

MUNDO NOVO. 



341 



she must sell one, that I did not mind the price, 

 but that hunger would not allow me to let her 

 do as she pleased in this case. She fixed upon 

 one, and made me pay exorbitantly for it. We 

 parted in the end very good friends ; she of- 

 fered me some herbs with which to cook the 

 bird, and after this reconciliation we again ad- 

 vanced. By going to Purgatorio we had left 

 the usual direct road — cross roads even in Eng- 

 land are not good, so what must they be in 

 Brazil? In one part we were obliged to lean 

 down upon our horses' necks, and to proceed in 

 this manner for some distance, with the branches 

 of the trees completely closed above. The 

 plantation of Mundo Novo, or the new world, 

 which we reached late in the afternoon, was in 

 ruins ; trees grew in the chapel, and the brush- 

 wood in front of the dwelling-house rose higher 

 than its roof. I slept at a cottage hard by, 

 which was inhabited by an elderly man and a 

 number of children, large and small. The ill- 

 fated fowl, and another which we had also 

 obtained by the way, were dressed by the 

 daughters of our host. Soon the cooking was 

 effected, and I commenced operations, literally 

 with tooth and nail, upon one of the birds, for 

 there were no knives, forks, or spoons to be had ; 

 however, I did receive some assistance from my 

 own faca deponta, a pointed knife or dirk, which, 

 though prohibited by law, is worn by all ranks 



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