Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1867-06-18
From the Missouri, St. Louis, Republican.
Another Letter from Brazil.
MoRETTEs, BRAZIL, Feb. 20, Is

MoRETTEs, BRAZIL, Feb. ~, 1857.
s'It never rains but it pours' For more
than two months received no letter from the
United States, and began to think that my
friends there had given me up. How much
was mistaken! Yesterday and to-day brought
me a small armful of letters and papers, fol
which accept my profound thanks. OF course
[ gave your letters my first attention, reading
them carefully two Or three times and making
notes of points requiring special attention. You
ask questions enough to keep me busy answer
ing for month. | have only time now to at
tend to a few of then.
You are anxious to know how [ passed the
first summer Well, can say [ never passed
pleasanter one in Missouri. The thermome
ter never got above 96 degrees, and that only
for three or four days. 1t generally ranged
from 70 to IS degrees A good deal of rain
FILLMORE than falls in Missouri-but not
enough to injure the crops. 1t made us lose
some time, it is true but it is peasanter to sit
idle when the warm rain is pattering down on
the rapidly growing crops than to be housed up,
about zero and the whole earth chained down
by Jack Frost. - write this to assure my
friends that the Brazilian summer, which they
seem to dread, is quite as tolerable as the same
season in North America, and far healthier, if |
may Judge by my own family. We have all had
excellent health-mine is better than it had
been in Missouri for several years before [ left.
But must return to the letters and papers.
1t is strange what distorted ideas people have
of this country. Where they get them from I
cannot imagine. Whenever Brazil is mention
ed, Immediately the idea is conjnred up Of a
land of halfnaked savages. superstitious priests,
boa-constrictors, mammoth monkeys, starving
slaves, whips, chains, and all the remaining ap-
| Il L l. Il, Ill
to arouse gullible Yankees into phrensy-
There is hardly word of truth in it all. Per-
haps as much as will be found in the veracious
volumes of Trollope and Marryatt and Dickens,
where they attempt to show up the manners
and customs of the United States.
| In the budget of letters just received, there
are several from persons | never heard of be-
FORE They all refer to my letters in the Re-
| pubcan-by the way, wish you would send
them to mel want to see how my bantlings
| look in print-and they ask me twice as many
questions as you do, about Brazil in general,
and Brazilians in particular, about more mat
| ters than | could explain in year have the
greatest disposition in the world to be accom-
@nodating, n and # had nothing else to do would
politely answer every letter [ receive But I
really have not time and therefore must refer
| the writer's to the sources from whence [ got
| most of my information about the country In
| the volumes of Herndon and Page they will
| find excellent descriptions of the country
| Fletch and Kedder's "Brazil and the Brazil
ians' contains the fullest and farest account OF
the Government, social life, resources, etc., and
little work by Rev. Mr.. Dunn, on Southern
Brazil, gives coed description of the region
where [ live. If people will put themselves to
the trouble and expense to get these books they
will get more information for few dollars than
r for fba,,conI
Some of these letters are provoking as well
as amusing, shoWing as they do, that the Wri-
| ters imagine that am living in the depths of
savage lfe A Mr. Mabie, of Cincinnati, in
the menagerie line believe, wants me to send
him a few anacondas, gorias and vampire
bats ! [ will do it, if the gentleman will ex-
change for them an equal number of sea SER
pents, grizzly bears and gyascutuses. [ want
them for the geological gardens Of Sac Paulo
| My old friend, Mr.. =, of No. - Broad
way, wants to know if could ''sell few gross
of fashion in ST. Louis, and are going down so
FAST he will meet heavy loss if he does not
| find market, &c. | would be sorry to see my
worthy friend a loser by the Skirts but [ am
| glad to see the article going doaon 1t has been
| up too long and too hfgh for the modesty and
| morals of the people. But they will not sell
here at all, especially the t'titers" Our la
dies are as remarkable for their modesty as the
| gentlemen for their poEteness do not know
| that they wear the contraptions at all. And,
certainly, have seen in one half hour on Fourth
street more female ankles legs, &C., than in
| eight months in Brazil.
Your North American newspapers are get
ting to be downright nuisance l cannot run
my eye down column without meeting an ac-
count of robbery, murder, swindle, or a
suicide Men beat their children to death
women murder their husbands-preachers de-
bauch and run away with their neighbors wives
bank officers default with tens of thousands
Governors of States conspire to rob the people
-incendiary fires shed lurid glare over the
whole land, and murderers are elected to the
highest offices in the gift of the people, 1t is
soul sickening, and | turn for relief to the col
umns of advertisements. There I find astrolo-
gists, fortune tellers and spiritual healing me-
diums medicines to restore to mOmentary Wig
or the energies Of the worn out debauchee, 9TH
ers to enable women to hide the consequences
of unchastity; while doctors, male and female,
boldly advertise their readiness to commit the
crime of infanticide. The number and size Of
these advertisements show that the hellish
trades are prospering. Faugh the whole smells
of blood | beg you send me no more of them.
Here, wife, put the whole batch in the stove,
| II o.1aI4 10 49,,