CEARA. 



449 



with promptness and punctuality. While the preparations 

 for our excursion were going on, neighbors and acquaint- 

 ances would stroll in to see how things were advancing ; one 

 would propose that we should postpone our departure till 

 the day after to-morrow, on account of some trouble about 

 the horses ; another that we should wait a week or two 

 lor more favorable weather. Evidently it did not occur to 

 any one that it could be of much importance whether we 

 started to-day or to-morrow, or next week or next month. 

 The lotus-eaters in the " land in which it seemed always 

 afternoon" could not have been more happily indifferent 

 to the passage of time. Now this calm superiority to 

 laws obeyed by the rest of mankind, this ignoring of the 

 great dictum " tempus fugit^^"* is rather exasperating to a 

 man who has only the fortnight intervening between two 

 steamers in which to accomplish his journey, and knows 

 the time to be all too short for the objects he has in view. 

 These habits of procrastination are much less marked in 

 those parts of Brazil where railroad and steam travel have 

 been introduced ; though it cannot be said that promptness 

 and despatch are anywhere familiar qualities in this coun- 

 try. Our delays in this particular instance were in no way 

 owing to any want of interest in our plans ; on the contrary, 

 we met here, as everywhere, the most cordial sympathy with 

 the objects of the expedition, and the President of the 

 province, as well as other persons, were ready to give qiqvj 

 assistance in their power. But a stranger cannot of course 

 expect the habits of the people to be changed to suit his 

 convenience, and we did but share in the general slowness 

 of movement. However, we were at last on the way ; 

 our party consisting of Major Coutinho, Senhor Pompeo, 

 Government Engineer of the province, wliom the Presi- 



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