pray and sing hymns with such vehemence,
that in the night they were very distinctly heard on board the ship,
though she lay at the distance of at least half a mile from the town.

The government here, as to its form, is mixed; it is notwithstanding
very despotic in fact. It consists of the viceroy, the governor of the
town, and a council, the number of which I could not learn: Without the
consent of this council, in which the viceroy has a casting vote, no
judicial act should be performed; yet both the viceroy and governor
frequently commit persons to prison at their own pleasure, and sometimes
send them to Lisbon, without acquainting their friends or family with
what is laid to their charge, or where they may be found.

To restrain the people from travelling into the country, and getting
into any district where gold or diamonds may be found, of both which
there is much more than the government can otherwise secure, certain
bounds are prescribed them, at the discretion of the viceroy, sometimes
at a few, and sometimes at many miles distance from the city. On the
verge of these limits a guard constantly patroles, and whoever is found
beyond it, is immediately seized and thrown into prison: And if a man
is, upon any pretence, taken up by the guard without the limits, he will
be sent to prison, though it should appear that he did not know their
extent.

The inhabitants, which are very numerous, consist of Portuguese,
negroes, and Indians, the original natives of the country. The township
of Rio, which, as I was told, is but a small part of the capitanea, or
province, is said to contain 37,000 white persons, and 629,000 blacks,
many of whom are free; making together 666,000, in the proportion of
seventeen to one. The Indians, who are employed to do the king's work in
this neighbourhood, can scarcely be considered as inhabitants; their
residence is at a distance, from whence they come by turns to their
task, which they are obliged to perform for a small pay. The guard-boat
was constantly rowed by these people, who are of a light copper colour,
and have long black hair.[74]

[Footnote 74: Mr Barrow says, that it is with some difficulty so many as
twelve Brazilians can be obtained to row the governor's barge on certain
solemn occasions. The Portuguese apostles who went over to this country
in order to convert the inhabitants to their faith, commenced their
labours by endeavouring to reduce them as fast as possible to the