Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1892-10-05
DELIGHTS OF RIO JANEIRO.


DELIGHTS OF RIO JANEIRO.
Everything Is Intense and the Whole
Country Seems Painted Red and Yell
low.
Brazil must be a long way from Para
disc, or the place has greatly changed
since Ewes peccadillo, writes Fannie B.
Ward. The flowers have no perfume,
the birds no song, death is frightfully
busy everywhere, and the people-well,
the kindest thing to be said of them is
that the majority are not such as one
would like to associate with through
eternity. A tangled mass of wild, luxuri-
ant vegetation crowds close to the city,
full OF birds of the most brilliant plum
age, bugs that look like living Jewels.
and blossoms ofvivid scarlet, purple and
gold that make the woods appear
ablaze. There are no delicate hues nor
gentle tints but everything is intense.
The whole country seems painted red
and yellow, unprotected from the
palm trees grow too tall to cast a shadow
= their round, smooth trunks, like ex-
aggerated telephone poles, towering
perhaps two hundred feet from the
ground before the first great leaf shoots
out Alas! '"The trail of the serpent
is over it all'' in fact as well as
fguratively. Many of the gem-lilze
bugs are fatal in their sting, and you
never touch a leaf or flower without
the uncomfortable consciousness that
under it death may be lurking in
some guise. And the tarantulas. We
thought that long ago in the hot lands
of Mexicowe had made the acquaint-
ance of pretty respectable specimens
so far as size goeS-of those hairy abom
nations: but none of them could hold
candle to these that abound in Brazil.
Ever since we came there has been one
lurking in the hotel bedroom, visible
only ut intervals, when, 40 il animated
with an impish desire to torment
strangers, he will dart from some un-
known source and scud across the floor
rolled up in a brown, woolly ball as
large as a hens egg. The instant his
spidership appears we rush frantically
to the bell-rope and summon the serv-
ants, when a general hunt is inaugu-
rated; but always to no purpose, for the
wretch puts himself out of sight like
second harlequin.
The very best advice | can offer to the
unlimited coming to Brazil is this:
Never step out of bed slipperless, in the
dark, nor put bare foot down by day
without first looking sharp to where it
is going, nor don your hose, nor shoes,
nor any other article of clothing with
out first treating it like bottle of med
icine, 'tto be well shaken before taken"
Never get into bed without first in
speeding the curtains and looking care
fully between the sheets and under the
pillows. Never poke careless fingers
under widespread or rug, or into any
dari1eEed corner. nor rashly walk into
a thickot or clump of flowers, or even
among rank grass. Never take active
exercise in the hotties part of the day,
nor expose yourself to the chilly, poi
son-laden dews of night, nor drink
water when you are heated, OF cewater
at any time. Eschew bananas and most
fruits as you would SO much arsenic.
Whenever you meet an overpower-
ing stencil in the streets land that
will be at almost every step in
some localities) don't stop to Scold
about it, but cover up your nose
and mouth with your handkerchief and
flee as from pestilen ce-which it really
is. Avoid, if you can, any spot where
an old wall is being torn down, or bit
of pavement being taken up, or a drain
disturbed, for those are the very places
where the deadly germs of fever lie dor
mant till disturbed. And don't be
frightened out of your senses if, while
being entertained in B Brazilian home,
you find big snake comfortably asleep
in your rocking-chair, or coiled under
your pillow, or feel his Shiny length
drawn slowly across your neck in the
night time. It is only the useful and
harmless hOuse-snalze which people
keep, as we at the north do cats, for ex-
terminating mice and reaches. | have
not yet learned how to spell his Portu-
guese name, but have been introduced
to him, so to speak, a mum Der of times,
and live in hour ly dread of his attempt
ing to cultivate closer acquaintance.
He is commonly from about seven to
twelve feet long, and is dressed in gray
notified with black. Already we have
been offered several of these so-called
F'beautieS" to take home with us as
souvenirs of pleasant (?) visits; and
when we have declined the honor, with
out being able to disguise our shudder-
ing horror, have been asked with sur
prise: Don't you have rats and reaches
in your country?" And it is impossible
to tell ones kind entertainers that we
infinitely prefer millions of rats and
reaches to their favorite pets. Here
dogs are few and cats are fewer; but
every family has parrots and monkeys
galore, not to mention the useful house
snake, as universally and numerously
as we foster canary birds and Kittens
Chicago Tribune.
There can be no health for mind or
body so long as the blood is vitiated,
Cleanse the vital current from all i'm