128 A YEAR IN BRAZIL. 



lishmen, but rain began to fall again early, so we thought 

 it better to remain here, and spend a quiet day in camp. 

 However, by way of a little addition to our usual food, 

 I prepared some excellent soup for dinner, made of a 

 packet of riz au gras Julienne and some Brand's essence, 

 flavoured with essence of celery. The riz au gras should 

 always be kept dry, but we cannot manage that ; conse- 

 quently it is now all as green as grass, and bends about 

 like soft toffy, instead of being as hard as a stone. 



During the last ten days I have suffered somewhat, first 

 from "prickly heat," which, however, was immediately 

 relieved and stopped in three days by taking Carlsbad salts; 

 I have also had some inflamed scratches on my right hand, 

 which festered and were disaigreeable. 



We are now meditating on our plans for Bruraado, as 

 we hope to finish up the outdoor work of this section in 

 ten days or a fortnight, should the weather prove favourable. 

 Town life will be very different to tent life ; it has its ad- 

 vantages as well as disadvantages, but will be much more 

 expensive. 



There is a Lancashirism which obtains here, and which 

 I do not think I have mentioned, that of terming men 

 " lads," the native term being " mo^o " or " rapaz." Men 

 address each other thus, and speak of absent friends in the 

 same way ; similar to the term " boys " of North America. 



January i, 1884. — There are some pleasures in being, 

 as in our last camp, far removed from any inhabitants, and, 

 in fact, I was six weeks without seeing one of the fair sex, 

 or any one besides my own men, with one or two rare 

 exceptions. There are also comforts to be derived from 

 being camped near even such a small village as Camapuao 

 is. Peaches are just beginning to ripen, and we can get 

 any amount for the trouble of picking. At present they 



