go to work.

I had an opportunity of convincing myself in this, as well as in
many other fazendas, vendas, and private houses, that the slaves are
by far not so harshly treated as we Europeans imagine. 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