each. This island used to furnish
the neighbourhood with horses. When the English fleet and army stopped
here, on the way to the Cape of Good Hope, the horses for the cavalry
regiments were procured here. However, there is nothing remarkable in
Itaparica but its fertility; the landscape is the same in character with
that of Bahia, though in humbler style; but it is fresh and green, and
pleasing. After dining in a palm-grove, and walking about till we were
tired, we re-embarked to return; but the tide was unfavourable; we
drifted among the rocks, where Coutinho, the first founder of the colony
of Bahia, was wrecked and afterwards murdered by the natives, and we
were in consequence four hours in returning home.

26th, 27th, 28th, passed in pleasant enough intercourse with our
countrymen, though neither of us were well enough to go much on shore,
therefore our friends came to us. There are eighteen English mercantile
houses established at Bahia, two French, and two German. The English
trade is principally carried on with Liverpool, which supplies
manufactured goods and salt, in exchange for sugars, rums, tobaccos,
cottons, very little coffee, and molasses. Lately, sugars have been
shipped, on English account, for Hamburgh to a great extent, and I
believe part of the returns are in German or Prussian woollen-cloths.
The province of Bahia, by its neglect of manufactures, is quite
dependent on commerce. But the distance from the sea of the province of
Minas Geraes, has induced the inhabitants to weave not only enough
coarse cotton cloths for home consumption, but even to become an article
of trade with the other captaincies.

In the province of Esperitu Santo, cotton sail-cloth is made; but the
chief trade of this place is _slaving_. This year no less than
seventy-six slave-ships have sailed, without reckoning the smugglers in
that line.

_Sunday, 28th._--Mr. Pennell had kindly fixed to-day for giving us a
party in the country, and accordingly some of our young people were to
go and assist in putting up tents, &c.; but a miscalculation of tide and
time, and a mistake as to the practicability of landing on part of the
beach beyond the light-house, occasioned a variety of adventures and
accidents, without which I have always heard no fete champetre could be
perfect. However that may be, our party was a pleasant one. Instead of
the tents, we made use of a country-house called the Roca, where beauty
of situation, and neatness