•Kio de *‘ good position; tó' tlie field. I Tlvii® ëSta-
===== cc Mishmerit consists of 'two squadrons of cavalr^ Wo
“ Tegiments of artillery, six regiments of infantry;2two
“ battalions of' disciplined'militia, beside abovè1 two
1 '^hundred disciplined free fiègt&s&i ’making; in the
■“ whole, ea bódy bf, at least* ten thousand men, éxelü-
sively of:a .very ntimeroiis registered, but undistP-
“ plined, militia, of whom a considerable proportion is
“ in the city and-.its neighbourhood. The eritfah'cë óf
“ the harbour, which is scarcely a mile from point to
“:-point, is: crossed, in every directiOn by heavybatteries!
•“ Ships, too, in-returning their fire, Would hayëfd labour
“ under the disadvantage of swell, occasioned byJhe
“ bar which’ runs across, but oiitside^thé harbours
‘‘ mouth.j The fort of Santa Gray Isha; Work of'fcóihé
“ strength; and the principal‘defence of thê haffeföur'.
“ Its general heightis from twenty-four to thirtyvfefet.
“ It mounts twenty-three guns towards the seaRand
“ thirty-threetotheweistwal-d and1 north Ward. It^fifids
“ upon the lowpointofa: smooth róck;fromthebody
“ of which it is separated byaifissure ten or tweivecfeet
in width. It is flanked by batteries -to the eastward
‘ ‘ and westward; and is ’seén and protected by aTegiilaf
“ front for musquetry; which runs between th #K lÈ
“ The guns so f the fort o f Santa Cruz; afid^Others,
“ were-fired oh the birthday o f the Queen of Portugal,
“ and, from, their report, were jtidged to be héaVy
“ p|||^s|^#tlesSi5: p®rhap.s, tha® four^and-twenty poUiid-
“ ers. aiTbCt.^fehce pfe the seity-of Rio is supposed
“ depend* chiefly, on the works erected onfb® Serpent
“ island. The highest.\part of it, which-looks towards:
‘‘ the tpwhniifjabc^t eigblf abftve the wateT-i On
*k it is <co®str«otgd’, a small square fotil The island loWef 8
“ gradually on the easterin side to the water’s edge , &nd
“ isoegupiedfey atiLittregular stoaei line, naving oeea““-
‘ ‘ sional flanks» If- is, however, low, in some parts not
f more than edgfit - fedli - above the rock; and it .has
11 di|ch'., The length of the Maud is about tftnse hundred
U yaMs r itMouais forty^sid.'tguais, twenty ©£ these f&dnfg;
the south and south-east, and: the remainder fedfeing
‘,‘f sto th©opposite points. The parapet waff now build*
yj-ng along the front o f the town, will afford a good line
“ for musquetry and light guns.’
WhateYer may be (fee political fate ©f Rio de Janeiro:,
its Ttatwral appearance must always attract notice*'? It
certainly presents bold: features to the view. Its fear^-
boifiy mountains, woods, aiKl iEbdks; seah to be upon a
grand schle. Its productions:- flourish with the-' v igour
and freshness o f y<mth^t:^rNothing- looks naked, arid, m
t e m M M
Doctor Gillian noticed that “ the high conical rocks,
“ at the entrance «of the harbour of Rio, and thehsiar-
“ rounding hills, were a iin f granite, in which»the only
“ circumstance remarkable was the ifcafg© proportion
Bb‘
ftio dé jatteiro.
VOL. i .