Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1886-09-25
ANNAPOLIS. MD. SATURDAY EVENING SEPTEMBER 25 1885,
BRAzILIANs AT HOME.
Breakfast at Noon aud Dinner on Noun
tain-Top.

A Rio de Janeiro correspondent writ
ing to the New York Tribune says:
Back of Rio rises 5000 feet in the air
the mountain of Corcovado. The city is
around the base of the mountain and
straggles up its spurs. A fifteen minute
ride from the center of the city takes
one to the base of the mountain and to
the station of the railroad, built after
the plan of the one on Mount Washing
ton, which runs TO the summit Here
and there, up the mountain-side, are
country houses surrounded by gardens
and commanding view of the city and
harbor. And everywhere, all over the
mountain, is the dense tropical vegeta-
tion of palms and vines and shrubs and
trees and flowers. The bride path by
which, before the railroad was built,
the ascent Of Corcovado used to be
made, winds in zigzag manner
through all this prodigality of vegetable
life. A hundred feet from the summit
the railroad stops and there path
leads up to an iron pavilion on crest
of bare rock
Descending five hundred feet one
reaches the rocky platform overlooking
the sea where the little hotel of the Pin
eras is built. We sat at table in the
open air and took in the darkeniug
ocean view with our dinner. At the
other tables around were gay Brazilians
come up from the heat of the city to
dine al IfeSco in the bracing mountain
air. 1t is the fashionable thing TO do,
fov have not Dom Pedro and all the inn
periai family set the example? Cool
Hc
odors of woods came from the noun
tains. To add to it all the dinner was
excellent We had soup, the finest
shrimps l ever saw, roast beef, fruit,
cheese, and coffee; and it cost us 20
cents each. There were barons and
counts at the table near us, but the
hotel-keeper forebore 10 make any extra
charge on that account The only way
we could show that we appreciated the
good company we were in was to give
the waiter an extra large ''tip." / think
he got 80 cents in all.
After dinner we descended into the
valley and a thundcr-storm AT the
hotel Frcitas | was conducted through a
courtyard filled with tropical plants, in
the midst Of which fountain was play
ing, to bedroom on the ground floor.
1t was a large stone apartment, entered
through great iron doors, and on level
with the street. In spite of the gas and
the electric bells there was medieval
air about the room. The great windows
looking out on the street were heavily
barred with iron and closed with thick
wooden shutters. The stone floor was
covered with mats and every noise had
hollow sound, echoed from the high
root. At one side of the room seats were
arranged after the South American
manner, which is this: A cane-seated
settee forms the base of the design, and
from either end of it extends at right
angles row of chairs facing inward.
In every house, in every room almost,
all over South America, you see this ar
rangement. In the morning I aston
ished the hotel people by demanding a
hearty breakfast. The Brazilian, ike
other Latins, takes coffee and an orange
when he gets up in the morning, and
breakfast at IL o'clock. How they po
about and work in the enervating heats
of December sustained and soothed
from olock until nearly noon by a
cup of coffee and an orange is moro
than can understand. The Brazilians,
taking their coffee in the dining-room,
looked at me, | was aware, with some-
thing of the feelings which the cultivat-
ed Romans must have experienced when
they saw the northern barbarians of
their day gorging themselves with beef
and strong ale. | began myself to think
that there was somthing uncivilized and
brutal about chops and eggs at 8
o'clock in the morning. but the idea did
not prevent my making good break
fast.