RECOLLECTIONS OF BRAZIL. 389 



some time refused, fearing, as he had not been trained to the sport, 

 that he might swerve into the line of fire. However, he overruled 

 all my objections, and took his ground accordingly, with a small 

 plate as his target. In the next instant crack went the plate ; but to 

 my consternation, down went the Padre like a pigeon shot on the 

 wing. To my great joy, however, it turned out to be merely 

 a sudden panico that had come over him, which he was never able to 

 account for. While this was going on, the master of my Mulatto 

 servant accidentally passed, and, taking the liberty to look in at 

 the window, he perceived his slave in the posture aforesaid ; but too 

 polite to spoil sport, he merely returned home ; and as a precau- 

 tionary measure, wrote me the note as above. 



Although the foregoing anecdote plainly shews that the slave popu- 

 lation of Brazil, are out of the pale of humanity, valued only in the 

 light of beasts of burden, still to do the Brazilians the justice, there 

 is no country where that moral gangrene slavery exists, where the 

 unfortunate victims of it are so humanely treated as in Brazil. No 

 where in that country do we find that strong line of demarcation, 

 which in our colonies so divides all bonds of sympathy between 

 master arj,d slave. Religion too, has spread her protecting mantle 

 over the unfortunate African. On acquiring a slave, the first care of 

 the pious Brazilian is by baptism, to have him duly received a mem- 

 ber of the church, and with an amiable regard to their prejudices, a 

 black virgin, and one or two black saints have been added to the Ro- 

 mish Calender, whose festivals are celebrated with extraordinary pomp. 

 For some time after my arrival, I may be said to have held a daily 

 levee, and one would really have imagined that many of my visitors 

 had taken a high degree at the Stock Exhange, so fertile were 

 they in projects, that were to produce the most magnificent re- 

 sults. There were diamond districts, that might be worked " a la con- 

 trabcmd," mines of boundless wealth, of course known only to the 

 projectors, which only required the aid of British capital, and British 

 credulity, besides other schemes many of them as wild as any that 

 ever entered the head of the hero La Mancha. As I of course turned 

 a deaf ear to all their suggestions, I became very unpopular, and was 

 further accused of Jazer poco caso, making light of the good people of 

 Pernaiba, so that like a disgraced minister, my anti-chamber was 

 entirely deserted. 



One morning just as I was preparing to sally out on a shooting 

 excursion, my servant ushered in a gentleman whom I had never seen 

 before, and who advanced towards me with an energy of intention, 

 that convinced me I was to be honoured with a hug, a mode of salu- 

 tation, for more reasons than one, I always begged to decline. He 

 was a little short, thick set man, with a piercing black eye, that ap- 

 parently strove at a glance to see what I was made of, after pouring 

 forth a volley of the most fulsome compliments, he looked anxiously 

 around, and asked if there was any body within hearing. As he had 

 something of the greatest importance to confide to me, being answered 

 in the negative, he arose and spoke as follows : " That day so 

 ardently desired has at length dawned upon our St. Joam de Pernaiba, 

 that day in which her unbounded resources hitherto held in check, 



