12 



TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 



west of Benguela, are said to become the most 

 easily used to the climate. 



The taste for European luxuries has by no means 

 made so much progress among the inhabitants of 

 S. Paulo as with the more opulent citizens of Bahia, 

 Pernambuco, and Maranhao. Convenience and 

 cleanliness are more attended to than elegance and 

 splendour in their household arrangements ; and 

 instead of the light North American furniture and 

 French looking-glasses, which are seen in the other 

 provinces, we found in the parlours (sala) only a 

 row of heavy chairs, venerable for their antiquity, 

 and a small glass, which, from its Niirenberg 

 frame, the German recognises for a countryman. 

 Instead of large glass lamps and wax tapers, a 

 brass lamp stands upon the table, in which they 

 usually burn castor oil. In the tone of society 

 too, we equally remarked the proportionably smaller 

 influence of Europe. Cards are much less fre- 

 quently called in as a resource than in the other 

 capitanias, but the louder is the conversation, 

 which alternates with singing and dancing. 



During our stay, a bull fight was given in the 

 circus. They procure the bulls from the south of 

 the province, particularly from Curitiba, where 

 they have remained sufficiently wild from roaming 

 at large in the extensive pastures. On this occa- 

 sion, the animals did not seem to be very coura- 

 geous, and the matadores (mostly people of colour) 

 were inferior in address and spirit to their Spanish 



