334 A BRAZILIAN PLANTATION.

Mhe old man told me he had not been in the Brazils for about
nine years; but that he could assure me that when he came away
my partner was living, but the trustees whom [had joined with him
to take cognizance of my part were both dead. That, however,
he believed that ] would have avery good account of the improve-
ment of the plantation: for that, upon the general belief of my
being cast away and drowned, my trustees had given in the account
of the produce of my part of the plantation to the procurator-fiscal,
who had appropriated it, in case T never came to claim it; one
third to the King, and two thirds to the monastery of St. Augus-
tine, to be expended for the benefit of the poor, and for the con-
version of the Indians to the Catholic faith ; but that if T appeared,
or any one for me, to claim the inheritance, it should be restored,
only that the improvement or annual production being distributed
to charitable uses, could not be restored. But he assured me
that the steward of the King’s revenue (from lands) and the pro-
viedore, or steward of the monastery, had taken great care all
along that the incumbent, that is to say, my partner, gave every
year a faithful account of the produce, of which they received duly
my moiety.

Lasked him if he knew to what height of improvement he had
brought the plantation; and whether he thought it might be
worth looking after? or whether, on my going thither, T should
meet with no obstruction to my possessing my just right in the
moiety ?

He told me he could not tell exactly to what degree the planta-
tion was improved, but this he knew, that my partner was grown
exceeding rich upon the enjoying but one half of it; and that, to
the best of his remembrance, he had heard that the King’s third
of my part, which was, it seems, granted away to some other
monastery or religious house, amounted to above two hundred
moidores a year: that as to my being restored to a quiet posses-
sion of it, there was no question to be made of that, my partner
being alive to witness my title, and my name being also enrolled
in the register of the country. Also, he told me that the sur-
vivors of my two trustees were very fair, honest people, and very
wealthy ; and he believed T would not only have their assistance