Bougainville decided at last, on the 2nd of June, to reach Rio Janeiro, which he had mentioned to M. de la Gerandais, the commander of the _Etoile_ as a rendezvous, should unforeseen circumstances prevent his reaching the Malouines. The crossing was made with such favourable weather, that only eighteen days were needed to reach the Portuguese Colony. The _Etoile_, which had been awaiting her for four days, had left France later than was expected. She had been forced to seek shelter from the tempest at Montevideo, from whence, following her instructions she gained Rio. Well received by the Count of Acunha, Viceroy of Brazil, the French had opportunities of seeing the comedies of Metastasio given at the opera by a Mulatto troupe, and of hearing the works of the great Italian masters executed by a bad orchestra, conducted by a deformed abbe in ecclesiastical dress. But the cordial relations with the viceroy were not lasting. Bougainville, who with the viceroy's permission had made some purchase, found the delivery of it refused for no reason. He was forbidden to take wood he needed from the royal timber-yard, although he had concluded a contract for it, and lastly, he was prevented from lodging with his staff, during the repairs of the _Boudeuse_, in a house near the town, placed at his disposal by a friend. To avoid altercation, Bougainville hurried the preparations for departure. Before leaving the capital of Brazil, the French commander entered into various details of the beauty of the port, and the picturesque nature of its surroundings, and finished by a very curious digression upon the prodigious riches of the country, of which the port was the emporium. "The mines called 'general,'" he says, "are the nearest to the town, although they are seventy-five leagues away from it. They yield the king a yearly revenue by his right to a fifth share of at least a hundred and twelve arobas of gold. In 1762, they brought him in a hundred and nineteen. Under the captaincy of the 'general' mines, those of the 'Rio des Morts,' Sabara, and Sero Frio were included--the last named, in addition to all the gold it produces, yields all the diamonds which come from the Brazils. No precious stones, except diamonds, are contraband. They belonged to the speculators, who were obliged to keep an exact account of the diamonds they find and to restore them to the possession of an intendant named by the king for this purpose. He immediately places them in a casket bound with iron, and fastened with three locks. He retains one key, the king has another, and the 'Provedor de hacienda reale' the third. This casket is enclosed in a second, stamped with the seals of the three persons named, and containing the three keys of the smaller one."