II 
LIVING AT A VENDA 
21 
presently describe it, as the type of its class. These houses are 
often large, and are built of thick upright posts, with boughs 
interwoven, and afterwards plastered. They seldom have floors, 
and never glazed windows ; but are generally pretty well roofed. 
Universally the front part is open, forming a kind of verandah, 
in which tables and benches are placed. The bedrooms join 
on each side, and here the passenger may sleep as comfortably 
as he can, on a wooden platform covered by a thin straw mat. 
The venda stands in a courtyard, where the horses are fed. 
On first arriving, it was our custom to unsaddle the horses and 
give them their Indian corn ; then, with a low bow, to ask the 
senhor to do us the favour to give us something to eat. “ Any¬ 
thing you choose, sir,” was his usual answer. For the few first 
times, vainly I thanked Providence for having guided us to so 
good a man. The conversation proceeding, the case universally 
became deplorable. “ Any fish can you do us the favour of 
giving ? ”—“ Oh no, sir.”—“ Any soup ? ”— l< No, sir.”—“ Any 
bread?”—“Oh no, sir.”—“Any dried meat?”—“Oh no, sir.” 
If we were lucky, by waiting a couple of hours, we obtained 
fowls, rice, and farinha. It not unfrequently happened that we 
were obliged to kill, with stones, the poultry for our own supper. 
When, thoroughly exhausted by fatigue and hunger, we timorously 
hinted that we should be glad of our meal, the pompous, and 
(though true) most unsatisfactory answer was, “ It will be ready 
when it is ready.” If we had dared to remonstrate any further, 
we should have been told to proceed on our journey, as being 
too impertinent. The hosts are most ungracious and disagree¬ 
able in their manners ; their houses and their persons are often 
filthily dirty ; the want of the accommodation of forks, knives, 
and spoons is common ; and I am sure no cottage or hovel in 
England could be found in a state so utterly destitute of every 
comfort. At Campos Novos, however, we fared sumptuously ; 
having rice and fowls, biscuit, wine, and spirits, for dinner ; 
coffee in the evening, and fish with coffee for breakfast. All 
this, with good food for the horses, only cost 2s. 6d. per head. 
Yet the host of this venda, being asked if he knew anything of 
a whip which one of the party had lost, gruffly answered, “ How 
should I know ? why did you not take care of it ?—I suppose 
the dogs have eaten it.” 
Leaving Mandetiba, we continued to pass through an in- 
