LIFE IN ENTRE RIOS, MINAS GERAES. 179 



by easy stages at 4.45. About half-way, in a charming 

 little dell, we met the postman carrying the mails to 

 Brumado. 



I should say the whole distance is about twenty-six or 

 twenty-eight miles. 



There are great changes in this place since I was here 

 on July i, last year. The town of Queluz is up on a hill ; 

 the station Lafayette (so named, as also the next two 

 stations down the line Buarque Macedo and Christiano 

 Ottoni from celebrated statesmen), which last July was 

 in course of construction, and an isolated building, is now 

 the centre of a large colony of houses, inns, " armazems," 

 i.e. stores of " seccos e molhados " (lit. dry goods and moist 

 goods), etc. The principal building is the hotel we put up 

 at, kept by the brothers Martinelli, who likewise own the 

 hotel at Carandahy, of which they state, "N'esto vasto 

 estabelecimento," etc., " In this vast establishment you can 

 get," so on and so forth. This hotel has only lately been 

 opened (since March), and is really replete with every com- 

 fort furnished with an abundance of Austrian bent-wood 

 furniture, and even flat candlesticks with circular glass 

 shades ! 



May 28. Went and had a long talk with Mr. 

 Hargreaves about our railway, the construction of the 

 Ouro Preto line, and prolongation of Dom Pedro II., etc. 

 He received us most amiably, and was very kind. We also 

 went to visit an Italian and an Austrian, Fenili and Negri 

 by name, who had been to Brumado a short time since to 

 apply for work as sub-contractors on the construction of 

 our line. 



May 29. We rose at 3.45, had coffee, and our train 

 slowly steamed out of the station at 5.5, a long loud steam 

 whistle having sounded an hour previously to waken 



