THE BRAZILIANS 



of the church, which is an organic part of the monastery, and is, 

 so to speak, the beating heart of the foundation, makes a stay in 

 Sao Bento an intimately moving experience. 



But I often stayed in private houses also, and my longest visit 

 was to the house of a fellow-German and his Portuguese wife, who 

 lived in Rio. From the rooms of this house one walked into a great 

 garden, which ran down a steep slope, and between the great green 

 leaves of the trees and bushes of the garden shimmered the blue 

 waters of Guanabara Bay. Here, while working on the lawn, I had 

 only to look up to deUght my eyes with the sight of the many-hued 

 butterflies or the glittering humming-birds. And in Pernambuco 

 and Parahyba I was often a guest in private houses. I stayed with 

 friends in the small country towns, with the manager of a cotton or 

 sugar factory, or with the owner of an engenho or fazenda. As a pleasant 

 climax to all this profuse hospitahty I spent six weeks in the spacious 

 home of a medical friend in Buenos Aires. 



The more primitive the houses in which I stayed, the less influenced 

 by European civihzation, the more interesting I found them. The 

 hospitable manners of the old chivalrous Portugal were best preserved 

 in the tropical North-east, where they have blended with the equally 

 famed hospitality of the ancient lords of the land, the Indians. 

 In the quiet, free, unconstrained life of these parts of Brazil, far 

 from the bustle of modern life, the old customs have preserved a 

 youthful vitaUty which must always be attractive to a guest. 



In the airy dining-room I would sit in lively conversation with 

 the master of the house. On my left stood a negro girl, whose duty 

 was to change our plates ; on my right the lady of the house. She did 

 not eat with us, for she was fully occupied in preparing my food for 

 me, in removing the bones from the fish and game, in selecting the 

 best cuts, and when I had finished one dish, in offering me the next. 

 Since in Brazil it is usual to eat three meat courses, followed by 

 sweets, fruit, and cheese with marmalade, and ending up with 

 black, sweet, fragrant coffee, one is in no danger of going hungry. 

 I always found the food most appetizing, for in the old-fashioned 

 Portuguese household there is invariably an excellent cook. The 

 country, too, offers a rich abundance of food : a wealth of delicious 

 fruits, lobsters, great prawns, game, and so forth. Sucking-pigs are 

 much appreciated, and of feathered game the "Peru" — that is the 

 turkey — holds the first place; it is commonly served with bacon 



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