On Leaving Ascension, We Sailed For Bahia, On The Coast
Of Brazil, In Order To Complete The Chronometrical Measurement
Of The World.
We arrived there on August 1st, and
stayed four days, during which I took several long walks.
I was glad to find my enjoyment in tropical scenery had not
decreased from the want of novelty, even in the slightest
degree.
The elements of the scenery are so simple, that they
are worth mentioning, as a proof on what trifling circumstances
exquisite natural beauty depends.
The country may be described as a level plain of about
three hundred feet in elevation, which in all parts has been
worn into flat-bottomed valleys. This structure is remarkable
in a granitic land, but is nearly universal in all those
softer formations of which plains are usually composed.
The whole surface is covered by various kinds of stately
trees, interspersed with patches of cultivated ground, out
of which houses, convents, and chapels arise. It must be
remembered that within the tropics, the wild luxuriance of
nature is not lost even in the vicinity of large cities: for
the natural vegetation of the hedges and hill-sides overpowers
in picturesque effect the artificial labour of man.
Hence, there are only a few spots where the bright red
soil affords a strong contrast with the universal clothing
of green. From the edges of the plain there are distant
views either of the ocean, or of the great Bay with its
low-wooded shores, and on which numerous boats and canoes
show their white sails.
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