-breeze,
and which can be seen in the offing, approaching, long before it
enters the bay. The balance of better and worse will be variously
estimated by various minds. The magnificent scenery of Rio remains,
and must remain, short of earthquake; the Sugar Loaf, the distant
Organ mountains, the near, high, surrounding hills, the numerous
bights and diversified bluffs, which impart continuous novelty to the
prospect. It is surprising that in these days of travel more do not go
just to see that sight, even if they never put foot on shore; though I
would not commend the omission. I see, too, in the current newspapers,
that Secretary Root has attributed to the women of Uruguay to-day the
charm which we youngsters then found in those who are now their
grand-mothers. As Mr. Secretary cannot be very far from my own age, we
have here the mature confirmation of an impression which otherwise
might be attributed to the facility of youth.

An interesting, though not very important, reminiscence of things now
passed away was the coming and going of numerous vessels, usually
small, carrying the commercial flags of the Hanse cities, Bremen,
Hamburg, and Lubeck, now superseded on the ocean by that of the German
Empire. Scarcely a morning watch which did not see in its earlier
hours one or more of these stealing out of port with the tail of the
land breeze. These remnants of the "Easterlings," a term which now
survives only in "sterling," were mostly small brigs of some two
hundred tons, noticeable mainly for their want of sheer; that is,
their rails, and presumably their decks, were level, without rise at
the extremities such as most vessels show.

Up to the middle of the last century, Rio, thanks probably to its
remoteness, had escaped the yellow-fever. But the soil and climate
were propitious; and about 1850 it made good a footing which it never
relinquished. At the time of our cruise it was endemic, and we
consequently spent there but two or three months of the cooler season,
June to September. Even so, visiting the city was permitted to only a
few selected men of the foremast hands. The habits of the seamen were
still those of a generation before, and drink, with its consequent
reckless exposure, was a right-hand man to Yellow Jack. All shore
indulgence was confined to Montevideo, where we spent near half of the
year; and being limited to one or two occasions only, of two or three
days duration each, it was signalized by those exc