filthily dirty; the want of the accommodation of forks, knives, and spoons is common ; and I am sure no cottage or hovel in England could be found in a state so utterly destitute of every comfort. At Campos N ovos, howe~ er, we fared sumptuously; having rice and fowls, biscuit, w~ne, and spirits, for dinner; coffee in the evening, and fish With coffee for breakfast. All this, with good food for the |