CHAPTER XIV. 



MINAS GERAES. 



VILLA OF ST. JOHN D' EL REY. 

 A.D. 1818. 



VIEW OF THE TOWN. DESCRIPTION OF IT. CHURCHES. GOVEENMENT-HOUSE.~ 



JAIL. MISERICORDIA. CHARACTER OF THE GOVERNOR. PEOPLE AND OCCU- 

 PATIONS. MINING AND MINES. SMELTING-HOUSE. ESTIMATED VALUE OF 



GOLD. INTRINSIC VALUE. BULLION MARKET. PROVINCIAL NOTES OF MINAS 



GERAES. COMMERCE. MEANS OF LIVING. CLOTHING. CUSTOMS. MANNERS 



AND CHARACTER. MILITARY. COUNTRY-HOUSES AND GARDENS. FARMS. 



MARKETS. CLIMATE. PAPAS OR GOITRE. REMEDIES. MEDICAL MEN. 



GEOGRAPHICAL REMARKS. 



ABOUT two hundred feet below the Church of Bom Fim lay 

 the Villa of St. John D' El Rey. The first epithet by which it is 

 distinguished denotes that it is a town of the second order, inferior only 

 to a city, and furnished with all the offices suitable to such a rank. 

 From the spot where we halted are distinctly seen many of the streets, 

 the course of a broad shallow river running through the place, the two 

 bridges by which the stream is crossed, all the public buildings, and most 

 of the private houses ; among the latter that of my friend Auriliano was 

 conspicuous, being distinguished, like several others, by glazed windows 

 and other marks of superiority. The intermixture of numerous churches 

 with the houses, of red tiles unblackened by smoke, of roofs undeformed 

 by chimneys, of walls rendered clean and bright by plaster and white- 

 washing, of the grey pavement in the streets, the yellow sands of the 

 river, and the green shrubbery of the gardens, formed a curious and 

 interesting picture. As a whole the town is compact, its form nearly 



