The Republican journal., 1892-05-26

/ HOW ny Ills WIG, SlIlce MI. carson ulcu d
year ago; and the "Hotel of the Strang-
ers," which is queer, but comparative
I ly clean and morally decent mixture Of
French, Spanish and Portuguese methods.
There are also many boarding houses, es-
pecially near the Botofogo end of town,
which are desirable if one can manage to
squeeze into them, but which are even
more crowded than the hotels and quite
as expensive.
Wherever you live in Brazil, it will not
be very well in the line OF food for money
cannot buy what does not exist in the
country. You must expect miserable
meat and fish, worse cooking, no vegeta-
bles, and pastry that an ostrich would hes
tate to tackle; nothing anywhere near
what it should be, except the salads pre-
pared by yourself, wines, preserved dull
ces and a few other imported articles,
fruits which are sure to kill you in this
climate if you consume too many, and
eggs which the worst cocinero cannotspoll,
if YOU will insist upon sticking to them
being boiled and served in the shell. Come
to think aboutit, perhaps had better mod
ifv the latter statement somewhat, for IN
the matter of eggs the natives seem to
make little account of age OF stage OF In
cubation. But never under the sun were
seen such pine-apples, oranges, and straw
berries, not to mention grapes, peaches,
manwocs. bananas and a hundred strange
varieties never seen or heard of at the
North, tropical in size and richness land
| in deafness too. if eaten to eXcess), and
in season. the year around. But in
every thing that is cooked, from young
chicken to snail on toast, grease and gar
lie is used, till every human being you
meet seems to pcrspire the former as free
| " as h. smells of the latter,
Everywhere in Brazil icrked beet is an
important article of food, Immense guam
titles OF it are exported from Uruguay
and the Argentine Republic, and it is
stated that not less than thirty thousand
tons OF it are annually brought into Brazil.
Think of it-thirty Thousand tons a year
of that leathery indigestable substance,
consumed by this scanty population. 1t
furnishes the staple food for plantation
laborcrs and for the lower classes i'll cities.
Indeed it may be called the Brazilians
national dish. for it is as mnipresent on
every table. at least twice a day. stewed
with beans and grease and garlic as the
friiolcs of Mexico, or the rice of China
Another great dclicacy whereabouts is
Bacalao (cod-tish) as highly esteemed
among the Brazilians as partridge, plank
ed sliad and terrapin in the District OF
Columbia. At least 100, 600 tubs OF cod
fish are annually sent to Brazil from the
| United States and Nova Scotia, and the
people are SO fond of it that the fresh fish
Of their own rivers are entirely ignored
for ''bacalao" which is a feature of every
BANQUET as indispensable as roast turkey
at a New England Thanksgiving. But
when prepared in Portuguese fashion and
served on the festive board, the Yankee
that caught it would never recognize his
own cod fish. 50 DECREASED and hegariced
is it. and turned a rusty red 10y the adj
dition of strange condiments, and served
with vans and cabbage and goodness
knows What else III one abominable olla-
podri,la. which once smelled can never
be forgotten
As everywhere i'll Spanish-Amelica
good wine is always procnrable. while tea,
water and other mild beverages, to which
we weaker vessels are more accustom-
ed, are frowned upon and regarded with
pronounced lisfavor, as catering to Il pre-
verified and heathenish TASTE if they are
not absolutely unprocurable. 1t has been
well said and truly, that III Spanlard
was limited to Il crust Of bread and a
drop of water, he would expect bottle
of wine to 90 with itH-and it is equally
true Of the Portuguese in Brazil. The lab
oring class drink a vile beverage calico
casasch, which is made in regular distil-
lery fashion from the Juice of the sugar
cane; but, us before remarked, drunken
ness except on coffee. is uncommon, be-
cause that vice is Il sure invitation to deatl
in the form OF Yellow Jack.
Among other queer things that the
stranger observes in Brazil are the vast
numbers of lecorations-stal's and crosses,
etcctera which appear to have beer
recklessly bestowed, often upon boys OF
twelve and fourteen years old, who certain
ly can have done nothing to win such dis
tinction. There is very large body OF
eX- officials in Rio belonging to the decay
ed aristocracy, and most OF them still
sport on all possible occasions the court
dresses and uniforms and decorations OF {;
past regime. 1t is their small sons ano
grandsons whom one sees tricked out il
tawdry silks and vevets. with stars anC
crosses and miniature crowns pinned OF
their Jackets These decorations are as
likely to have been obtained by purchase
as by inheritance, for there used to be I
custom in Brazil under which patents o
nobility, with all signs and embems, coul6
be bought for filthy lucre, and the rage
} for them was unbounded. The highes