Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

72 APPROACH KIO DK JANEIRO. 1819 doubtless, extremely prudent persons: — but rather unlike those officers whose names will never be forgotten while Eng- land has a navy. Of the measures taken for recovering the treasure sunk in the Thetis, much has appeared in print ; therefore I will not add a word to that subject of controversy. Weather such as that which caused the loss of the Thetis, is only at times met with off Cape Frio ; a clear sky, with a hot sun, and but little wind, is more usual ; and as my first approach to Rio de Janeiro, on board H.M.S. Owen Glen- dower, in 1819, made much impression upon me, I will endea- vour to describe ifs circumstances. High blue mountains were seen in the west, just after the sun had set, and with a fair wind we approached the land rapidly. The sea was quite smooth, but a freshening breeze upon our quarter carried us on, nearly thirteen knots an hour. Though dark as any cloudy tropical night, when neither uioon nor star relieves the intense blackness — astern of us •\vas a long and perfectly straight line of sparkling light, caused by the ship's rapid way through the water ; and around the bows, as far forward as the bowsprit end, was dazzling foam, by whose light I read a page of common print. Sheet lightning played incessantly near the western horizon : and sometimes the whole surface of the sea seemed to be illuminated. As the moon rose, and the breeze decreased, the contrasts of light and darkness, of swift change of place and apparent tran- quillity, lost their effect. Next morning we had a dead calm : high land towered over the fog-banks, which were slowly drawn upwards and dispersed by the heat of a powerful sun ; and the sea was smooth as a lake. Numbers of that beautiful fish, the dorado, often called a dolphin, were caught ; and the vivid, various colours displayed, as they lay upon our deck, exceeded description. Well I remember too the trouble we middies had with the sun at noon on that day ; not with the sun above our heads, but with its image reflected by our quadrants. As he was almost vertical over us, we were dispersed round the ship, each thinking he had brought the reflected image down