Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-06-30
FEATURES OF LIE = IN Brazil.
Decorations Are so Com. that Even the
Small Boys We-r Them

Small Boys Wer Them
From Fanny B. Ward Ro de Jal-iro
Latter
Among other qlepv Ling. that TIE
s'faIsrr observes lii B I'll are the vast
I numbers Of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES and crosse.
| &,.-which appear to have been reckless
| " bestowed often upon boys of twelve and
fourteen years 81 who certainly can have
done nothing TO win such distinction
There Is very large body of ex-cfficials
IN Rio, belonging TO the decayed artstoe-
racy, and most or them still sport ON al
possible coca ,l0ns the court dresses and
uniforms and decorations of a past regia.es
/ Ii i tder ,nall SOls and or udsops.
whom one sees tricked out In tawdry silks
and velytts, with stars and crosses and
miniature crowns pinned on their Jackets.
Inese decorations are as likely to have
! oeen obtained by purchase a by inherit
3nce. Tor there used TO be a custom In
Brazil unGer which patents of nobility.
with all Its signs AMI emblems, could be
bought for filthy lucCe and the rage for
them was unbOunded. The highest of AL
the decorations was the insignia of the
Order OF CdrlSt," and at one time the
Keeper of every pulqueria, as we'll as his
fellow citizens ABOVE and below In tie So
al gamut, appeared on every holiday with
'hablto de Christie" on his waistcoat
front, Church dignitaries and civilians
or high degree wore them also, and beng
handed down from generation to genera
ton, they StillsappeaT. often with !udicrous
Inapproprlateness The prevailing cos
tune of Brazillans In the rural districts
mas not changed much in the last 100
yeeTs. The men still wear broad brim-
med hats with low crowns, tied under the
ehln with rlbbOa; veveteen Jackets.
Walstcoats Of gorgeous colors bedecked
With brass or silver buttons, linen
drawers, high black CATERS buttoned to
the knee; the whole topped by a sort of
cape, similar to that Stl | used In Portu-
gal, generally lined with scarlet and
thrown negllgentiy over one shoulder.
This quaint, 0ld-tlme fashion prev Ills on
ty IN the interior, principally among the
weIl-to do. In RIO and other seaside
cities the gentlemen dress in the most
correct of European costumes and the
ladies get themselves up more Frenchi!v.
1t one may coin word. than ANYBODY in
France, barring glazing incongruities in
the matter Of cOlors, sometimes So afro
clously blended as to "swear at one
ano her! in way that would drive a
French woman crazy. During the few
short trips we have so far made into the
interior we have been amused to e ladies
promenading the streets with all the airs
and graces or peafowls, wearing enormous
hoops, with ''peleripes" and waterfalls
dangling down their shoulders, exact
copies OF the fashion plates of thirty years
ago.
But this is a great country for the study
OF anatomy, if one we're so inclined, for
the majority of the common people"
perambulate so near to naked that the
slight similitude Of "coth9s" tney wear
seems altogether superfuous. The street
gamln, and even children, of people in
t9lerable circumstances, play about their
doors aud screech and tumble in the
streets without stitch or rag of clothing
upon them, with no more ideas of mod
tsty than the NANCY dogs that are their
companions. AT the age of nine or ten,
Or Whereabouts (which in the topics, Won
know, Is equal to fifteen in the far, cola
north), the girls are partially covered bv
cotton tunic and the boys by equally
gauzy drawers. When fully grown and
arrived at the dignity of tatherhood and
motherhood themselvas-which will be
surprisingly early in life, you may be
sure their full dress will consist of. for
the women, cotton chemise, embroider-
ed around the yoke and armets, and gen.
orally slipped off one shoulder or the
other to the waist; a short scant cotton
skirt, string of beads, long earrings
and as many bracelets of brass, silver or
beads as the wearer can manage to acquire:
and for men cllico shirt, always unbut-
toned III front and worn with flaps out
side the drawers and straw hat.