deserts if he had not been screened. Where government exists in a state similar to that of Brazil, wealth will meet with few obstacles in the accomplishment of its purposes, whatever these may be.[111] In the month of January, 1814, the vicar summoned me to accompany him to Pillar, to which I agreed with much pleasure. The master of the grammar school, Ignacio de Almeida Fortuna, who is likewise a priest, was of the party; he is a man of considerable talent and information. His advantages have been very few, for he has resided almost entirely upon this island; and yet his knowledge is far from being limited, and his love of it is unbounded. We crossed the narrow creek which has been already mentioned, and proceeded along a path under the shade of the coco-trees, until we made for the sands. The sea has made great encroachments for about two miles in this part of the island; we passed the mouths of two natural dikes, into which the tide enters with great rapidity, and is discharged again with increased velocity. After a ride of an hour and a quarter, we reached Pillar, which is distant from Conception, two leagues. This village is composed of several irregular streets, formed of small houses of various descriptions; they are constructed of brick, of mud, and of the coco-leaves. It is a place of some trade, and is likewise frequented by the small craft, which sail between Recife and Goiana. The inhabitants support themselves by their fisheries, by the hire of their _jangadas_ and canoes, and lately, by the preparation of the outward husk of the coco-nut[112] for the manufactory of cordage, which has been recently established in the vicinity of Recife. The fishery of Pillar is of considerable importance. The largest portion of the fish which is caught upon this and the adjacent coast, is obtained by means of pens, that are generally constructed near to low water mark. Two spaces of greater or less magnitude are marked off, and stakes are driven into the sand at given distances in quadrangular form; to these stakes are fastened large mats (_esteiras_) of basket-work made of thick twigs. An aperture, constructed in a similar manner to that of a trap for catching mice, is left in the inclosure farthest from the shore, opening into the second or smaller inclosure, which has likewise an entrance on the land side, from which runs a fence of basket-work to high water mark. Thus the fish that come in contact with this fence naturally continue along it, in expectation of finding an opening by which to escape, until they unintentionally enter the pen. The _jangadas_ also go out to sea, and fish with the hook and line, and many kinds of nets are used. Yet there is at times a great scarcity of fish, which is rendered by the ordinances of the Romish church an absolute necessary of life. I was introduced at Pillar to a Portugueze gentleman of great respectability, from whom I received in the sequel