CHARACTERS. 



^91 



gate, and often shewed their par- 

 tiality for our countrymen, by 

 the interchange of pocket handker- 

 chiefs and other trifles. There is 

 something so interesting in the 

 silvery tones of a secluded damsel, 

 when two rows of iron bars inter- 

 vene to prevent a near approach, 

 something so Pyramus and Thisbe* 

 like, that the heart of a true-born 

 Englishman cannot fail being capti- 

 Tated. " 'Tis distance lends en- 

 chantment to the view," and while 

 he repeats the swelling names of 

 Magdelina, Antonia, or Seraphina, 

 he deprecates the difficult bar. 

 rier, that precludes him from im- 

 printing the impassioned kiss on the 

 hand of the sweetly pensive recluse. 

 For the encouragement of my ena- 

 moured countrymen, who might 

 otherwise give way to despondency, 

 and pine in hopeless love, I can- 

 not help informing them, that the 

 iron bars of the convents arc not 

 quite so hard as adamant, nor the 

 walls so high as to render escalade 

 impracticable ; and that the watchful 

 eye of the dragon, who guards the 

 Hesperian fruit, has more than once 

 been eluded by Uritish ingenuity, 

 or lulled to sleep by Hrasiliau gold. 

 The custom of dropping bouquets 

 upon the heads of passengers, as 

 tigniils to assignation, is no longer 

 to he found at Rio, and as we have 

 no reason to doubt the veracity of 

 the gentlemen, + who were thus fa- 

 Tourcd, wc ought not to pass over 

 this alteration in the manners of the 

 Brasilian women, without endea- 

 vouring to account for it. Former 

 travgjlers have always complained 

 t4 the difficulty they found in even 



getting a transient view of wo- 

 men of condition ; this is, however? 

 far from being the case at present ' 

 indeed, we generally found the man- 

 ners of the ladies, (particularly the 

 unmarried ones, )approachinguearer 

 to the easy familiarity of the 



lish, than to the 

 which is said to 



Eng- 

 prudish reserve 

 be the exterior 

 characteristic of Portuguese females. 

 As the manners of a people im- 

 prove, jealous restraints give way 

 to delicate attentions towards th« 

 females : men begin to place con- 

 fidence in women ; and the latter, 

 feeling their own importance, soon 

 acquire that proper pride which is 

 the great support of female virtue; 

 and enjoying the liberty of doing as 

 tbeychoose, they think only of doing 

 as they ought: thus secret assignations 

 become less necessary, as jealousy 

 and scandal cease to fetter the so- 

 cial intercourse of the sexes ; for 

 experience proves the truth of the 

 remark, that virtue will ever be dis- 

 pleasing, when she exhibits herself 

 only in the disgnise of harshness, 

 caprice, or some other repulsiv« 

 quality. 



In music and singing, the Brasi- 

 lians of both sexes may be said to 

 excel. These arc arts peculiarly 

 congenial to luxurious climates, for 

 there the wants of man being sup, 

 plied by nature almost spontaneous- 

 ly, he has leisure to cultivate the 

 soft impressions which the surround- 

 ing scenery creates, and by observ- 

 ing the harmonies of nature, he be- 

 comes a poet and musician. Dan- 

 cing is a very favourite amusement, 

 in which the ladies perform with ex- 

 traordinary grace ; besides national 

 3 E 4 aod 



• Here Pyramus, there pontic Thishy strove, 



To catch each other's breath, tl»e baJmy breeze of love. 



t See C'itptain Cook's V'oyagc. 



