110 GOTERNOR OF RIO GRANDE. 



When he was appointed to Rio Grande, there 

 was scarcely a well-dressed person in it, but he 

 iiad succeeded in persuading one family to send 

 for English manufactured goods to Recife : 

 when once these were introduced they made 

 their way ; one would not be outdone by an- 

 other, and, in the course of two years, they had 

 become general. We visited the church in the 

 evening; all the ladies were handsomely dressed 

 in silks of various colours, and black veils thrown 

 over the head and face. A twelvemonth pre- 

 vious to this period, these same persons would 

 have gone to church in petticoats of Lisbon 

 printed cottons, and square pieces of thick cloth 

 over their heads, without stockings, and their 

 shoes down at the heels. 



The military establishment consists of one 

 hundred and fourteen men — one company, 

 which were in much better order than those of 

 Pernambuco, or Paraiba, The captaincy of 

 Rio Grande enjoyed perfect quietude from rob- 

 beries through his exertions. The Governor 

 promoted the building of a large house, which 

 was going on very fast, and for which he had 

 subscribed largely ; the rent of it was to be ap- 

 propriated to the support of the widows of the 

 soldiers of the captaincy. This work has, I am 

 afraid, been laid aside since his removal. The 

 situation of the prisoners was very miserable j 

 he wished to better it, and requested that the 



