he little thought his end was so nigh. On attempting to sit up after having been in a quiet sleep, the rupture of an internal abscess took place, and springing in a convulsion from his cot, he fell dead in the arms of his attendant. His was the first funeral, but we had too sad evidence before us, that it was not to be the last. A petty officer was lying at the time in the very jaws of death, and expired the same day. Noble in figure, and of an uncommonly hardy constitution, he died at the early age of thirty, a sacrifice to the demon of drunkenness. Before he was thought in particular danger, a fortnight ago, I spoke to him, in one of my visits, of the importance of being at all times prepared for sickness and death; to which he replied, that he was too weak both in body and mind, to think on such subjects. Then he was comparatively strong, and perfectly himself; but soon afterward, the "delirium tremens," with all its accompanying tokens of a horrid end, took from him every power of reflection, and he perished a miserable and degraded soul. As I stood by his cot gazing at his convulsed and agonized frame, just before he expired-after having lain six hours speechless, and utterly incapable of articulating a syllable distinctly-in an effort of anger at a shipmate attending him, he broke out in the most dreadful oaths and curses, sounding in my ears as if they already came from the region of the damned! To commend his immortal spirit by prayer to the mercy of an Eternal Judge, was all in my power to do; and I turned away with the heartfelt aspiration"Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his !" RIO DE JANEIRO. LETTER I. DESCRIPTION OF THE BAY OF RIO DE JANEIRO. U. S. ship Guerriere, Rio de Janiero, EARLY on the morning of Friday the 27th inst., at a distance of 30 miles, we made Cape Frio, a lofty promontory, one degree due east of Rio de Janiero. The morning was delightful, and with a breeze fresh and fair, we hoped at the time to gain the harbor by nightfall; but after doubling the Cape we lost the regular trade wind, and coming within the alternate influence of a land and a sea breeze, made such slow advances, as on Saturday evening to be still outside of the bay, twenty miles from the city. It having fallen entirely calm, we were obliged here to drop anchor for the night, and wait for the breeze of the morning to carry us into port. But for the interruption of the order and worship of the Sabbath-a consequence of this delay-I should not have regretted it, from the greater opportunity afforded to observe and admire the rich and noble scenery of the coast. |