An account of a voyage to establish a colony at Port Philip in Bass's Strait on the south coast of New South Wales, in His Majesty's Ship Calcutta, in the years 1802-3-4

Front matter

A

VOYAGE

TO ESTABLISH A COLONY AT

Dedication

TO

Sir F. I. HARTWELL, Kt.

ONE OF THE HONOURABLE THE COMMISSIONERS OF HIS MAJESTY'S NAVY.

Preface

PREFACE.

HE Author presumes to claim the indulgence of the Public towards the literary faults, which he fears are too numerous in the following pages. He trusts it will be recollected that a sailor's life affords few moments of "learned ease;" and that he is fitted, both by education and habit, more for action than for thought. Connected arrangement, and logical deductions, are the offspring of retired meditation; but meditation, pensive Nymph, "shuns the noise of folly," or flies before the mirth of thoughtlessness: hence it will scarcely be expected to find a correct work produced amidst the interruptions of active service, or the continual calls of subordinate duty.

With respect to information, the author hopes some will be found new, and the whole not entirely uninteresting. Some part of it is necessarily derived from the information of others; and for its correctness the Author can only state his own belief, as being received from persons capable of judging, and who could have no interest in misrepresentation. For the paucity of nautical observations, he conceives no apology is necessary. On this head he has confined himself to a few notes upon points which he considered most interesting to navigation. A minute detail of winds, weather, and all the common occurrences of a ship at sea, he suspects would neither amuse nor instruct the majority of his readers; and to those who find entertainment in "ditto weather, employed occasionally," he recommends the logbook publications of some recent navigators.

Chapter 1

A VOYAGE TO NEW SOUTH WALES.

CHAP. I.

Motives which induced Government to employ King's ships in transporting Convicts to New South Wales.—Intention of establishing a Colony in Bass's Strait.—Calcutta appointed to convey thither the first establishment.—Passage from England to Teneriffe and the Cape Verd Islands.

HE motives, which, in the year 1802, induced Government to employ King's ships in transporting convicts to New South Wales, appear to have had their foundation, not only in principles of economy, but also in the union of many other advantages, which promised to he the result. Until this period, merchant ships had always been, chartered to convey these victims of vice and folly to the place of their destination: independent of the expence of these vessels, which was a dead loss to Government, the abuses disgraceful to humanity, that too frequently took place on board of them, called aloud for correction. By employing king's ships cm this service, a number of officers and seamen would be provided for, who might otherwise emigrate to foreign services, and be totally lost to their country; and again, it must naturally be supposed, that the Officers, having neither pecuniary nor commercial interest in the voyage, would con it upon principles very different from those of mercenary, and perhaps illiterate traders; at the same time that the former would be enabled to keep the convicts in a better state of discipline, and also be more careful of their health, by that constant attention to cleanliness, which, characterizes the British navy. To these obvious and immediate advantages, was added another, which, though merely speculative, promised, if successful, to exceed them all. It was known, that timber, supposed to be peculiarly adapted to naval uses, might be procured at New South Wales with little difficulty or expence, and in the present time of its encreasing scarcity and great demand at home, both for public and private service, this was an object of the first national importance: it was therefore determined to try the experiment, when, by the conclusion of peace, the nation began to breathe, after the late long and arduous contest. The ships of the navy best calculated for this purpose, were decidedly those built for the East India Company, and purchased into the King's service during the war; and accordingly, the Glatton sailed for Port-Jackson in September, with 330 male, and 170 female convicts.

The Calcutta, another ship of the like class, was intended to pursue the same route, and was commissioned in October following; but while fitting out, a material change was made in her destination. Since the discovery of Bass's Strait, it had entered into the contemplation of Government to establish a settlement at its western entrance, as well from commercial, as political motives. In the first respect, it would give the greatest encouragement to the speculations carried on for seals and sea-elephants, to the islands in the Straits, to have a secure port in their vicinity, where the produce might be collected until ready for exportation: in the next place, this measure would prevent any rival nations from establishing themselves on this coast, who might become troublesome neighbours to our colony at Port Jackson, which must no longer be considered as a contemptible part of the British dominions; and to "which, the possession of Bass's Strait would give ps a less tedious and circuitous access. Port Philip, on the north shore of the Straits, which was reported to be an excellent harbour, seemed, from its geographical position, to possess all the advantages required in the proposed settlement. To carry this project into execution, several necessary alterations took place in the equipment of the Calcutta; and the command of her was conferred on Captain Daniel Woodriff, an experienced naval officer, who had before visited New South Wales, as Agent of Transports. As the Calcutta was found insufficient to convey the necessary stores for the new settlement, the Ocean, a merchant-ship of 500 tons burthen, was chartered for that purpose, and was afterwards to proceed to China, for a cargo of teas: on board her were embarked the civil, and part of the military officers, and settlers; together with the greater part of the stores, provisions, and implements of agriculture; while the Calcutta convened a detachment of marines, the whole of the convicts, their wives and children, and the remainder of the stores, as well as a considerable quantity for Port Jackson.

The Calcutta arrived at Portsmouth, from the river Medway; in the middle of February 1803, where she waited the junction of the Ocean, which was protracted until the 8th of April. The first weeks of this month the winds had been constantly from the eastward; but various trifling causes, which commonly retard expeditions of this nature, prevented our taking advantage of them, and when these obstacles were removed, the winds, as if determined to shew their contempt for the ambitious, and too often short-sighted views of man, suddenly changed to the westward, and blew with a degree of violence that left no hopes of succeeding, should we attempt to beat down Channel. Perhaps no situation can be more irksome than this to a sailor; when his mind is made up for departure, every delay that impedes it, is felt as a misfortune; and yet such is the contradiction in the mind of man, that while he wishes, he fears the removal of these impediments, and would still linger out another day, to accomplish something which is yet undone, or perhaps to take another last farewell of friends, to whom he has already bidden fifty times adieu. The first moment of a favourable wind we took advantage of, and quitted St. Helen's on the morning of the 26th; but on the evening of the next day, the wind again veering to the westward, and blowing hard, obliged us to run through the Needles, and take shelter in Yarmouth Roads. The following morning, with a strong breeze from the northward, we again put to sea, and cleared the Channel on the 29th. This part of a foreign voyage, though a mere, point as to distance, is reckoned by sailors the most material and difficult; for the English Channel is so situated, that the prevailing westerly winds make the egress from it extremely precarious, particularly in winter.

In bidding farewel to England, it may naturally be supposed, that, the feelings of our motley crew would be as various as their situations, their prospects, or their characters; yet the general sentiment seemed to be, that of entire indifference: a few women alone, whose birth and education had promised them a far different fate, were; affected by this heart-rending, though voluntary exile from their native country; and

"Shudd'ring still, to face the distant deep, "Return'd, and wept, and still return'd to weep."

Among the convicts on board, were some who, by prodigality, and its attendant vices, had degraded themselves from a respectable rank in society, and were indebted to the lenity of their prosecutors alone for an escape from the last sentence of the law. Some of these men were accompanied by their, wives, who had married them in the sunshine Of prosperity, when the world smiled deceitfully, and their path of life appeared strewed with unfading flowers; in the season of adversity, they would not be separated, but reposed their heads upon the same thorny pillow; and as they had shared with them the cup of joy, they refused not that of sorrow. Those alone who know the miserable and degraded situation of a transported felon, can appreciate the degree of connubial love, that could induce these women to accompany their guilty husbands in their exile. The laws can only make distinction in crimes, while the criminals, whatever may have been their former situation in life, must suffer alike for crimes of the same nature: it therefore entirely depended on us to ameliorate their condition, and grant such indulgences, as the nature and degree of the crime, and the otherwise general character and conduct of the prisoner seemed to deserve. To these helpless females, all the attentions that humanity dictated, and that the nature of our service would admit, were extended, but still it was impossible to separate their situations entirely from their guilty husbands, they were consequently far, very far, from being comfortable; and one of them, borne down by the first hardships of the voyage, which she felt with redoubled force from being far advanced in her pregnancy, fell a victim to her misplaced affection before our arrival at Teneriffe.

The ships anchored before Santa Cruz on the 17th of May, and having completed their water, and procured a sup of wine, sailed again on the 21st. While laying at Santa Cruz, fresh beef was served throughout the ship, and as a slight indication of scurvy was observed in some of the prisoners, a large quantity of vegetables and lemons was laid in for sea-store. The free use of fresh water was also permitted to wash the convict's clothes; an indulgence, the beneficial effects of which cannot be too highly valued. In voyages of this nature, where a great number of people are crowded together, to whom it is not always possible to permit such exercise as is necessary to health, cleanliness is the only preventative of disease; and, independent of any other necessity, it will always be eligible to put into, any convenient port for that purpose alone.

It would appear, that the island of Teneriffe deserves the high character it has received for salubrity of climate. We attended the funeral of a native, who had lived 26 years beyond the common life of man, "after which all is but labour and trouble." His brother, who attended the funeral, was 94, and seemed to put his own mortal destiny at a distance.

The thermometer stood between 70 and 72, a temperature, perhaps, more congenial to human life, than any other.

The celebrated Peak has by no means the grand appearance that the traveller is taught to expect, but its apparent altitude is much diminished, by the general height of the circumjacent moun

indeed, the appearance of the eastern side of the island gives a very unfavourable impression of its value; a confused assemblage of rocky hills, heaped upon, and crossing each other in every direction, present themselves to the eye, like the waves of the ocean disturbed by the fury of contending winds and currents. These precipices are bare of vegetation, except where a starved brush-wood insinuates its roots between the rugged masses, of volcanic matter, or in a few spots where the industry of man has conquered the sterility of nature, and raised a scanty crop of barley or maize: as we recede from the sea-coast, however, the country improves, and affords many prospects of romantic grandeur, and luxuriant fertility. The town of Santa Cruz is built with

tolerable regularity, on a gentle acclivity, on the west side of the Bay; the landing-place is defended from the sea, by a projecting rocky point, and a good stone pier. Being merely a King's port, it derives but little advantage from commerce, which is entirely carried on from the port of Orotava, on the west side of the island. Teneriffe has no manufactures of any consequence, except its wine, nor does it produce corn enough for its own consumption; for this, and also for poultry, it depends upon the other islands, particularly the Grand Canary, with which there is a constant intercourse by boats. The importation of foreign linen, or cotton manufactures, is prohibited, and consequently those of the English looms bear a high price, and are universally worn; which proves, that great restraints laid on any articles of merchandize, serve but to enhance their, value, to make them be sought after with more avidity, and to encourage their clandestine importation. It was found, that the friars and women, whose persons were held free from scrutiny, smuggled on shore great quantities of these goods; and in consequence, neither are now permitted to go on board any vessel, without express leave from the Governor. The importation of tobacco, by private traders, is also forbidden, Government drawing part of its colonial revenue from the exclusive sale of this article.

Santa Cruz has but three churches; rather a small number for the religion of its inhabitants, which teaches, that to "give to the church, is to lend unto God;" and that, being buried in the sacred vestments of a religious order, ensures a favourable reception from St. Peter, who more readily opens to them the portal of everlasting life. In visiting places of public worship, in Roman Catholic countries, we cease to wonder at the deeply imprinted superstition of the, people; children, before they can scarce speak, are taught to set a sacred value on the ridiculous grimace of devotion, and a father brings his boy, not three years old, to lisp his ave maria, and count his little rosary before the altar. This early impression it is impossible can ever be erased; imitation, at last, becomes a second nature; in maturer years, reason, in vain, attempts to pull down the firm bulwark of super , and narrow-minded bigotry becomes the characteristic of the man. Toleration of religious opinions has not yet reached this island, and, whatever may be his real persuasion, every person residing here must conform to the external ceremonies of the established church: a heretic is still denied the boon of a consecrated grave, and his hapless ghost must be contented with a mansion in the unpurified bosom of his mother earth, unless it prefers a more extensive sepulchre in the ocean. The bodies of those who die in the faith, are usually interred in the churches; the coffins have no cover, and are filled up with quick-lime, which decomposing the flesh, the bones are afterwards removed to a general charnel-house. This example deserves to be universally followed, but the prejudices of education, which teaches us to consider disturbing the dead as a species of horrid sacrilege, still wars against our better judgment, and perpetuates the noisome and acknowledged evil of crowded churchyards.

It appears to be a custom of ancient origin throughout Europe, (perhaps antecedent to heraldic achievements,) to denote the death of any member of the family, by some symbol affixed to the house of the deceased; at Teneriffe, a branch of the palm-tree is placed over the door or window for this purpose.

The manners of the inhabitants in general are those of the mother-country; a few families, of which the Lieutenant Governor's is the chief, adopt the French customs in dress and society; and the vivacity and liberal manners of the latter, afford a striking contrast to the austere gravity, and prudish reserve, of the former. The return of peace has not yet brought back to the island the English, who were driven from it by the war; and the necessary business of any British vessels that touch here, is at present transacted by Mr. Armstrong, a native of the island.

In its present state, Santa Cruz could scarce make a successful defence against a well-conducted coup de main; the fortifications are in ruins, and the garrison consists of a miserable rabble, who, to appearance, would verify the old adage about running away; The pier is, however, defended by a battery, which might annoy the invaders, and which ought, therefore, to be immediately silenced; for this purpose, one line of battle ship would be fully sufficient. A shot from this battery pursued its too unerring course, and deprived the Navy of the brave Bowen, at the same time that it took off the arm of Nelson. In the church of Neustra Senora de Constantia, is suspended the union flag, left behind by Nelson, in his unsuccessful attack en the island in 1799. It was pointed out to us with every mark of national pride by our conductor, who, after a long harangue on the courage of their troops, was drily requested by an English Officer to be particularly careful of this trophy of their prowess, for that Nelson might probably one day return, and call for it.

The water here has a soft, soapy taste, and I believe a slight purgative quality; it is conducted from the mountains to a stone fountain, which throws up three jets d'eau. The island produces a species of pine-tree, which is used in the construction of the houses, and in small vessels; we were here too early for the fruits of the island, which are those peculiar to the tropics. Vegetables were plenty, onions in particu are remarkably good; and as they are not to be procured at Rio de Janeiro, it is advisable to lay in a large stock of them here: fowls cost about half a crown each: sheep are scarce, and bad; and hogs neither cheap nor good. The only fish we saw, were large mackarel, vast shoals of which come into the bay at this season; they are caught with hook and line, and attracted towards the boats by fires of the dried pine, which give a bright blaze, and of a serene evening the bay presents the appearance of a magnificent marine illumination.

Between England and Teneriffe we lost four convicts by death; two of these had been embarked in the last stages of consumption, vainly hoping that a warmer climate might restore their healths.

From Teneriffe, we pursued our course towards the Cape Verd Islands, and on the 25th of May made the isle of Sal, along which we coasted at the distance of six or seven miles, without seeing any thing that could induce a stranger to land on it from choice; not a trace of cultivation, nor of inhabitants, was to be seen; nor did a single shrub enliven the dreary brown of the parched soil. This island has but few stationary inhabitants, but is frequented for the salt which is collected on it, with which it supplies America, and the West Indies.

On the morning of the 26th, we stood close in for St. Jago, the largest of the Cape Verd Islands, and ranged along its S. E. side at from one to two miles distance. This side of the island is broken, and uneven, in, some places bound by projecting shelves of rock, the lower parts being excavated by the continual action of the water; in other spots are small sandy coves, defended by reefs on which the sea beats with violence. This island affords an agreeable prospect to the distressed mariner; the sides of the more gently ascending hills are covered with a verdant carpet, upon which numerous herds of cattle are seen grazing, and in the rallies are groves of cocoa-nuts and bannanas surrounding the habitations of the natives. The harbour of Praya, laying on the south side of the island, is, during the regular N.E. trade-wind, perfectly secure; but it is exposed to the tornadoes, which in the months of August and September often blow from the southward. The natives appeared desirous of our landing, by waving their handkerchiefs on the rock as we passed along: hoping some of them might be induced to come on board with fruit, we stood close into the bay, but not a canoe was to be seen, and it was not an object of sufficient consequence, to suffer any delay by sending a boat on shore. The town, from which we were distant about five miles, is the seat of government; to appearance it consists of a few wretched clay huts adjoining the fort which alone is white-washed. A lucrative trade is carried on from this island to America and the West Indies in mules: by breeding these animals, and by supplying ships with refreshments, the inhabitants support themselves. The mother-country feels so little the importance of these islands, that scarce any precautions are taken for their defence: a Creole is often governor-general; and the inferior islands are sometimes governed by Mulattoes.

A thick haze always obscures these islands, and prevents their being seen at the distance that might be expected from their altitudes: this, I suppose, proceeds from the exhalations arising from the Salt lakes, and this haze is much thicker and more opake when the sun is in the Northern tropic.

Annotations

Chapter 2

CHAP. II.

From the Cape Verd Islands to Rio de Janeiro. — North Atlantic Ocean. — St. Sebastian. — Population. — Manners, Climate, and Diseases.

June. ROM the Cape Verd Islands to the vicinity of the line, the N. E. tradewind continued to impel us forward with undeviating celerity. In this space, it is impossible not to mark, with emotions of pleasure, the beautiful atmospherical pictures which the evenings afford: in the direction of the setting sun, the Heavens are seen glowing with orange and purple, blended into the greatest variety of tints, and melting impercep into the pure ether of light cerulean blue; in which, the first stars of evening shine with the most brilliant silvery lustre; but,

———Who can paint Like Nature? Can Imagination boast, Amidst its gay creation, hues like her's: Or, can it mix them with that matchless skill, And lose them in each other?

This beautiful appearance of the Heavens is confined, to the Northern Tropic: in the Southern, the air is commonly loaded with gloomy and dense vapours, that, descending to the horizon, constitute that kind of atmosphere to which is given the epithet, hazy.

The Northern tropical seas are the peculiar residence of the Dolphin, the Bonetta, the Albacore, the Skip-jack, and the Flying-fish; the latter is often seen winging its transient flight, to escape the swift pursuit of the dolphin, while the voracious shark waits its descent; when, exhausted by the want of moisture, its wings refuse to bear it aloft, and it falls helpless into his devouring jaws. The shark is the hereditary foe of sailors; and the moment one is spied, the whole crew are instantly in arms; often, the day's allowance of meat is sacrificed to bait the hook intended to entrap their hungry adversary; while grains, harpoons, and every missive weapon, are pointed at his devoted head. When success attends their operations, and the deluded victim is dragged on board, no pack of hungry fox-hounds can be more restless, till they receive the re of their labours, than the sailors to tear out the bowels, and examine the stomach of the shark. Here they often recover the pieces of meat used to bait the hooks, which his sagacity had extricated; and after cutting off his fins, saving his jaws as objects of curiosity, and reserving a few slices from the tail to eat, the carcase is again committed to the watery element.

The peculiar property of tropical atmospheres in corroding iron, is well known: it is almost impossible to keep any article of that metal from rusting, even for an hour, without the applica of oil. The copious vapours exhaled from the earth and sea, in tropical climates, may produce this effect, which is found to decrease as we recede from the equator, either north or south.

In latitude 6° North, we lost the N. E. trade-wind, and for a few days experienced the usual equinoctial calms, and squalls, with heavy rains, and strong easterly currents. The line was crossed in the longitude of 25° W., with the usual visit from Mr. Neptune, his wife, and child. This ceremony, though ridicu enough, is, when ably executed, sufficiently amusing: the ugliest persons in the ship, are chosen to represent Neptune, and Amphitrite (but the latter name being, rather too hard of pronunciation, is always familiarized into Mrs. Neptune); their faces are painted in the most ridiculous manner, and their heads are furnished with swabs well greased and powdered: Neptune's beard is of the same materials; while a pair of grains, or a boat-hook, serves him for a trident: a triumphal car is constructed with chairs fixed on a gun-carriage, or wheel-barrow, in which they are seated, and drawn from the forecastle to the quarter-deck, by a number of sailors representing Tritons. After enquiries. respecting the ship's destination, saluting their old acquaintances, and making the Captain some ridiculous present, such as a dog or cat, under the name of a Canary-bird, they are again rolled forward, and the ceremony of shaving and ducking their new visitors commences. A large tub of salt water is prepared, with a stick across it, on which the visitor is seated; Neptune's barber, after lathering his face well, with a mixture of tar and grease, performs the operation of shaving with a piece of rusty iron hoop, and when clean scraped, which is not accomplished without many wry faces, he is pushed backwards into the tub, and kept there until completely soaked.

The vicissitudes of the weather on the line are greater than any where else on the surface of the globe. In a moment, from an atmosphere glowing with the fierce rays of a vertical sun, the storm is seen brooding in the horizon, which soon becomes of a pitchy blackness; the dark volume silently and slowly approaches; not a breath ruffles the glassy surface of the main, until, in an instant, it bursts in all the fury of elemental strife. Thomson has so happily painted these equatorial squalls, that I cannot help transcribing the passage:

———In blazing height of noon, The sun, oppressed, is plung'd in thickest gloom. Still Horror reigns, a dreary twilight round, Of struggling night and day malignant mix'd. For to the hot equator crouding fast, Where highly rarefy'd, the yielding air Admits their stream, incessant vapours roll, Amazing clouds on clouds continual, heap'd, Or whirl'd impetuous, by the gusty wind, Or silent borne along, heavy and slow, With the big stores of steaming ocean charg'd. | Meantime, amid these upper seas condens'd | And by conflicting winds together dash'd, The Thunder holds her black tremendous throne; From cloud to cloud the rending Lightnings rage; Till, in the furious elemental war Dissolv'd the whole precipitated mass Unbroken floods, and solid torrents pours.

These squalls are, however, short as they are violent, and the sun soon bursts forth again in all his former fervour. The S, E, trade met us two degrees to the northward of the line, and accompanied us to 20° South, where it was succeeded by winds blowing from every point of the compass. Our ar at Rio de Janeiro was greatly retarded by the Ocean, whose rate of sailing was much inferior to the Calcutta's. We reached that Port the last day of June, and immediately commenced the necessary refittal of the ship, to enable her to encounter the long succession of stormy weather, which the season of the year taught us to expect in the remainder of our passage to New Holland. The small Island of Enchardos, about two miles from the town, was hired with permission of the Viceroy, for the purpose of repairing our water-casks, and landing the women to wash; a dilapidated monastery affording them and the marine guard a comfortable mansion.

The entrance of the harbour of Rio de Janeiro is narrow for about a quarter of a mile; it thence widens into a secure basin, which at the town is five miles in breadth, and extends inland beyond the reach of the eye: several fruitful islets are scattered on each side, which, covered with loaded orange-trees, almost realize the fiction of the gardens of the Hesperides.

The shores which surround the harbour are vastly mountainous, forming abrupt and craggy precipices of the most wild and extraordinary shapes. Nature seems to have sported in the formation of this her last work, and to have combined all the fanciful forms, which she scattered more sparingly over the old continent. The entrance of the harbour is pointed out by a towering cliff, on the South side, rising perpendicularly from the sea; while, at the head of the Port, the mountains rise into higher elevations, and present forms more strikingly singular;

Rocks rich with gems, and mountains big with mines, Whence many a bursting stream auriferous plays,

are here seen, now faintly peeping from behind the intervening clouds, and now presenting their dark blue summits above the flaky vapours that roll along their sides.

These mountains consist entirely of granite, forming an adamantine barrier to the waters of the ocean. They are clothed in every part where the least soil can remain, with trees and shrubs of various kinds; and even to the naked rock, vegetables are seen to adhere, which appear to derive their nourishment from the moisture of the air alone. Here are many picturesque vallies, narrow, but winding along the base of the mountains, from the shores of the harbour to some distance inland. These glens are supereminently fruitful, from the combined causes of superior heat and moisture; the first proceeding from the reflected heat of the sun, confined in a narrow space, and the latter produced by the condensation of the vapours, attracted by that heat, or driven by the winds against the mountains' sides. The numerous little coves at the entrance of these glens, are bordered with beaches of the finest sand, where fishermen have erected their dwellings, and which, viewing them from without, have all the apparent neatness of our best English villages; but too soon we find, on entering them, that this is the mere effect of white-wash, and that within, they are the habitations of sloth and nastiness. The town of St. Sebastian is built entirely of granite, which appears to be the only stone found here, except a species of black and white marble. From the Bay, the appearance of the town is not inelegant, but the deception vanishes on a nearer approach. The streets, though straight and regular, are narrow and dirty, the projecting balconies sometimes nearly meeting each other; the houses are commonly two stories high, independent of the ground-floors, which are occupied as shops or cellars; they are dirty, hot, and. inconvenient; the stair are perpendicular, and without any light; and in the arrangement of the rooms, no regard is paid, either to a free circulation of air, or to the beauty of prospect. The furniture of the houses, though costly, disgusts the eye used to elegant plainness, by its clumsiness and tawdry decorations; while the spider weaves her web, and pursues her sanguinary trade in uninterrupted security, upon the walls and ceiling. In the houses of the rich, the windows are glazed, which only serves to increase the reflected power of the sun, and render them intolerably hot; but the generality of houses are furnished with shutters of close lattice-work, behind which the women assemble in the evening; and while their own persons are concealed, enjoy the passing breeze, which is not, however, always very aromatic. In the English Settlements within the tropics, art is exhausted to correct or mitigate the ardour of the climate, and to render a burning atmosphere, not only supportable, but pleasant to a northern constitution. In the Brasils the defects of climate are increased by the slothful and dirty customs of the inhabitants. The cause of this difference is to be ascribed to the climates of the mother-countries; the climate of Portugal approaching to that of Brasil, the Europeans who emigrate hither feel little inconvenience from the change; in our tropical Settlements, the climate of their old differing so much from that of their new residence, the emigrants leave no means unemployed to mitigate the fer of the sun, whose ardent blaze is found to derange the nervous system, enervate the body, and render the mind a prey to listlessness and inanity.