# An account of a voyage to establish a colony at Port Philip in Bass's Strait on the south coast of New South Wales, in His Majesty's Ship Calcutta, in the years 1802-3-4/Chapter 2

CHAP. II.
June. FROM the Cape Verd Islands to the vicinity of the line, the N. E. tradewind continued to impel us forward with undeviating celerity. In this space, it is impossible not to mark, with emotions of pleasure, the beautiful atmospherical pictures which the evenings afford: in the direction of the setting sun, the Heavens are seen glowing with orange and purple, blended into the greatest variety of tints, and melting ​imperceptibly into the pure ether of light cerulean blue; in which, the first stars of evening shine with the most brilliant silvery lustre; but,
———Who can paint Like Nature? Can Imagination boast, Amidst its gay creation, hues like her's: Or, can it mix them with that matchless skill, And lose them in each other?
This beautiful appearance of the Heavens is confined, to the Northern Tropic: in the Southern, the air is commonly loaded with gloomy and dense vapours, that, descending to the horizon, constitute that kind of atmosphere to which is given the epithet, hazy.
The Northern tropical seas are the peculiar residence of the Dolphin, the Bonetta, the Albacore, the Skip-jack, ​and the Flying-fish; the latter is often seen winging its transient flight, to escape the swift pursuit of the dolphin, while the voracious shark waits its descent; when, exhausted by the want of moisture, its wings refuse to bear it aloft, and it falls helpless into his devouring jaws. The shark is the hereditary foe of sailors; and the moment one is spied, the whole crew are instantly in arms; often, the day's allowance of meat is sacrificed to bait the hook intended to entrap their hungry adversary; while grains, harpoons, and every missive weapon, are pointed at his devoted head. When success attends their operations, and the deluded victim is dragged on board, no pack of hungry fox-hounds can be more restless, till they receive the ​reward of their labours, than the sailors to tear out the bowels, and examine the stomach of the shark. Here they often recover the pieces of meat used to bait the hooks, which his sagacity had extricated; and after cutting off his fins, saving his jaws as objects of curiosity, and reserving a few slices from the tail to eat, the carcase is again committed to the watery element.
The peculiar property of tropical atmospheres in corroding iron, is well known: it is almost impossible to keep any article of that metal from rusting, even for an hour, without the ​application of oil. The copious vapours exhaled from the earth and sea, in tropical climates, may produce this effect, which is found to decrease as we recede from the equator, either north or south.
In latitude 6° North, we lost the N. E. trade-wind, and for a few days experienced the usual equinoctial calms, and squalls, with heavy rains, and strong easterly currents. The line was crossed in the longitude of 25° W., with the ​usual visit from Mr. Neptune, his wife, and child. This ceremony, though ​ridiculous enough, is, when ably executed, sufficiently amusing: the ugliest persons in the ship, are chosen to represent Neptune, and Amphitrite (but the latter name being, rather too hard of pronunciation, is always familiarized into Mrs. Neptune); their faces are painted in the most ridiculous manner, and their heads are furnished with swabs well greased and powdered: Neptune's beard is of the same materials; while a pair of grains, or a boat-hook, serves him for a trident: a triumphal car is constructed with chairs fixed on a gun-carriage, or wheel-barrow, in which they are seated, and drawn from the forecastle to the quarter-deck, by a number of sailors representing Tritons. After enquiries. respecting the ship's destination, saluting their old acquaintances, and making ​the Captain some ridiculous present, such as a dog or cat, under the name of a Canary-bird, they are again rolled forward, and the ceremony of shaving and ducking their new visitors commences. A large tub of salt water is prepared, with a stick across it, on which the visitor is seated; Neptune's barber, after lathering his face well, with a mixture of tar and grease, performs the operation of shaving with a piece of rusty iron hoop, and when clean scraped, which is not accomplished without many wry faces, he is pushed backwards into the tub, and kept there until completely soaked.
The vicissitudes of the weather on the line are greater than any where else on the surface of the globe. In a moment, ​from an atmosphere glowing with the fierce rays of a vertical sun, the storm is seen brooding in the horizon, which soon becomes of a pitchy blackness; the dark volume silently and slowly approaches; not a breath ruffles the glassy surface of the main, until, in an instant, it bursts in all the fury of elemental strife. Thomson has so happily painted these equatorial squalls, that I cannot help transcribing the passage:
* ———In blazing height of noon,
* The sun, oppressed, is plung'd in thickest gloom.
* Still Horror reigns, a dreary twilight round,
* Of struggling night and day malignant mix'd.
* For to the hot equator crouding fast,
* Where highly rarefy'd, the yielding air
* Admits their stream, incessant vapours roll,
* Amazing clouds on clouds continual, heap'd,
* Or whirl'd impetuous, by the gusty wind,
* Or silent borne along, heavy and slow,
* With the big stores of steaming ocean charg'd.
* Meantime, amid these upper seas condens'd
* And by conflicting winds together dash'd,
* The Thunder holds her black tremendous throne;
* From cloud to cloud the rending Lightnings rage;
* Till, in the furious elemental war
* Dissolv'd the whole precipitated mass
* Unbroken floods, and solid torrents pours.
These squalls are, however, short as they are violent, and the sun soon bursts forth again in all his former fervour. The S, E, trade met us two degrees to the northward of the line, and accompanied us to 20° South, where it was succeeded by winds blowing from every point of the compass. Our ​arrival at Rio de Janeiro was greatly retarded by the Ocean, whose rate of sailing was much inferior to the Calcutta's. We reached that Port the last day of June, and immediately commenced the necessary refittal of the ship, to enable her to encounter the long succession of stormy weather, which the season of the year taught us to expect in the remainder of our passage to New Holland. The small Island of Enchardos, about two miles from the town, was hired with permission of the Viceroy, for the purpose of repairing our water-casks, and landing the women to wash; a dilapidated monastery affording them and the marine guard a comfortable mansion.
​The entrance of the harbour of Rio de Janeiro is narrow for about a quarter of a mile; it thence widens into a secure basin, which at the town is five miles in breadth, and extends inland beyond the reach of the eye: several fruitful islets are scattered on each side, which, covered with loaded orange-trees, almost realize the fiction of the gardens of the Hesperides.
The shores which surround the harbour are vastly mountainous, forming abrupt and craggy precipices of the most wild and extraordinary shapes. Nature seems to have sported in the formation of this her last work, and to have combined all the fanciful forms, which she scattered more sparingly over the old continent. The entrance of the ​harbour is pointed out by a towering cliff, on the South side, rising perpendicularly from the sea; while, at the head of the Port, the mountains rise into higher elevations, and present forms more strikingly singular;
Rocks rich with gems, and mountains big with mines, Whence many a bursting stream auriferous plays,
are here seen, now faintly peeping from behind the intervening clouds, and now presenting their dark blue summits above the flaky vapours that roll along their sides.
These mountains consist entirely of granite, forming an adamantine barrier to the waters of the ocean. They are clothed in every part where the least soil can remain, with trees and shrubs of various kinds; and even to the naked ​rock, vegetables are seen to adhere, which appear to derive their nourishment from the moisture of the air alone. Here are many picturesque vallies, narrow, but winding along the base of the mountains, from the shores of the harbour to some distance inland. These glens are supereminently fruitful, from the combined causes of superior heat and moisture; the first proceeding from the reflected heat of the sun, confined in a narrow space, and the latter produced by the condensation of the vapours, attracted by that heat, or driven by the winds against the mountains' sides. The numerous little coves at the entrance of these glens, are bordered with beaches of the finest sand, where fishermen have erected their dwellings, and which, viewing them from without, ​have all the apparent neatness of our best English villages; but too soon we find, on entering them, that this is the mere effect of white-wash, and that within, they are the habitations of sloth and nastiness. The town of St. Sebastian is built entirely of granite, which appears to be the only stone found here, except a species of black and white marble. From the Bay, the appearance of the town is not inelegant, but the deception vanishes on a nearer approach. The streets, though straight and regular, are narrow and dirty, the projecting balconies sometimes nearly meeting each other; the houses are commonly two stories high, independent of the ground-floors, which are occupied as shops or cellars; they are dirty, hot, and. inconvenient; the ​staircases are perpendicular, and without any light; and in the arrangement of the rooms, no regard is paid, either to a free circulation of air, or to the beauty of prospect. The furniture of the houses, though costly, disgusts the eye used to elegant plainness, by its clumsiness and tawdry decorations; while the spider weaves her web, and pursues her sanguinary trade in uninterrupted security, upon the walls and ceiling. In the houses of the rich, the windows are glazed, which only serves to increase the reflected power of the sun, and render them intolerably hot; but the generality of houses are furnished with shutters of close lattice-work, behind which the women assemble in the evening; and while their own persons are concealed, enjoy the ​passing breeze, which is not, however, always very aromatic. In the English Settlements within the tropics, art is exhausted to correct or mitigate the ardour of the climate, and to render a burning atmosphere, not only supportable, but pleasant to a northern constitution. In the Brasils the defects of climate are increased by the slothful and dirty customs of the inhabitants. The cause of this difference is to be ascribed to the climates of the mother-countries; the climate of Portugal approaching to that of Brasil, the Europeans who emigrate hither feel little inconvenience from the change; in our tropical Settlements, the climate of their old differing so much from that of their new residence, the emigrants leave no means unemployed to mitigate the ​fervour of the sun, whose ardent blaze is found to derange the nervous system, enervate the body, and render the mind a prey to listlessness and inanity.
There are eighteen parish-churches, four monasteries, and three convents in the town of St. Sebastian, besides several smaller religious buildings on the islands, and in the suburbs. Upon these edifices no expence is spared to attract the imagination of the weak and ignorant, by a profusion of gilding, and other tawdry decorations. The "Hopital de Mieseracordie" is also a religious institution, which receives patients of every denomination, and is principally supported by private benefactions. To these may be added a Penitentiary-House, where the incontinent fair are ​secluded from the world, to weep for, and atone their faults in solitude and silence; hither jealous husbands, or cross parents, send their too amorous wives and daughters, and doubtless, often upon no better foundation, than "trifles light as air" The admission to the nunneries is expensive; and I have heard a fond mother regret her want of fortune, only because it prevented her dedicating some of her beloved daughters to God. The clergy possess immense property, in land, houses, and specie: when it was proposed to lay an impost of ten per cent upon the income of the church, the Benedictine monks offered to commute their part of the tax, by paying 40,000 crowns annually. Their pious desire for the conversion of heretics still glows ​with all the ardour of bigotry, and the recantation, of one protestant is considered of more value, than the conversion of 100 pagans; as in heaven there is more joy over one sinner that repenteth, than over ninety and nine just persons. An unfortunate foreigner of this persuasion, who by sickness, or other causes, is obliged to remain here after his ship sails, is continually plagued by the impertinent intrusion of a dozen of these pious fathers, who, if he can find no means of leaving the country, in general tire his patience out in a few months, and for quietness sake he consents to be saved according to their receipt.
​No foreigner is allowed; to reside here, unless he subsists by some mechanical trade, or is in the Service of the state; and if it appears that any idlers are inclined to remain in the colony by stealth, after sufficient warning and opportunities to get away, they are ​arrested and confined on Cobras Island, and either put on board their own, country ships that may touch here, or sent to Lisbon as prisoners.
Besides the religious buildings, the other public edifices are the Viceroys palace, which forms one side of a flagged square, fronting the landing-place: contiguous to this, and nearly adjoining each, other, are the opera-house, the royal stables, the prison, and the mint. The opera-house, which holds about six hundred persons, is open on Thursdays, Sundays, and most holidays: the pieces performed are, ​indifferently, tragedies, comedies, or operas, with interludes and after-pieces; the dialogue is in Portuguese, but the words and music of the songs are Italian. The house is wretchedly fitted up, the scenes miserably daubed, and where foliage is required, branches of real trees are introduced; so that while the artificial scenery wears the gay livery of summer, the natural sometimes presents the appearance of autumnal decay. The viceroy is expected by the populace, to shew himself at the theatre every night: on his entering the house, the audience rise, turn their faces towards his box, and again sit down. In private companies, no person sits while he stands, unless at his request; thus unsocial formality is the price that greatness every where pays for vulgar admiration.
​The town is supplied with water from a hill by a lofty aqueduct, of two tier of brick arches, built in a light, and not inelegant style. The public garden, which contains between three and four acres of ground, is situated on the seaside; the walks run in straight lines, and are shaded by mangoe trees, whose foliage is extremely luxuriant, and by its dark hue peculiarly calculated to refresh the eye, pained by the constant glare; of the sun. At the extremity of the garden next the beach, is a flagged terrace, and a room hung with views of the country, and other curiosities; a fountain, which throws up a jet d'eau; waters the garden, and cools the air. In, the winter, the garden is entirely deserted; the ladies then keep constantly in their houses, and the men, wanting ​that, first inducement, the charms of female society, feel no inclination for a barren promenade, but, following the example of the fair sex pass their time in listless indolence, and, like the swallow, remain in a state of torpidity till the return of spring.
Those gradations of fortune, which exist in, and indeed appear to be the necessary consequences of a well-regulated society, are not to be found in the Brasils; the only distinction is the rich and poor; the former are proud though ignorant, and ostentatious though avaricious; and the superabundance of all the mere necessaries of life alone, prevents the latter from being indigent beggars. Those who can acquire half ​a dozen slaves, live in idleness upon the wages of their labour, arid stroll the streets in all the solemnity of self-importance. In their general expences, the rich are penurious, and the marriage of their children alone seems to thaw their frozen generosity; on these occasions, they run into the contrary extreme, and ridiculous extravagance becomes the order of the day. I have seen a bridal chemise, the needlework of which had cost fifty pounds, and the rest of the marriage paraphernalia was in the same proportion of expence. Their entertainments are profuse in proportion as they are rare, but seldom possess any title to elegance, and sometimes want even common cleanliness to recommend them to an English appetite. The ​carriages in use among: the rich are cabriolets, drawn by mules, and chairs curtained round, in which they are carried through the streets by Negro slaves; the latter are also female conveyances. Gaming, the peculiar vice of idleness, is prevalent among the men. Pharaoh is ​their favourite game, and the fickle Goddess is here pursued with as much avidity as at Brooks's or Alimack's; it is but justice to the Brasilian, ladies to say, that they bear no part in this destructive vice, but whether from want of inclination, or from restraint, I can not take upon me to say.
The manners of the Brasilians are, however, gradually converging towards that liberal system, which appears to be continually gaining ground throughout the world, and which will probably be one day universally established, in exact proportion to the peculiar physical and moral attributes of man in the climate he inhabits. The usual dregs of both sexes is adopted from the French; swords and cocked hats are entirely out ​of fashion, and clokes are now only worn by the vulgar, The men who have had any intercourse with the English; adopt their customs, even to minuteness; hence, cropped heads, round hats, and half boots, have ceased to be considered a foreign costume. The women wear their waists very short, their bosoms much exposed, and their head-dresses and naked arms covered with a profusion of sparkling stones, which are of little value here; the ladies, however, as well as the men, seem to prefer attiring themselves a la mode d'Angleterre, when it is in their power. An English milliner who stopped here, on her way to India, performed greater metamorphoses on the external form of ​some young ladies, than can be equalled Hi die pages of Ovid. The features of the females can in no instance that I saw, claim the title of beautiful, and even very few Reserve the epithet of pretty; however, their black eyes, large, full, and sparkling, give a degree of brilliancy to their dark complexions, and throw some expression into their countenances; but it is too generally the mere expression of animal vivacity, ​untempered. by the soft chastising power of tender sensibility. Their eye-brows are finely arched; their eye-lashes long and silken; their hair is long, black, and coarsely luxuriant; and if we may judge from die frequent application of the fingers, is not always without inhabitants. In their persons, they are unacquainted with that delicate properté from which our countrywomen derive so large a portion of their power over the other sex, and for which they are conspicuous over all the nations of Europe. Among other habits of the Brasilian ladies, which, separately considered, are perhaps trifling, but when combined, form a powerful opposition to the empire of female charms, is that of continually spitting, without regard either to manner, time, or place.
​The young ladies who are educated in the Convents, are permitted to converse even, with strangers at the gate, and often shewed their partiality for our countrymen, by the interchange ef pocket-handkerchiefs and other trifles. There is something so interesting in the silvery tones of a secluded damsel, when two rows of iron bars intervene to prevent a near approach, something so Pyramus and Thisbelike, that tfhe heart of a true-born Englishman cannot fail being captivated.
"Tis distance lends enchantment to the view," and while he repeats the swelling, names of Magdelina, Antonia, ​or Seraphina, he deprecates the hell-invented barrier, that precludes him from imprinting the impassioned kiss on the hand of the sweetly pensive recluse. For the encouragement of my enamoured countrymen, who might otherwise give way to despondency, and pine in hopeless love, I cannot help informing them, that the iron bars of the convents are not quite so hard as adamant, nor the walls so high as to render an escalade impracticable; and that the watchful eye of the dragon, who guards the Hesperian fruit, has more than once been eluded by British ingenuity, or lulled to sleep by Brazilian gold.
The custom of dropping bouquets upon the heads of passengers, as signals ​to assignation, is no longer to be found at Rio, and as we have no reason to doubt the veracity of the gentlemen who were thus favoured, we ought not to pass over this alteration in the manners of the Brasilian women, without endeavouring to account for it. Former travellers have always complained of the difficulty they found in even getting a transient view of women of condition; this is, however, far from being the case at present; indeed, we generally found the manners of the ladies, (particularly the unmarried ones) approaching nearer to the easy familiarity of the English, than to the prudish reserve which is said to be the exterior characteristic of Portuguese females. As the manners of a people improve, ​jealous restraints give way to delicate attentions towards the females: men begin to place confidence in women; and the latter feeling their own importance, soon acquire that proper pride which is the great support of female virtue; and enjoying the liberty of doing as they choose, they think only of doing as they ought. Thus secret assignations become less necessary, as jealousy and scandal cease to fetter the social intercourse of the sexes; for experience proves the truth of the remark, that virtue will ever be displeasing, when she exhibits herself only in the disguise of harshness, caprice, or some other repulsive quality.
In music and singing the Brasilians of both sexes may be said to excel. These are arts peculiarly congenial to luxurious ​climates, for there the wants of man, being supplied by nature almost spontaneously, he has leisure to cultivate the soft impressions which the surrounding scenery creates, and by observing the harmonies of nature, he becomes a poet and musician. Dancing is a very favourite amusement, in which the ladies perform with extraordinary grace; besides national and English country dances, the native dance of the Indians is sometimes performed, the figures and motions of which are very little superior, in point of delicacy, to those of the Otaheitean timoradee.
The estimated proportion of the sexes at Rio is eleven women to two men; this may be attributed to physical as well as moral causes, for it is a demonstrable ​fact, that in warm climates more females are born than males; and secondly, the females leading a life of seclusion and temperance, and employed only in domestic offices, are entirely free from the dangers, and but little subject to the diseases which destroy the other sex. While the men are occupied in the hazardous pursuit of honour or of fortune in distant countries, from whence they are often doomed never to return, the women are born and die without ever quitting their paternal roof.
In the females of Brasil, as well as of other countries in the torid zone, there ​is no resting time between the periods of perfection and decline; like the delicate fruits of the soil, the genial warmth of the sun forces them to a premature ripeness, and after a momentary bloom sinks them towards decay: at fourteen they become mothers, at sixteen the blossoms of their beauty are full blown, and at twenty they are withered like the faded rose in autumn. Thus the lives of three of these daughters of the sun are scarce equal to that of one European: among the former the period of their bodily perfections far precedes that of their mental ones, in the latter they accompany each other hand in hand. These principles, doubtless, influenced the wise law-givers of the East in their permission of polygamy; for, in the torrid zone, should a man be circumscribed to one wife, he must pass ​nearly two thirds of his days united to a disgusting mummy, useless to society, else the depravity of human nature, joined to the irritation of unsatisfied passions, would lead him to get rid of the incumberance by clandestine means. This confinement to a single wife, in the European settlements of Asia and America, is one of the principal causes of the unbounded licentiousness in the men, and the spirit of intrigue in the women. In the Brasils, the licentious intercourse of the sexes perhaps equals what we are told prevailed in the most degenerate period of Imperial Rome. The primary cause of this general corruption of manners, must be referred to climate, which acts forcibly in giving strength to the physical properties of love. In proportion as the passion for enjoyment is ​excited, the fear of losing the object which confers it is increased, and hence proceeds the constitutional jealousy of men in warm climates. In the Brasils, the moment a girl is betrothed she becomes subject to all the restraints imposed by this rankling passion; and should the absence of her intended husband be unavoidable, previous to the nuptial ceremony, he, often causes her to be immured within the walls of a convent till his return. By such suspicions he too often creates the evil he complains of, and, then punishes the crime he has provoked; and while he thus becomes the arbiter of his own fate, he accuses Nature of causing all his sufferings. Unmarried females, being allowed much greater liberties than wives are by no means anxious, to be married and consequently ​neglect all those minute delicacies in their common intercourse with the other sex, which form the basis of mutual love, considered as a refined passion. But the climate operating upon the fair sex more forcibly in proportion to their superior delicacy of organization, enervates the system, and induces a kind of restless indolence, to which is attached a boundless desire for variety, when it can be procured without much exertion: hence, while the mind is lulled into inactivity, and the eye of prudence sleeps, the bosom is "tremblingly alive" to the soft sensations of love, and the bulwarks of female innocence lie exposed and defenceless to the attacks of the watchful seducer. The public opinion is not, however, so depraved as to sanction this laxity of morals, and hence pregnancy is ​too often concealed by procuring abortion, which repeated, perhaps, several times, assists in bringing on a premature old age, and sinks the victim to the grave loaded with guilt and disease.
Quod neque in Armeniis tigres secere latebris  Perdere nee fœtus ausa Leæna suos. At teneræ faciunt, sed non impunè puellæ Sæpe, suos utero quæ necat, ipsa perit.
                   Ovid. Amor. l. 2.
The punishment of adultery is transportation of both the offenders to different places on the coast of Africa; but the injured husband may revenge himself by the instant death of both parties, if he finds them, "nudus cum nuda, solus cum sola."
The city of St. Sebastian, from being surrounded by hills, which prevent the free circulation of air, is more unhealthy ​than the other settlements on the coast; and the dirty customs of the inhabitants tend to increase the defects of situation. The diseases most prevalent are fevers, dysentery, and hydrocele. Fevers, if not entirely generated, are undoubtedly multiplied by the noxious effluvia arising from the unremoved filth in the streets; for here the windows give a nightly exit to all the vile accumulations of the day. Dysenteries may probably proceed from their method of living or their common kinds of food, of which fish, fruit, and sweetmeats, form the principal articles. The chief animal ​food of the lower-class is salted pork not half cured, or jerked beef, both brought from Rio Grande; and their beverage is a deleterious and ardent spirit, which from its cheapness comes within the reach of their scanty finances. The causes of the hydrocele, which often renders those afflicted with it the most pitiable objects, may, perhaps, with equal reason, be traced to themselves; for by the continual use of tepid baths, they increase the naturally great relaxation, which pervades the system in a warm climate. In our English settlements, where cold bathing is daily practised such a disease is almost unknown. During the winter the thermometer seldom rises above 74°, and sometimes falls ​to 65°. At this season heavy dews descend during the night, and the mornings are enveloped in thick fogs, but soon
———The potent sun
Melts into limpid air the high rais'd clouds, And morning fogs that hover'd round the hilts, In party colour'd bands.
leaving the atmosphere pure and serene. The land and sea breezes are tolerably regular: the former commences towards morning, and is commonly very light. The sea breeze may be seen curling the surface of the ocean at noon, but it seldom reaches the town before two o'clock: it is generally moderate, cool, and refreshing.
The Creoles, at this season, seem to feel all the effects of rigorous cold; ​while we were melting in the lightest clothing, they muffled themselves up in their cloaks, and sat shivering, with their doors and windows closed. The rainy season commences in August; and for six weeks or two months, a continual torrent pours down, with a close and suffocating atmosphere. To the rains succeed the dry and parching months of November and December, when the Creoles are again re-animated; and awakened by the ardent blaze of the sun, from the lethargic torpidity of winter, renew their occupations or amusements.
* ↑ The silvery fibres of sharks' fins are manufactured into artificial flying-fish, for catching dolphins, &c. These fins also form a considerable article of trade between India and China; the Chinese putting them into their soups.
* ↑ Navigators differ in their opinions respecting the most eligible meridian to cross the line on; but agree, that it ought to be between the longitudes of 20° and 25° W.; but by crossing it so far to the eastward as 20°, calms of long continuance, and strong easterly currents, setting into the gulph of Guinea, will commonly be met with; by crossing it to the westward of 25°, strong westerly currents are found setting into the immense bight between Cape St. Augustine and Florida; the meridian of 23° W. on the line, seems to be the boundary of these different currents. In the various opinions upon this subject, sufficient regard has not been paid to the season of the year. When the sun is far in the northern tropic, the winds to the southward of the line, incline more southerly, and, during the contrary season, they incline more northerly than the regular course of the trade-wind. Intending to touch at Rio Janeiro, between the months of March and September, I would prefer crossing the line in 26° W.; and between September and March again in 28°. But if it is not intended to touch at Rio, I would, during the first season, cross the line in 23; and during the latter, in 25°: crossing the line from the southward, I look upon 27° to be the best meridian, as being not only less liable to calms, but also for the probability of meeting the trade well to the eastward, and perhaps, even to the southward of east. When the sun is in the northern tropic, I would recommend keeping on the last meridian till to the northward of the Cape Verd Isles for, by coming nearer to these islands at this season, you will most probably meet with calms, and baffling winds.
* ↑ It is a general principle in the theory of winds, that the S. E. trade is found to blow in all the southern seas, between the latitudes of 5° and 25° S. This is, however, subject to very great irregularities in the South Atlantic Ocean, within 200 leagues of the American coast, which doubtless proceed from the great elevation of this continent.
* ↑ At 1l. a-day.
* ↑ In the library of the Antonian monks, we were shewn an English book, presented by Thomas Muir with the following lines in a blank leaf: Bibliothecæ Ordinis, Sancti Antonii Fratrum Observantiæ suæ Thomas Muir de Hunters-hill Gente Scholus, Anima Orbis sefrarum Civis Obtulit. O ScholiaScotia! ô longum felix, longumque superba Ante alias patria, Herpum sanctissima tellus Dives opum secunda viris, lætissima campis uberibus Ætumnus memorare tuas summamque malorum uberibus: Quis queat, et dictis, nostra æquare dolores Et turpes ignominisl*, et barbara jussa Et nos patriæ fines, et dulcia linquimus arva, Et cras ingens iterabimur æquor. Civitate Sancti Sebastiani 23 Julii 1794. ↑ struck out by hand (Wikisource contributor note) ↑ ↑ written in by hand, presumably by author (see chapter 1) (Wikisource contributor note)
* ↑ In passing, the prison, strangers are disgusted with the sight of half-starved and naked prisoner with iron chains extending from their necks to the prison door, sufficiently long, to admit their coming to the foot-path of the street, for the purpose of begging.
* ↑ In describing the manners of the Brasilians, it will, I trust, be recollected, that I speak generally; divested, as I hope I am, of national prejudice, I suppose the existence of an universal standard of social manners, which, though very far from being arrived at by any nation in the world, is more nearly approached by some than by others, and is perhaps already reached by a few more happy individuals of every nation. Among the Brasilians, though the general mass stand very low upon the scale of refinement, the proportion of these superior minds is, perhaps, equal to what any other country can boast; and I am happy in bearing testimony, that at Rio de Janeiro, refined hospitality, elegant taste, and politeness, devoid of formality, are the conspicuous characteristics of several individuals.
* ↑ Topazes, aqua marinas, amethysts, and chrisolites, &c.
* ↑ The amorous precepts of this author are well followed by the Rio ladies; If snowy-white your neck; you still should wear That, and the shoulder of the left arm, bare; Such sights ne'er fail to fire my am'rous heart, And make me pant to kiss the naked part. Art of Love, translated by Congreve. But they should recollect, that this voluptuous author addressed himself to Italian women, and that the "Parian marble," to which their skins were compared, is by no means applicable to Brasilians complexions.
* ↑ Here Pyramus, there gentle Thisbe strove, To catch each other's breath, the balmy breeze of love. Ovid. Met.
* ↑ See Capt. Cook's Voyage.
* ↑ Speculative writers have either doubted or denied this assumption, but the observation of those who have resided many years in Asia, fully authorize our stating it as a "fact capable of demonstration."
* ↑ For an exact description of St. Sebastian's in this respect, we beg leave to refer our readers to Mrs. Winifred Jenkins, and shall only remark, that whoever walks under the windows at ten o'clock at night, will probably have occasion to cry, "Lord have mercy upon me!"
* ↑ I know of but two other parts of the world where this disease is greatly prevalent: at Cochin on the Coast of Malabar, and in the island of Barbadoes.