542 ANNUAL HEGISTER, 1819. 



dom more than two in « house ; 

 for the servants generally sleep 

 Upon Qiat«, or dried hides laid oa 

 the floor. The furniture consists 

 of one or two chairs, a few stools 

 ond b«iches, one table, or per- 

 haps two, a f^vf coffee-cups and a 

 coifee-pot of silver ; a silver drink- 

 ing cnp, and, in some instances, 

 a silver wash-hand bason, which, 

 when strangers are present, is 

 handed round with great ostenta- 

 tion, and forms a striking contrast 

 to the rest of the utensils. 



The general diet of the fanvily 

 consists of the same articles which 

 have already been particularized in 

 treating of St. Paul's. The only 

 beverage is water ; and nothing 

 «aB be more frugal than the whole 

 /economy of the table. So intent 

 is the owner in employing his 

 slaves solely in employments dir 

 xectly lucrative, thivt the garden, 

 oo which almost the entire sub- 

 sistence of the family depends, is 

 kept in the most miserable dis- 

 •orden 



In the article of dress, they do 

 Jiot appear more extravagant than 

 -in that of food. The children are 

 generally naked; the youths go 

 without shoes, in an old jackft, 

 :and cotton itrowsers ; the men in 

 -an old capote or mantle wrapped 

 around them, and wooden clogs, 

 -except when they go from home ; 

 sand, on those occiisions, they lap- 

 ■pearin all their splendor, forming 

 as great a contrast to their domes- 

 tic attire:, as the gaudy butter^y 

 does to the chrysalis i'vom whi.cb.it 

 springs. 



It.might.be expected, that how- 

 ever penuriousLy the general con- 

 cerns of the family werexond acted, 

 ■at ileast isome <legree of attention 

 -and 'ext)ense would he healiowxd 



on the dress of the females; (of 

 the test of civilization among 

 all nations is the regard paid to 

 the fair sex, on whom the happi- 

 ness of domestic life depends. Vet 

 the general poverty and meanness 

 of their attire is such, that they re- 

 luctantly appear before any one, 

 except the individuals of their own 

 fiunily. 



In short, in all those depart- 

 ments of domestic economy, which 

 to the middle classes of other civil- 

 ized nations are objects of e?c- 

 pense, the Brazilians exercise the 

 most rigid parsimony. At first, I 

 was inclined to attribute this disf 

 position to the love of money, which 

 prompted them to avoid all extra- 

 vagance ; but, on closer observa- 

 tion, I was surprised to find that 

 it originated in necessity. They ge- 

 nerally run in debt for the few ar- 

 ticles they have to purchase, and 

 sometimes find it difficult to main- 

 tain their negroes. If they pur- 

 chase a mule, it is at one or two 

 years' credit, and, of course, at 

 double its ordinary price. 



In such a family as that above 

 described, the sons, as inight be 

 expected, are brought up in idle- 

 ness; they are merely taught to 

 read and write; rarely do they at- 

 tend to the mining department; 

 they learn no trade, por.^re they in- 

 structed in any useful evt^ployment; 

 'for a miner, ji^rhaps an .t^nsigiU.or 

 a lieutenant of militia, wo,yld think 

 it a disgrace to put.hi^ son appren- 

 tice to a mechanic, .suppose the 

 father of this family to die when 

 .the s^ons have just attained the ^ge 

 of puberty. They are now for the 

 first time obliged to think of pro- 

 viding for themseliVQs. Educated 

 in poverty and pride, they have 

 learned to think all occupations 



servile. 



