During my stay at Natal, the governor shewed me a species of wax which is produced from the leaves of the carnàûba, a tree I have frequently mentioned. A quantity of this wax was sent by him to Rio de Janeiro; it is mentioned in one of Dr. Arruda’s publications, and a sample of it found its way to England, and has been taken notice of by the Royal Society[55]. The governor, in one of his journeys through his province, passed the night, as often happened, in a peasant’s cottage. A wax candle was lighted and placed before him, which was rudely made, but afforded a good light; he was somewhat surprised at this, because oil is generally used; on making enquiry, he found out that the wax dropped from the leaves which covered the cottage, during the heat of the day;—I suppose the cottage had been newly built, or that a fresh covering of leaves had been put on to it. He afterwards made the experiment himself, tried some of the candles, and became confident of the importance of the vegetable wax. The governor also gave me a piece of iron ore, which was the produce of the captaincy of Rio Grande. He told me that he entertained little doubt of the existence of considerable quantities of this metal in this part of the country, and that the Government would be well recompensed for their trouble, if proper persons were appointed for the purpose of making discoveries on this subject. I saw some cloth which he had ordered to be woven from the thread of the crauatâ[56]. Its texture was not unlike that of the coarse linen which is used for sheeting; it is very strong. I have some of the thread in my possession. As soon as I had arranged that I should leave Natal in the morning of the 6th February, the governor told me that he intended setting off on business relating to his province at the same time. We took leave of each other at night, and in the morning when I rose, I found myself in possession of the house, as he had set out at four o’clock. We did not get away until about seven, owing to the number of horses’ loads, and other matters which it was necessary to arrange. I felt quite at home at Natal, though I was yet distant from Recife seventy leagues; but the country is well watered, well wooded, and comparatively well peopled.