The assemblage of persons was very considerable; indeed wherever the surf is not violent the sea-shore is well-peopled, along the whole extent of coast between Olinda and the bar of the river Goiana; in many parts the low straw huts are united, or nearly so, in long rows for half a mile together. White-washed cottages with tiled roofs are frequently interspersed; churches and chapels have been built, and few intervals of much extent remain unpeopled. The lands are planted with the coco-trees, which is the most profitable plant of Brazil[90]; the coco-tree appears to be adapted to the sandy soil of the coast, upon which only very few others will vegetate; here it flourishes and seems to derive nourishment from its vicinity to the sea, but when it is situated in rich land the coco-tree droops, and even upon the sandy plains of the interior, it does not bear its fruit with the same luxuriance, or reach that height, which it attains when exposed to the sea breeze. These coco groves through which the eye can reach for miles, with the hovels composed entirely of the leaves of these trees spread among them, form in some parts very picturesque views; and if, as frequently occurs, the cottage is situated upon the border of a wood, just where the cocos end, and the dark green foliage of the forest trees is seen behind, then the view is even romantic; and if the wind is high, the rustling of the coco-trees, and the dashing of the waves, increases much the wildness of the scene. However to return. As soon as the church service was ended we mounted our horses, and rode back to Our Lady of the O. We alighted at a cottage which stood near to the church, the inhabitants of which were acquainted with some of our party; the moon was bright and the breeze moderate. We sat down upon mats before the door, and were regaled with quantities of young coco nuts, a most delightful fruit when they are in this state. Some of us walked down towards the beach; the tide was out, and I observed several large blocks of hewn stone, partly buried in the sand below high water mark. I enquired what had caused them to be there, and was answered, that a church had formerly stood upon that spot; and I heard then, and afterwards often saw, that the sea was making considerable encroachments along the coast, to the distance of half a league or more each way. The new church of Our Lady of the O. was now building, at the distance of about three hundred yards from the shore. Strange tales are told of the miraculous deeds of this lady. When the church was about to be rebuilt, many of the landholders of the neighbourhood were desirous of having the edifice upon their ground; this proceeded from a religious feeling. Lots were drawn to determine upon the site of the new church, and although manifestly inconvenient, from many causes, it has been erected upon the spot where it now stands, because the same lot was drawn three times. A very great objection, and one which in common cases would