BEGINNING OF THE RAINY SEASON. 97 



necessary, examine revolver and gun, have a " night-cap," 

 and then " douse the glini." 



We have lately been breakfasting in the most pic- 

 turesque spots beside the stream — some six or eight feet 

 wide — which flows between moss-covered banks, dotted 

 over with ferns (especially maidenhair), while every few 

 yards rise huge tree-ferns ten to fifteen feet high, besides 

 numerous other small trees or shrubs. Everything com- 

 bines to make a pleasant tout ensemble — the delightful 

 shade when the sun is 1 30° in the open, the delicious mur- 

 muring of the brook, and the verdure ; not to speak of 

 breakfast, the first meal in the day, when one is really 

 hungry after hard work. This luxuriant tropical vegeta- 

 tion is very delightful, and, as yet, is unaccompanied by 

 the- enervating damp and heat of the lower regions along 

 the coast. 



One evening, as we were passing the Fazenda de Cor- 

 tume, one of the sons asked us to alight and have coffee. 

 The old lady. Dona Gertrude, wife of the major, received 

 us ; she was surrounded by a host of sons and daughters, 

 their wives and husbands, her grandchildren, and two great- 

 grandchildren, the latter running about in a state of nature. 

 The room we were in — the entrance hall and dining-room 

 — has three doors ; one of them was crowded by the female 

 slaves and their children, many of whom were unclad. It 

 is quite a patriarchal establishment, and I should very 

 much like to know how many people live there — probably 

 at least fifty. We both liked the old lady very much; 

 she is portly, and has a great presence, but is very sad, 

 owing to the illness of her husband, who has been in a bad 

 state of health for over three years. 



We have had five days (October 12 to 16) of cold 

 drizzling rain, but no deluge ; it has been so cold we have 



