TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 13 



colleagues. This diversion is besides foreign to 

 the Portuguese character, and in a country where 

 nature arms so many powerful enemies against 

 man, the people see, with double regret, this useful 

 domestic animal devoted to such a cruel sport. 

 At that time there were also theatrical entertain- 

 ments at S. Paulo. In the theatre, which is built 

 in a modern style, we saw the French opera of the 

 Deserter performed in the Portuguese language. 

 The representation was worthy of those times when 

 the theatrical car of Thespis first passed through 

 the streets of Athens. The actors, all blacks or 

 mulattoes, were of that class to whom Ulpian gives 

 " levis notae maculam." The principal actor, a 

 barber, deeply affected his fellow-citizens. We 

 could not be surprised that the music resembled 

 a chaos of elementary sounds, because, except their 

 favourite guitar to accompany the voice, scarcely 

 any instrument was properly played. The taste 

 of the Paulista for singing, is more cultivated. 

 Mr. Dankwart, a Swedish captain who has settled 

 here, introduced us one evening to a party, where 

 we were entertained with music, which gave us a 

 very favourable opinion of the musical talent of 

 the women of S. Paulo. Their singing is very 

 simple and unaffected, and with tlie compass of 

 their not very powerful voices, which are a high 

 tenor, is entirely in the spirit of pastoral poetry. 

 The national songs are of Portuguese or Brazilian 

 origin. The latter are superior to the former from 



