JOURNEY FROM GOIANA TO RIO GRANDE.—THE CITY OF NATAL.—THE GOVERNOR.

I HAD entertained hopes of being accompanied by Senhor Joaquim, at least as far as Rio Grande, but he changed his mind, and I began to make the necessary arrangements for going alone. I purchased three more horses, and hired a guide for the Sertam, who was a white man of the country, and two Indian lads of about sixteen years of age. On the 3d November, I again set forth, accompanied by my English John, Francisco the guide, Julio, and the other boy, his companion. We only reached Dous Rios the same evening, which is two leagues distant from Goiana; we had left that place late in the day, and got on very slowly, as the two loads upon the horses were not well divided and arranged. I now found, on stopping for the night, that I had not provided as many things as were necessary; that I wanted an additional piece of baize to cover myself at night, that we ought to have brought more kitchen apparatus, and that knives and forks were to be had very rarely. I had with me a trunk with my cloaths, on one side of the pack-saddle, and a case, with some bottles of rum and wine, on the other side, and my hammock in the middle; these made one load. The other horse carried in the malas, a kind of trunk, on the one side, our provisions, and on the other, the cloaths of my people, additional ropes, and other tackle. I was far from being well supplied, but afterwards provided myself with more things as I went on, learning by experience. The hammocks are all made of cotton, and are of several sizes and colours, and of various workmanship. Those in use among the lower orders, are made of cotton cloth, of the manufacture of the country; others are composed of net-work, from which all the several kinds derive the general name of Rede, a net; others, again, are knit or woven in long straight threads, knotted across at intervals: these are usually dyed of two or three colours, and are to be found in the houses of wealthy persons. This species of bed has been adopted from the Indians, and nothing more convenient and better adapted to the climate, could possibly be imagined; it can be wrapped up into a very small compass, and, with the addition of a piece of baize as a coverlid, is usually of sufficient warmth.

I could not discover that there was any stream at this place, though it bears the name of Dous Rios, or the two rivers. It is a large open piece of land, with cottages upon the skirts, and attached to each is a pen for cattle. The great weekly fair for cattle from the Sertam, for the Pernambuco market, is held here.

From Dous Rios, we advanced the following day to the sugar plantation of Espirito Santo, situated upon the banks of the river Paraiba, which becomes dry in the summer, at a short distance above this estate. I had letters to the owner of it, who is a member of the Cavalcante family, and the Capitam-mor of the captaincy of Paraiba. I was received by him in a very friendly manner. The house is in the usual style of the country, having only the ground-floor, and no ceiling, the tiles and rafters being in full view. Supper of dried meat, and the flour of the mandioc made into paste, and called piram, was placed before me; also, some hard biscuits, and red wine. I was not then sufficiently a Brazilian to eat piram, and took the biscuits with the meat in preference, which much astonished my host. Sweetmeats were afterwards brought in, which are always good in the houses of persons of his rank in life; the opulent people in Brazil taking as much pride in their doces, as an English citizen in his table or his wines. The cloth was laid at one end of a long table, and I sat down by myself, whilst the Capitam-mor placed himself upon the table, near to the other end, and talked to me; and some of the chief persons of his establishment stood around, to see the strange animal called an Englishman. We adjourned from the supper-room into another spacious apartment, and each of us took a hammock, of which there were several in the room, and swung and talked until we were half asleep. One of his men supposed, that as I spoke Portugueze, either I must be an Englishman who did not speak English, or that any Portugueze, on going to England, would immediately speak the language of that country, as I did Portugueze. The Capitam-mor seldom leaves his estate to go to Recife, or even to Paraiba, and lives in the usual style of the Brazilian gentry, in a kind of feudal state. He had several young men about him, some of whom were employed by him; neither his wife, nor any of his children appeared. The principal apartments of this house are two spacious rooms, having a great number of doors and windows; in one, were several hammocks and a sofa; and in the other, the long table upon which I supped; there were a few chairs in each of them; the floors were of brick, and the shutters and doors were unpainted. The owner of this mansion wore a shirt and a pair of drawers, a long bed-gown, called a chambre, and a pair of slippers. This is the usual dress of those persons who have no work to perform. When a Brazilian takes to wearing one of these long gowns, he begins to think himself a gentleman, and entitled, consequently, to much respect.

The next day we advanced about seven leagues, and, for the first time, I slept in the open air. We intended to have taken up our lodging for the night at a neighbouring hamlet, but the huts were so small and miserable, being constructed of the leaves of palm trees, that I preferred the open air. We made for the rivulet which runs at a little distance from these habitations; the horses were immediately unloaded, and their pack-saddles taken off, that they might roll in comfort. The next thing to be done, was to get firewood,—in most parts of the country it is very plentiful, and as we were upon the skirts of a thick wood, there was here no want of it. A light was struck, and two fires made; we got an additional pan from one of the neighbouring huts, and our dried meat was cooked. The meat is dried in the old Indian manner, by laying it upon a platform of twigs, raised about eighteen inches from the ground, and making a fire underneath. We discovered that not far off, a field or piece of land, rather more cleared of wood than the rest, was rented by a cottager, who would allow our horses to be put into it for a vintem, about five farthings each, for the night, which the guide thought I should consider dear, and therefore told me, it was the usual price. As may be supposed, I made no great difficulties on this score, and the horses were taken to the place by Julio, and his companion. I now thought myself settled for the night, and therefore ate my supper, sitting in my hammock, which was slung between two trees, with the plate upon one of the trunks; having finished, I took my segar, and sat down close to the fire; the guide lighted his pipe, and placed himself on the opposite side, that we might have a talk about our proceedings for the morrow. I returned to my hammock about ten o’clock, but found the air very sharp, and consequently laid down under the lee of the fire, upon a hide, of which we had two for covering the loads in case of rain.

This was to me a new scene,—when I thought of the complete change of habits which this kind of life required, and how entirely different it was from any thing in England, I may almost say in Europe,—when I looked round, and saw our several fires, for the cold air had, by this time, obliged each person to have his own; the men all asleep, our pack-saddles, trunks, and other parts of our baggage scattered about, as it was taken from the horses,—when I heard the running of the water, and the rustling of the trees; and, when I considered, that I was entering among a people with whose habits I was little acquainted, whose feelings towards my countrymen I was ignorant of,—I felt a kind of damp; but this was soon removed, by thinking of the pleasure of return, and of the accomplishment of what I was deemed incapable of performing. I was cheered by my recollection of the knowledge I had of the language, and by the determination I felt within me of conforming to the customs of the people,—of submitting to their prejudices. I was not old enough to have contracted any habits, too deep to be laid aside when necessary. These thoughts were interrupted by the cry of “Jezus,” which was repeated every half minute in a dismal voice; I called to the guide, supposing it to proceed from some person in distress; he waked, and I told him what had made me call to him,—he said, it was only some person helping another “a bem morrer,” that is, that some dying person, which I found was the usual custom, had a friend to repeat the word “Jezus,” until the sufferer expired, that it might not be forgotten, and, perhaps, to keep the devil off.

I dined the following day at the village of Mamanguape, situated upon the banks of a dry river; it is a thriving place. These more modern villages have been built in one long street upon the road, the older ones in a square. It had then about three hundred inhabitants; but I have since heard, that the number is more than doubled, and that new houses are building. The river can scarcely be reckoned of any advantage to the village, but the place forms a convenient break between Goiana and Rio Grande for the travelling pedlars, a useful, industrious, and, generally, honest set of men, as their resting-place and head-quarters; from hence they make daily excursions to the plantations, at a little distance, and return here to sleep. I passed the night in the out-houses of some sugar-works; my guide was much astonished at my not asking for lodgings at the caza-grande, or owner’s house; but I preferred these kind of quarters to better ones, where I might run the risk of being obliged to remain half the night awake, for the purpose of giving news. The hospitality, however, of the planters, is very great; and no recommendation is necessary, though I had provided myself with a few letters.

The next day we proceeded to CunhÀÛ, the sugar-plantation of the Colonel Andre d’Albuquerque do Maranham, the chief of the Maranham branch of this numerous and distinguished family of the Albuquerques. He is a man of immense landed property. The plantation of CunhÀÛ extends along the road fourteen leagues, and the owner has since purchased another large estate adjoining; his lands likewise in the Sertam for breeding cattle are supposed not to be less than thirty to forty leagues in extent—of those kind of leagues that sometimes take a man three or four hours to get over one.

I had letters to him from some of his relations and friends at Pernambuco; he was sitting at his door, with his chaplain and several of his stewards and other persons employed by him, to have all the benefit of the fresh air. He is a man of about thirty years of age, handsome, and rather above the middle size, with genteel manners, rather courtly, as the Brazilians of education generally are. He lives quite in feudal state; his negroes and other dependants are numerous. He commands the regiment of militia cavalry of Rio Grande, and has them in good order, considering the state of the country. He came forwards on my dismounting, and I gave him the letters, which he put by to read at leisure, and then desiring me to sit down, asked me several questions of my wishes, intentions, &c. He took me to his guests’ apartments at a little distance from his own residence, where I found a good bed; hot water was brought to me in a large brass basin, and every necessary was supplied in a magnificent style—the towels were all fringed, &c. When I had dressed myself, I expected to be called to supper, but, to my amazement, I waited until near one o’clock, when a servant came to summon me. I found in the dining-room a long table laid out and covered with meat of several kinds, and in quantity sufficient for twenty persons; to this feast the colonel, his chaplain, another person, and myself sat down; when I had tasted until I was quite tired, to my utter dismay another course came on, equally profuse of fowls, pastry, &c. &c. and when this was removed, I had yet a third to go through of at least ten different kinds of sweetmeats. The supper could not have been better cooked or handsomer, if it had been prepared at Recife, and even an English epicure might have found much to please his palate. I was not able to retire to rest until near three o’clock; my bed was most excellent, and I enjoyed it still more from not expecting to find one. In the morning, the colonel would not allow me to leave his house, until I had breakfasted; tea, coffee, and cakes were brought in, all of which were very good. He then took me to see his horses, and pressed me much to leave my own, and take one of his for my journey, that mine might be in good condition on my return, and he also urged me to leave my pack-horses, and take some of his; but as mine were still all in working order, I declined accepting his offer. These circumstances are mentioned to show the frankness with which strangers are treated. I could not get away before ten o’clock, and therefore only advanced two leagues to dinner; I stopped by the side of a rivulet under some trees, upon a most beautiful spot.

At a short distance from the estate of CunhÀÛ, is a hamlet of the same name through which I passed in my way to the colonel’s plantation. This hamlet, or the estate itself, was the scene of a massacre, which was committed by the Pitagoares and Tapuyas from the Potengi in the year 1645. A battle was fought by Camaram, the Indian chieftain, to whose prowess the Portugueze are so much indebted, against the Dutch, in the following year, between CunhÀÛ and Fort Keulen which stands at the mouth of the Potengi.[34]

The captaincy of Rio Grande commences some leagues to the southward of CunhÀÛ, at a place called Os Marcos—a deep dell inhabited by runaway negroes and criminals; the paths of the dell are intricate, and when once a man has taken up his residence here, it is impossible to dislodge him.

This season the crop of cotton had failed; it was one of those years in which a great want of rain was felt. The colonel of CunhÀÛ had, for the first time, planted a piece of land, from which he expected to have gathered 10,000 arrobas, but in the end only gathered about 100; and he told me that he should keep to his sugar henceforwards. He is lenient to his slaves; they looked fat and well, and he has the character of not making as much of his plantation as he might, which is one proof of his kindness to them. The estate of CunhÀÛ is one of the largest, if not quite the most extensive, in these parts. There are upon it about 150 negroes, and the lands belonging to it would employ four or five times the number, but the colonel pays more attention to cattle, by which his father increased his fortune very largely.

As usual, on our arrival by the side of the rivulet the horses were unloaded, and my hammock was slung for me. I laid down in my cloaths, but soon I started up, finding myself uneasy. The guide saw me, and called out, “O sir, you are covered with carapatos.” I then perceived them, and felt still more their bites. Instantly throwing off part of my cloaths, but with the remainder upon me I ran into the water, and there began to take them off. The carapato or tick, is a small, flat insect, of a dark brown colour; about the size of four pins’ heads placed together, it fastens upon the skin, and will in time eat its way into it. It is dangerous to pull it out quickly, when already fixed, for if the head remains, inflammation is not unfrequently the consequence. The point of a heated fork or penknife applied to the insect, when it is too far advanced into the skin to be taken out with the hand, will succeed in loosening it. There is another species of tick of much larger size, and of a lead colour; this is principally troublesome to horses and horned cattle, that are allowed to run loose in lands which have been only partially cleared. I have, in some instances, seen horses that have had such vast numbers upon them, as to have been weakened by the loss of blood which they have occasioned. The insects of this species of carapato[35] fasten themselves to the skin, but do not force their way into it. The hammock had fallen to the ground accidentally when taken from the trunk to be slung, and had thus picked up these unpleasant visitors. I had some trouble in getting them all off, but was successful, as I had attacked the enemy in time.

We set off again about two o’clock; I had intended to have ridden until sunset, and then to have put up near to some cottage, but a young man overtook us, and we entered into conversation. He lived at Papari, a village about half a league out of the road, and he pressed me so much to accompany him to sleep at his place, that I agreed. Papari is a deep and narrow valley, a most delightful situation. The whole of the valley is cultivated, and principally this year, the lands were in great request, as the rains had failed, and the high sandy lands had proved barren. For, whilst every other part of the country appeared dry and burnt up, this spot was in full verdure—it appeared to laugh at all around it, aware of its own superiority. The inhabitants seemed by their countenances to partake of the joyful looks of the land they lived in. Papari yet enjoys another advantage; though it is at the distance of three or four leagues from the sea, a salt water lake reaches it, so that its inhabitants have the fish brought to their own doors. The tide enters the lake, which is never dry, for although the fresh springs which run into it might fail, still it would always preserve a certain portion of water from the sea. The fishermen come up upon their small river jangadas, which do not require more than twelve inches of water. Papari is about five leagues from CunhÀÛ. Senhor Dionisio introduced me to his lady; he is a native of Portugal, and she a Brazilian. They possessed a small piece of land in the valley, and appeared to be comfortably situated. Papari may contain about three hundred inhabitants very much scattered. In the course of this year, I afterwards heard, that many persons flocked to it from other parts, owing to the absolute want of provisions. I went down to the edge of the lake to see the fishermen arrive, the people of the valley had all assembled to receive them; it was quite a Billingsgate in miniature—save that the Portugueze language does not admit of swearing.

We dined in Brazilian style, upon a table raised about six inches from the ground, around which we sat or rather laid down upon mats; we had no forks, and the knives, of which there were two or three, were intended merely to sever the larger pieces of meat—the fingers were to do the rest. I remained at Papari during one entire day, that my horses might have some respite, that I might purchase another from Senhor Dionisio, and on poor Julio’s account, whose feet had begun to crack from the dryness of the sands.

Distant from Papari, from three to four leagues, is the Indian village of St. Joze, built in the form of a square; this place might contain about two hundred inhabitants, but it had evidently the appearance of falling to decay; the grass in the centre of the square was high, the church neglected, and the whole aspect dull. St. Joze stands upon a dry sandy soil, and the severity of the season might have contributed to its dismal look. This day we experienced the utter impossibility of trusting to the accounts we received of distances, and my guide had no very clever head for recollecting them, although he, like most of these people, possessed a kind of instinct with respect to the paths we were to follow. We were told that Natal was distant from St. Joze three or four leagues, and therefore expected to arrive at that place by dusk, but about five o’clock we entered upon the dismal sand hills, over which lies the road to the city; the whole country is uninhabited, and I may say uninhabitable, between Natal and St. Joze, consequently we had very faint hopes of meeting any one to give us information of the distance; but the guide said he supposed we could not be nearer to it than from two to three leagues, from the recollection he had of these hills, which when once passed over cannot be entirely forgotten. When it was nearly dark, and when our horses were almost giving way, we saw two boys on horseback, coming towards us: we asked them the distance, they answered “two leagues, and all deep sand,” adding, that they belonged to a party, which had come to make farinha, upon a spot of land, half a league distant from where we were, upon which mandioc was cultivated. They said, that to go on to Rio Grande the same night was madness, that they were going a short way to water their horses, and that on their return, they would guide us to their party. I agreed to wait for them. When they arrived, they struck soon from the road, down the side of one of the hills,—it was now dark; we followed, entered some high and thick brushwood, and a considerable way into it, found the persons to whom the boys told us they belonged. The implements for making the farinha were placed under a shed, which was thatched with the leaves of the macaiba, and other palm trees. These persons had fixed upon this spot, as there was a spring of brackish water hard by, which was, however, only to be reached by descending a precipice; the pitcher was fastened to a cord, and drawn up, and the person who descended to fill it, ascended the precipice by means of the brushwood which grows upon the side. I did not much like the party, therefore we took up our lodgings at some little distance from them, and none of us settled regularly for the night. I now much regretted not having a dog with me. Our horses passed a wretched night, feeding upon the leaves of the shrubs around us.

The next morning we continued our journey over the sand hills to Natal, travelling at about two miles within the hour. The distance from Goiana to Natal is fifty-five leagues. The sand hills are perpetually changing their situations and forms; the high winds blow the sand in clouds, which renders it dangerous to travellers; it is white, and very fine, so that our horses sunk up to the knees at every step,—painful to a very great degree, when the sun has had full power upon it. Poor Julio had mounted upon the haunches of one of the loaded horses, and occasioned our travelling still slower. All was desolate and dreary; for the great lightness of the sand almost prevented vegetation, though some of the creeping sea-side plants had succeeded here and there in establishing a footing.

The track of country between Goiana and Espirito Santo, and indeed even to CunhÀÛ, keeping at no great distance from the coast, is appropriated for the most part to sugar-plantations; but many of the Senhores de Engenho, sugar-planters, also employ part of their time in raising cotton. The general feature is of an uncultivated country, though a great quantity of land is yearly employed. The system of agriculture is so slovenly, or rather, as there is no necessity for husbandry of land, from the immensity of the country, and the smallness of its population, lands are employed one year, and the next the brushwood is allowed to grow up, giving thus to every piece of ground that is not absolutely in use that year, the look of one totally untouched, until a person is acquainted, in some measure, from practice, with the appearance of the several kinds of land. He will then perceive the difference between brushwood that will not grow because the land is of a barren kind, and that which is left to rise, that the land may rest for another crop. From this manner of cultivating their lands, a plantation requires three or four times more ground than would otherwise be necessary. I passed through several deep woods, and ascended some steep hills, but I saw nothing which deserved the name of mountain; I crossed some flat sandy plains, upon which the acaju, mangaba, and several species of palm or cabbage trees grow; these are merely fit to turn cattle upon in winter, and will only be brought into cultivation when lands begin to be scarce in Brazil. Varseas, or low marshy lands, adapted to the sugar cane, I also frequently saw. The cercados, or fenced pieces of ground, attached to each sugar plantation, upon which are fed the cattle kept for the work of it, are the only spots which bear the look of fields; and even in these, the brushwood is not always sufficiently cleared away, unless the proprietor is wealthy and has an abundance of persons upon his estate; otherwise, such is the fertility of the soil, that without great care, the cercado will in time become a wood. There are several hamlets upon the road, consisting of three and four cottages, and these are built of slight timber, and the leaves of the cabbage trees; others have mud walls, and are covered with these leaves; and now and then, a house built of mud, with a tiled roof, is to be seen,—this bespeaks a man above the common run of people. I crossed several rivulets, which were much reduced by the drought; but I did not see any great streams. The Paraiba was dry where I passed it, as also was the river near Mamanguape. A rivulet, that runs into the lake at Papari, was the only stream which appeared still to possess its usual strength. The road from Goiana to Mamanguape is the great Sertam track, and is similar to that between Recife and Goiana, excepting that the plains of the part of the country I had just now traversed, are more extensive, and the roads over these are dangerous, as they are only marked by the short and ill-grown grass being worn away upon the path; but as the cattle extend more upon a plain, and cannot be kept so close, from the greater extent of ground over which they pass, each part receives fewer footsteps, and the grass not unfrequently resists their passing, and vegetation still continues; consequently, in an imperfect light, an experienced guide is necessary, as on these plains no huts are ever to be met with, being, for the most part, destitute of water. These, the Brazilians call taboleiros, distinguishing them by this name, from campinas; upon the latter, the soil is closer, and they afford good grass. Beyond Mamanguape, the road is sometimes a mere path, with breadth sufficient only for two loaded horses to pass, and, in some places, it has not even the necessary width for this purpose. The valley of Papari I have already mentioned, as being much superior to the rest of the country. The trees in Brazil are mostly evergreens, and the drought must be great indeed to make them lose their leaves; but the green of the leaves of a parched plant, though still a green, is very different from the bright joyful colour of one that is in full health. This produced the striking difference between that valley and the burnt lands above it,—besides, the misfortunes of other parts made its good luck more apparent.

I arrived about eleven o’clock in the morning at the city of Natal, situated upon the banks of the Rio Grande, or Potengi. A foreigner, who might chance to land first at this place, on his arrival upon the coast of Brazil, would form a very poor opinion of the state of the population of the country; for, if places like this are called cities, what must the towns and villages be; but such a judgment would not prove correct, for many villages, even of Brazil, surpass this city; the rank must have been given to it, not from what it was or is, but from the expectation of what it might be at some future period. The settlement upon rising ground, rather removed from the river, is properly the city, as the parish church is there; it consists of a square, with houses on each side, having only the ground floor; the churches, of which there are three, the palace, town-hall, and prison. Three streets lead from it, which have also a few houses on each side. No part of the city is paved, although the sand is deep; on this account, indeed, a few of the inhabitants have raised a foot path of bricks before their own houses. The place may contain from six to seven hundred persons.

I rode immediately to the palace, as I had letters of introduction to the governor, from several of his friends at Pernambuco. He received me in the most cordial manner. He asked me for my passport, which I produced; it was scarcely opened, and he immediately returned it, saying, that he only did this, that all necessary form might be complied with. He said, that I should stay with him, and he would provide a house for my people. At one o’clock we dined, and one of his aide-de-camps was with us. In the afternoon, we walked down to the lower town. It is situated upon the banks of the river; the houses stand along the southern bank, and there is only the usual width of a street between them and the river. This place may contain from two to three hundred inhabitants, and here live the men of trade of Rio Grande. The bar of the Potengi is very narrow, but is sufficiently deep to admit vessels of 150 tons. The northern bank projects considerably, and for this reason, it is necessary that a ship should make for it from the southward. The entrance to the reef of rocks, which lies at some distance from the shore, also requires to be known, so that altogether the port is a difficult one. The river is very safe, when once within the bar; the water is deep, and quite still, and two vessels might swing in its breadth; but it soon becomes shallow, and in the course of a few miles is greatly diminished. I should imagine, that six or seven vessels might swing altogether in the harbour. The bars of rivers that are formed, as in this case, of sand, are, however, not to be trusted to, without good pilots, as they soon change their depth, and even their situation. When the tide enters, the northern bank is overflowed about one mile from the mouth of the harbour, and spreads over a considerable extent of ground, which, even during the ebb, is always wet and muddy, but never becomes sufficiently deep to prevent passing. The governor was raising a road over this piece of land, and the work was then nearly half finished. The new road would be about one mile in length. The captaincy of Rio Grande is subject to the governor of Pernambuco, and those of Paraiba and Seara were formerly in the same situation, but have of late years been formed into independent provincial governments.

The governor, Francisco de Paula Cavalcante de Albuquerque, is a native of Pernambuco, and a younger brother of the chief of the Cavalcante branch of the Albuquerques. His father, a Brazilian also, was first an ensign in the Recife regiment of the line; he afterwards established himself upon a sugar-plantation, and made a fortune. The old man died, and left to each of his sons considerable property; two remained upon their estates, and still live upon them; this third son entered the Olinda regiment, and was much beloved by the men. The regiment had then only one company, of which he became the commander, and large sums of money taken from his own purse, were expended by him for their good equipment. He went to Lisbon on some business relating to his company, and whilst he was there a denuncia, a private accusation, was given by some enemy to the family—that the brothers were forming a conspiracy against the government. He was obliged to leave Lisbon, afraid of being put under an arrest, and fled to England, where his reception was such, that he has ever wished for opportunities of shewing kindness to persons of that nation. His brothers suffered much in person and in property, but matters were at last cleared up, as the accusation was proved to be false. Francisco was immediately promoted to a majority, and soon afterwards sent to govern Rio Grande. He is a man of talent, and of proper feelings in regard of his duties,—enthusiastic in wishing to better the condition of the people over whom he was placed. I am grieved to say, that he has been removed to the insignificant government of St. Michael’s, one of the Azores or Western Islands.

When he was appointed to Rio Grande, there was scarcely a well dressed person in it, but he had succeeded in persuading one family to send for English manufactured goods to Recife—when once these were introduced they made their way—one would not be outdone by another, and, in the course of two years, they had become general. We visited the church in the evening—all the ladies were handsomely dressed in silks of various colours, and black veils thrown over the head and face. A twelvemonth previous to this period, these same persons would have gone to church in petticoats of Lisbon printed cottons, and square pieces of thick cloth over their heads, without stockings, and their shoes down at the heels.

The military establishment consists of one hundred and fourteen men—one company—which were in much better order than those of Pernambuco, or Paraiba. The captaincy of Rio Grande enjoyed perfect quietude from robberies through his exertions. The governor promoted the building of a large house, which was going on very fast, and for which he had subscribed largely; the rent of it was to be appropriated to the support of the widows of the soldiers of the captaincy. This work has, I am afraid, been laid aside since his removal. The situation of the prisoners was very miserable; he wished to better it, and requested that the principal persons of the place would take it in turn weekly to carry a bag round to all the inhabitants, that each might give some trifle to assist in their support; for some time this went on well, but after a few weeks it was neglected. He, therefore, took the bag himself, and, accompanied by one of his aides-de-camps, called at every house. He said, that this was the most comfortable week the prisoners had ever passed since their confinement, as more was given by each person than was usual, and the excellent arrangement was again taken up with ardour, by the same persons who had neglected it.

A British vessel was wrecked near Natal, and I have always understood that the proprietors were perfectly satisfied that every exertion possible had been made use of to save the property.

The drought of this year had caused a scarcity of the flour of the mandioc—the bread of Brazil—and the price was so high at Recife, Goiana, &c. that those persons of Rio Grande who possessed it, began to ship it off for other places; this the governor prohibited; he ordered it to be sold in the market-place, at a price equal to the gain the owners would have had by sending it away, and if all was not bought he took it himself, again giving it out when necessary at the same price. These anecdotes of him I had partly from himself, but principally from persons of the place, to whom I was introduced. When he left the city, on his appointment to St. Michael’s, the people followed him to some distance, praying for his prosperity.