RESIDENCE AT JAGUARIBE.—JOURNEY TO GOIANA.—ILLNESS.—RETURN TO JAGUARIBE.

AFTER the journey to Bom Jardim, I did not again leave Recife for any length of time, until I entered with a friend into a scheme of farming. It had been greatly my wish to remove from the town into the country, from preference, rather than from any other cause.

In the beginning of April, 1812, we rented the sugar-plantation of Jaguaribe, distant from Recife four leagues, in a northward direction, and about one league from the coast; it had upon it several slaves, oxen, machinery, and implements, which enabled the new tenant to enter it immediately. A few days after these matters were arranged, I accompanied the owner to the plantation for the purpose of meeting the person who was about to leave it, being the second visit which I had made to my intended place of residence. Having agreed with this man, the owner and myself returned to sleep at the dwelling of one of his brothers, which was situated about a mile and a half from the coast; this person had purchased some lands, which he was now clearing, and upon which he was erecting several buildings. He and his family inhabited a barn, and we were to sleep in his new house, of which the roof and the wood-work of the walls were alone erected. The rainy season had commenced, and this unfinished dwelling was almost surrounded by pools of stagnant water, inhabited by enormous toads, whose loud and hoarse croaking continued during the whole of the night, without intermission. The trunks of the trees which had been cut down a short time before, were lying as they had fallen in all directions. In the morning I set off alone, on my return to Recife; I made for the sea-shore, and soon reached the river Doce, a narrow stream, which after a course of four or five leagues here discharges its waters into the sea. The tide enters it, and again recedes with considerable rapidity; at such times it is not fordable, but at the ebb the remaining waters are very trifling, and some parts of the channel are left quite dry. It is necessary to pass quickly over, as the sand of which its bed is composed is very fine, and although not altogether what is called quicksand, still to delay in one spot is not quite safe. When the tide is out the water of the river is quite sweet, which has obtained for it the name of Doce.

It was upon the borders of this river that the Portugueze and the Dutch were first opposed to each other in that part of Brazil[79]; here commenced that memorable struggle upon which the Pernambucans, with so much reason, pride themselves. The beginning was not propitious, and did not augur well of the result, but time proved the people to be worthy of the beautiful country which they inhabit. The river Tapado, upon the banks of which the Portugueze commander afterwards attempted to rally his men[80], lies between the Doce and Olinda. It is a rivulet or dyke (for it resembles more the latter than the former) without any outlet to the sea, but it is only separated from it by the sands, which are here about twenty yards across. When the rains have been violent the additional waters of the Tapado are discharged over the sands, and sometimes at spring tides, when the wind blows fresh, a few waves will reach over them and fall into the dyke; this being the only manner in which they can communicate with each other. At the Doce likewise landed Pedro Jaques de Magalhaens, the general, and Brito Freire (now known as an historian), the admiral of the fleet which assisted the patriots of Pernambuco in the completion of their long-desired and hardly-earned object,—the re-conquest of Recife and consequent expulsion of the Dutch.[81]

But to return,—I arrived upon the banks of the Doce, and asked at a cottage, which was not far distant, if the river was fordable, and being answered in the affirmative, I rode up to its banks and attempted to make my horse enter it, which he refused to do. I made a second and a third trial, when he plunged in swimming; it was with much difficulty that he gained the outermost point of the sand-bank on the opposite side. He had passed a bad night and was not in a proper state to perform this task, nor should I have attempted it if I had known the depth, but I imagined that the tide had sufficiently retreated. My clothes were dry before I arrived at home, but I long felt the consequences of crossing the Doce.

About the middle of May I removed to Jaguaribe. The road to it is through the plantation of Paulistas, from whence, after crossing the Paratibi, a narrow path leads to the left through a deep wood for nearly one league. A steep hill is to be surmounted, and its corresponding declivity carefully descended. The wood continues to a break in the hill, on the side nearest to Jaguaribe. On reaching this spot there was a view before me, which would in most situations be accounted very beautiful, but in this delightful country so many fine prospects are continually presenting themselves, that I opened upon this with few feelings of pleasure at the sight. I cannot avoid owning that the advantages of the place as a plantation occupied my mind more deeply than its beauties. Immediately before me was a cottage and a row of negro huts, surrounded by banana-trees, standing upon a shelf of the hill. Beyond these to the left was the narrow, but far-extending valley, upon whose nearest border were situated the buildings of Jaguaribe upon an open field, with the hills behind, and in front was the rivulet. To the right was a deep dell, with an expanse of country not thickly covered with wood; and rather in advance, but also to the right, were numerous deep-coloured mangroves, which pointed out that a stream of considerable size ran down among them. On the other side of the nearest of these mangroves, and yet not very far, was the high peak of St. Bento, with the mandioc, and maize lands, and wood upon its side, and the path winding up through them, which is at times concealed, and at times in view;—but the buildings are not to be seen, though the tolling of the chapel-bell may be often heard, from the spot upon which I was standing.

I was under the necessity of taking up my abode in the vestry of the chapel, as the Great House was still occupied. The negroes were already at work for us, and under the direction of a proper feitor or manager. The whole neighbourhood was astonished at the place I had determined to inhabit, until some other dwelling presented itself. I was certainly not comfortably situated, for the vestry consisted of only one apartment, with a door-way to the field and another into the church, the latter being without a door; the church was unfinished, and was the resort of bats and owls; however it was principally my unconcern respecting ghosts which my neighbours were surprised at. A negro boy and myself remained at night to encounter these, if any should appear, and to receive our constant visitors the bats. My companion rolled himself up upon the ground in a piece of baize and a mat, and thus cased, was quite safe. I slept in a hammock, and oftentimes these unwelcome guests alighted upon it, as if they had come for the chance of a toe or a finger making its appearance, upon which they might fix. This way of living did not last long, nor did I wish that it should.

The house of which I have spoken as being situated upon a shelf of the hill, and as looking down upon the valley, was soon without an inhabitant, and therefore to this I removed. It was large, but the floors of the rooms were without bricks, and the interior walls had not been white-washed for ages, and some of them had never undergone the operation. I received visits and presents, as is customary, from my immediate neighbours,—the white persons and those of colour who aspire to gentility; and indeed many individuals of the lower class did not neglect to come and offer their services to the new-comer, whose character and disposition towards them, they judged that it was necessary to become acquainted with. In many instances, the wives of the latter description of visitors came also and brought sweetmeats, fruit, or flowers. I received them all, sitting in my hammock; the men sat round on chairs, but the women generally squatted down upon the floor, though it was formed of earth. I talked to them of my intentions, and of my wish to conciliate, and I heard much of bickerings and squabbles among those of their own rank, and of feuds between their superiors, the same stories being related to me in many different ways. They were much surprised that I should wear so much cloaths, saying, that I ought to do as they did and be unencumbered; and their advice I soon followed. I was much amused, and for some days these visits took up the largest portion of my time.

The lands around me to the North, belonged to the Benedictine friars; and to the East to an old lady; those of the latter were much neglected, but those which were possessed by the former were in high order. To the South, beyond the wood through which I passed in coming to Jaguaribe, are the lands of Paulistas; and to the West and North West are some excellent cane lands, belonging to a religious lay brotherhood of free negroes of Olinda, which were tenanted by and subdivided among a great number of persons of low rank, whites, mulattos, and blacks.

The work went on regularly, and I had soon very little in which to employ my time, excepting in those things by which I might think proper to amuse myself.

In the beginning of June, it was necessary that I should visit Goiana; however I took a circuitous route for the purpose of seeing something new. I was accompanied by an old free man of colour and by Manoel, a faithful African. We slept the first night at Aguiar, the estate of the capitam-mor with whom I had travelled to Bom Jardim; and on the following morning proceeded through several sugar plantations. We rested at mid-day at Purgatorio, a small cotton and mandioc plantation, but we could not purchase any thing of which to make a dinner, and therefore, as was usual on such occasions, we smoked in place of eating. When the sun had declined a little we again set forth. A few of the sugar plantations through which we passed in the afternoon were in a decayed state. We stopped at a cottage, and begged the owner to sell us a fowl but she refused;—we had not eaten any thing this day. I was loath so to do, but I could not avoid saying that she must sell one, that I did not mind the price, but that hunger would not allow me to let her do as she pleased in this case. She fixed upon one, and made me pay exorbitantly for it. We parted in the end very good friends; she offered me some herbs with which to cook the bird, and after this reconciliation we again advanced. By going to Purgatorio we had left the usual direct road—cross roads even in England are not good, so what must they be in Brazil? In one part we were obliged to lean down upon our horses’ necks, and to proceed in this manner for some distance, with the branches of the trees completely closed above. The plantation of Mundo Novo, or the new world, which we reached late in the afternoon, was in ruins; trees grew in the chapel, and the brushwood in front of the dwelling-house rose higher than its roof. I slept at a cottage hard by, which was inhabited by an elderly man and a number of children, large and small. The ill-fated fowl, and another which we had also obtained by the way, were dressed by the daughters of our host. Soon the cooking was effected, and I commenced operations, literally with tooth and nail, upon one of the birds, for there were no knives, forks, or spoons to be had; however I did receive some assistance from my own faca de ponta, a pointed knife or dirk, which, though prohibited by law, is worn by all ranks of persons. At night, my hammock was slung under the pent-house; at a late hour a shower of rain came on; our host had a vast herd of goats; these crowded in from the rain, and soon I was obliged, in self-defence, to rise, as I discovered that they had very little respect for me;—my head and some of their’s having come in contact, made me look out for better quarters; and these I found upon a high table, where I remained until the visitors again ventured forth. We proceeded on the morrow, and reached Goiana by the low marshy lands of CatÛ. The river was scarcely fordable; but we crossed, and on the opposite side the loose mud in the road reached above the horses’ knees and continued along it for more than one hundred yards; we entered it, and the horses gently waded through; but mine unfortunately felt that his tail was not quite easy in the mud, and therefore began to move it to and fro on either side; and as it was long, (much too long on this occasion) it struck me at every jerk. My dress was a light-coloured nankeen jacket and trowsers, and I came forth, without exaggeration, one cake of mud from head to foot.

I rode to the residence of a person with whom I had been long acquainted; he had taken up his quarters at a new mandioc plantation which had been lately established in the outskirts of Goiana; my friend had removed to this place to superintend some of the workmen. I stayed only two days at Goiana, for I soon accomplished the object of my journey, which was to obtain twenty Indian labourers from Alhandra. My return to Jaguaribe was by the usual road.

The day after my arrival at my new home, I rode to Recife, and had on the following day an attack of ague. I had exposed myself lately too much to the sun, and had been several times wet through. The disorder left me in a fortnight; my horses were sent for,—they came, and I set off for Jaguaribe; but in mid-way, I was drenched with rain, and reaching that place much tired, went to sleep unintentionally in my hammock, without changing my cloaths. In the morning I felt that the ague was returning, and therefore ordered my horse and rode out to try to shake off the attack, which the peasants say it is possible to do. However, whilst I was talking with a neighbour, on horseback at his door, the ague came on, and I was unable to return to my own dwelling.

The next day the Indians from Alhandra arrived; they had imbibed strange notions of the riches of an Englishman; and their captain told me, that they knew I was very rich, and could afford to give higher wages than any one else. I tried to undeceive them in this respect, but all to no purpose. I offered the usual rate of labour in the country; but their characteristic obstinacy had entered into them, and they preferred returning as they came to any abatement of their first demand; although this was 25 per cent. higher than any person had ever been known to give for daily labour. They dined, placed their wallets upon their shoulders, and went their way. One of my people said, as they disappeared, ascending the hill, beyond the field, “They had rather work for any one else for half the money, than lower in their demands to you.”

I was removed from this neighbour’s house, after a few days, in a hammock; but finding that the disorder increased, I sent for the manager, an old man of colour, whose wife attended upon me. By my desire, he collected a sufficient number of bearers, as it was my wish to be carried to Recife. About five o’clock in the afternoon we set off; there were sixteen men to bear the hammock by turns, and the manager was likewise in company; of these persons only two were slaves. After we had passed the wood and had arrived upon a good road, the bearers proceeded at a long walk approaching to a run. Their wild chorus, which they sung as they went along,—their mischief in throwing stones at the dogs by the road side, and in abuse, half joking, half wishing for an opportunity of quarrelling, confident in their numbers, and that as they were in the service of a white man he would bring them out of any scrape;—was very strange, and had I been less unwell, this journey would have much amused me. As we passed through Olinda, a woman asked my men if they carried a dead body (for it is in this manner that they are brought from a distance for interment). One of the bearers answered, “No, it is the devil[82]:” and then turning to me, said, “Is it not so, my master[83]?” I said, “Yes,” and the good woman walked away, saying, “Ave-Maria, the Lord forbid[84].” The wind was high and some rain fell, as we crossed the Olinda sands; we arrived at Recife between nine and ten o’clock. The bearers stopped before we approached the gate way at the entrance of the town, that each man might, in some way or other, conceal his long, unlawful knife; without one of these weapons no peasant or great man leaves his home, notwithstanding the prohibition.

I became gradually worse, until my recovery was not expected; but the kind, attentive hand of another Englishman here again was stretched forth. My former friend had left the country, but another supplied his place, and from him I received every brotherly kindness. I cannot forbear mentioning the following circumstances relating to my illness. I went on board an English merchant ship, some weeks after my recovery, and on passing a cask which was lying upon the deck, I struck it intentionally, but without any particular object. The master, who was an old gentleman with whom I had come from England, and who had been long acquainted with me, said, “Yes, you would not have it.” I asked him what he meant, to which he replied, “It was for you, but you gave us the slip this time.” I did not yet understand him, so he then continued, “Why, do you think I would have let you remain among these fellows here, who would not have given you christian burial? I intended to have taken you home in that puncheon of rum.” I was told by one of my medical attendants when I was recovering, that some old maiden ladies, who lived near to where I resided, had frequently pressed him, whilst I was in a dangerous state, to have the Sacrament brought to me, for they were much grieved that I should die without any chance of salvation. An English merchant of Recife asked my particular friend when the funeral was to take place; and one of the medical men wrote a note to the same person late one night, enquiring whether his attendance on the following morning had been rendered unnecessary.

As soon as I was well enough to remove, I took a small cottage at the village of Monteiro, that I might have the advantage of better air than that of Recife, and yet not be too far distant from medical advice. Here I passed my time very pleasantly in daily intercourse with a most worthy Irish family, of whom I shall always preserve recollections of gratitude for the kindness which I received at that time and on other occasions. On the night of my arrival at Monteiro, one of my pack-horses was stolen, but the animal was recognised some weeks afterwards by a boy who was in my service; the man into whose hands he had fallen happened to pass through the village, and thus I recovered the horse. It is astonishing to what a great extent horse-stealing has been carried, in a country which abounds so much with these animals. It is almost the only species of robbery, for the practising of which regular gangs of men have been discovered to have been formed; but these fellows will sometimes also chance to lay hold of a stray ox or cow.[85]

I was most anxious to return to Jaguaribe, and about the middle of October was making preparations for the purpose; when the manager arrived from the plantation, with the intelligence that one of his assistants had been attacked two nights before, and nearly killed, by some persons who had been commissioned to perform this deed in revenge of some real or imagined injury which the man had committed. This determined my proceedings; the following morning I set off with the manager and a servant, to see the wounded man. I found him at his father’s house, in most woeful plight; his face was dreadfully lacerated, and his body much bruised; the work had been done by bludgeons, and evidently in fear, else the task would have been performed less clumsily and more effectually. I never could discover by whom the murder was intended, nor the persons who attempted it; they were dressed in leather, like unto Sertanejos; but the sufferer imagined that this costume was made use of as a disguise. Two men sprang out upon him, in a narrow lane which had high banks on each side; he defended himself for some time with his sword, but they overpowered him at last, and his weapon was the only part of his property which they carried off. I removed altogether from Monteiro in a few days; my presence had long been necessary at Jaguaribe, for the mill was at work, and as frequently happens in every country, some of the persons who were employed had not remained empty handed.

The poor fellow who had been way-laid, soon returned to the plantation; he told me that every night large stones were thrown violently against his door, between the hours of one and four in the morning. I called the manager the following evening, and both of us being armed, we took our station near to the gate which leads into the field, one being on each side, behind the high bank. We could hear the footsteps of any person long before he could approach us, as the splashing in the rivulet which runs beyond the gate, would give us timely notice. The musquitos gave us much employment; however we remained at our post until half an hour before day break, without seeing any thing; but the practice was discontinued. Two men had arrived early in the night to offer themselves as labourers; they were awake when we returned, had made a good fire upon the ground in the mill (a spacious roof supported upon brick pillars) and were sitting round it upon their heels; we joined them, and here I heard their stories of their own prowess, of charms, and miracles, and other conversation of the same nature, each of them telling something strange which he had seen or heard.[86]

Much time had been lost, and the cane ought to have been planted for the crop of the following year; the negroes in my possession could not perform what ought to be done in proper time, and therefore I collected free labourers for the purpose; and in a short period between thirty and forty men, some of whom brought their families, removed on to the lands of the plantation; and most of them erected hovels of palm-leaves, in which they dwelt; but a few of them were accommodated with huts of mud. There were Indians, mulattos, free negroes, and slaves working together; a motley crew.

I had now taken up my abode at the house which was usually inhabited by the owner or tenant; this was a low, but long mud cottage, covered with tiles, and white-washed within and without; it had bricked floors, but no ceiling. There were two apartments of tolerable dimensions, several small rooms, and a kitchen. The chief entrance was from a sort of square, formed by the several buildings belonging to the estate. In front was the chapel; to the left was a large dwelling-house unfinished, and the negro huts, a long row of small habitations, having much the appearance of alms-houses, without the neatness of places of this description in England; to the right was the mill worked by water, and the warehouse or barn in which the sugar undergoes the process of claying; and to the view of these buildings may be added the pens for the cattle, the carts, heaps of timber, and a small pond through which the water runs to the mill. At the back of the house was the large open field, the mill dam beyond, and cottages, mandioc lands and trees along the valley, bordered on each side by steep hills covered with thick woods.

Oftentimes I have sat at night upon the threshold of the door, after all my people had retired to their habitations; they have supposed that I was asleep; then I have heard the whisperings in the negro huts, and have observed some one leave his house, and steal away to visit an acquaintance, residing at some distance; or there has been some feast or merry-making, thus late at night, thus concealed. Neighbouring negroes have been invited, and have crept in during the evening unperceived. It is on these occasions that plans for deceiving the master are contrived; in these sweet unpermitted meetings, the schemes are formed. Then the slave owner who is aware of such secret practices, and reflects, must feel of how little avail are all his regulations, all his good management. Restraint creates the wish to act contrary to given rules. The slave has a natural bias to deceive him who holds him in subjection. A man may love the master whom he may at pleasure leave; but to be tied down, and as a duty enjoined to esteem, fails not in most instances to rouse contrary feelings, to awaken a sense of pleasure rather than of pain, in counteracting the wishes, and in rendering nugatory the determinations of him who commands.

At other times far different ideas from these have occupied my mind; I have thought of the strange life I was leading; a remembrance of feudal times in Europe has crossed me, and I could not forbear comparing with them the present state of the interior of Brazil. The great power of the planter, not only over his slaves, but his authority over the free persons of lower rank; the respect which is required by these Barons from the free inhabitants of their lands[87]; the assistance which they expect from their tenants in case of insult from a neighbouring equal; the dependance of the peasants, and their wish to be under the peculiar protection of a person of wealth who is capable of relieving them from any oppression, and of speaking in their behalf to the governor, or to the chief judge; all these circumstances combined, tend to render the similarity very great. I even felt the power which had unintentionally fallen into my hands. I had collected a considerable number of free workmen, and the estate was respected for miles round. Many of these fellows would have committed almost any crime under the impression that my protection would screen them; and if I had not turned some away, and threatened others that I would aid the law rather than evade it, should their proceedings be irregular, I know not what evil deeds might not have followed.[88]

Whilst I was unwell at Recife and Monteiro, the manager and his wife had taken possession of the house; and here they remained for some time after my return. Thus, I lived literally among these people; I had indeed my meals alone, but generally two or three of the persons employed upon the plantation were in the room, whilst I breakfasted or dined, and they stood or sat talking to me. Any one reached me a plate or ought else for which I asked, if he happened to be near to what I wanted. The manager and his wife told me many strange tales; he was a man of feudal stamp, honest and faithful in every respect, from personal regard to the man whom he served, but not in general to the world; not from a principle of right and wrong. This is very frequently the case among these people. He was however of the right sort for what I wanted; and if I was again to travel there, I should seek him out.

I had become somewhat intimate in several families of the neighbourhood; but was the most amused with my acquaintance in those of secondary rank, where there is less ceremony than among persons of the first class. In the former, the females often appear, when the visitor is a neighbour, has concerns with the master of the house, and becomes intimate with him.

The Festival of St. Bento was to be celebrated about the close of the year in the adjoining plantation, belonging to the monks of whom he is the patron saint. The convent is at Olinda, and there the abbot resides; the fraternity is rich, possessing much landed property. Upon the estate adjoining to Jaguaribe, mandioc, maize, rice, and other articles of food are cultivated, with which the convent is supplied. The slaves upon it are in number about one hundred, of all ages; and the last African died whilst I resided in that part of the country. The festival, at which I intended to be present, was to our Lady of the Rosary, the patroness of negroes. The expence which was to be incurred was subscribed for by the slaves of the estate, and the festival was entirely managed by them. Three friars attended to officiate at the altar; but the lights, the fireworks, and all other necessary articles were provided for by a committee of the slaves. The manager of the estate was a mulatto slave, who made me a visit upon my arrival at Jaguaribe, and on the occasion of the festival came to invite me to the novena and to the festa, (the nine previous evenings and the festival); or rather he came to request that I would not fail to go, as he feared that my people and his might quarrel. I went with a large party of men and women; we ascended the hill, and on our arrival at its summit, I was invited by one of the black women to enter her cottage, the same invitation being made to several other persons of our party. The chapel is placed quite upon the highest point of the hill; and the house in which the friars dwell, when they come to the estate, and the row of negro huts form a semicircle about it, thus in part inclosing the chapel. These habitations look down upon the broad river of Maria Farinha, winding below among the mangroves, and there are several creeks on the opposite side, which look like so many branches.

The crowd which had assembled was considerable, and was not a little increased by my free workmen; some of whom were unmarried men, unencumbered, and ready for any mischief. I was armed with a long pike and the large knife of the country; and had brought three of my slaves, accoutred much in the same manner,—three resolute Africans, upon whom I could depend, and whose business it was closely to watch their master. Before the commencement of the prayers and singing in the chapel, the black people extended several mats upon the ground in the open air; and our party sat down upon them to converse and to eat cakes and sweetmeats, of which many kinds were exposed for sale in great abundance. All went on quietly for three nights, for the mulatto manager forbad the sale of rum; but on the fourth night some liquor unfortunately found its way up the hill, and Nicolau, the manager, came in haste to inform me that a few of my Indians were earnestly bent on quarrelling with a party of his people. I rose from the mat upon which I had been seated, and followed by my body guard, accompanied him back to the spot, where I soon saw that a fight had commenced; persuasion was of no avail, and therefore my negroes made use of the butt ends of their pikes, and brought an Indian to the ground, who was delivered over to Simam, one of my fellows; and I desired the two slaves who remained to assist the St. Bento negroes. I thus proved, that I would not uphold my own people if they acted irregularly; and the matter fortunately ended with only some trifling bruises, and one broken head. The Indian was conveyed home by Simam, who returned to tell me that he had placed the man in the stocks, with the intent of sobering him. No more quarrels were entered into; for this affair quite sickened all those who might have been so inclined. In the morning the Indian was set at liberty, and he quietly went off to his work, not being much the worse.

I had great pleasure in witnessing the most excellent arrangements of this plantation; the negroes are as happy as persons in a state of slavery can be; but although the tasks are, comparatively speaking, easy, and corporal punishments are only resorted to for children, still the great object at which they aim is to be free, and to purchase the freedom of their children[89]. One man, who was a fisherman by trade, had obtained the manumission of his wife, though he was still a slave himself, with the intent that if she should still have any more children, they might be free; and he purposed afterwards purchasing his own freedom, and that of his young ones. Several instances of the same behaviour are frequently occurring upon the estates belonging to these and other friars. Thus every one wishes to be a free agent; and it is this feeling alone which makes a St. Bento negro do all in his power to be able to act for himself; for very probably he may be obliged to labour with more diligence to obtain his living as a free man than as a slave. The emancipated negro oftentimes becomes an excellent member of society, for he contracts habits of industry, in which he continues; but again, if he has been hardly treated by a rigorous master, he becomes disgusted with, and indifferent to life, is rendered callous to shame, and drags on an idle, miserable existence.

Another festival was to take place at one of the chapels upon the coast, which is dedicated to our Lady of the Conception. This was distant one league and a half from Jaguaribe; however we formed a party and mounted our horses one moon-light evening; the females riding behind their husbands and relations, with a sheet or counterpane thrown over the horse’s haunches, upon which they sat. We came out upon the sea-shore at the church of our Lady of the O, (of which I shall presently speak) not far from the Fort of Pao Amarello, and from thence proceeded along the sands to the place of our destination. I was introduced to the family of an old Portugueze who resided here; his son had just taken orders as a secular priest, and was to say his first mass on the day of the festival. There were puppet-shows, tumblers, and all their attendants in great abundance; fireworks and bon-fires, noise, bustle, and no lack of quarrelling. Within the chapel there was a display of wax tapers, praying, singing, and music, as is usual.

The assemblage of persons was very considerable; indeed wherever the surf is not violent the sea-shore is well-peopled, along the whole extent of coast between Olinda and the bar of the river Goiana; in many parts the low straw huts are united, or nearly so, in long rows for half a mile together. White-washed cottages with tiled roofs are frequently interspersed; churches and chapels have been built, and few intervals of much extent remain unpeopled. The lands are planted with the coco-trees, which is the most profitable plant of Brazil[90]; the coco-tree appears to be adapted to the sandy soil of the coast, upon which only very few others will vegetate; here it flourishes and seems to derive nourishment from its vicinity to the sea, but when it is situated in rich land the coco-tree droops, and even upon the sandy plains of the interior, it does not bear its fruit with the same luxuriance, or reach that height, which it attains when exposed to the sea breeze. These coco groves through which the eye can reach for miles, with the hovels composed entirely of the leaves of these trees spread among them, form in some parts very picturesque views; and if, as frequently occurs, the cottage is situated upon the border of a wood, just where the cocos end, and the dark green foliage of the forest trees is seen behind, then the view is even romantic; and if the wind is high, the rustling of the coco-trees, and the dashing of the waves, increases much the wildness of the scene.

However to return. As soon as the church service was ended we mounted our horses, and rode back to Our Lady of the O. We alighted at a cottage which stood near to the church, the inhabitants of which were acquainted with some of our party; the moon was bright and the breeze moderate. We sat down upon mats before the door, and were regaled with quantities of young coco nuts, a most delightful fruit when they are in this state. Some of us walked down towards the beach; the tide was out, and I observed several large blocks of hewn stone, partly buried in the sand below high water mark. I enquired what had caused them to be there, and was answered, that a church had formerly stood upon that spot; and I heard then, and afterwards often saw, that the sea was making considerable encroachments along the coast, to the distance of half a league or more each way. The new church of Our Lady of the O. was now building, at the distance of about three hundred yards from the shore. Strange tales are told of the miraculous deeds of this lady. When the church was about to be rebuilt, many of the landholders of the neighbourhood were desirous of having the edifice upon their ground; this proceeded from a religious feeling. Lots were drawn to determine upon the site of the new church, and although manifestly inconvenient, from many causes, it has been erected upon the spot where it now stands, because the same lot was drawn three times. A very great objection, and one which in common cases would have been insurmountable, is that this is the lowest piece of land in the neighbourhood, and is opposite to the place upon which the sea is making the most rapid advances. Water too, for mixing the lime and sand, must have been conveyed from a considerable distance; but a spring of it gushed forth at the moment that one of the labourers was making preparations for the commencement of his work, and since the capella-mor, or principal chapel, has been built, all kinds of diseases are said to be cured. The fame of this most powerful lady has reached far and wide, and from the interior to the distance of 150 leagues, persons who were afflicted with disorders which had been considered incurable by human means, have come down to make their offerings to this avaritious personage, whose powerful intercession is not to be obtained unless she is in return well paid for her trouble.[91]

As the road from the Sertam to the sea-shore was by Jaguaribe, I saw many of the travellers; I conversed with many wealthy persons, whose sole errand was to offer part of their possessions, upon condition of relief from the malady under which they suffered. The patrimony of this church is now considerable, from the numerous donations which have been made; some of these have been advanced on credit, the donors being fully confident of repayment in the manner which they desire; others have been made, owing to the persons who gave them having been really cured;—faith has done what medicine could not do. Such has been the reliance upon the efficacy of the prayers which were offered up, and upon the power of the Lady, that the probability of disappointment has never occurred to them; and when the disorder proceeds more from the imagination than from the body, I should suppose that a cure may be effected, much in the same manner that in other countries cures are said to be performed by medicinal waters; of which, although the qualities may be very excellent, yet the name may surpass the reality, in bringing about the desired end. The miracles of Our Lady of the O. are performed in three ways—by prayer from the patient,—by drinking the water of the spring or by application of some of it to the part affected—and by eating or outwardly applying, a small quantity of the salt which oozes from the wall against which the High Altar stands[92]. A village has risen up around the church, composed of huts for the sick, who have journeyed far from other districts. The business has completely succeeded, the money which was required for rebuilding the church has been obtained, and when I came away the concern was going on prosperously. I heard the remark made by some firm believers, that such was the sinfulness of the inhabitants of the vicinity, that the Lady had scarcely vouchsafed to perform any cures upon them. The wonderful stories of cures were always of persons who lived in remote districts; but I did meet with a few cases in which fancied illness from lowness of spirits was removed. The general credulity of the lower orders of people, and even of many individuals of the higher ranks, is beyond all belief; no persuasion, no reasoning is of any service; even a doubt of the truth of every story which is told is not admitted[93].

From hence we proceeded to pay another visit. The owner of this cottage had no cocos to offer, but he would have dressed some fish, and he gave us some wild fruits. The sail of a jangada was extended for us, and we laid down for some time to converse. At a late hour we set off homewards, and from carelessness lost our way; we wandered through the paths of the woods of Mamanguape, until we judged (rightly, as it happened) that we were in the road which would lead us to Jaguaribe. There was much merriment notwithstanding the disaster, for we knew that day-light would end our difficulties, and it was now past two o’clock.

The mill was continually at work; I usually took the first watch, and superintending the business until midnight; several of my neighbours and their families came to amuse themselves in conversation, and others came for the purpose of eating sugar-cane, of which every one who has tasted must be fond.

About this time a female slave died in child-bed who was generally regretted. She was a good servant, and an excellent wife and mother. The grief of her husband bore much the appearance of insanity; he would not eat until the following day, and then he only tasted food from the persuasion of one of his children. Until the time of my departure from Pernambuco, he had not recovered his former spirits, and he never spoke of his wife without tears in his eyes. Even some of the other slaves were, for a few days after her death, unsettled; the rude instruments, upon which they were in the habit of playing in the evening at their doors, were laid aside;—all merriment was discontinued for some time.

I was requested about this period to be bride’s-man at the marriage of a mulatto couple. I agreed, and on the day appointed, set forth for Paratibi, accompanied by a free servant and a slave on horseback. I arrived about ten o’clock, and found a large party of people of colour assembled; the priest soon arrived, and he too was of the same cast. Breakfast of meat and piram (a paste made of farinha) was placed upon the table; some part of the company sat down and ate, others stood, doing the same, and others again, as if they were afraid of losing a minute’s conversation, continued to talk loudly, and without ceasing. I have witnessed few such scenes of confusion. At last we proceeded to the church, to which I begged to be permitted to ride, for the distance was considerable, and I was somewhat lame from an accident; as soon as the ceremony was over, we returned to the house. The bride was of a dark brown colour, for her father was a negro, and her mother of mixed blood; she was dressed in a rose-coloured silk gown, and a black veil was thrown over her head and shoulders; she wore white shoes and white stockings with open clocks. The bridegroom was also of dark colour; he wore a coat of brown cloth, a waistcoat of brocaded silk, and nankeen pantaloons; he had on shoes with large buckles, and a cocked hat. Both of these persons were young, and they seemed to be dreadfully hampered with the increased stock of apparel which they carried. The scene at dinner was a counterpart of the breakfast affair, with the addition of more noise and more confusion, which were caused by a larger assemblage of people, and more plentiful draughts of wine and rum. I escaped as soon as possible; but would not on any account have missed being present at this day’s work.

On the night of Christmas eve, I did not go to bed; for we were to hear the Missa do Gallo, or cock mass, as is customary. The priest arrived, and the night was spent merrily. This person did not at that time come regularly as a chaplain, but he was so engaged afterwards.