The worst plague of all, however, are the sand-fleas, which attach themselves to one’s toes, underneath the nails, or sometimes to the soles of the feet. The moment a person feels an itching in these parts he must immediately look at the place; if he sees a small black point surrounded by a small white ring, the former is the flea, and the latter the eggs which it has laid in the flesh. The first thing done is to loosen the skin all round as far as the white ring is visible; the whole deposit is then extracted, and a little snuff strewed in the empty space. The best plan is to call in the first black you may happen to see, as they all perform this operation very skilfully.
As regards the natural products of the Brazils, a great many of the most necessary articles are wanting in the list. It is true that there are sugar and coffee, but no corn, no potatoes, and none of our delicious varieties of fruit. The flour of manioc, which is mixed up with the other materials of which the dishes are composed, supplies the place of bread, but is far from being so nutritious and strengthening, while the different kinds of sweet-tasting roots are certainly not to be compared to our potatoes. The only fruit, which are really excellent, are the oranges, bananas and mangoes. Their celebrated pine-apples are neither very fragrant nor remarkably sweet; I certainly have eaten much finer flavoured ones that had been grown in a European hot-house. The other kinds of fruit are not worth mentioning. Lastly, with the two very necessary articles of consumption, milk and meat, the former is very watery, and the latter very dry.
On instituting a comparison between the Brazils and Europe, both with respect to the impression produced by the whole, as also to the separate advantages and disadvantages of each, we shall, perhaps, at first find the scale incline towards the former country, but only to turn ultimately with greater certainty in favour of the latter.
The Brazils is, perhaps, the most interesting country in the world for travellers; but for a place of permanent residence I should most decidedly prefer Europe.
I saw too little of the manners and customs of the country to be qualified to pronounce judgment upon them, and I shall therefore, on this head, confine myself to a few remarks. The manners seem, on the whole, to differ but little from those of Europe. The present possessors of the country, as is well known, derive their descent from Portugal, and the Brazilians might very aptly be termed “Europeans translated into Americans;” and it is very natural, that in this “translation” many peculiarities have been lost, while others have stood forth in greater relief. The strongest feature in the character of the European-American is the greed for gold; this often becomes a passion, and transforms the most faint-hearted white into a hero, for it certainly requires the courage of one to live alone, as planter, on a plantation with perhaps some hundred slaves, far removed from all assistance, and with the prospect of being irrevocably lost in the event of any revolt.
This grasping feeling is not confined to the men alone; it is found among the women as well, and is greatly encouraged by a common custom here, agreeably to which, a husband never assigns his wife so much for pin-money, but, according to his means, makes her a present of one or more male or female slaves, whom she can dispose of as she chooses. She generally has them taught how to cook, sew, embroider, or even instructed in some trade, and then lets them out, by the day, week, or month, [8] to people who possess no slaves of their own; or she lets them take in washing at home, or employs them in the manufacture of various ornamental objects, fine pastry, etc, which she sends them out to sell. The money for these things belongs to her, and is generally spent in dress and amusement.
In the case of tradesmen, and professional men, the wife is always paid for whatever assistance she may lend her husband in his business.
Morality, unfortunately, is not very general in the Brazils; one cause of this may be traced to the manner in which the children are first brought up. They are confided entirely to the care of blacks. Negresses suckle them when they are infants, their nurses are negresses, their attendants are negresses—and I have often seen girls of eight or ten years of age taken to school, or any other place, by young negroes. The sensuality of the blacks is too well known for us to be surprised, with such a state of things, at the general and early demoralization. In no other place did I ever behold so many children with such pale and worn faces as in the streets of Rio Janeiro. The second cause of immorality here is, without doubt, the want of religion. The Brazils are thoroughly Catholic—perhaps there are no countries save Spain and Italy, that can be compared to them. Almost every day there is some procession, service, or church-festival; but these are attended merely for the sake of amusement, while the true religious feeling is entirely wanting.
We may also ascribe to this deep demoralization and want of religion the frequent occurrence of murders, committed not for the sake of robbery or theft, but from motives of revenge and hatred. The murderer either commits the deed himself, or has it perpetrated by one of his slaves, who is ready to lend himself for the purpose, in consideration of a mere trifle. The discovery of the crime need cause the assassin no anxiety, provided he is rich; for in this country everything, I was assured, can be arranged or achieved with money. I saw several men in Rio Janeiro who had, according to report, committed either themselves, or by the means of others, not one, but several murders, and yet they not only enjoyed perfect liberty, but were received in every society.
In conclusion, I beg leave to address a few words to those of my countrymen who think of leaving their native land, to seek their fortune on the distant coast of Brazil—a few words which I could desire to see as far spread and as well known as possible.
There are people in Europe not a whit better than the African slave-dealers, and such people are those who delude poor wretches with exaggerated accounts of the richness of America and her beautiful territories, of the over-abundance of the products of the soil, and the lack of hands to take advantage of them. These people, however, care little about the poor dupes; their object is to freight the vessels belonging to them, and to effect this they take from their deluded victim the last penny he possesses.
During my stay here, several vessels arrived with unfortunate emigrants of this description; the government had not sent for them, and therefore would afford them no relief; money they had none, and, consequently, could not purchase land, neither could they find employment in working on the plantations, as no one will engage Europeans for this purpose, because, being unused to the warm climate, they would soon succumb beneath the work. The unhappy wretches had thus no resource left; they were obliged to beg about the town, and, in the end, were fain to content themselves with the most miserable occupations. A different fate awaits those who are sent for by the Brazilian government to cultivate the land or colonize the country: these persons receive a piece of uncleared ground, with provisions and other help; but if they come over without any money at all, even their lot is no enviable one. Want, hunger, and sickness destroy most of them, and but a very small number succeed, by unceasing activity and an iron constitution, in gaining a better means of livelihood than what they left behind them in their native land. Those only who exercise some trade find speedy employment and an easy competency; but even this will, in all probability, soon be otherwise, for great numbers are pouring in ever year, and latterly the negroes themselves have been, and are still being, more frequently taught every kind of trade.
Let every one, therefore, obtain