,832.] UVING AT A VENDA. 15 



and the interior salt lagoons. The number of beautiful fishing birds, 

 such as egrets and cranes, and the succulent plants assuming most 

 fantastical forms, gave to the scene an interest which it would not 

 otherwise have possessed. The few stunted trees were loaded with 

 parasitical plants, among which the beauty and delicious fragrance of 

 some of the orchideae were most to be admired. As the sun rose, the 

 day became extremely hot, and the reflection of the light and heat from 

 the white sand was very distressing. We dined at Alandetiba ; the 

 thermometer in the shade being 84. The beautiful view of the 

 distant wooded hills, reflected in the perfectly calm water of an exten- 

 sive lagoon, quite refreshed us. As the venda* here was a very good 

 one, and I have the pleasant, but rare remembrance, of an excellent 

 dinner, I will be grateful and presently describe it, as the type of its 

 class. These houses are often large, and are built of thick upright 

 posts, with boughs interwoven, and afterwards plastered. They 

 seldom have floors, and never glazed windows ; but are generally pretty 

 well roofed. Universally the front part is open, forming a kind of 

 verandah, in which tables and benches are placed. The bed-rooms 

 join on each side, and here the passenger may sleep as comfortably as 

 he can, on a wooden platform, covered by a thin straw mat. The 

 venda stands in a courtyard, where the horses are fed. On first arriving, 

 it was our custom to unsaddle the horses and give them their Indian 

 corn ; then, with a low bow, to ask the senhor to do us the favour to 

 give us something to eat. " Anything you choose, sir," was his usual 

 answer. For the few first times, vainly I thanked Providence for 

 having guided us to so good a man. The conversation proceeding, the 

 case universally became deplorable. " Any fish can you do ps the 

 favour of giving ? " " Oh ! no, sir." " Any soup ? " " No, sir." " Any 

 bread?" "Oh! no, sir." "Any dried meat?" "Oh! no, sir." 11 

 we were lucky, by waiting a couple of hours, we obtained fowls, rice, 

 and farinha. It not unfrequently happened, that we were obliged to 

 kill, with stones, the poultry for our own supper. When, thoroughly 

 exhausted by fatigue and hunger, we timorously hinted that we should 

 be glad of our meal, the pompous, and (though true) most unsatis- 

 factory answer was, " It will be ready when it is ready." If we had 

 dared to remonstrate any further, we should have been told to proceed 

 on our journey, as being too impertinent. The hosts are most ungracious 

 and disagreeable in their manners ; their houses and their persons are 

 often filthily dirty ; the want of the accommodation of forks, knives, and 

 spoons is common ; and I am sure no cottage or hovel in England could 

 be found in a state so utterly destitute of every comfort. At Campos 

 Novos, however, we fared sumptuously ; having rice and fowls, biscuit, 

 wine, and spirits, for dinner ; coffee in the evening, and fish with coffee 

 for breakfast. All this, with good food for the horses, only cost 2s. 6d. 

 per head. Yet the host of this venda, being asked if he knew anything 

 of a whip which one of the party had lost, gruffly answered, " How 

 should I know ? why did you not take care of it ? I suppose the dogs 

 have eaten it" 



* Venda, the Portuguese name for n inn. 



