ii2 A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



send dozens of glimpses of our life, native life, the scenery 

 along our route, etc., which would be most interesting, and 

 I dare say the Graphic would publish them. They might, 

 perhaps, help to bring the railway before the subscribing 

 public in England, and might be useful. But, alas ! I 

 cannot. 



November 22. I find the weather rather trying. 



The house that we live in would amuse you to look into 

 occasionally. It has five or six rooms, but only one window 

 (at the back) ; the result is utter darkness when the doors 

 are shut. Mine host ( Aleixo) has four children by his present 

 wife (the last, Maria, born when I was here last), and two 

 by his first wife. They are always in and out, the children 

 rushing in half a dozen times a day, taking off their hats 

 and stretching out their hands for a blessing (saying " Sua 

 benc,ao," or "Seuchrisma"). This is a form of respect repeated 

 by Aleixo whenever the "sogro," his father-in-law, comes. 

 The latter is a little old man, with a remarkably fine head 

 and sharp eyes. He has five daughters and three sons. 

 People mostly go in for large families hereabouts. 



Aleixo is tolerably well-to-do, as things go here and, 

 in fact, I have not come across any abject poverty but you 

 may remember, as our cook, he is not remarkable for clean- 

 liness ; however, I know no one in these parts who is. I 

 am in total ignorance of the Brazilian proverbs, but cer- 

 tainly " Cleanliness is next to godliness " cannot be one of 

 them. 



The only way of reputing wealth among the natives is 

 after the Abrahamic standard slaves, cattle, oxen, horses, 

 mules, and pigs, with pasture to feed them on. Aleixo 

 has several horses, cows, and oxen, plenty of pigs and dogs 

 No one ever mentions money in talking over a man's 

 possessions. 



