parts, covered the surface with a brushwood only a few inches high. In
walking across these thick beds of mimosae, a broad track was marked by
the change of shade, produced by the drooping of their sensitive
petioles. It is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration in
these grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequate idea of
the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill
and elevate the mind.
April 19th.--Leaving Socego, during the two first days, we retraced our
steps. It was very wearisome work, as the road generally ran across a
glaring hot sandy plain, not far from the coast. I noticed that each
time the horse put its foot on the fine siliceous sand, a gentle
chirping noise was produced. On the third day we took a different
line, and passed through the gay little village of Madre de Deos. This
is one of the principal lines of road in Brazil; yet it was in so bad a
state that no wheeled vehicle, excepting the clumsy bullock-wagon,
could pass along. In our whole journey we did not cross a single
bridge built of stone; and those made of logs of wood were frequently
so much out of repair, that it was necessary to go on one side to avoid
them. All distances are inaccurately known. The road is often marked
by crosses, in the place of milestones, to signify where human blood
has been spilled. On the evening of the 23rd we arrived at Rio, having
finished our pleasant little excursion.
During the remainder of my stay at Rio, I resided in a cottage at
Botofogo Bay. It was impossible to wish for anything more delightful
than thus to spend some weeks in so magnificent a country. In England
any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a great
advantage, by always having something to attract his attention; but in
these fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions are so
numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk at all.
The few observations which I was enabled to make were almost
exclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. The existence of a
division of the genus Planaria, which inhabits the dry land, interested
me much. These animals are of so simple a structure, that Cuvier has
arranged them with the intestinal worms, though never found within the
bodies of other animals. Numerous species inhabit both salt and fresh
water; but those to which I allude were found, even in the drier parts
of the forest, beneath logs of rotten wood, on which I believe they
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