ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 



1055 



ftJr, invaluable to them in their mi- 

 serable situation. 



Ou Mr. Lindley's being seized, 

 the commission found in his writing 

 desk a paper containing a sgaall 

 quantity of grain gold, intermixed 

 ■with gold-coloiired sand, whic'i had 

 been brought to iiim by a natiYe of 

 Porto Scgnro, as a sample. Phis 

 strongly attracted the curiosity of 

 the government, and they insisted 

 on the name and residence of the 

 person from whom he had procured 

 it. This, however, Mr. Lindley 

 positively refused to comply with, 

 aliedging his ignorance of both, con- 

 trary to the fact, although he added, 

 that he believed iiim to belong to a 

 distant settlement. In search of 

 this unknown person, Mr. Lindley 

 was compt'lled to make a journey, 

 which gave liim some opportunity 

 of seeing the country, and its par- 

 ticulars are thus detailed. 



'• At six in themorning we mount- 

 ed our horses, altogether seven of 

 MS, and took the beach to the south. 

 After an hour's ride, abruptly turned 

 to the west into the country ; and, 

 ascending a steep htight, soon ar- 

 rived at the chapel of Nossa Scn- 

 hora de Judea, on its summit. The 

 prospect from hence is grand indeed, 

 not only of the surrounding country, 

 but commanding the adjacent ocean, 

 upon which the white walls of the 

 chapel form an excellent sea-mark ; 

 and its patroness, the Virgin, is 

 particularly invoked by the neigh- 

 bouring coasting vessels and fishing 

 smacks, in cases of distress or con- 

 trary winds : her fame even extends 

 to curing several disorders, if called 

 on with p roper fuil/i. The inside of 

 the building is decorated with rude 

 drawings of vessels in distress, and 

 of sick chambers, having inscrip- 

 tions under each, of the ditierent 



cases which they are intended to 

 commemorate. 



" Aftereating a biscuit and drink- 

 ing some of the good vicar's -water, 

 we visited several plantations and in- 

 gcnios in the neighbourhood, at one 

 of which we procured an Indian 

 guide. Taking the course of the 

 river, we had a beautiful ride over 

 a fine champaign country, wanting 

 only cultivation to form the best of 

 meadow land ; the soil black mould, 

 at times gravelly, clay patches, and 

 sandy flats. 



" Leaving the open land, we en- 

 tered the woods of ages through a 

 narrow path, which admitted only one 

 horseman abreast, and was impene- 

 trably defended from the sun's rays 

 by the overlianging branches, which 

 sometimes were so low as to be very- 

 inconvenient. After two hours* 

 smart ride, the country again open- 

 ed ; and we passed several planta- 

 tioiis of sugar cane, mandiock, Sec, 

 with pieces of ground partly cleared, 

 and numberless other spots capable 

 of being converted into fine land, 

 either for pasture or tillage. The 

 scene now changed to a range of 

 low hills, lying east and west, in 

 the direction of the river, to which 

 the land gradually descended ; but 

 on the ojjposite bink it rose preci- 

 pitately to a high cliff, covered with 

 never-fading verdure. Riding pa- 

 rallel to these hills, about one 

 o'clock arrived at the plantation 

 and ?//o-e«io of Joao Furtado. Here 

 we alighted, expecting better ac- 

 commodation than we might meet 

 with at the Villa Verde, a little fur- 

 ther ; which, being an extreme set- 

 tlement, is inhai)ited only by the 

 vicar (a missionary), three whites, 

 and a few converted Indians. 



" Our host was an old bachelor 

 of swenty, who resided with a mai- 

 den 



