The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-01-27
MONKEY FOR BREAKFAST.
Tho Strange Dish Upon Which an Amcri-
cum Ecasted In Brnxil.


Tho Strange Dish Upon Which an Amcra-
can Toasted In Brazil.
at was two or three years ago, In nm
upper province of Brazil, that had tho
pleasure of brealfasting with one of
the most genial old estanoicros it was
ever my lot to meet" writes c. Ill. Pratt,
in the Chicago Tribune. 1.-THE houses
in that part of the country are not
sumptuously furnished, and if one were
to judge the wealth of his various en-
tertaincrs by the amount of it on dis
play he would commit some disastrous
plumbers. Plantation owners worth
millions, but who have never learned to
enjoy the use of luxuries, will live all
their lives in a one-room house whose
furniture consists of table and two
chairs. once met an electric door-bcll
pcddlcr who had tried thut country and
found it poor field. lie said that he
had invariably to explain to house
owners, first, the nature Of electricity;
second, the nature of tho door-bell, and
third, what possible use they could
make of the two when combined. The
last was too much for him and he left
in despair.
II found the aforementioned genial
cstanciero sitting on his front doorstep
in the shade of large palm tree; which
same employment, by the way, cngugcs
the time of most farmers in tropical
America. His adobe house, with hard.
mud floor and matched roof, was much
better than the average, consisting of
three rooms. had been trnmpipg along
the dusty roadway since daybreulx, and
was tired; the place looked rather clean
and inviting, SO accepted the cordial
invitation which u Southern gentlemen
will always extend to stranger to
come in and rest.
"As sat and chatted in the cool shade
OF the palm tree found that my friend
was not Brazilian, but native of
Spain. He had crossed the sea to this
country with scvcnty-ive dollars in his
pocket when young man, md had
been u pretty successful cultivator of
sugar from that day to this. He seemed
quite proud of his house. 1t was suf-
ticicntly large, he said, to en-
able him to entertain with that
bounteous hospitality which he so much
enjoyed, and was rendered still moro
commodious by the convenient nature
OF the beds, which, in common with all
In that part of the country, consisted
simply of mats of straw which could
easily be rolled up or kicked into u COR
ncr when not in use. These woven
mats. spread upon the earth floor, are
much cooler during summer nights than
mattresses would be. This is very dc
sirablc, but, what is of vastly more inn
Portance. they can be put bodily into
tub of scalding water. There nrc fleas
in Brazil.
ELEVEN o'clock, tho Spanish breal-
fast hour, having arrived, was invited
to sit down ut the table. The meal was
more sumptuous than had expected to
lind. After soup there followed, in
stead Of puchcro, n dish whose nature
was puzzled to make out. 1t seemed
to be small animal n little larger than
rabbit; the meat was dark and rich
and had. rs 1 remembered aftcrward,
that rare, delectable quality which en-
nblcs thing to melt in the mouth
Such being the case, 1 nte without stint,
enjoying it exceedingly. Sometimes
thought that could detect u slight and
rather peculiar gamy flavor, but as
there was no game of that size within
hundreds of miles this seemed hardly
possible. 1 tried in vain to imagine
what the animal could be.
After the meal was over thanked
my host in my politest Spanish for his
hospitality, and asked that as u parting
favor he would tel me what it was that
had SO much enjoyed. He looked ut me
quecrly for moment and then led me
out through the back door of his cot
tage. He said nothing, but merely
pointed to the ground.
1t may or may not have been Oar
wininnisn, but as my eye followed the
direction of the old mans gesture there
came over my conscience n feeling of
guilt so strong that it even extended to
my stomach. For there on the ground
before me, in the serene and silent
dignity of death, lay the head of one of
those pests of Brazil--a black monkcyl"
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