ow pies, and
others of gay plumage and delicate shape, quite new to us all. A merrier
party certainly never met, but the best of the expedition was to come.
The tide was now favourable; and we determined to do a spirited thing,
and instead of going all the way down the harbour, which would have
kept us out beyond the time allowed us, we ran through a passage in the
reef called Mother Cary's passage, because few things but the birds
think of swimming there. The merchant-boat went first, our gig next, and
as I sat in the stern of the large boat that was to follow, it was
beautiful, but something fearful, to see them dash through that boiling
surf between the rocks and rise over the wave secure beyond it, nor was
the sensation less mixed when we followed. There is at all times
something triumphant in the sensation of sailing over the waters; but
when they are roughened by storms, or rendered fearful by rocks or
shoals, the triumph approaches to the sublime, and in it there is a
secret dread, though not of ocean, and a raising of the soul to him who
made the ocean, and gave man mind to master it. I am not ashamed to own,
that as I looked round on my young charge, when Mr. Dance whispered "sit
still and say nothing," and then stepping to the bow of the boat called
aloud to the helmsman, "steady!" I had a moment, though but a moment, of
exquisite anxiety. But we were through in an instant, and soon alongside
of the frigate, where we were praised for doing what few had done
before, and having shown the possibility of doing that safely, which at
some future time it might be of importance to know could be done at all.

_Wednesday, 10th._--We went on shore early for the first time since the
armistice. The guns are removed from the streets and a few of the shops
are re-opened; the negroes are no longer confined within doors, and the
priests have reappeared; their broad hats and ample cloaks give them an
importance among the crowd, which now is busy and active, and seemingly
intent on redeeming the time lost to trade by the siege. I was struck by
the great preponderance of the black population. By the last census, the
population of Pernambuco, including Olinda was seventy thousand, of
which not above one third are white: the rest are mulatto or negro. The
mulattoes are, generally speaking, more active, more industrious, and
more lively than either of the other classes. They have amassed great
fortunes, in many instances, and are far