appearance, until we reached a small village; through this we passed, and soon afterwards arrived at the end of our ride. The situation is very picturesque, upon the northern bank of the Capibaribe, and at the foot of a steep hill clothed with wood. On our arrival at the house, we entered immediately from the road into a hall with a brick floor, of which the doors and windows are very large, so as to leave the front very nearly open. We were received by the lady of the house, and her husband soon appeared; they were exceedingly civil, and ordered sweetmeats to be brought out. Our English flat saddles created as much surprise to the people of Pernambuco, as those of the Portugueze appeared strange to us. They are high before and behind, which obliges the rider to sit very upright, and the fashion is to be as stiff as possible, and to hold quite perpendicularly a switch of most enormous length. The horses are taught a delightful amble, upon which some of them can be made to proceed with great speed. The river Capibaribe is navigable during the whole year as far as Apepucos, half a league beyond Monteiro, the village at which my new acquaintance was now residing. It overflows its banks in the rainy season, oftentimes with great rapidity. As the lands through which it runs in this part of the country are very low, the floods are somewhat dreaded, as they occasionally extend far and wide. The straw hovels upon its banks are often carried away, and the whole neighbourhood is laid under water: canoes have been known to ply between this village and those of Poço da Panella and Caza Forte.