CHAPTER I.

The Executive having, in the year 1832, resolved on an attempt to place our commercial relations, with some of the native powers of Asia, on a sure and advantageous basis, orders were issued to prepare the United States’ ship Peacock, and the schooner Boxer, for that special object.

The commanders of these vessels were required to visit certain ports on the southeastern coast of Asia, and to make a general report on the condition of our commerce, in relation to its security from piratical, or other hostile acts in the Indian seas. I was honoured by the President of the United States with the station of special agent or envoy to the courts of Cochin China, Siam, and Muscat, for the purpose of effecting treaties which should place our commerce in those countries on an equality with that enjoyed by the most favoured nations.

The Boxer, having orders to proceed on a voyage to Liberia and from thence to join the Peacock off the coast of Brazil, left Boston harbour about the middle of February, 1832; and on the following March we sailed from the same port, in the latter-named vessel, for Rio Janeiro; having on board F. Baylies, Esq., whom we were carrying to that place on his way to Buenos Ayres, to which Republic he had received the appointment of chargé d’affaires from the government of the United States. No circumstance, worthy of record, occurred until the eighth day of April, when at daybreak we discovered the isle of Sal, one of the Cape de Verds, and ere evening closed, St. Nicholas and Bonavista appeared in sight. We lay to on that night under the lee of Mayo and on the following morning cast anchor in the roadstead of Porto Prayo, in the island of St. Jago.

The customary salute of thirteen guns, given to the town, was immediately returned with a corresponding number. Of the weather, considering the season, we had no reason to complain. The thermometer ranged between 40° and 72°, rarely exceeding the one or falling below the other; the lowest point, when we passed St. George’s Bank, being 37°, and the highest, at the time the northeast tradewind first met us, being 71°, in latitude 19°, and longitude 26°. The barometer ranged from 29°, 97′, to 30°, 45′.

The most perfect order and regularity prevailed on board the ship, in every department of duty; each individual having his duties so defined as to prevent confusion among the crew, should any of the seamen be called suddenly to quarters, or to make, take in, or reef sails. Among the acquisitions most useful and instructive, were an excellent library, presented by the government to the officers, and a second selection of books, purchased by the officers and crew, jointly. It was a gratifying sight to behold men who might, otherwise, have been occupied in relating idle stories, singing immoral songs, quarrelling, or creating a mutinous spirit among their fellows, drawing useful information from the great sources of knowledge, and extracting from the page of history, at the same time, a fund of information and a code of morals.

The Cape de Verd islands belong to the kingdom of Portugal, and are ten in number. They were discovered by Noel, in the year 1440, and contain a population, as follows: Sal, four hundred; Mayo, two thousand five hundred; St. Vincent, three hundred and fifty-six; St. Nicholas, five thousand; St. Jago, thirty thousand; Fogo, ten thousand; St. Antonio, twenty-four thousand; Brava, eight thousand; Bonavista, four thousand; St. Lucia, uninhabited; total, eighty-four thousand.

Among the principal articles of export from the abovementioned islands is orchilla, a species of lichen. It is used for dying any shade of purple or crimson, and is superior to the same kind of moss found in Italy or the Canaries. This vegetable product glitters, as a sparkling gem, in the royal diadem of Portugal, having been monopolized by the crown, to which it yields an annual revenue of $200,000. The right of purchase claimed by the crown, allows only five cents per pound. Were it not for this unjust monopoly, orchilla would readily sell at twenty-five cents the pound. It is exported to Lisbon, and there sold, by the agents of the royal trader, to foreign merchants, who re-export it to their respective countries. Salt is produced at these islands, in large quantities, and furnishes a considerable article of export for the United States’ markets; being used for the salting of beef, butter, &c. Heavy cargoes of it are exported, principally by Americans, to Rio Grande and La Plata, for the curing of jerked or dried beef, which finds a ready sale in the market of Havana. It is also purchased by American sealers to salt the skins. In the list of fruits on this cluster of islands, the red and black grape are conspicuous. They furnish, converted into wine, a considerable article of internal commerce. St. Antonio alone, says Mr. Masters, of Sal, produces, annually, from fifteen hundred to two thousand pipes of wine. Owing to the ignorance of the inhabitants in the process of fermentation, it is of ordinary quality, generally unfit for transportation, and may be purchased at the rate of ten or twelve dollars per pipe.

If there be truth in the often-repeated assertion, that volcanic countries produce the best wines, Fogo will export, at a future day, a very superior article. Since the year 1827, coffee, nearly equal in flavour to that of Mocha, has been cultivated with success. Previously to that period, the crown had laid an almost prohibitory duty on the importation of this article from its empoverished islanders, in order to encourage the agricultural produce of its more extensive southern possessions, in the vast territory of Brazil. Every planter, now, looks on his plantation as a source of increasing profit, and within five or six years, coffee will become the leading article of commerce from the Cape de Verd islands. It now realizes ten cents per pound. The remaining articles for export, are hides, skins, goats, and asses.

We found the inhabitants, on several of these islands, suffering extreme distress from a want of provisions, occasioned by a failure in the periodical rains, for two successive years. At Fogo, many died from starvation. The inhabitants of this island have, long since, annually exported ten or twelve small cargoes of corn to Madeira, and in this, their day of suffering, the inhabitants of that sister-island received them by hundreds with every mark of kindness and attention. Some small relief was likewise administered from the Peacock.

The whole appearance of the Cape de Verds, in consequence of this long-continued drought, was exceedingly arid; the grass assumed a dark brown colour, similar to that which may be seen on our western prairies, when a fire has passed over them. Nothing green was visible in the vicinity of Porto Praya, save in the deep valleys, lying on the outskirts of the town, where some moisture yet remained, and where water was obtained for the suffering population.

The town of Porto Praya, is situated on an eminence of considerable height, and may be approached, in front of the harbour, by two roads; the one being on the eastern and the other on the western side. These roads exhibit marks of great labour, bestowed in their construction; they have been, for the most part, blasted out of the solid rock, and extend up the side of a precipitous hill. Forty-five pieces of cannon, of various caliber, pointed towards the roadstead, serve, at once, as a fortification to the town and a protection to the harbour.

Vessels bound to Western Africa, South America, or the East Indies, generally take in refreshments at this port, which affords a safe anchorage for vessels at all seasons of the year, excepting the month of September. During this month it is visited by a violent gale from the south, that would place in the most imminent danger any vessel which might seek for security beneath the bold and rocky precipice that rises in many places, nearly perpendicularly, one hundred and twenty feet above the shore.

At the summit of this rocky acclivity is the plain on which Porto Praya is built, and where a large open square, from which three or four streets diverge, serves as a market-place. Within this square is a building used for a jail. On its eastern side are situated the governor’s house and a church; the latter being the only place for religious worship in the town.

At the request of the governor, Capt. G. and myself paid him a visit. We were received with courtesy and affability. He is of noble family, not quite thirty years of age; and on this occasion was bedecked with six orders of merit, which he frequently gazed on with apparent satisfaction and delight. The houses here are generally built of stone: those facing the public square are two stories in height, and well stuccoed; on the western side, many of them commodious, well finished and furnished, and fastidiously neat in their appearance. A gallery, resting on a precipice seventy or eighty feet high, extends along their rear, and commands a prospect of neat gardens, securely walled in, and laden with tropical fruits, vegetables, and flowers. We observed several negro girls, in the valley beneath, drawing water for the inhabitants of the town, and, with well filled jars, winding their way up the side of a zig-zag and dangerous path on the hillside. As the eye followed their ascent up the fearful height, from which a false step would have dashed them in pieces, we could not but admire the seeming ease with which they balanced their vessels, and the apparent disregard of danger displayed by them as they frequently bent, in wanton sportiveness, over the projecting crags of the precipice.

The population of Porto Praya is said to amount to fifteen hundred or two thousand, nineteen twentieths of which are black or of doubtful origin. As a suitable return for the hospitality we had received from the inhabitants, a supper and dance were given to them on the quarter-deck of the Peacock, which was fancifully decorated with evergreens and flags; that of Portugal holding a conspicuous station.

We found fish in abundance in the waters around Porto Praya, and by the help of a seine obtained a good supply, among which we found the mullet and red grouper. Two lancet-fish were also taken: these singular fishes are furnished on each side of the tail with a weapon resembling the spring lancet, which they use both in defence and attack. The date-palm flourishes in the valleys, and all the intertropical fruits may be obtained in abundance in their proper season, and vegetables at all seasons.

Having replenished our diminished sea-stock, we sailed from Porto Praya on the thirteenth of April. After clearing the roadstead, we had a clear view, to the west, of Fogo; its towering altitude rising thousands of feet above the bosom of the ocean in which its base was laid. This ocean-mountain bears evident marks of its volcanic origin. Volumes of smoke were seen issuing from its numerous craters, so long as its bold outline was distinctly defined. Ere sunset, the Cape de Verds were completely hid from the view, and we stood south, inclining to the eastward, until the eighteenth, when we reached the latitude of 3° 31′ north, and 21° 41′ west longitude. We now shaped our course more to the westward, and on the nineteenth, being in latitude 2° 22′ north and 22° 8′ west longitude, we took in a light breeze from the south and east, and crossed the equator on the twenty-second, in longitude 23° 30′. The usual ceremonies of a visit from Neptune, which not unfrequently terminate in quarrels and fights, were judiciously dispensed with. An attempt was, however, made to play a trick on the uninitiated, which for a short time afforded much mirth and amusement. A hair was placed across the centre of a telescope-glass, and handed round, for the purpose of seeing the equatorial line; but a young midshipman having obtained another glass, in which he could not see the line, the trick became at once discovered. To make some amends to the crew for the loss of their usual frolic on crossing the line, a modicum of good punch was served out in the evening, when it was found that out of the whole number there was one-eighth (or twenty-one men) belonging to the “total abstinence” society; a proportion which I suppose to be as large as could be found among the same number of landsmen.

With pleasant breezes and moderate weather, we proceeded on our course, keeping the ship one point from the wind, so that a foretop studding would draw. At day-dawn on the third of May, we discovered Cape Frio, and at ten o’clock, A. M., the Sugar-loaf at the entrance to the harbour of Rio Janeiro. From the time we discovered the cape until the following evening, a most perfect and, to us, annoying calm prevailed. A brisk gale at length sprung up from the southwest, accompanied by thunder, lightning, and rain: so stormy, dark, and tempestuous was the evening, that we only occasionally obtained a glimpse of the fine revolving light on Raza island: at intervals, a vivid flash of lightning would disclose to us the Sugar-loaf mountain and a small twinkling light at Santa Cruz. The bearings of the principal points of land having been obtained, before the evening closed, notwithstanding the war of elements, we dashed onward in fine style under three topsails. As we came abreast Santa Cruz, we were hailed, and answered; but not heaving to, three guns were fired, followed by the burning of as many “blue-lights.” We now proceeded up the harbour, and cast anchor at ten o’clock. The city was saluted the following day, and the salute answered by an equal number of guns.

The seacoast from Cape Frio to Rio is remarkable for the boldness of its features, possessing various obtuse peaks and mountains; but southward of the harbour is a remarkable range of hills, presenting a rough profile of a human countenance lying with its face upward. It is formed by a table-mountain and two jagged hills: the resemblance is so striking at the first view that no force of imagination is necessary to complete the picture.

No one can enter this harbour without admiring the beautiful panorama which is spread before him. At the entrance, called the Pao de Assucar, the celebrated granite peak is seen, piercing the clouds, at an altitude of thirteen hundred feet, and the prospect is every where varied and magnificent. Nature seems, here, to have spread a banquet for her adoring admirers. Every spot is covered with beautiful flowers; even the rocks are festooned with various parasitical plants, which exhibit a perennial bloom. The harbour is surrounded with wooded hills, studded here and there with a chapel, a venerable church, or a beautiful villa. The imagination has free scope to picture forth scenes of bliss in the numerous valleys, where peaceful cottages lie partially concealed amid groves of orange and lemon, lime and citron. On the bosom of this spacious harbour may be seen, tranquilly reposing, the vessels of all nations; and the water is dotted in every direction with boats issuing from the numerous inlets and islands, from the first blush of morn to dusky night, laden with passengers for the city-market and the shipping. These boats are managed by slaves. This harbour, called by the natives Nitherohy, was discovered on the first day of January, 1531, by De Souza, and named Janeiro, or January river, as he supposed it to be an outlet to a great river, from the extent of its bay. It will probably ever retain, as at present, its name, notwithstanding the extreme absurdity of calling a bay a river: for it was soon ascertained by discovery, that no large body of water emptied into it.

The city of St. Sebastian, better known to the commercial world by the name of Rio de Janeiro, lies on the southern shore, skirting the base of several prominent hills and occupying the valleys between them; from Boto Fogo to its western extremity it measures nearly eight miles. The most conspicuous buildings are the numerous churches and chapels—the bishop’s palace—the theatre—and the royal palace, fronting the harbour, at the great landing for boats and vessels from Rio Grande, the town on the opposite shore. The streets, regularly laid out, intersecting each other at right angles, are not more than twenty feet wide, and wretchedly paved. The sidewalks are narrow and inconvenient for a town thronged with people. The houses are generally built of unhewn granite, and are from one to three stories high; they are furnished with balconies, which are much resorted to by the ladies, who seldom visit the streets during the daytime, excepting in sedan chairs, when they attend to their devotional exercises.

Owing to the extreme heat of the climate, the encumbered state of the streets, and a due regard to the Portuguese custom which forbids their walking abroad during the day, the ladies of the city take the evening for visiting. In beauty, elegance and accomplishments, they sink in the comparison with their neighbours of Buenos Ayres and Montevideo.

The houses, excepting those occupied by the richer classes, are dark, narrow, and filthy; and if this Augean stable be not cleansed from the accumulated filth of ages, ere the cholera shall visit it, thousands will be swept away.

A stranger is surprised, in passing through the streets, at the immense number of shops which occupy the ground floor of nearly every house in the city; yet there are said to be but few failures among their occupants. The extravagant price charged for every article, retail, may perhaps account for this fact.

One of the most celebrated objects of curiosity in Rio is the celebrated aqueduct, which is seen winding its way from the Corcovado along the base of many hills, intersecting the streets with its double arches, and passing over the roofs of houses to the various fountains, which are constantly thronged with negroes, carrying jars of water to the dwellings of their masters for culinary purposes—the kitchen being, in many cases, in the upper story, while the ground-floor is occupied for magazines or stables. At some of the fountains are stone troughs, for the use of the negro washer-women, which are constantly thronged with them, making most vociferous cries: a greater confusion of tongues could not have been heard at the dispersion of the builders at Babel; for there is a mixture of all the languages of Africa, from Senegal to Angola, and from Da Lagoa Bay to Zanzibar—with Portuguese, Spanish, French and English, and various Indian languages: making, in the sum total, an olla not to be surpassed by the Lingua Franca of the Mediterranean, or the bazars of British India.

Every kind of labour is here done by slaves; the heaviest burdens are dragged by them on ill-constructed drays over a rough pavement: some of them (principally criminals or runagates) are seen chained in various ways, and bending under the weight of packages too heavy for their strength.

Slavery appears here in all its worst features and most disgusting deformities. Notwithstanding blacks may be seen at the altars, administering the rites of religion,—as commanders of companies or regiments, or as custom-house officers—yet poor friendless creatures (white and black) are seen at every step, nearly naked, covered with loathsome diseases, badly fed, having only the steps of some church-door or the pavement for their bed, or lying exposed to the intense heat of a tropical sun.

I visited many of the churches, but found them sadly shorn of their former splendour, having in them only a few aged priests, and, excepting on particular days, a very limited number of devotees: the passers-by rarely lift their hats and make the sign of the cross, as they were wont to do, when passing the sacred doors; the same neglect is apparent when the vesper-bell strikes a few slow and solemn sounds at the decline of day. Formerly, when its tones were heard, every kind of labour and amusement were instantly suspended, every head was uncovered, a silent thanksgiving offered to the Giver of all good for mercies received during the day, and His divine aid and protection were implored for the ensuing night. Now, almost every species of religious observance has departed, in the overthrow of a notoriously debauched and overgrown priesthood.

The population of Rio is estimated from one hundred and twenty to two hundred thousand, of which a very large proportion are blacks. No correct census has yet been taken, owing to the jealousy of the people, who suppose that the object of government is to impose, in such an estimate, a capitation tax. There is a great admixture of blood among them, from the jet black African with his curly wool, to the pure white with flaxen locks.

The French residents are numerous, if a traveller may judge from the names on the signs, and the endless Parisian nothings exposed for sale in the Rua d’Ovidor and the Rua d’Quitanda. Here and there are interspersed English, German, or Italian names. Since the abdication of the late emperor in favour of his little son Don Pedro the second, and the breaking up of his splendid court, numerous carriages have disappeared, and only a few humble volantes or cabriolets are seen drawn by two mules, or perhaps by a horse and a mule.

The National Museum is situated on each side of the Campo d’Acclamacao, and is open to the public on Thursdays. It occupies at present but three rooms, having been sadly plundered of its contents by Don Pedro. The specimens of minerals are numerous and scientifically arranged; but the entomological department is meager, considering the immense numbers and beautiful varieties of insects for which this country is so justly celebrated: there are many private collections in the city which far surpass this, in numbers and brilliancy. In addition to the abovenamed department are several cases, divided into compartments, showing, in miniature, implements of trade and manufactures.

The Senate House, on the opposite side of the square, is a very plain edifice, badly built, and propped up in every direction with long pieces of timber.

On the day when the minister of the interior delivered in his budget, I visited the House of Representatives. The gallery and four private boxes were crowded. We occupied one of the latter. There were about seventy members present, highly respectable in their appearance, although some were of a doubtful white, and others quite black. They were dignified in deportment, graceful in action, and spoke with great fluency.

Education has made great progress throughout Brazil within the last fifteen or twenty years. Beside several Lancasterian schools, supported by government, to which are admitted, gratuitously, children of all colours, (slaves excepted,) primary schools are to be found throughout the city; and private schools also, in which are taught the higher branches of education. There are also a surgical and a medical academy, an academy of fine arts, and ecclesiastical seminaries.

The city has two public libraries; one of them contains between sixty and seventy thousand volumes, in all languages. The other is at the Convent of St. Benedict. I visited that institution when the librarian was absent, but was amply compensated for the tiresome walk up the steep hill, on a hot day, over a very rough pavement, by the beautiful views exhibited in every direction. There, were seen mountain, hill, and dale, cultivated and in a state of nature—an ocean, a bay, a river, and on their surfaces were floating noble line-of-battle ships, merchant vessels, and an abundance of little skiffs. At my feet lay the city, with its busy throng, and at every important point were fortresses and castles, showing forth rows of formidable cannon. The day shone forth with great brilliancy; not a cloud was seen hanging over the Payo d’Assucar, the Corcovado or the Tejuco; numberless vessels were seen far at sea, pressing for the port, under a cloud of white canvass, during the continuance of the breeze. On the left lay the palace of St. Christovao; and, in the far west, a noble range of hills, terminated by the spiked tops of the organ mountains, rendered the picture enchanting and unrivalled. At the foot of the hill is the arsenal; being deficient in room, the wall of the convent, on that side, was taken down, and the rocks being blown away, a secret entrance was discovered under the church, so ingeniously contrived as to be hid from observation—it appeared like the rocks in which it was formed.

Public Gardens.—On the bay shore, commencing near the Praya or Beach do Flamingo, is a pleasant garden, surrounded by a high wall, and guarded at its various entrances by soldiers. It is much resorted to by the inhabitants after sunset. The avenues are of good width, well gravelled, kept clean, and are finely shaded by native and foreign trees, and with hedges of flowers indigenous to the climate; but the pure and wholesome breezes, and a view of the bay, are obstructed by a mound, thrown up unnecessarily high, to protect this retreat against an ever-rolling surf.

Looking to the right at the further extremity of the beach, along which is a range of good houses guarded by a high granite wall, lies the beautiful Gloria hill, having a small white turreted chapel, Nossa Señora de Gloria, or our Lady of Glory. It is of an octagonal shape, lies partially concealed amid noble forest and fruit trees, and is adorned with hedges of myrtle, interspersed with jasmine: and there,

I was much gratified with two visits made to the Botanic garden, situated about eight miles from the palace. The first visit was by water, as far as Boto Fogo. From thence it is probably three miles by land over a tolerably good road, lying principally amid mountain scenery, the Corcovado being on the right.

This mountain, on its eastern side, is one immense mass of granite, rising perpendicularly to the height of two thousand feet. On either hand are plantations and gentlemen’s villas. The road was overhung with various fruits—the coffee-tree showing its red berries and the cotton-tree its yellow bulb; or, having burst its outward covering, displaying the contents of its little pod, as white and pure as the new-fallen snow; the hedges were beautifully decorated by the hand of nature with roses, myrtles and jasmines, intertwined with a great variety of creeping plants. On the left, we passed a small brackish piece of water, called Lake Frietas, formed by an encroachment of the sea; which, in heavy gales and during high tides, forces itself over the sandy barrier between the low lands and its waters.

We arrived at noon—an unpropitious hour, for the garden was shut until three, in the afternoon. Being desirous to employ our spare time to the best advantage, we strolled on several miles farther to the seabeach, through sandy plantations, covered entirely with pine-apple, then in a green state and very small. Our toil was unrewarded, as we did not obtain a single shell, (the shore being too sandy,) nor did we see any object worthy of note.

On our return, we visited the garden, and found it a delicious retreat and in fine condition. The broad wide avenues are kept in neat order and lined with trees of various kinds. A fine stream of water conducted from the adjacent mountains, along neat canals, over pebbly beds, passes through the garden and divides the compartments of exotics from the avenues. The servants in attendance explained the endless variety of trees, shrubs and plants, and permitted us to take specimens of every thing we fancied.

This delightful spot is situated at the base of the Corcovado, on a rich plain, fronting the little lake and comprises about seventy acres. Here are many square plots of ground, containing altogether about six acres of tea, both black and green, of which there are said to be ten or twelve varieties. The plant is in height about ten feet, and bears a small, delicate, white flower; it was in a healthy and flourishing condition. The dried tea may be obtained in the city. The amboyna and cayenne cloves grow here; the former being much more fragrant than the latter. We also found the nutmeg—cinnamon of several kinds, pepper, pimento, cardamoms, the camphor and sago palm, the bread-fruit in full bearing, many varieties of the anana or pine-apple, the orange, limes, sweet and sour lemons, citron, the mamoon, marrow or mamee apple, the mango and delicious mangusteen of Java, the jack and the shaddock, the banana, the plantain, the calambolla, &c., &c. The last is a sub-acid fruit, of an oblong form and light straw colour, when ripe; it is deeply grooved or ridged with sharp edges and is very refreshing and agreeable to the taste. A beautiful arbour of a square form, having vacant openings in imitation of doors and windows, stands in the centre of the garden, furnished with a table; it is a place of great resort for pic-nic parties and is ascended by artificial steps, made of the green-sward.

The situation of Boto Fogo impresses every one who visits it, most agreeably—it is a delightful retreat from the hot and unwholesome air of the city and is, like the Praya Flamingo and the Gloria hill, the residence of many respectable foreigners. The little bay, fronting the pretty sandy beach, seems like a tranquil lake embossed in magnificent mountain-scenery. Having replenished our partially-exhausted stock of sea-stores, and the commodore being with the squadron at La Plata, we were compelled, reluctantly, to proceed to that place and set sail accordingly, on the twentieth of May. The situation of our squadron at La Plata, arose out of difficulties which existed between the Argentine Republic and that of the United States, consequent upon the unlawful and unfriendly capture of American vessels, sealing among the Falkland islands, by order of Vernet, the governor; and from the proper and spirited conduct of Captain Duncan, commander of the Lexington, in removing the colony to Montevideo, and thereby, most effectually cutting off all further depredations upon our commerce.

We received the customary assistance of boats, from the various men of war, in towing the ship out of the harbour. As we passed the British line-of-battle ship Plantagenet, the band of musicians struck up our national air of “Hail Columbia.” On the thirtieth, we made St. Marys, being the northern cape at the entrance of the river. A brisk breeze the day following, accompanied with misty weather, wafted us, at midnight, within four miles of the isle of Flores, on which we found an excellent revolving light—and the weather clearing up, we saw the dull light which crowned the hill called Montevideo. Sail was then shortened to maintain our position until daylight; but in the course of three hours, a strong current running out of the river, had forced us into four and a half fathoms of water, on the edge of the English bank. We anchored, on the second of June, in the roadstead of Montevideo, near the United States’ ship Lexington. On the next morning, we again sailed, with a strong easterly gale, for Buenos Ayres, and at noon anchored in three and a half fathoms of water, off Pinta de India, in thick weather and a bad sea. In the afternoon, it became sufficiently clear for us to obtain a glimpse of the tops of some trees; sail was again made and on the fifth, we came too, in the outer Balissas, near to the United States’ ship Warren, under the command of Acting-Commodore Cooper, and the schooner Enterprise, commanded by Lieutenant-Commodore Downing. Having landed Mr. Baylies and family, and taken in provisions for our voyage across the South Atlantic and Indian oceans, we sailed on the nineteenth, and in four days arrived at Montevideo. As we passed to our anchorage ground, H. B. M. frigate Druid, A. R. Hamilton, commander, complimented our flag by her musicians playing “Hail Columbia,” which cheered our hearts and created a kindly feeling in us towards our English brethren. Many years previous to this visit to La Plata, I had resided many months at Buenos Ayres, and had become acquainted with a number of worthy men and lovely females, who then shone with great brilliancy at the Tertulias, in the Bolero and Pas-a-pie, but time had changed the faces and condition of the living—death had been busy among all classes and many a friend and acquaintance had gone to the eternal world, amidst the various revolutions. The splendid churches were shorn of their ornaments and a few solitary priests, superannuated and on the brink of the grave, were seen tottering through the deserted aisles and cloisters, where hundreds had once been, and where the resounding of my own footsteps now made me start, and look back to see if any of the departed had returned to wander within their former haunts, and deplore, though they were wont to be called holy, their numerous imperfections. A regal government has now given place to one of another stamp; but the great number of armed men in the streets and about the public buildings, have divested it of much of its republican character. A Protestant church is now erected, and English names are frequently seen over the doors of buildings where once a foreign merchant was not permitted to dwell. To me, it seemed like traversing a vast sepulchre—so many had closed their eyes in death, while others appeared like spectres of former days. It was like a city once in ruins, but which had been freed of its incumbrances, and was again ushered into light and life, peopled by a new generation.

Montevideo also had met with unparalleled sufferings from the time that it was besieged by the British to the present hour. The beautiful cathedral was disfigured by marks of cannon-balls—the walls were partly demolished—the gates broken down—the cannon removed, and not a solitary sentinel was on the lookout from the battlements; the streets were broken up, and full of unsightly and dangerous holes. Death, the all-consuming hand of time, and squalid poverty, had laid a whole city in ruins; it was like a vast cemetery; for all I once knew had been swept away; even their names had been obliterated for ever. I therefore left it, better satisfied to wander ten thousand miles over a trackless and stormy ocean, than to remain in a city whose former inhabitants were spread in dust amid its ruins.

CHAPTER II.

Agreeably to orders from the navy department, the commander of the Peacock was required to proceed to the west coast of Sumatra, to ascertain whether Commodore Downes had obtained redress for the murders and robbery committed on board the ship Friendship, of Salem, by the natives of Qualah Battu; and if it should appear that from any cause such redress had not been effected, then the Peacock, in conjunction with the United States’ schooner Boxer, was to proceed to Qualah Battu, and, if possible, to obtain possession of the murderers, and transport them to the United States for trial; and also to demand indemnification for the heavy losses sustained by the owner. If these demands were not complied with, the town was to be destroyed.

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