Cuap. I, LAE) CHAPELANOF, OUR LADY. 29 
with which a mere subsistence can be obtained with moderate work, 
tempt even the best-disposed to quit regular labour as soon as they can. 
He complained also of the dearness of slaves, owing to the prohibition 
of the African traffic, telling us that formerly a slave could be bought for 
120 dollars, whereas they are now difficult to procure at 400 dollars. 
Mr. Danin told us that he had travelled in England and the United 
States, and that he had now two sons completing their education in 
those countries. I afterwards met with many enterprising persons of 
Mr. Danin’s order, both Brazilians and Portuguese ; their great ambition 
is to make a voyage to Europe or North America, and to send their sons 
to be educated there. The land on which his establishment is built, he 
told us, was an artificial embankment on the swamp; the end of the 
house was built on a projecting point overlooking the river, so that a 
good view was obtained, from the sitting rooms, of the city and the 
shipping. We learnt there was formerly a large and flourishing cattle 
estate on this spot, with an open grassy space like a park. On Sundays 
gay parties of 40 or 50 persons used to come by land and water, in 
carriages and gay galliotas, to spend the day with the hospitable owner. 
Since the political disorders which I have already mentioned, decay had 
come upon this as on most other large establishments in the country. 
The cultivated grounds, and the roads leading to them, were now 
entirely overgrown with dense forest. When we were ready to depart, 
Senhor Danin lent a canoe and two negroes to take us to the city, 
where we arrived in the evening after a day rich in new experiences. 
Shortly afterwards we took possession of our new residence. The 
house was a square building, consisting of four equal-sized rooms; the 
tiled roof projected all round, so as to form a broad verandah, cool and 
pleasant to sit and work in. The cultivated ground, which appeared as 
if newly cleared from the forest, was planted with fruit trees and small 
plots of coffee and mandioca. The entrance to the ground was by an 
iron-grille gateway from a grassy square, around which were built the 
few houses and palm-thatched huts which then constituted the village. 
The most important building was the chapel of our Lady of Nazareth, 
which stood opposite our place. The saint here enshrined was a great 
favourite with all orthodox Paraenses, who attributed to her the per- 
formance of many miracles. The image was to be seen on the altar—a 
handsome doll about four feet high, wearing a silver crown and a 
garment of blue silk, studded with golden stars. In and about the 
chapel were the offerings that had been made to her, proofs of the 
miracles which she had performed. There were models of legs, arms, 
breasts, and so forth, which she had cured. But most curious of all was 
a ship’s boat, deposited here by the crew of a Portuguese vessel which 
had foundered, a year or two before our arrival, in a squall off Cayenne ; 
part of them having been saved in the boat, after invoking the protection 
of the saint here enshrined. ‘The annual festival in honour of our Lady 
of Nazareth is the greatest of the Pard holidays; many persons come to 
it from the neighbouring city of Maranham, 300 miles distant. Once 
the president ordered the mail steamer to be delayed two days at Para 
for the convenience of these visitors. The popularity of the festa is 
