After my removal in April to the Toque, for so my new dwelling was called, I led a life of quietude; and to one who has not known other countries, and does not feel that a residence in Brazil is a species of banishment, it would be a life of great happiness. I went out young, and therefore had few unpleasant feelings of this kind to conquer, but when I reflect upon the line of life in which I had taken my station I am happy that I was removed. The climate, in particular, fascinates every one; the heat is scarcely ever disagreeable, and the power of the sun is rendered less perceptible by the freshness of the sea breeze; the coolness of the night too removes all lassitude, if any should have been felt. I have often sat at my door when the moon has been so clear as to render reading by her light, though somewhat irksome, still not difficult. When the night has been dark, I have watched the lights which were to be seen upon the sand-banks, that proceed from the land on each side of the entrance of the harbour; they were frequented at low water by numbers of persons in search of shell-fish. The appearance was singular, for the lights seemed to float upon the water. The house in which I now dwelt was a long low building, situated, as I have before observed, upon a narrow break in a steep hill; it was constructed of timber and mud, and the eaves of the cottage were on one side about five feet from the ground, and on the other they were only three feet. The door and window were in the gable-end, and fronted the sea. The principal apartment was furnished with a few chairs, and a table, a trunk containing my books, and also a large chest, in which were deposited the _farinha_ and the beans for the weekly consumption of the establishment; in one corner likewise stood a large jar of water, and upon a peg immediately above the jar was hung the usual ladle of the country;—this is formed of the half of the inner shell of a coco-nut, and has a long wooden handle fixed to it; some rich persons make use of silver _cocos_, as these ladles are called. The room which I have attempted to describe, two cabins or very small bed-chambers, and a kitchen included the whole building. At one side were erected a stable and two apartments, which remained unfinished when I came away. Behind the cottage was the shed which covered the apparatus for making the _farinha_; and yet farther back, in the same direction, the negroes had formed their huts of mud and coco leaves. I was now still nearer to the channel, and so immediately above it as to see every canoe or raft which passed to and fro. The land about the house was covered with brushwood and tall coco-trees, and there were likewise a few Acaju trees. However the small wood was soon cleared away, and the view on every side remained unobstructed.