Note 41 — Chapter IX · RIO JANEIRO, CAPITAL OF BRAZIL.

Few spots in the New World are more indebted to nature than the environs, all possible combinations of scenery being included in one magnificent perspective. One of the best views is from the Corcovado Mountain, which although upwards of 3,000 feet in height, can be ascended on horseback. Like most mountains around, it is rather a rock, or titanic monolith, than a mountain, and it may be compared with the gnomon of a gigantic sun-dial; and, in fact, its shadow in particular localities supplies the place of a parish clock. Its sides are still in great part covered with forest and ‘matta,’ or jungle, notwithstanding numerous fires by which it has been devastated, the immediate result of the last being a deficiency in the supply of water to parts of the capital, for the destruction of trees here, as elsewhere, causes a scarcity of the aqueous element, and the springs which rise on and around this mountain feed the conduits and aqueducts that convey that fluid into Rio. From the summit may be seen the whole extent of the harbour and city; the Organ Mountains in the distance, several lakes along the coast, a wide expanse of ocean, and innumerable ravines and spurs of the mountain clothed with richest foliage. The most remarkable, however, of all the mountains near the capital, is the Gavia, with a flattened summit, sometimes called by the English the Table Mountain, in Portuguese, the ‘square topsail,’ to which it bears a resemblance. It is reputed to be inaccessible, at least it has not yet, as far as can be ascertained, been ascended. Opening into the outer harbour is Botafogo Bay, a short distance from the capital, where many foreign merchants reside to enjoy the cool sea breezes, and where the buildings are of a superior description, with beautiful gardens attached, many being luxuriantly planted with oranges and lemons, bananas, pomegranates, palm trees, and a vast variety of shrubs and vegetables peculiar to Brazil, including the universal cabbage plant in great profusion. The aqueduct, which is passed in several places in the ascent of the Corcovado, is a well-built and striking object, crossing several streets of Rio, and conveying excellent water from the heights of that mountain to the different fountains in the town.