They Are Not Overworked, Perform All Their Duties Very Leisurely, And Are Well Kept.

Their children are frequently the playmates of their master's children, and knock each other about as if they were all equal. There may be cases in which certain slaves are cruelly and undeservedly punished; but do not the like instances of injustice occur in Europe also?

I am certainly very much opposed to slavery, and should greet its abolition with the greatest delight, but, despite this, I again affirm that the negro slave enjoys, under the protection of the law, a better lot than the free fellah of Egypt, or many peasants in Europe, who still groan under the right of soccage. The principal reason of the better lot of the slave, compared to that of the miserable peasant, in the case in point, may perhaps partly be, that the purchase and keep of the one is expensive, while the other costs nothing.

The arrangements in the houses belonging to the proprietors of the fazendas are extremely simple. The windows are unglazed, and are closed at night with wooden shutters. In many instances, the outer roof is the common covering of all the rooms, which are merely separated from one another by low partitions, so that you can hear every word your neighbour says, and almost the breathing of the person sleeping next to you. The furniture is equally simple: a large table, a few straw sofas, and a few chairs. The wearing apparel is generally hung up against the walls; the linen alone being kept in tin cases, to protect it from the attacks of the ants.

In the country, the children of even the most opulent persons run about frequently without shoes or stockings. Before they go to bed they have their feet examined to see whether any sand-fleas have nestled in them; and if such be the case, they are extracted by the elder negro children.

9th October. Early in the morning I took leave of my kind hostess, who, like a truly careful housewife, had wrapped up a roasted fowl, manioc flour, and a cheese for me, so that I was well provisioned on setting off.

The next station, Aldea do Pedro, on the banks of the Parahyby, was situated at a distance of sixteen miles. Our way lay through magnificent woods, and before we had traversed half of it, we arrived at the river Parahyby, one of the largest in the Brazils, and celebrated, moreover, for the peculiar character of its bed, which is strewed with innumerable cliffs and rocks; these, owing to the low state of the stream, were more than usually conspicuous. On every side rose little islands, covered with small trees or underwood, lending a most magic appearance to the river. During the rainy season, most of these cliffs and rocks are covered with water, and the river then appears more majestic. On account of the rocks it can only be navigated by small boats and rafts.

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