1072 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



are articles in which the Brasiliaa 

 gentry endeavour to cxcci ; and 

 sometimes they proceed in this point 

 to tlie most ridicwlous extreme. I 

 once observed at llio a chair com- 

 pletely JoaJtd withcupids and other 

 trrublo.ma'iic carving, and carried by 

 two robust blacks, clothed in a light 

 bliTc silk jacket, short pantaloons, 

 and a petticoat over thcin (similar 

 to that of a waterman,) the whole 

 deeply vandykcd with a red pink. 

 This flaming dress formed so strange 

 a contrast with their delicate skins, 

 for they were without eitlii'r shoes 

 or stockings, that it seemed alto- 

 gether the completest burlesque on 

 equipage that could possibly have 

 been attempted. 



*' It appears to foreigners a 

 strange deprivation to which the fe- 

 males of this country are subjccti'd, 

 who cannot pass the streets with- 

 out being closely shut np in a chair, 

 or secluded in a cabriole ; yet suc!i 

 is the force of custom, that none are 

 sacn openly except within doors. 



" Bahia has a Portuguese comic 

 theatre, nnder the management of 

 an Italian. The house, with us, 

 ■«ould be termed a barn, and its 

 avenues are so dirty as to render the 

 going to it very disagreeable. 'J"!ie 

 actors, drama, and scenery, are 

 equally wretched; the music is the 

 best, and only tolerable, part of the 

 performance. 



" The chief amusements of the 

 citizens are the feasts of the different 

 saints, professions of nuus, sump- 

 tuous funerals, the holy or passion- 

 ^eek, &c. which are all celebrated 

 in rotation with grand ceremonies, a 

 full concert, and ircquent proces- 

 sions. Scarcely a day passes that 



some one or other of these festivals 

 docs not occur ; and thus is pre- 

 scnk'd a continued round of oppor- 

 tunities for uniting devotion and 

 pleasure, which is eagerly embraced, 

 particularly by the ladies. On 

 grand occasions of this kind, after 

 coming from church, they visit each 

 other, and have a more plentiful 

 dinner than common under the term 

 banquet ;* during and after which 

 they drink unusual quantities of 

 wine ; and, when elevated to an ex- 

 traordinary pitch, the guitar or vio- 

 lin is introduced, and singing com- 

 mences : but the song soon gives 

 way to the enticing negro dance. I 

 Kse this term as best assimilating 

 with the amusement in question, 

 which is a mixture of the dances of 

 Africa, and the fandangoes of Spain 

 and Portugal. It consists of an in- 

 dividual of each sex dancing to an 

 insipid thrummingof the instrument, 

 always to one measure, with 

 scarcely any action of the legs, but 

 with every licentious motion of the 

 body, joining in contact during the 

 dance in a manner strangely im- 

 modest. The spectators, aiding the 

 music with an extemporary chorus, 

 and clapping of the hands, enjoy 

 the scene with an undcscribable zest. 

 The orgies of the dancing girls in 

 India never equalled the llagrancy 

 of this diversion. It is not that 

 minuets or country dances are not 

 known, and practised by the higher 

 circles; but this is the national 

 dance, and all classes are happy 

 Avhen, throwins aside punctilio and 

 reserve, and, I may add, decency, 

 they can iadulge in the interest and 

 raptures it excites. The effect of 

 this scene on a stranger can .hardly 



be 



* A few of the superior classes give elegant entertainments, Ilnve family concerts, 



bails, and card parties. 



