S14> 



NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



host expressed his persuasion that these articles had been stolen, and all 

 my reasoning and raillery utterly failed to excite in him any feeling of 

 the impropriety of his purchase ; yet was he, by no means, a bad man. 

 1 had strong evidence of his integrity and honour in a case which deeply 

 concerned myself; and heard from him, without surprise, that a vessel 

 being wrecked in the neighbourhood, and the crew having deserted her, he 

 had saved many things from the wreck, which he showed to me, and was 

 preserving them for their proper owner, if such a person should ever appear. 

 So inconsistent is the Brazilian, perhaps I might say, the human character. 



A sense of the obligation to restore what is found, prevails much 

 more strongly among Catholics and some Negroes than with Protestants, 

 Walking one day upon a beach not far from some mud huts, I found a 

 few yellow plates and a bundle of female clothing, and called to a black 

 woman to secure them for herself, who instantly replied, they are not 

 mine. Sir, and refused to take them out of the reach of the tide. 



At Ponta Negra we encountered also a neighbouring Planter, who 

 appeared to possess more cunning than honesty ; yet as he was going 

 the same way, offered to take our pace, and seemed likely to amuse, 

 if not instruct us, we accepted his proffered company. Having showed 

 us as we passed along, the inconvenient spot under the cliff, where he 

 shipped his produce, he led us a httle aside from the public road, to his 

 habitation, seated as usual upon a knoll. Hence we saw the whole extent 

 of his farm, running nine miles along the coast, by a mile and a half 

 broad, comprehending the lake for the same distance in length, and 

 extending behind it to the first of a double ridge of mountains, covered 

 with excellent timber. We examined the place afterwards more minutely 

 as the owner proposed to sell it, and found that one-fourth part was 

 unprofitable sand, another fourth water, and the remaining half rich land. 

 The price demanded was about three hundred and sixty pounds sterling. 

 It was said that the place was subject to aguish complaints; if it were so, 

 the evil was easily remedied soon afterwards, by opening a communi- 

 cation with the sea, and thus preventing the waters of the lake from 

 becoming stagnant. 



