Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-20


| -/ZZXxrATX same race Of people.
IAWSA While many fazenderas
WXW2NN Of the better class--hke
EMySX " the squatters of Aus
tralia and the land own
ers Of New Zealand,
who were often scions Of some of the noblest
families in the united kingdom-sre gentlemen
Of education and refinement familiar with the
best society in their own and other countries, and
maintaining comfortable homes on their rural
estates. there is a more numerous class who
live but adegree better than the pigs they raise;
and while the former have risen above
the prejudices bequeathed to them by
Portuguese ancestors, particularly re-
CARDS the treatment Of women, the wives
and daughters of the latter are not much
better of than those Of the Turks. But all
Brazilians, high or low. are alike in
showing unbounded hospitality toward the
| stranger within their gates, and though a trav-
eler comes to them without introduction or
recommendation Of any sort he Ii welcomed
literally with ODen arms" and Piled with the
very best the house affords as long a. he can be
induced to remain. proving that the hosts
it is at your disposal and am your servant" 10
not entirely an empty form.
AN EXTENSIVE SUGAR ESTATE.
We have visited Il number Of cotton. coffee
and sugar fazendas in various parts Of the
! country, and the aggregate result of our expe-
rienee among middle-class planters in remote
rural districts may be fairly summed ND In an
account Of the last visit, from which we lust
returned to an extensive sugar estate, situated
half days journey (by carriage) from Bonn
Jesus and named Batalha, in remembrance of
the grand old abbey in Portugal. After having
bumped across the surrounding prairie, with
Its innumerablc man traps in the shape Of ar
madiiio holes and ant hills and deserted dia-
mond washings. our route lay along road
bordered by orange groves, fronted by hedges
overrun by blossoming creepers, interpreted
by mango and bread fruit trees. The last
named trees are no longer much cultivated in
Brazil. the use of their fruit having been SUI
perseded by farina. but they are still planted
for shade and ornament, as they grow rapidly
and to great size. Their large, bright green
leaves are much indented at the edges, and the
huge, bright green fruit, which lie apparently
seedloss and has a surface that looks like net
work. is by no means to be despised as an ar
ticle of food when baked and eaten with salt.
Perhaps owing to its pretentious name we
formed some rather erroneous ideas of Batalha.
We found typical brazilian manor house and
chapel, AZ essentially Portuguese in construc-
ton and arrangement as if they stood in some
interior valley of Portugal. with traces of the
Moors thrown ina very large, square mansion.
two stories high, with walls Of ,plastered brick
oiio O'eIAfikilS IOOl VI req tllcS, tllcklV
coated with mold and parasitic plants. 1t is
surrounded on all sides by a clumsy sort of
veranda. or, more properly speaking by "A
series Of deep arched inches built into the walls.
fOored with brick and topped by O lean-to roof
OF tiles. The tiny, unglazed windows are set
close up under the caves. as il the architect
were as averse to fresh air as Noah must have
been when he built the ark. and only the upper
rooms are inhabited-that il. by humans. fhe
ground floor is partly used for stabling and
storage, but most Of it-windowless, doorless
and deserted-is given over to stray pigs, sheep
and fowls. toads. centipedes, snakes and
other wandering denominations. The great
bare unventilaied rooms Of the upper
story seem to be more than sufficient
for the needs Of the family; vet the quest
chamber, to which l was conducted with
fgurative flourish of trumpets had all its cor
ners occupied by sundry piles Of pack saddles.
panniers of dried beef. odoriferous casks OF cod
hsh, kits OF mackerel and goodness knows what.
and was as innocent of any sort of window or
other aperture leading to outside air as Of the
ordinary toilet articles that most people con-
slider indispensable. Windowiess sleeping apart
ments are common throughout Brazil. even in
some OF the Rrsndest but older palaces of Rio
owing, probably. to the Portuguese idea that
night air is unwholesOme. As in most country
houses. the partitions at Batalha are carried
only about half way to the roof. SO that the
rooms without windows receive modicum of
light and air from the general supply Of the
house, SO to speak. and whatever NAV be going
on in one apartment is distinctly audible in all
the Others
SLEEPING IN HANMocKs.
We arrived so late in the evening that there
was time for nothing but enthusiastic greetings
before being shown to bed, OF rather to ham
mock, for in this hot country bug-harboring
GSuches ana mattresses are not much in favor.
Too much cannot be said in favor Of the ham,
mock in such climate as this, being not only
cooler and safer, but q much more tidy article
OF furniture than bed, for these can be washed
as easily as sheet. The commoner varieties
of snow white cotton, woven at home and quite
durable, cost IS or $6; others are striped or
plaided with blue or red, with deep borders of
crochet work, and sell from $40 to $40: and
there are Others, large. square, home woven of
strong linen. with alf-yArd-wide border Of
handmade lace, which are cheap at $50. They
last q lifetime and no bed covering is necessary
for one may wrap himself in the surplus width
and utilize the lace for mosquito netting
Speaking Of the words boa noite (good nieht1.
should add that they do not
always signify the time for retiring
well-disciplined Brazilian families for all it's
members to bid each other good night as soon
as the lamps are lit. as a reminder that evening
has come. They may be sitting at dinner or
entertaining visitors, but everybody pauses in
the midst OF conversation to exchange this sal
Q8uQH
OF their parents. saying o bencao meu pal
your blessing, fsther"-as in patriarchal days
ALL AsrIR AT SUNRISE.
At sunrise the family was astir and it's fe-
male members focked into our room en- masse.
ostensibly to bring the before-rising cup of
coffee and bid good morning. and also it
seemed, to curiously inspect our belongings.
even trying on our shoes and experimenting
with the toilet articles Country coffee, by the
way, il excellent, though made in q peculiar
manner. Some unbrowned berries and sugar
arc stirred together and then roasted in a COW
cred pan. 30 that when the sugar melts and
cools II u candied over the coffee grains. A
spoonful Of this is pounded in a mortar, put
into bag OF coarse linen and boiling water is
poured over 1t, cups being held beneath to
catch the drippings-and the beverage Is ready.
Conee pots are not used, but each cup il thus
made separately. Boiled milk In GENERALLY added
IN the morning, but never at any other time.
The usual breakfast hour in the rural dis
tricts u 10 O'Clock, and the menu does not vary
much year in and year out. There II always
angu.a sort OF thin porrige black beans stewed
IN hrd, dried meatcooked with garlic and earinha
or mandioca meal eaten raw or stirred into the
angu, and perhaps by way Of extra dishes for
company there may be lambs head, q fowl
smothered In rice or lump of bacon boiled
With cabbage. While the host and guests II ct
the tQbIe the wife reunaina oufaiAa InckfnS