A young man of respectability was carried before a certain _capitam-mor_, and the alternative was proposed to him either to marry a young woman, whom he had never seen, but who happened to be a burthen to those persons under whose care she was placed, or to become a soldier;—he of course preferred the latter, was sent to Recife and was obliged to enlist. I heard of many instances of young men being pressed into the service, upon whose exertions depended the support of their parents; and of others whose lives were spent in idleness, but to whom the protection of the captain was extended; and some of these were unlawfully employed in apprehending others. I was in the daily habit of seeing a young man who led an idle life and who had no duties to perform, lying in wait for some of his former companions, that he might give notice to the captain of the place of their concealment. For some weeks the whole country appeared to be afflicted with a civil war; parties of armed men were to be seen in all directions, in search of those who had concealed themselves. An individual who was not well known could not stir from his home without a pass from the captain of the district in which he resided, stating him to be a married man, or naming some other cause of exemption. Nor is a man who is liable to be pressed, safe in his own house, for the _tropa_ or troop would surround the cottage in which any of these persons were suspected to have taken refuge, and they would demand admittance; and if this was denied, no scruple would be entertained of breaking down the door, and entering by force; this occurred to my knowledge in many cases, in several parts of the country. Married men ought to be exclusively employed in the apprehension of those who are liable to be pressed. Militia-men are free from acting as oppressors and from being hunted down; unless the governor applies to the colonels of the regiment to which they belong. It is among the _Ordenanças_ that the recruiting of which I am treating is carried on. Negroes and Indians are excluded from the regiments of the line; the former on the score of colour, and the latter from their cast; white men and mulattos of all shades being alone admitted. The great repugnance which is generally felt towards the service is occasioned by the smallness of the pay, and by the want of proper cloathing, whilst the almost incessant duty precludes any hope of working at a trade, or of pursuing any employment that is not connected with the life of a soldier. Several elderly persons told me, that in former times the service was arranged in a manner totally different; that then no difficulty was found in obtaining the number of men required, but rather, that interest was made for the situation of a soldier of the line. Each of the forts upon the coast was garrisoned from the inhabitants of the neighbourhood to a certain number; these enlisted as soldiers of the line, were embodied, and performed the