til it forms a kind
of porridge; in the second, it is handed round, under the form of
coarse flour, in little baskets, and every one at table takes as
much as he chooses, and sprinkles it over his plate.

4th October. The mountain ranges continue drawing nearer and nearer
to each other, and the woods become thicker and more luxuriant. The
various creeping plants are indescribably beautiful: not only do
they entirely cover the ground, but they are so intertwined with the
trees that their lovely flowers hang on the highest branches, and
look like the blossoms of the trees themselves. But there are
likewise trees whose own yellow and red blossoms resemble the most
beautiful flowers; while there are others whose great white leaves
stand out like silver from the surrounding mass of flowery green.
Woods like these might well be called "the giant gardens of the
world." The palm-trees have here almost disappeared.

We soon reached the mountain range we had to cross, and on our way
often ascended such elevated spots that we had a free view extending
as far back as the capital. On the top of the mountain (Alta da
Serra, sixteen miles from Mendoza) we found a venda. From this spot
the distance to Morroqueimado is sixteen miles, which took us a long
time, as the road is either up or down hill the whole way. We were
continually surrounded by the most magnificent woodlands, and were
only rarely reminded by a small plantation of kabi, {39} or mil,
that we were in the neighbourhood of men. We did not perceive the
little town until we had surmounted the last eminence and were in
its immediate vicinity. It lies in a large and picturesque hollow,
surrounded by mountains at an elevation of 3,200 feet above the
level of the sea. As night was near at hand, we were glad enough to
reach our lodgings, which were situated on one side of the town, in
the house of a German named Linderoth; they were very comfortable,
and, as we afterwards found, exceedingly reasonable, seeing that for
our rooms and three good meals a-day we only paid one milreis (2s.
2d.).

5th October. The small town of Novo Friburgo, or Morroqueimado, was
founded about fifteen years since by French, Swiss, and Germans. It
contains not quite a hundred substantial houses, the greater part of
which form an extremely broad street, while the others lie scattered
about, here and there.

We had already heard, in Rio Janeiro, a great deal of the Messrs.
Beske and Free