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Reader, throw a veil over thy recollection for a little while, and forget the cruel, unjust and unmerited censures thou hast heard against an unoffending order. This palace was once the Jesuits' college, and originally built by those charitable fathers. Ask the aged and respectable inhabitants of Pernambuco, and they will tell thee that the destruction of the Society of Jesus was a terrible disaster to the public, and its consequences severely felt to the present day.
About the author
Charles Waterton (June 3, 1782 - May 27, 1865) was an English naturalist, plantation supervisor, and explorer most recognized for his conservation work. Waterton was descended from Reiner de Waterton, a Roman Catholic landed gentry family. Because the Watertons remained Catholic following the English Reformation, the vast bulk of their lands were confiscated. Charles Waterton was a devoted and ascetic Catholic who kept close ties with the Vatican. Thomas Waterton and Anne Bedingfield gave birth to "Squire" Waterton at Walton Hall in Wakefield, Yorkshire. He attended Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, where he developed an interest in exploration and nature. Waterton was once spotted by the school's Jesuit Superior mounting the towers at the front of the building; nearly at the top, the Superior ordered him to come down the same manner he had gone up. I succeeded in following my calling. The rodents vanished by the dozen; the books were relatively well-read; and, in my opinion, everything went perfectly well."
