Chap. I. SERVANTS. 3 



other places of interest in the surrounding region. On 

 landing, I found no difficulty in hiring a suitable house 

 on the outskirts of the place. It was pleasantly situated 

 near the beach, going towards the aldeia or Indian part 

 of the town. The ground sloped from the back premises 

 down to the waterside, and my little raised verandah 

 overlooked a beautiful flower-garden, a great rarity in 

 this country, which belonged to the neighbours. The 

 house contained only three rooms, one with brick and 

 two with boarded floors. It was substantially built, like 

 all the better sort of houses in Santarem, and had a 

 stuccoed front. The kitchen, as is usual, formed an out- 

 house placed a few yards distant from the other rooms. 

 The rent was 12,000 reis, or about twenty-seven shillings 

 a month. In this country, a tenant has no extra pay- 

 ments to make ; the owners of house property pay a 

 dizimo or tithe, to the " collectoria geral," or general trea- 

 sury, but with this the occupier of course has nothing 

 to do. In engaging servants, I had the good fortune 

 to meet with a free mulatto, an industrious and trust- 

 worthy young fellow, named Jose, willing to arrange with 

 me ; the people of his family cooking for us, whilst he 

 assisted me in collecting; he proved of the greatest 

 service in the different excursions we subsequently 

 made. Servants of any kind were almost impossi- 

 ble to be obtained at Santarem, free people being too 

 proud to hire themselves, and slaves too few and 

 valuable to their masters, to be let out to others. 

 These matters arranged, the house put in order, and a 

 rude table, with a few chairs, bought or borrowed to 

 furnish the house with, I was ready in three or four 



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