Original,.dccount of Pernunbuca- 
English, merchants are young men, sent 
out, as,agents from houses in England; 
they,.are.a very,.wild set... It always 
ared .a;mystery,to,me, how, they 
contrived,to live,in such a gay style on 
a,trifling commission; but I have inva- 
Mably,, remarked, that, English agents 
abroad. dive much superior to their, em- 
ployers,at home;,and, while the latter 
become, bankrupts, they, in general, get 
eS j 
_) Lhe. harbour of Pernambuco is won- 
derfully, convenient, It is formed. by a 
natural. pier, extending, in a direct line, 
many. .miles;:,this, is..a, coral reef, so 
exactly, straight, and. even, that one 
would almost.imagine it the work of 
art... (The, vyessels.lie, alongside each 
other, in, tiers, moored. head and stern, 
about half. piste!-shot. from. the shore, 
and.close to, this. reef, which, at high- 
water spring tides, is nearly on a level 
with the surface of the sea, and forms 
an, excellent barrier. 
lat..89, South; consequently, the heat is 
excessive, the thermometer. frequently 
being at,90° in| the shade, During the 
night it is always calm, with a good deal 
of Jightning, , About nine in the morn- 
ing, the sea-breeze comes gradually in, 
which. is, strongest about noon, when by 
degrees it dies away into a, calm, that 
generally. takes place towards sunset. 
Pernambuco 1s, very well fortified in 
appearance, but it would in reality make 
& poor resistance. No one can conceive 
such, a,set, of ragged fellows as their 
soldiers; no two of whom are dressed in 
the same uniform. An officer on duty, 
with his guard, would form an admirable 
gxoup for such a pencil as Hogarth’s. 
Lhey can raise about, 5,000, military, 
eomprizing the militia; however, the 
‘greatest part of these are blacks. 
.» The govemor of Pernambuco is gene- 
rally ‘a Portuguese nobleman, and, lives 
inogreat state, A few one comes every 
two or three years from Rio Janeiro. 
»» Phe churches at Pernambuco are very 
large buildings; they, contain, some ex- 
cellent paintings, and, each of them hes 
a nuinber of chancels, or chapels, dedi- 
cated to: particular saints, which on eer- 
tain days are, ornamented with flowers. 
‘They are quite open, haying no, pews, 
and the people either stand or kneel. 
/All ave very richly furnished,, One large 
iconsecrated Jamp is continually, burning 
over the high altar, and also a, great 
dpumber of tapersin candlesticks, about 
seven or-eight \feet high; some,of; them 
of massyo silver.) Lhe glimmering: of 
these candles at noon-day has a curious 
latlood 
This place is in- 
627 
and) rather, solemn, effect... "Tbe, doors 
ane, genevally open, and.a good many 
people are seem on their knees.at pray- 
ers, before,..the,.different saints, others 
receiving the sacrament, some, confess- 
ing, and, padres, (pmiests)., gliding from 
one door to.another, or traversing, with 
a sitent sanctified deportiment, the dif- 
ferent parts.of the church. 'Uhe con- 
fessional chairs, of which there are gene- 
rally six or eight in a church, are made 
very large and high, so that the priest 
is not seen. Those who wish to con- 
fess (mostly women) go singly, and 
kneeling down opposite a lattice-wark 
in the side of it, ease their burthened 
consciences, and get absolution. Besides 
the church itself, there are always, under 
the same roof, apartments for the padres, 
in which, they have their cells, and a 
large room, where they, dine, together. 
There .are numbers of, helpless .old 
women, who, live, constantly im; the 
churches, and are subsisted by what, is 
left at the tables of the, priests, who 
have the character, of being very hospi- 
table to, foreigners; for a trifling sum 
they will not only shew the relics of 
their churches, but also where the most 
beautiful and courteous. ladies reside, 
I cannot say how the religious are 
supported, but great numbers are always 
seen in the streets, dressed in their 
robes, soliciting alms; for which pur- 
pose, they carry a small square. box, 
with the figure of Christ, or some _par- 
ticular saint, painted upon it. I ob- 
served, that notwithstanding they con- 
sider the English as heretics, they do. 
vot scruple to return a benediction for 
their money; and if_a Portuguese and 
an, Englishman are standing together in, 
the street, they will never fail to. accost 
the Englishman first, In every street 
there are different images.of the Virgin 
Mary and the saints, which on, particular 
days are exposed to view, superbly illn- 
minated with a number of large candles. 
About eight in the eyening, the children 
in the neighbourhood assembie round 
them, and. sing hymns: this has a 
pleasing effect, especially as thet keep 
time. with great exactness, and haye a 
person to direct them, who rings a little 
bell whilst they are singing particular 
parts. 
Twice every, day, about ten in, the 
morning, and seven inthe evening, at 
the tolling ofa bell, every, thing in, an 
instant, is atja stand. .Men, women, a 
children, whether in the, streets or t 
houses, instantly, pull, off, their hats, 
cross themselves; and say a Rar ArANet. 
4K 2 his 
