the shore before another had time to overtake us, but not without being completely drenched. Leaving everything on board to be landed next day, I immediately set off for the house of Mr. Burnett, about a mile distant, and arrived just in time for tea, when, after changing my clothes I made a most comfortable meal, being the first I had enjoyed for two days. Wishing to see the city of Alagoas, the capital of the province, I made arrangements for visiting it, and started from Maceio on the 31st of March. This city is situated on the south side of a large lake, which runs inland about forty miles, and is about twenty miles distant from Maceio. There is a narrow entrance to the lake from the sea, about two leagues to the south of the latter place; but still further to the southward, there is another inlet from the sea, which runs northward to within a mile of the town, and by means of a small canal which has been cut, canoes can now approach within a very short distance of the houses. Accompanied by a young countryman, I embarked in a light canoe about midnight, with the view of reaching Alagoas early in the morning, and thus escape exposure on the water during the heat of the day. My man Pedro was our only navigator, who used a long pole, the mode usually adopted for propelling canoes, as the lake is extremely shallow. As soon as we were fairly afloat on the canal, we laid down in the bottom of the canoe to sleep, but failed to do so, in consequence of the myriads of mosquitos and sand-flies that almost fill the atmosphere among the mangroves which abound along the muddy shores. At eight o’clock in the morning we came in sight of the city, which is built upon a somewhat elevated situation, and as the houses are rather large, and intermingled with numerous churches, and lofty mango trees, it has really an enchanting appearance when seen in the distance. In about an hour afterwards we landed, and as I had brought no letters of recommendation, I despatched Pedro to look out for a house where we could remain till morning, but he returned after being an hour absent, with the intelligence that none was to be obtained. This did not annoy me much, as we found an old house close to where we landed, where I proposed to remain, especially as the weather was fine, the only shelter we required being shade. Just, however, as we were about to remove our luggage thither, the owner of an adjoining house perceiving that we were strangers, invited us to take up our quarters with him, an invitation which we readily accepted, as it would be not only more comfortable, but would allow us greater freedom to walk about. Like most other Brazilian cities in which I have been, Alagoas looks better from a distance than on close inspection; and as in the instance of Penêdo, it has all the appearance of having once been a much more flourishing place than it now is, the expulsion of the Portuguese having given its