The 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 I had joined with him to take cognisance of my part were both dead: that, however, he believed I would have a very good account of the improvement 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 I never came to claim it, one-third to the king, and two-thirds to the monastery of St. Augustine, to be expended for the benefit of the poor, and for the conversion of the Indians to the Catholic faith: but that, if I appeared, or any one for me, to claim the inheritance, it would 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 providore, 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 had duly received my moiety.
Je crois cependant que vous pourriez avoir un compte très-exact du rapport de votre plantation; parce que, sur la croyance générale qu'ayant fait naufrage vous aviez été noyé, vos curateurs ont versé le produit de votre part de la plantation dans les mains du Procureur-Fiscal, qui en a assigné,--en cas que vous ne revinssiez jamais le réclamer,--un tiers au Roi et deux tiers au monastère de Saint-Augustin, pour être employés au soulagement des pauvres, et à la conversion des Indiens à la foi catholique.--Nonobstant, si vous vous présentiez, ou quelqu'un fondé de pouvoir, pour réclamer cet héritage, il serait restitué, excepté le revenu ou produit annuel, qui, ayant été affecté à des œuvres charitables, ne peut être reversible. Je vous assure que l'Intendant du Roi et le Proveedor, ou majordome du monastère, ont toujours eu grand soin que le bénéficier, c'est-à-dire votre partner, leur rendît chaque année un compte fidèle du revenu total, dont ils ont dûment perçu votre moitié.»