PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 



51 



improper conduct in him ; but the temptation 

 and the opportunities of amassing money are 

 very great, and few are the persons who can 

 resist them. 



The only manufactory in Recife of any im- 

 portance is that of gold and silver trinkets of 

 every description, and of gold lace ; but the 

 quantities made of either are only sufficient for 

 the demand of the place. The women employ 

 themselves very generally in making thread lace 

 and in embroidery ; but the manufacture of these 

 articles is not sufficiently extensive to allow of 

 exportation.* 



The public institutions are not many, but, of 

 those that exist, some are excellent. The semi- 

 nary at Olinda for the education of young per- 

 sons is well conducted, and many of its profes- 

 sors are persons of knowledge and of liberality. 

 It is intended principally to prepare the students 

 for the church as secular priests, and therefore 

 all of them wear a black gown and a cap of a 

 peculiar form, but it is not necessary that they 

 should ultimately take orders. Free schools are 

 also established in most of the small towns in 

 the country, in some of which the Latin lan- 

 guage is taught, but the major part are adapted 



* A patent has been obtained, and a manufactory estab- 

 lished upon a large scale, for making cordage from the out- 

 ward rind of the coco-nut. Ropes of this description are, 

 F believe, much used in the East Indies. 

 E 2 



