BRAZILIAN SOCIETY. 



43 



either Portuguese families, of which the chief is 

 in office, or Brazilian planters who are wealthy, 

 and prefer residing in Recife or Olinda ; or, as 

 is frequently the case, a son or brother belong- 

 ing to the secular priesthood has imbibed more 

 liberal notions, and has acquired a zest for 

 rational society. As may naturally be supposed, 

 the females of a family are always glad to be of 

 more importance, to be treated with respect, to 

 see, and to be seen. The merchants, generally 

 speaking, for there do exist some exceptions, 

 live very much alone ; they have been originally 

 from Portugal, have made fortunes in trade, and 

 have married in the country ; but most of them 

 still continue to live as if they were not yet suf- 

 ficiently wealthy, or at least cannot persuade 

 themselves to alter their close and retired man- 

 ner of living, and, excepting in the summer 

 months, when sitting upon the steps of their 

 country residences, their families are not to 

 be seen. 



The gentleman, chiefly by whose kindness I 

 had been introduced and enabled to partake of 

 the pleasantest society of Pernambuco, was 

 among the first British subjects who availed 

 themselves of the free communication between 

 England and Brazil, and he even already ob- 

 served a considerable change of manners in the 

 higher class of people. The decrease in the 

 price of all articles of dress j the facility of 



