133 A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



Padre Pinto's house when the storm came on in right 

 earnest. The house appeared all shut up, so we went and 

 took shelter under a large shed in the yard. We learned 

 that Padre Pinto had gone to Brumado ; but soon a large 

 assembly of women and girls appeared in the verandah, 

 and they sent us a basket with about a hundred peaches, 

 which we speedily began to demolish. The storm con- 

 tinued, its fury was unabated ; and as our horses, for which 

 we had sent, did not put in an appearance, we went over 

 into the verandah, and were received by the padre's house- 

 keeper. Among the girls was a very pretty lass, who, we 

 were told, was the padre's niece. We were soon very 

 friendly, conversed very pleasantly, and heard the whole 

 history of the family, with which, however, I will not weary 

 you. At length, as the horses never arrived, Roberts and I 

 very reluctantly took our leave to return for dinner ; and, 

 meeting our horses in the village, were spared going on 

 foot through the seas of mud on the high-road below our 

 camp. 



We noticed that the pigs and horses belonging to Padre 

 Pinto were being regaled with peaches, which will show 

 you they are tolerably plentiful. 



Having sent in a man to Brumado to buy rice and a 

 good supply of potatoes, he returned in the evening, stating 

 there was no rice to be bought, and eight pennyworth of 

 potatoes were all that was to be had in that city. The next 

 day two of the nice little boys who visited us a few days 

 since brought us two small bags of minute potatoes, for 

 which we gave them eightpence, and they were well 

 pleased with it. 



On the 1 5th we had to ride some miles to a point on 

 the other side of the river, to join in our survey to a piece 

 that had been done from Brumado, and thus complete the 



