only of his class, but of his countrymen. He was the only person in those parts who was a subscriber for a newspaper from Rio de Janeiro, but from the irregularity of the posts, long intervals often elapsed in their delivery. He kindly gave me a letter of introduction to one of the most influential persons in the neighbourhood of the Villa de Arrayas, who was his intimate friend. Within the last twenty years, two slight earthquakes have been felt both at Natividade and Conceição; the first occurred in the year 1826, and the other in 1834; the movement of the earth was very perceptibly felt in both places, although they were each of short duration. These were the only places in Brazil where I could learn such phenomena had been observed. We left Conceição on the morning of the 17th of Feb., when a journey of four long leagues brought us, late in the afternoon, to the banks of the Rio da Palma. About half a league from the Arraial, the road winds round the end of a somewhat lofty ridge of rocky hills, not far from the foot of which we passed some gold workings. The slaves employed in this occupation do not give all they find to their masters, for they are obliged to maintain and clothe themselves, and pay to their employers a certain fixed sum of money, somewhere about six shillings per week. Many of them have been fortunate enough to purchase their freedom, but the greater number of them become indolent and dissipated. A short time before our arrival, a slave found a piece of pure gold weighing upwards of ten ounces, which was more than sufficient to procure him his freedom. The fields about here were gay with a fine terrestrial Orchideous plant, an _Epistephium_, about two feet high, bearing a spike of large rose-coloured flowers. We halted during the middle of the day at the only house on the road, the fazenda de Pindobal, and started early again, so as to reach the Rio da Palma in good time to cross it. The country we found to be nearly flat, consisting of large open campos, which were better stocked with cattle than any we had hitherto passed through in this province. When about half way to the river, we unfortunately went off the proper path, and got upon a cattle track, which in those thinly-inhabited countries often lead the traveller astray, the highway having quite the same appearance; it was some time before we discovered our error, but knowing the direction in which the river ran, we made direct for it, and in less than half an hour were so fortunate as to come upon the right road again, which now lay through a thin forest, consisting principally of _Qualea parviflora_, Mart. In consequence of the delay thus occasioned, it was nearly sunset before we arrived at the ferry.