240 



SANTAREM 



a day or two to receive return visits, after which he is con- 

 sidered to be admitted into the best society. Santarem 

 being the head of a comarca or county, as well as a borough, 

 has a resident high judge (Juiz de Direito), besides a 

 municipal judge (Juiz Municipal) and recorder (Promo tor 

 publico). The head of the police is also a magistrate, 

 having jurisdiction in minor cases ; he is called the dele- 

 gado or delegate of police, from being appointed by and 

 subordinate to the chief of police in the capital : all these 

 officers are nominated by the Central Government. In 

 a pretentious place like Santarem, the people attach great 

 importance to these matters, and I had to go a round of 

 visiting before I finally settled down to work. Notwith- 

 standing the ceremonious manners of the principal in- 

 habitants, I found several most worthy and agreeable 

 people amongst them. Some of the older families, who 

 spend most of their time on their plantations or cattle 

 estates, were as kind-hearted and simple in their ways as 

 the Obydos townsfolk. But these are rarely in town, 

 coming only for a few days during the festivals. They 

 have, however, spacious town-houses, some of them two 

 stories high, with massive walls of stone or adobe. The 

 principal citizen, Senhor Miguel Pinto de Guimaraens, is 

 a native of the place, and is an example of the readiness 

 with which talent and industry meet with their reward 

 under the wise government of Brazil. He began life in 

 a very humble way ; I was told he was once a fisherman, 

 and retailed the produce of his hook and line or nets in 

 the port. He is now the chief merchant of the district ; 

 a large cattle and landed proprietor ; and owner of a sugar 

 estate and mills. When the new National Guard was 

 formed in Brazil in 1853, he received from the Emperor 

 the commission of colonel. He is a pale, grave, and white- 

 haired, though only middle-aged, man. I saw a good deal 

 of him, and liked his sincerity and the uprightness of his 

 dealings. When I arrived in Santarem he was the dele- 

 gado of pohce. He is rather unmerciful both in and out 

 of office towards the shortcomings, in private and public 

 morality, of his follow-countrymen ; but he is very much 

 respected. The nation cannot be a despicable one, whose 

 best men are thus able to work themselves up to positions 

 of trust and influence. 



The religious festivals were not so numerous here as in 

 other towns, and such as did take place were very poor 



