NATURALIST IN BRAZIL 



it all the more profoundly when I climbed the steps of my monastery 

 in Sao Paulo and opened the wrought-iron door, above which stood 

 the solemn word : Pax. 



Even in Brazil, of course, life has its dark side. I myself witnessed 

 a military revolution in Sao Paulo, and I know there is much in 

 the system of government and other institutions which is in need 

 of improvement, and that in Brazil, as in other countries, politics 

 often arouse reprehensible instincts. And this wealthy country still 

 harbours much poverty and wretchedness. Whether one goes north 

 or south on leaving Recife, one passes through wide mangrove- 

 swamps, from which countless islands emerge, which are often so 

 small that they have room only for a negro's cabin, and at high 

 tide the hut alone stands out of the water. Nevertheless, in those 

 latitudes poverty has at least one advantage over her grey Northern 

 sister; no one suffers from cold, and clothes cost but little. The food 

 problem, too, is less serious ; fish and meat, and above all fruits, are 

 cheap; and in a high temperature less food is required than in 

 Europe. 



Above all, the children of the poor have a better time in Brazil. 

 They are always in the open air, and know nothing of ill-ventilated 

 rooms or cellars. The naked negro urchin has quite a comfortable 

 time. And he is never thrashed ! After all, how should he be naughty? 

 He cannot tear and soil his clothes, for he has none, and there is 

 no fragile crockery, no windows to break; fever and other illnesses 

 are his only source of suffering. 



The house of a field-worker, negro or otherwise, is quickly built. 

 A wooden framework is erected, and filled in with sun-dried bricks ; 

 the roof is thatched with palm-straw (Plate 24). The distribution 

 of the rooms is the same as in the houses of the small towns and 

 villages. The latter are built in terraces, and consist of a ground- 

 floor only. From the street one enters the "Sala d'espera" or 

 reception-room : two windows, right and left — unglazed, of course — 

 and the door in the middle ; and the door consists of two leaves, 

 so that the householder or housewife can lean over the half-door and 

 look out into the street. In this room is a table, with a row of chairs 

 on either side, and against the wall is a sofa. This arrangement is 

 made with a view to c ffec-drinking when callers drop in. From 

 the reception-room a passage leads to the back of the house. On 

 either side is a bedroom; the bedrooms have no windows, but they 



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