large shed (_rancho_) by the road-side, and there we remained till the afternoon, for in travelling in the north of Brazil, where the heat is very great, the animals are always allowed to rest during the middle of the day, which is not the case in the south, where the whole day’s journey is made at one stretch. The country during our morning’s ride still continued flat, but in many places instead of being sandy, is covered with gravel and boulders of various sizes, the largest of the latter being about four feet in diameter, all more or less rounded, and consisting of granite, gneiss, and quartz. The great mass of the vegetation consisted of Carnahuba palms and a few small trees which grew among them, the most common of which is a species of _Patagonula_, called by the Brazilians _Pao branco_, from the white nature of its wood, which is chiefly employed as fuel. As we passed along, we raised numerous flocks of pigeons, some of which were not larger than sparrows, while others were the size of our domestic ones; and sporting among the leaves of the palms we observed several species of parrots and paroquets, besides a variety of beautiful small birds, one species being very numerous much resembling the common canary. The notes of these birds were of course as varied as their kinds, that of the parrot tribe being particularly disagreeable, not unlike that of the English rook, but the sound which most particularly caught my ear, was the monotonous and distinct cry of the Bem-te-ve, a bird about the size, shape, and colour of the thrush. This name has been given to it from the resemblance of its note to the Portuguese signifying “I see you well,” which it repeats in quick succession. Resuming our journey at three o’clock in the afternoon, and travelling through the same sort of country, we passed a small town towards dusk, called Villa de San Bernardo, which is ten leagues from Aracaty. It is built in the form of a square, the west side of which is principally occupied with a handsome church; and as it stands in the open plain (_vargem_) which is studded with occasional wide-spreading _Zizyphus_ trees and Carnahuba palms, and as all the houses are white-washed, it offers an imposing appearance when seen at a distance. About half a league beyond this town, we stopped for the night at a small house by the road-side; all the houses in this part of the country, which are not actually in towns, have a large veranda (_copial_) in front, and it is under this that travellers generally ask leave to rest for the night, there being hooks fixed from which hammocks can be suspended. As soon as the loads were taken off the cargo horses, and the saddles from those we had ridden, they were sent to graze in the neighbourhood, where they were left with their fore-feet strapped pretty closely together, in order to prevent them from straying.