James Hingston Tuckey

“ The effect which the sight of the smallest spot of land, or even a bare uninhabited rock, has in breaking the tedious monotony of a long sea voyage, is easier felt than described. After passing a long succession of weary hours, with no other objects of contemplation than a world of waters, bounded only by the extent of vision, where it unites with the world of clouds, the sight of land acts like a talisman, and instantaneously transports us into the fairy regions of imagination. ”

“ The celebrated Peak has by no means the grand appearance that the traveller is taught to expect, but its apparent altitude is much diminished, by the general height of the circumjacent mountains; indeed, the appearance of the eastern side of the island gives a very unfavourable impression of its value; a confused assemblage of rocky hills, heaped upon, and crossing each other in every direction, present themselves to the eye, like the waves of the ocean disturbed by the fury of contending winds and currents. ”

“ The preceding evening it had blown a heavy gale, with a mountainous sea; but as we approached the island, the wind moderated to a fine breeze, the billows subsided, and the clouds clearing away, shewed the full-moon suspended in the clearest ether: by her friendly light, at about four o'clock we saw the land, at six leagues distance. As the dawn arose, the horizon becoming hazing, concealed it from our sight ”

“ Cape Town is one of the handsomest colonial towns in the world; the streets, which are wide and perfectly straight, are kept in the highest order, and planted with rows of oaks and firs. The houses are built in a stile of very superior elegance, and inside are in the cleanest and most regular order. They are not, however, sufficiently ventilated, to dissipate the stale fume of tobacco, which is peculiarly offensive to a stranger. The play-house is a neat building, erected by the English, where French and Dutch plays are acted alternately twice a week by private performers. ”

“ In the revolution of all sublunary affairs, when the past and the present are alike sunk in the oblivious abyss of time, when De Gama is no more heard of, and a faint tradition alone records the doubtful power and opulence of the British isles, then shall some other transcendent genius arise, who, braving this foaming ocean with equal difficulty and equal glory, shall claim the honour of a first discoverer. ”

“ When, on the other hand, I viewed the lively appearance of the camp, the employments of the women, and the ridiculous dilemmas into which they were every moment thrown by the novelty of their situations, I smiled, and inwardly admiring the pliability of mind, which enables us to accommodate ourselves to the vicissitudes of fortune, confessed that the pride of independence, and the keen sensibility of prosperity, like marks imprinted on the sand, are soon effaced by the current of adverse circumstances. ”

“ We do not consider that what to our constitutional energies and cultivated minds would appear the acmé of misery, may, to others of a different temperament, be a state of comparative enjoyment; for the perceptions of every individual being, create a standard of happiness in his own mind, and nature has given to no two the same capacity of enjoyment. If the negro inherited from nature the intellectual capacity of the European, why have we not seen him improve in the arts of civilization, by the force of natural, ingenuity, or, at least, by the adoption of some of the knowledge of the latter. ”

“ The vicissitudes of the weather on the line are greater than any where else on the surface of the globe. In a moment, from an atmosphere glowing with the fierce rays of a vertical sun, the storm is seen brooding in the horizon, which soon becomes of a pitchy blackness ”

“ Those who can acquire half a dozen slaves, live in idleness upon the wages of their labour, arid stroll the streets in all the solemnity of self-importance. In their general expences, the rich are penurious, and the marriage of their children alone seems to thaw their frozen generosity; on these occasions, they run into the contrary extreme, and ridiculous extravagance becomes the order of the day. I have seen a bridal chemise, the needlework of which had cost fifty pounds, and the rest of the marriage paraphernalia was in the same proportion of expence. ”

“ But the climate operating upon the fair sex more forcibly in proportion to their superior delicacy of organization, enervates the system, and induces a kind of restless indolence, to which is attached a boundless desire for variety, when it can be procured without much exertion: hence, while the mind is lulled into inactivity, and the eye of prudence sleeps, the bosom is "tremblingly alive" to the soft sensations of love, and the bulwarks of female innocence lie exposed and defenceless to the attacks of the watchful seducer. ”

“ The shores which surround the harbour are vastly mountainous, forming abrupt and craggy precipices of the most wild and extraordinary shapes. Nature seems to have sported in the formation of this her last work, and to have combined all the fanciful forms, which she scattered more sparingly over the old continent. ”

“ At Rio Janeiro, the lofty spires of innumerable churches arise in every point of view; the streets are crowded with priests of every denomination and habit; the air continually reverberates the solemn sounds of the cloyster bell, while the harmonious notes of the vesperal hymn, chaunted in slow cadence, breaks the silence of the evening, and forces reverence from the bosom of levity itself. ”

“ It may be remarked, that all the large timber trees of New South Wales, except those growing in swamps, are unsound in the hearts: this probably proceeds from insufficiency of moisture, as well as from the continual firing of the grass in the forests, which must dry up the sap of the young trees. It also deserves to be noticed, that several of the gums, iron, and stringy bark, mahogany and box trees, which were felled at the first establishment of the colony, are now perfectly sound and hard, though exposed to the weather for fifteen years. ”

“ The Northern tropical seas are the peculiar residence of the Dolphin, the Bonetta, the Albacore, the Skip-jack, and the Flying-fish; the latter is often seen winging its transient flight, to escape the swift pursuit of the dolphin, while the voracious shark waits its descent; when, exhausted by the want of moisture, its wings refuse to bear it aloft, and it falls helpless into his devouring jaws. The shark is the hereditary foe of sailors; and the moment one is spied, the whole crew are instantly in arms ”

“ From Teneriffe, we pursued our course towards the Cape Verd Islands, and on the 25th of May made the isle of Sal, along which we coasted at the distance of six or seven miles, without seeing any thing that could induce a stranger to land on it from choice; not a trace of cultivation, nor of inhabitants, was to be seen; nor did a single shrub enliven the dreary brown of the parched soil. This island has but few stationary inhabitants, but is frequented for the salt which is collected on it, with which it supplies America, and the West Indies. ”

“ In voyages of this nature, where a great number of people are crowded together, to whom it is not always possible to permit such exercise as is necessary to health, cleanliness is the only preventative of disease; and, independent of any other necessity, it will always be eligible to put into, any convenient port for that purpose alone.
It would appear, that the island of Teneriffe deserves the high character it has received for salubrity of climate. We attended the funeral of a native, who had lived 26 years beyond the common life of man, "after which all is but labour and trouble." ”

“ THOUGH the currents of the ocean have long occupied the attention of scientific men, no general theory has yet been found to answer under all circumstances. It may, I think, be assumed that oceanic currents depend upon principles as fixed as those to which we refer the currents of air; and also, that heat and cold operate in like manner upon both; to these causes may be added the influence of the heavenly bodies, and it is therefore to be regretted, that navigators have never thought of comparing with accuracy the changes and courses of currents with the revolutions of the sun and planets. ”

“ Domingo may be adduced as instances of brilliant talents and unconquerable spirit in the sons of Africa; but rules are sometimes proved by their exceptions. A civil war, or a revolution in a state, opens an unbounded theatre for the exhibition of talents, and gives to native genius the power of distinguishing itself: we accordingly see it rising superior to all obstacles from want of education or political oppression. ”

“ The French republic, which seems to neglect no means of revolutionizing every part of the globe, and to which force and intrigue are indifferent in this pursuit, have not forgotten the Brasils, where their emissaries are sufficiently active in the cause of anarchy and confusion. The mother-country, aware of the slippery tenure by which the colony is held, with all the fears of a weak despot, prohibits the erection of a printing-press. ”

“ THE chief vegetable productions of the district of Rio de Janeiro are sugar, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, and indigo; of these, sugar is alone indigenous, and was found growing wild by the first colonists. The tobacco raised in the Brasils is consumed there in segars and snuff; and the cultivation of indigo has been much neglected, since the East Indian indigo has rivalled it in the European markets. The soil is every where so rich, that it requires all the labour of the farmer to check the too luxuriant vegetation, and keep the ground free from brush-wood and shrubs ”

“ The Calcutta's voyage, though comprising the circumnavigation of the globe, was never intended to be a voyage of discovery; and from the undeviating route which she pursued, it was particularly barren of events which could lead to scientific observations: indeed, this track has, of late years, been so often traversed by the ablest navigators and men of science, that the most attentive diligence can scarcely glean any thing that has not already been the subject of investigation. ”

“ On some of the highest elevations an arid sea-sand is found, giving nourishment to no other vegetable than heath and fern. The bases of the hills consist of very coarse granite, which is here found in every stage of formation, from grains, scarcely adhering, and crumbling into sand between the fingers, to the perfect stone which almost defies the chissel.
The great scarcity of water is one of the greatest disadvantages the port labours under. ”

“ Distempers, local in their origin, become more formidable when transplanted, than in their native soil; the small-pox, so little feared in Europe, almost depopulated America, and the plague is much more inveterate when it invades Europe, than in its native East. This is scarcily accounted for; the human frame is prepared by custom and by climate for the admission of the native disease, which is not the case where it is transported. ”

“ In contemplating the manners and opinions of different nations, we are often apt to attribute to the caprice of the human mind, effects which proceed from natural causes alone, over which man can scarcely be allowed to possess any influence. The cleanliness and industry of the Dutch form a striking contrast with the dirt and indolence of the Portuguese, but are not more opposite than the climates of Holland and Portugal. ”

“ At day-light we again commenced our march, guided by a pocket-compass; and keeping at the distance of between three and five miles from the sea at noon reached Western Port, about two miles from its entrance. From Cape Schank the country is varied by hills and vallies, the soil of the former being a stiff clay, with very lofty gum-trees; and of the latter, a rich black mould several feet deep, except in a few spots where a black peaty earth was found. The grass in these vallies is extremely luxuriant; some of them are over-grown with under-wood, while others possess scarce a single shrub. ”

“ The new negroes have an idea, that their priests can render them invulnerable to the weapons of their enemies; and hence arise the most bloody contests between the different tribes, which the severest punishments cannot suppress. National hatred is one of the strongest principles in the minds of the ignorant, and a real John Bull as heartily despises a Frenchman when fellow-prisoner as when at liberty.
The native Indians in the district of Rio Janeiro are few; the Portuguese accuse them of aversion to any kind of labour, and only employ them on the water as boatmen. ”

“ As the manners of a people improve, jealous restraints give way to delicate attentions towards the females: men begin to place confidence in women; and the latter feeling their own importance, soon acquire that proper pride which is the great support of female virtue; and enjoying the liberty of doing as they choose, they think only of doing as they ought. Thus secret assignations become less necessary, as jealousy and scandal cease to fetter the social intercourse of the sexes ”

“ The dreadful mortality which has, in several instances, taken place among the convicts on board transports going to New South Wales, must proceed chiefly from a want of attention to cleanliness, both in the persons of the convicts and the ship herself; for, in every instance where proper precautions were taken, no such mortality has taken place. The convicts, in general, being equally indolent and careless, as well as unused to a ship, will in many instances be found so negligent of themselves, that severity is some. ”