120 
TRAVELS ON THE AMAZON. 
[Jtrne^ 
ceived a moderate flogging. The next day he was set a 
much larger task, with the promise of a severe flogging 
if he did not get through it : he failed, saying it was 
quite beyond his ability, and received the flogging. The 
third day he was set a still larger amount of work, with 
the promise of a much severer flogging if he failed to 
finish it ; and so, finding that the two former promises 
had been strictly kept, and that he was likely to gain 
nothing by carrying out his plan any longer, he com- 
pleted the work with ease, and had ever since done the 
same quantity, which was after all only what every good 
workman did on the estate. Every Sunday morning 
and evening, though they do not work, they are required 
to appear before their master, unless they have special 
leave to be absent : this, Senhor Calistro told me, was 
to prevent their going to a great distance to other plan- 
tations to steal, as, if they could go off after work on 
Saturday evening, and not return till Monday morning, 
they might go to such a distance to commit robbery as 
to be quite free from suspicion. 
In fact, Senhor Calistro attends to his slaves just as 
he would to a large family of children. He gives them 
amusement, relaxation, and punishment in the same way, 
and takes the same precautions to keep them out of mis- 
chief. The consequence is, they are perhaps as happy 
as children : they have no care and no wants, they are 
provided for in sickness and old age, their children are 
never separated from them, nor are husbands separated 
from their wives, except under such circumstances as 
would render them liable to the same separation, were 
free, by the laws of the country. Here, then, sla-. 
