"Either tropic now 'Gan thunder, and both ends of heav'n: the clouds From many a horrid rift abortive poured Fierce rain with lightning mixt, water with fire In ruin reconciled; nor slept the winds Within their stoney caves, but rush'd abroad From the four hinges of the world, and fell On the vext wilderness." I never see a thunder-storm at sea, but it reminds me of the vision of Ezekiel: "The sapphire blaze, Where angels tremble while they gaze." It is awful and grand every where: fearful in the plain, sublime among the mountains; but here, on the ocean, with nothing to intercept its bolt, the horrible is superadded, and he must be more or less than man that does not at least take thought during its continuance. _Friday, September 21st._ At length we are in sight of the coast of Brazil, which here is low and green, about two degrees to the northward of the point first discovered by Vincente Pinzon, in 1500.[42] The weather is very squally, and there is a heavy swell: we are anchored about eight miles from Olinda, the capital of Pernambuco, in fifteen fathoms water, but though we have fired more than one gun for a pilot, none seems to be coming off. [Note 42: Cabral first took possession of the country which he called _that of the Holy Cross_, for the crown of Portugal; Amerigo Vespucci 1504, called it Brazil, on account of the wood.] [Illustration] _Pernambuco, September 22. 1821._--At nine o'clock the commodore of this place, whose office is a combination of port-admiral and commissioner, came on board with the harbour-master, and the ship was guided by the latter to the anchorage, which is about three miles from the town, in eight fathoms water. The roadstead is quite open, and we find here a very heavy swell. It is not wonderful that our guns were neither answered nor noticed last night. Mr. Dance, having been sent on shore with official letters to the governor and the acting English consul, found the place in a state of siege, and brought back with him Colonel Patronhe, the governor's aide-de-camp, who gave us the following account of the present state of Pernambuco: