96 RIO DE JANEIRO. 
whose virtue sits lightly enough upon them. And indeed if 
there are a few who, passing for virtuous characters, are yet 
so indiscreet as to make unbecoming advances to strangers, I 
am afraid they have but too good an excuse to plead in the 
abominable conduct of some of the men, of which the accusa- 
tion of the friars seems to be but too well corroborated. 
Most of the women of Rio, from constant confinement and 
inactivity, are inclined to become corpulent at an early 
period of life. Their countenances are in general pale and 
rather sallow, but they have almost invariably dark expres- 
sive eyes and fme teeth. Their long black hair is generally 
tied in tresses with white or coloured ribbands, and adorned, 
with chaplets of flowers, chiefly such as give out a powerful 
and agreeable odour, as the Phmeria, the PoUanthes or 
tuberose, and the jasmine. 
The elderly dames, however, and such as would be thought 
to imitate the fashions of Europe, load their black locks with 
a profusion of oil and farinha. Their dress in the house con- 
sists of a thin muslin or calico jacket trimmed with lace, and 
a flounced petticoat; sometimes Avith but more frequently 
without stockings. They seldom walk in the streets, but are 
carried about in sedan chairs open at the two sides, borne by 
slaves in the same manner as the Chinese carry theirs by poles 
on the shoulders. The men who can afford it usually ride in 
a clumsey kind of cabriolet, drawn by two horses. Their 
<iress is the same as in Europe. They rarely go abroad with- 
out their swords and cocked hats, and a pair of enormous 
