Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-08-05
CURIOUS PEOPLE.
Some Of the Peculiar Traits Of the
Natives Of Brazil
a Country Where the Merchants Are Too
Lazy to Wait on Customers and the
Women Fritter Away Their
Time In Gossiping.

Next to Incidence, the most impress
sive trait of Brazilian character is NOR
bid curiosity, and it is that which keeps
him continually out Of doors, peram-
bulating regular beat, like police
man, and which sends him to the sta
ton every morning when the train
departs for Rio and every evening when
it returns, writes Fannie B. Ward, to
the Chicago Tribune Walk along any
street in Brazil, at any time of day, and
you will observe that nearly every win
dow is decorated with female heads and
shoulders hanging over the sills, while
their owners chatter with one another
and infinitely inspect all passers by
evidently quite as willing to be seen as
to see. Not only do women of the
lower classes spend most of their
waking hours in this way, but the
habit is universal-probably the nat
'ural outcome of the national charac-
teristic Of morbid curiosity, enhanced
by the Latin notion that for females
ga little learning is a dangerous
thing" that reading is not good for
them, and that work Of every kind
should be left entirely to the servants.
Thus, ladies of upper tendon have not
even the care of their own children to
occupy their thoughts, and society or
dams that they must not walk abroad
unless accompanied by some male
relative. Therefore, without resources
in themselves or cultivated tastes to
gratify-nothing in the world to do but
TO eat, sleep and look as pretty as ma
ture will allow-the poor things are
driven to pass much of their useless
lives lOunging in balconies and hanging
out of windows. The only alternative
is religion and music, and in both dis
fractions they indulge to excess without
going very deeply into the why's and
wherefores. Day after day, years in
and out, one may hear them stunning
Of French, Spanish and Portuguese
operas, until the wonder grows that in
crowded communities-the windows
and doors being always open-the
neighbors are not driven stark, staring
mad; as, perhaps, they would be were
not the noise partially drowned by that
they are making themselves-the same
airs being continually ratified on every
piano all up and down the street.
Shopping in Brazil is by no means the
pleasant occupation one may find in
New York. Everywhere in this coun-
try you will find the merchants block
ing their own doorways, even during
the busiest hours of the day, by stand
ing in them, gazing into the street-not
because they expect anything to hap
pen-but merely from an overweening
desire to see what other people are do
ing, the same instinct which impels them
at the theater to turn their back upon
the high-priced performance and spend
the time staring at each other. If you
insist upon buying something and sue
ceed in pinning the unwilling shop
keeper behind his counter, you cannot
infuse into him any apparent interest
either in your business or his. He treats
you with an air that plainly says your
patronage is nothing to him. In reply
to your inquiry for some desired article
he is quite as likely to say he has it not,
though it may be in plain sight, and
should you point it out he will smile
and elevate his eyebrows, as if to say:
"What persistent bores these foreigners
are" Or, perhaps, if you ask for a
particular thing he will direct you to
the case or drawer where it ought to be
and leave you to search for yourself,
while he hurries back to his street-gaz-
ing and gossiping. No matter how
much or how frequently you buy there
is never any discount, and if you object
to an extortionate price the merchant
smiles politely, shrugs his shoulders
and turns his entire attention to the
cigarette he has all the time been smol1-
ing, as if glad to be rid of you on any
terms. And then it is so exasperating
to take long walk in the broiling
sun, to find the shops all closed, as they
are about two-thirds of the time (al-
ways excepting Sundays, because it
happens to be some saints day or
patriotic anniversary, or because the
alleged business hours have not begun,
or maybe they are over for that day,
though the streets are yet thronged
with possible customers.