cocked hats and swords; and all of them ate much bread and cheese, and drank quantities of porter. The _administrador_ of the customs was among them, and was dressed in the uniform of a cavalry officer. I scarcely ever saw so much astonishment pictured in the countenance of any man as in that of the master of the brig. He had been accustomed to enter our own ports, where so much business is done in so quiet a manner; and he now said to me in half joke, half earnest, “Why it is not only one, but they are coming in shoals to take the ship from me.” After all these personages, and all the trouble they had given us, I was still obliged to pass the night on board, because the _guardamor_, the officer especially appointed to prevent smuggling, had not made his visit. Fortunately, I found means of having the letters conveyed on shore, otherwise the vessel would have arrived four and twenty hours before the merchant to whom she was consigned, could have obtained any information regarding her. To render the night still more agreeable, some heavy rain fell; the deck was leaky, and about midnight I was obliged to rise and look for a dry corner. The city of St. Luiz, situated upon the island of Maranham, and the metropolis of the _estado_, or state of Maranham, is the residence of a captain-general and the see of a bishop. It is built upon very unequal ground, commencing from the water’s edge, and extending to the distance of about one mile and a half in a N.E. direction. The space which it covers, ought to contain many more inhabitants than is actually the case; but the city is built in a straggling manner, and it comprises some broad streets and squares. This gives to it an airy appearance, which is particularly pleasant in so warm a climate. Its situation upon the western part of the island, and upon one side of a creek, almost excludes it from the sea breeze, by which means the place is rendered less healthy than if it was more exposed. The population may be computed at about 12,000 persons or more, including negroes, of which the proportion is great, being much more considerable than at Pernambuco. The streets are mostly paved, but are out of repair. The houses are many of them neat and pretty, and of one story in height; the lower part of them is appropriated to the servants, to shops without windows, to warehouses, and other purposes, as at Pernambuco. The family lives upon the upper story, and the windows of this reach down to the floor, and are ornamented with iron balconies. The churches are numerous, and there are likewise Franciscan, Carmelite, and other convents. The places of worship are gaudily decorated in the inside; but no plan of architecture is aimed at in the formation of the buildings themselves, with the exception of the convents, which preserve the regular features appertaining to such edifices. The governor’s palace stands upon rising ground, not far from the water side, with the front towards the town. It is a long