WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 113 



him so much upon his first arrival, and after a few 

 months' residence, he thinks no more about them, 

 while he is partaking of the hospitality, and en- 

 joying the elegance and splendour within doors 

 in this great city. 



Close by the river-side stands what is called 

 the palace of the Captain-General of Pernambuco. 

 Its form and appearance altogether strike the 

 traveller that it was never intended for the use it 

 is at present put to. 



Reader, throw a veil over thy recollection for a 

 little while, and forget the cruel, unjust, and 

 unmerited censures thou hast heard against an 

 unoffending order. This palace was once the 

 Jesuits' college, and originally built by those 

 charitable fathers. Ask the aged and respectable 

 inhabitants of Pernambuco, and they will tell 

 thee that the destruction of the Society of Jesus 

 was a terrible disaster to the public, and its con- 

 sequences severely felt to the present day. 



When Pombal took the reins of power into his 

 own hands, virtue and learning beamed bright 

 within the college walls. Public catechism to the 

 children, and religious instruction to all, flowed 

 daily from the mouths of its venerable priests. 



They were loved, revered, and respected 

 throughout the whole town. The illuminating 

 philosophers of the day had sworn to exterminate 

 Christian knowledge, and the college of Pernam- 

 buco was doomed to founder in the general storm. 

 To the long-lasting sorrow and disgrace of Por- 

 tugal, the philosophers blinded her king and 

 flattered her prime minister. Pombal was exactly 

 the tool these sappers of every public and private 



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