sometimes of both, to grow to a great length, and pare them to a sharp point.

On account of the irregular surface of the streets, there are in Bahia few carriages drawn by horses; but sedan chairs are numerous, and can be procured in every street. These are not like ours, but are much higher, and open at the sides from top to bottom, so that a person on stepping into them, is at once seated. They are carried on the shoulders of two stout negroes, by fixed pieces of wood, which project from the upper part of the chair before and behind. Some of these chairs, belonging to wealthy individuals, are profusely ornamented, and are hung with deep curtains of silk or stuff, stamped with gold and silver leaf in a great variety of patterns.

The chief amusements of the Bahians are derived from the festivals of different saints, the professions of nuns, sumptuous funerals, and other grand ceremonies, all of which are attended by processions. Scarcely a day passes in which one or other of these does not occur; and, on the grand festivals, after coming from church, the inhabitants generally visit each other and dine together.

While Mr. Lindley was in Bahia, he was invited to dine with one of the principal families of the place. The dishes he says were plain. The company in general used their hands instead of knives and forks, though there was no want of these articles. They first took in their fingers a little meat, then vegetables and the flour of the cassada root: these they rolled in sauce, oil, or soup, and then squeezed the whole, in the palm of the hand, into the shape, and about the size of a wash-ball. When thus prepared they conveyed it into their mouths, and whilst they were eating one lump, they were employed in preparing another.

Indelicate and disgusting as such a practice may seem to Europeans, it is constantly adopted by persons of both sexes and most ranks here. Even, when before

strangers, if they take up a knife and fork, they are soon tired of so unusual, so slow and tedious a process, and soon lay them down, and fall to in their old way with redoubled eagerness.

Fernambuco.

Proceeding north from Bahia, we next arrive at the extensive government of Fernambuco, or Olinda, as it is sometimes called. It is bounded on the south and west by the governments of Bahia, Goyaz, and Marannon, and on the north and east by the sea. The cultivated plains of Fernambuco yield considerable quantities of sugar and cotton. Many of the mountains are covered with forests that abound in Brasil wood, numerous cargoes of which are annually exported to Europe.

The river Francisco, which forms part of the southern boundary of Fernambuco, rises among the mountains west of Rio de Janeiro, but its source has not been correctly ascertained. It runs towards the north-east, then, after losing itself underground for several miles, it rises, and taking an easterly course, falls into the sea about the eleventh degree of south latitude.

The capital of this province is Olinda, a town situated about the eighth degree of south latitude, and at the distance of about a mile from the sea. It contains. somewhat more than two thousand Portuguese inhabitants, and a much greater number of Indians and people of colour. This place has a small harbour, the narrow entrance into which is fortified, and rendered inaccessible to strangers. The trade of Olinda is carried on by a port situated at the mouth of a small river on which the town is built.

Along the whole of this part of the coast there extends an almost continued wall of rocks, sixty feet and upwards in height, which allow vessels to approach only by a few narrow openings at different places. About sixty miles north of Olinda, is Paraiba, a tolerably well built trading town, situated some miles from the sea,

and on a river of the same name, at the mouth of which there is a harbour. This river, however, is very shallow in many parts, and is so far interrupted by rocks, sand banks, and islands, that small vessels only can ascend as far as the town. Wheat, barley, potatoes, and fruit are the produce of the adjacent country. Beyond Paraiba, towards the interior, the land rises gradually into fertile hills and dales, covered with wood and pastures.

North of this place is a district called Rio Grande, so named from a river of considerable magnitude, which descends from the mountains in the interior, runs northeast, and, by several mouths, loses itself into the sea. This district produces wheat, hemp, cows and horses in such abundance that it is reckoned the richest part of Brasil; but, owing to the numerous flats in the river, an extensive navigation cannot be carried on.

An island called Fernando di Noronha, though distant nearly sixty leagues from the coast, is also attached to the government of Fernambuco. It is somewhat more than a league in length, and consists partly of hills, some of which appear to have been volcanoes, and partly of plains, the soil of which is fertile, deep, and impregnated with nitre. The Portuguese have here several forts and a small garrison.

Marannon, or Maragnan.

The province next to Fernambuco is that of Marannon. It extends along the coast from the mountains of Fernambuco, to the frontiers of Para. The southern parts of this government are mountainous; and thence many rivers proceed northward to the sea. The northern parts are more level and fertile.

The first production that was exported from this country was ambergris, which was thrown up, in considerable quantities, on the shores. But, when this article was exhausted, the inhabitants employed themselves in the cultivation of the land, and they now ob

tain great quantities of cotton, indigo, and rice. Different kinds of dying drugs are also produced; and the plains are filled with numerous herds of cattle.

All the commerce of this province is carried on by the port of St. Louis, situated in a large island called Marannon, and separated from the continent only by a river. All other parts of the coast are inaccessible, on account of the shallows, hills of sand, and rocks with which it is bordered. Even the harbour of St. Louis is beset with rocks and islets which render the passage into it extremely dangerous.

Para.

The most northern government of Brasil is that of Para, situated on the river Amazon. This province comprehends even that part of Guiana which belongs to Portugal. Some districts of Para are barren, and others fertile, producing, where they are properly cultivated, great quantities of cotton, sugar, &c. Formerly the trade was confined to vanilla, sarsaparilla, and cotton, the spontaneous produce of the ground: these were collected by the Indians, and then brought to the capital for sale; and it was not until the labour of negroes was introduced, that the lands were cultivated, and the different West India productions were raised.

The capital of this province is Para, or Belem*, a regularly built and fortified town, situated at the influx of the river Tocantin into the eastern branch of the Amazon, and opposite to the island of Johannes, or Marajo. Its harbour, however, is shallow, and the approach to it is difficult, on account of the various currents which set along the coast.

The smaller governments of Brasil are Goyaz, westward of Bahia, an inland and mountainous district, which contains many desert tracts, not hitherto ex

See page 21.

plored; Matto Grosso, westward of Goyaz; and Minas Geraes, or Generales, a considerable part of which has already been described in the narrative of Mr. Mawe. Respecting the interior of Brasil little has hitherto been ascertained. A considerable portion of it, however, is known to be traversed from south to north by the rivers Aranguay and Tocantin, which unite their streams about the sixth degree of south latitude; and the united waters of which fall into the Amazon.

FINIS.

C. Whittingham, College House,