kin-de “ heaving ships down by; but the mode of doing it
Janeiro. o x / i t -i i “ alongside hulks is now preferred. In the same har-
“ bour all ships anchor which are loading nr un-
“ loading goods, or want repairing; but the.; -outer is
“ the more healthy situation. Thej latitude of Rio is
“ twentyrtwo -degreesjifty-four minutes south, and lon-
“ gitude forty-two degrees forty-four minutes West from
“ Greenwich. Variation of the compass four degrees
“ fifty-five minutes to the westward of the pole. The
“ tide flows seven hours and a half, and rises about five
| feet and a half perpendicular. Fahrenheit’s thermo-
“ meter,, during the Lion’s stay, was-between seyenty-
' “ seven and eighty-two degrees.’-’
Rio de Janeiro is scarcely-to ;be- excelled for the capaciousness
and security o£ its harbour, or its convenience'
for commerce, and the richness and fertility of dje;circumjacent
country. The entrance into it, from the sea,
is bounded, on one side* by the leaning cone already
mentioned; measuring seven hundred feet in height,
and by the huge mass of granite, supporting ;the castle
of Santa Cruz, upon the other; and is interrupted^near
the middle, by the litde island on; which Fort Lucia, is
erected. On entering into the harbour, it was found
to enlarge to a width of three or four miles, and to penetrate
in several branches, farther than the eye could
reach.' It is interspersed with many islands, some
entirely' green, and; some covered with batteries or
habitations.*'The shored o& the' harbour*were ,'diversified
and - embellished- -,wk|i , farms, 2nd ;plantatieSns^
epafated fe^rivulets;, r i d g e s c k s ' indent-
-WSes^fittle Sand.^a^sfid^.ijhrfe skirtingS'of aforesJr;£the
whole^teBimriatedylin distantbprospiect,' by. an amphif
theatreson sctefenrof, mountains, in. a vast variety
ofirude andrFirifastic(>forn?fe;i ibufriadvfeieH} with ;tree& td
theiryery summits.'* w
I Withimfour mile^tof Aeh'afbhuE-s mauthfisss^itaatedy
on ~ the n^^tthpfesiby of Stl^db^sfiani, «mfoallf^redlled
Rio, built ton aprojectin^tnBgu-ehbf, land ; bhtfiaLMthd
ground,behind- it is broken'.iMt'dffiills' andurbcK&ytwith
Waadk,ehouses;vconVents;. ao^ve'huEGhe«* on their,tops!
A Benedietine^y>and, also,ua dortdlomffianda'’
iaag the-,town; ta^n-situated' upon ther^treofielpolht jetting
into .the harbour,IftppdsiteSto this.opoint isl thif Ilhep
dosi-Gpbfas;Sofi Serpent island; between?sWhjehe and5 the
town is 4 narrow, channel,-- sUffiorentlyideep/ howeVcw
foy the passage.» of• the- fargeSfc'shi'pJI tUp’onhhel .island
;arb'a dockyard^ magazines, and naval s(j6fiehW‘S[es'and
round its sherds‘ape>vthe-jusuaI:amdi(Aiing j§lk^<^for> fifed
shipping. whichnlreqUeht;, thiy;pift. * Beydfed * fihq' town
the harbour bbegins to widen} ^ednsMerably,.ian'cl> -re^
sembl^ra? large Jake iwithymany, islands .uponhits*' stu^
face.! Rio is said', to be' vasfiymproved* yvithini »few
years ypasU The hduse's ar^ built, in many 'parts,-of
hewnwstQne.- The jstreets',v gfinieral%^Maight, ;ardFw4li
Rio de
Janeiro.