The Sun.
London, England, 1807-12-22 00:00:00

BKAZILS.

As the attention of all Europe will, be turned to•.
wands thi, important part Of the world, and particu-
imly of this Country, to which it will- be bound of;
the nt must importame, we think it otir duty to
pre-
sent to otir Reeders the following Account of it, ex-
traded' from A Voyage to COchinchiva.," by Mr.
P,Altuow, a writer ckservedly held in high esteem
for his knowledge, talentsould anxious zeal fur the
interest of the British.limpire. This account of the
pl4ee to which.the Boon of I.3lcAi;ANz.t'llas been
,driven, and in which we irust that its importance
and dignity in the scale of nations will: be greatly
art4tnented, is justly coniiidered as the most etirted
ri:yiesentoion
.01 it, that has ever been submitted to
the Public. • •

" On the 29th, Wt: came in sight of that point of
the coast of South America which is called 'Cape ',ll
; and having doubled this high promontory in
toe course of the night, we entered, on the 101191.vt
ing day, the niaenilicent harbour of Itio de Janeiro.
Although I shall endeavour to sketch a gene-
ral ()yane of the features of this part of the Bra-
zilian coast, yet I am fully aware that any descrip-
' nen which I can employ will convey but an ivade-
(plate idea of the
,grandeur and beauty of the emit-
. try .to those, who have not had an opportunity of
seeing h. The first remarkable object that catches
the .attention, after passing Cape Frio, is a gap or
rent in the verdant ridge- of mountains which skirt
'be sea-coast. This chasmappears, from a distance,
Like a narrow portal between two cheeks of solid '
stone, whir) being perithly naked are the more
remarkable, as every other prominent part of the
'ridge of mountains is clothed with luxuriant vegeta.
lion, On approaching this chasm, which is in rata
the eat ranee into the grand harbour of Ili° de Janei-
TO, the clAck on the left or western side
.is disco-
vered to be a single solid stone of a conical shaper
or, in nautical language, a 'sugar-loaf, entirely de-
. Ached, not quite perpendicular, but leaning a little
towards. the .entriatee. We took an opportunity,
during,onr stay at Itio), of ascertaining its height by
means Of a lihe measured'on a little sandy heath
which.skirt* its 'base on the side next to the liarbOur,
and the angles which it extended from the extremi-
ties of this line. From the result of our operations
it appeared that this. solid mass of hard sparkling
granite is beo feet high above the surface out of
which it rises. The eastern or opposito cheek of
the chasm is a. naked mdluntain, composed of the
•same material, but with ditiersice in point of
Nan, that it has an easy and regular slope !rem the
water's edge to: the summit, which is about the
wide--wiLL,ht as that of the cone. :Die to hole this
eid is occupied by forts,
A little Island civilly. fertified, luSt
. the entraisce, contraa*,'"ioe passage to the ‘c kith of
about tisree-f;outllis of a mile. Having cleared this
Channel. of the most niajgnificent scenes in na7
'tret to upon the enraptured eye. Let any one
.imagine to .lernsell an immense sheet of water run-
Ping hack into the heart of a I:teantilid country, to
the digance of about 30 miles, where it is bounded
by a skreeti of lofty• mountains, alwiys majestic,
whether their rugged and shapeless summits are
ti,nged with azure. anti purple, or buried in the
clouds. Let him iinaglite this sheet ot water. gra-
dually to expand,
,fyom the.narrOW portal through
`which it communicates with the sea, to the width
of tv or 14'-tuik,s, to be every where Amide(' with
ionumerable littler , islands,' scattered over its surfacci
in every diversity of Shape, And exhibiting ever'
'Variety, of tint that ao exuberant and incessant ve-
fetation is capable of affording.. Let hint coneeive
the shores.of these islands to be so fringed with Ira-
pant and beautiful shrubs.'ll4)t planted by man,' but
scattered by the easy and liberal., of nature,
act compictely,to be concealed in theii'yerdant cover-
ing. Let hint figure to himself this beautiful sheet,
ttf.watet', with .itsinulnetotts Islands, to IL! encom-
t assed en every side by hills of a moderate height,
m ising ingradnai succesSiortaboyeeach other, all pro-
fusely clad its lively green,' and •crowited with groups
.eit the noblest trees,
,whsie their shores are indented
with ntimberlesS inlets, shooting their arms across
the
,most delightful valli.ts, to meet the Murmuring
rills, and, bear their waters into the vast and coin-
Men reservoir of all. In short, let him 'intagine to
himself at succession of Mount Edgetorobe, "to be
cotivititied aloeg the 'shores of a tnlgnificent lake
not less in circuit than a hundred miles .ntut having
Tinced these in a climate ‘i here sprit; for ever re-
aides, tin all the glow of youthful v i;oor; hi; will still
polzeiii only a very iniperfea idea of the magnificent.
stentiry displa)ed within the capacious harbour of
ItiodeJaneito, which, as an harbour, whether it be
considered in the light of affording slecurity and con-
venience for shippitig,-. fer its locality. of position/ or.
fertility of the adjacent country, may justiybe ranked
among the first of naval stations.
" If then the natural heautie4 of Rio tie Janeiro:
ere, in .its present stater , so eery enchanting, how,
Enoch more so MUSE they have appeared at.a time
when this arm of the sea was a lake of pure trans-!
parent water ? That such it once was, littledbubt
can be entertained. Its ancient barrier havioggiem
way to tins ptessere 0.1 the water within the more:
solid parts of the fragments, in beingfotied into the"
sea; still remain as a bar before the entrance of the
. harbour, on whiCh the depth of the water does not,
exceed from seven to ten tiithoms;,- close to
both the inner and the outer margin thiAleptliii not
less than eiOtgewfat boats. Parr of the,found.itioni
indeed, appears in pointed rocks above the surface
of the tea, towards the western extremity of the
'bar.
" If the Portuguese of 'Rift have done but little
towards intproving nature, they ore entitled or, least
to the &gatite merit of not having miteh diSfigt tied
her. The point of situation tor building the tOwit
ix well t+lip, tta ont,of tt great ,number of geed. ones
that- pre:sett ted .themSelies, .The principal bUildingS
, which have.been ereeted, thought rant elq,ant, are -free
at Feast trom eitr.svagatit by .nu
meaus suited•to weir respedive situ:loons. A
torirr,op iitokeov- re,-golar, is tar frm o being ain un
pleasarit object a„ lattaseape ; bul,when its lines
ere over the inequalities of a broken e:ount, whose
hires are 'frwi.;ed with wood, it fse(incnoy, ut its to
meotnaderable share of pitturesque
bout.. Almost, eN entineoce in, the ‘,:ifilplty of

the towaa of Itio.is crowned with a castle or a fort, a ,
eliiirelt or,a convent ; and. tulny of the Islands on 1
the expansive harbour are enlivened and ornamented
by buildings of a. similar nature. Not one iii the
tennerees islets Were disgraced hy such ridiculous
andamcouth edifices, the keldlosies ola sickly taste;
as.diDtort and disfigure thoseonce loyelyspots.Cit t IRV
beautiful lake of Keswick, and which are now a re- .
preach to the grand and sublime scenery with v. Inch
they arestirtritmiled. . . .
-" The town of Rio; or, to speak with 'becoming
dignity of the capital of the Brazils, •the.city of St.
Sebastian, is lei-mitt* 'situated on a projeoling
f
quadrangulat romontory, of an irretgular• form,
hree ofwheSe-sidei are opposed to the harboar,,apd
the _ foetal sheltered from the prevailing we:4erly ,
,blasts by a skreen Of high hills, well-covered with.,
Weed. The side of the town which is next to that
part of the harbour Where the slapping usualtY. lie at :
'anchor j 5 nearly a mile acid a half iti length 5 and dip
aelepth inwards about time-fourths of a mile.
,-• " The Northern angle of the promontory is
bold broken eminence, on one point of Which there
is p- regular fortification, and on the other a convent .
of Benedidine monks, which, being also surround-
ed with hoes of , defence, is actually as well as Inc:.
tapho'rically a cloirch thilitafiL These heights cote;,
pletelycemmand the town and the goehoragei and:
they:appear to,command-also, at least,they are op re
level with, the strongest work in the harbour; on
which the defence of the plate is thought princi
pally to depeud. This is the Elba dos Cebrasy or
Snake bland, a rock about 80 feet high,'ltt the point
on which' the citadel stands, and slanting to eight
at the opposite end i its, length is 3'oo 3'ar4s; and it
detached by a narrow but very deep channel
from ;the eminence op which the Beneckline con-
vent i situated. Bennd every side of this strongly'
fortified Island; and close to its shores, ships of 'the
greatest draught of water may lie in perfetl security.
Here also are a Ceinmodious dock-yard, an arsenal
of naval stores,. 'a sheer hulk, 'and a wharf ter hear,
ipg doWn add careeping shipping. The largest
Fleets, however, may anchor in this capacious liar-
hour, entirely out of the reach of any of the guns
that are mounted on 'the feria. _
".On landing from the harbour, the first objea
in the town that catches the attention is a handsome
square, unlimited on three:at& it sides with build-
ings, and the fourth open to'the water. 'Along this
Side id'eretled a übble stone qhay, • with' flights of
titepS lit, ath extremity, and in the centre, the lase
ni 'which is the ebninion landing-place. When
this line at masonry shall be extended the whble:
length of the town, which was intended to be done,
it will seri'e net merely as an ornament and conVe-
'lime, but as a Considerable defend againit the
attempt 'Ol au enmity to laud. Near the ,central
flight of stairs' is a quadrangular obelisk, throwing;
train each Of., 167 four fronts, 'a eoteitant stream of
jiure littiphiltqfterr for the Use bf the lower part of
the toWit and of-lhe shipping in the harbour. The
tipper side 'Olthe slhare, tacihg the harbour, is en-
tirety occupied by the palace of the Viceroy, a long:
Plain building, neither reMarkable for elegance of
deigti, nor peculiarity of conStrnetion.
The palace, the obelisk, and the pier, are • all
built with hewn blocks of granite; and the surface
of the sipare is a, solid floor of the saute Material,-
sprinkled over with . quanzose sand; The granite
heing of that. kind which contains a large proportion
Of , glit(fhiiig mica is 'highly injurious to the eye,
which is scarcely able to bear the dazzling rays of
the, Sun, 'playing' throughout the whole day on, One
side or other ot7this open area---glaring emblem of
the, brilliant exploits of tile Portuguese nation in .
earlier tithes! ' .
" in accomplishing a plan for. affording a move.
;tient and ample supply of water to every part of
the toWn, an article of the first necessity in all si7
inatietis, but more' specially so in q warm cliMate,
the Government has shown a laudable attention ;
and the name of Vasconcellas, the Viceroy under
whose administration the works were constraled,
]s't'ory properly recorded in an appropriate: Latin in-
scriptiou; engraveti"on one of the sides of the obe-
lisk id the. great'square. All the fountains' derive
their supply of water from a large reservoir, which
is &obstructed en the sumtnit of a hill just above the
town. This reservoir Is fed by means of an aqiie:,,
dua, raised on arches acrd s a deep Valley, on the
opposite side of •'whieli the water isreceiVed.into it
from a succesSitin' of stone troughs, laid under ten
arched covering 'of brick-work, to the spring7heiiili;
in the mountains. That part of this great Aviirk
which crones the valley, and communicatesimthe-
diately with the reservoir, seems to be as untieces-
sari, as it must have been expensive; it is supported
on a double tier of lofty arches, consisting ut inure
than forty in each ‘rtiW, atut is no inemisicrerabie or-
nament tb the city. A series of pipes laid along, or
'under the surface, would unquestionably have'au-
:sivered the purpose of condoetiog the watereqnally
well ; btat, as Sir George Staunton has jit'srly ' ob-
served, " sliew anttrnagnificence, as welt as'utility,
ire sometimes' the objects of public works. .
" Another Objeta of utility,.: in which the health
and the atuusement:of the public, have 'been con-
suited, is the Passed Pkiblico, or gardeit for public
promenade. , This piece of ground is laid out in
shrubberies, limes, walks, mid parterres. Bowers
are eretied tete wad there, round which the jas-
mine, the clematis, and' the: passion flower inter-
twine their creepintbranches. We observed seve-
ral. native platitS of great beauty i bat a vehement
'„desire seemed to prevail of culthiating, irr prefer-
ence, these of Europe, notwithstanding their sickly
And diminutive appearance, contra led in a climate
So unsuitable to !heir constitution. But the most
contemptible objea in the gardeo was a miserable
representation of the papaya tree ill copper, of its
natural size, tend pinked green; whilst the real plant,
groikingiclose beside it iii all the exuberance of tm-
pical vegetatipti, laughed, to scorn its stitf and de-
formed muck bsother. A broad terrace Walk at the
lower end of the garden, overlooking an arm of the
iarbour, cotuntatids a delightful view el its rising
tthores, which are every where fringed with coppice.
'At Zraclt end of the terrace is a neat square budding,
whose walls within are covered with paintings. As
specimeni of art, tinware not entitled to- much Ito-
flee, but the are far from being uninterest-
ing. The views, in one of these buildings, .are ee-
tnisly confined to detached parts of the harbour; the
ceiling is covered with devices in shell-work ; and
rt,tiod the cornices are reareseotations atisk, pecu-

Ilar to be c:)ontiy,:sv,-Aeck in *4ll. 'hells. .'Tite
ce ling of theother building Contains stmdar devices
w ought in feathers ; and figures of fnany of the na--'
e birds :we :arranged round- the cornice, each
cl,..thed in .its proper plumage. On tht walls of the ,!
la ter Lire .eight plititings, descriptive of what were
t'.eti Cliiiclervit as the eight most importaut.prii-
duaions tit' the Bra'tils.. Tbey donbist of
rst. A view of the. diamond and gold mines, •
w!iich
.wire first discovered about the beginning of
the eighteenth century, and the mast produetive of,
which are at,Villa Rica, about 200 mild beyond-
! 4tio de Janeiro.

2d. View ofqt sugar plantation and'mill for.bruis,
ing the. canes; an article which is not much culti-
vated in the neighbotirlvdod Of Rio, being. considered
as mote suitable for those distriels lying nearer to
the etloater: The lex mills vihichLive Sa w were of
-a rude copstruaion, turned generally by a pair of
small horses, end the canes passed between three
wooden rollers ;• and such they appeared in the
painting,
:3d. The culture and preparatioo.ot indigo. Al,.
though this plant grows well and thrives without
much attention, the preparation of the dye'siMple,
quid requiring- no great 'expence of labour, yet the
small quatuity that is produced will scarcely entitle.
it to be considered as an impOrtant article of cotu-,
Mcrae.

4th. A plantation Of the Cat us Opuntia, with-
the mode of preparing cochinille Irmo the insed,
There van be no coestion that this article, so va-
luable. in the arts and manufaeltires, might be culti-
vated in the Brazils to its great an extent as in
Mexico; whereas. the gamily raised. at !preseut i 3
eXceedingly .
bIII . The .ditrertna preparatidtis of triailltiot. This
plant is cultivated.thiefly for the subsistence of the
slaves. The otsakra bread, so common in the West
India islands; and the
,substance which is sold in
the shops of London tinder the name of tapioca, and
the prbduee• of -its long tuberous rbOts they.
make .from it a hair-powder as white.as-snow. it is
propagated from cuttings, and the root is rasped into
a ;powder by ‘wheels that ate covered with dentatui
metallic plates.
Gth. View of. a coffee plantation. • The'enitivs-
tion,of this article, seemed to :he.on the increase
and/there can be no doubt that the loss of St. Do-
mingo to France. will contribdte 'greatly- to the'en:;
couragement of its propagation" in the Brazils.
7th. View of a rice plantation; whirl), as the
most produ&ive of all grain, is abundantly cultivated
in-all the Northern provinces,
nth. View of a plantation of hemp, and its ma
mit ahiire ;Dui cortlagc. This article is chiefly ctifti-
vated in the Southern dist' near the island of:Sr.
Ca-tharine, but bithth to has Net with • little en-
cuutnetnent.