The sight of two slave-ships formed a revolting contrast to the enchantment of the prospect: they had that day arrived from Africa, and lay near us at anchor. The trade in human flesh, that foul blot on civilized nations, of which most of them are already ashamed, yet flourishes here in detestable activity, and is carried on, with all the brutality of avarice, under the sanction of the laws. The ships employed in this abominable traffic are so over-crowded that the slaves have scarcely room to move. They are brought up by turns to inhale for a while the refreshing breeze, but the deck being only capable of accommodating a small portion at once, they are soon returned to the confined and pestilential atmosphere below. One third of the human cargo, as a necessary consequence, generally perishes on the voyage, and the remainder reach their place of destination in a state of miserable suffering. The decks of the ships I have just mentioned, were crowded with these unfortunate creatures, naked, fettered, and diseased. Even mothers with infants at their breasts had not been spared by these speculators! What still greater misery might not be concealed beneath the decks! The darkness, which at once closed from our view all that had delighted and disgusted us, rendered visible an almost incessant flight of rockets, and we heard occasionally, throughout the night, the discharge of guns and musketry from the town. These demonstrations of rejoicing led to the supposition that some important festival was celebrating, or that a great victory had probably been gained; we afterwards learnt, however, that they were occasioned only by the arrest of three ministers, accused of a conspiracy against the Emperor. At daybreak the chief pilot came on board. This little fat man, proud of his name of Vasco de Gama, which he professed to have inherited in a direct line from the celebrated navigator to the East Indies, was in many respects a good specimen of his countrymen. He was wholly uneducated, as they mostly are; and, next to his ancestry, that in which he took the greatest pride was the independence of Brazil. This feeling, which is general among all classes, enlists each individual personally in support of the existing government, and is its surest guarantee. Although our pilot had not attained to the renown of his great ancestor, I must do him the justice to say that he understood his business, and guided us very skilfully through the narrow mouth of the Bay. This small entrance, commanded by a fort on a height, is tolerably well secured from the approach of an enemy; and might, by stronger batteries, be made wholly inaccessible, as the channel is so narrow, that a ship in working its way in must always be within half-shot distance. We anchored near the town, among numerous vessels of various nations, and set foot once more on terra-firma, after being fifty-two days at sea since leaving England.