520 



NOTES ON BRAZIL. 



Gold Washings are, as might be expected, numerous ; but they are 

 managed in a little way, and the profit made of them is contemptible. 



Matozinho is a clean, lively, little town, composed of about a 

 hundred and fifty houses and several churches. It hangs on the Nor- 

 thern bank of the Parapeba, in front of Caancunha, in the same manner 

 that Gateshead does with respect to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The river, 

 flowing between the two towns, is about seventy yards wide, has a good 

 wooden bridge across it, and separates the two Comarcas of "Villa Rica 

 and the Rio Dos Mortes. Its waters contain much clay, which, com- 

 municates to them a red-brown colour. They flow rapidly towards the 

 West, over a shallow bed of hard sand, said to be rich in gold. People 

 were employed in washing it as usual ; but there were no appearances of 

 abundant profit giving energy to their labour. 



Caancunha, situated upon the steep bank of the river, presents a 

 very pleasant object, when viewed fi-om the North. It contains about 

 two hundred houses and some churches. One of them, though small 

 in dimensions, vies in splendid ornament with the most admired of 

 ecclesiastical buildings in Brazil. It formed the object of my visit to 

 the place, and occupied nearly the whole of my stay there. On more 

 accounts than one it may be considered as the liOretto of this country. 



It is not in its exterior that this Church makes such high pretensions, 

 yet its appearance is respectable. The stone used in its construction is 

 hard, with a slaty texture and a greenish colour ; and the masses, com- 

 posing the walls and pavement, are large and well cut. Standing on the 

 brow of a considerable elevation, it is reached by a double flight of 

 broad steps, which meet in a platform, connected with a spacious paved 

 area, in the front of which is a handsome stone balustrade. Within 

 the area are twelve statues, about eight feet high, intended to represent 

 the Prophets of the Jewish Church. They are well executed, their 

 costume appropriate, their attitudes various ; and each holds a scroll, on 

 which is engraved, in Latin and an ancient letter, a striking passage 

 from his own writings. It is said, that they are the production of an 

 artist, who had no hands, that the hammer and chissel were fastened to 



