We Tried, Therefore, To
Put Into St. Helena, But Contrary Winds Preventing Us, We Sailed Back
Again To The South American Coast, And Anchored Off Pernambuco.
It was
providential that economical intentions made our captain prefer this
port, for had we touched at Rio, we should have encountered the yellow
fever, which we afterwards heard was raging there.
Pernambuco is apparently a very pretty place. We were anchored about
four miles from the town, so had a good view of the coast. I longed to
be on shore to ramble beneath the elegant cocoa-nut-trees. The weather
was intensely hot, for it was in the commencement of January; and the
boats full of fruit, sent from the shore for sale, were soon emptied by
us. I call them boats, but they are properly termed catamarans. They
are made of logs of wood lashed securely together; they have a sail and
oars but no sides, so the water rushes over, and threatens
every moment to engulf the frail conveyance; but no, the wood is too
light for that. The fruits brought us from shore were oranges,
pine-apples, water-melons, limes, bananas, cocoa-nuts, &c., and some
yams, which were a good substitute for potatoes. The fruit was all very
good, and astonishingly cheap; our oranges being green, lasted till we
reached England. Some of our passengers went on shore, and returned
with marvellous accounts of the dirtiness and narrowness of the
streets, and the extremely NATURAL costume of the natives.
We remained here about four days, and then, with favourable winds,
pursued our voyage at an average rate of ten or twelve knots an hour.
As we neared the English coast, our excitement increased to an awful
height; and for those who had been many years away, I can imagine every
trivial delay was fraught with anxiety.
But we come in sight of land; and in spite of the cold weather, for it
is now February, 1853, every one rushes to the deck. On we go;
at last we are in the Downs, and then the wind turned right against us.
Boats were put off from the Deal beach. The boatmen there rightly
calculated that lucky gold-diggers wouldn't mind paying a pound a-piece
to get ashore, so they charged that, and got plenty of customers
notwithstanding.
On Sunday, the 27th of February, I again set foot on my native land. It
was evening when we reached the shore, and there was only an open
vehicle to convey us to the town of Deal itself. The evening was
bitterly cold, and the snow lay upon the ground. As we proceeded along,
the sounds of the Sabbath bell broke softly on the air. No greeting
could have been more pleasing or more congenial to my feelings.
Chapter XVIII.
CONCLUSION
As I trust that, in the foregoing pages, I have slightly interested my
readers in "our party," the following additional account of their
movements, contained in letters addressed to me by my brother, may not
be quite uninteresting.
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