himself. The ants often appear in trains of
immeasurable length, and pursue their march over every obstacle that
stands in the way. Madame Pfeiffer, during her residence at a friend's
house, beheld the advance of a swarm of this description. It was really
interesting to see what a regular line they formed; nothing could make
them deviate from the direction on which they had first determined.
Madame Geiger, her friend, told her she was awakened one night by a
terrible itching: she sprang out of bed immediately, and lo, a swarm of
ants were passing over it! There is no remedy for the infliction, except
to wait, with as much patience as one can muster, for the end of the
procession, which frequently lasts four to six hours. It is possible, to
some extent, to protect provisions against their attacks, by placing the
legs of the tables in basins filled with water. Clothes and linen are
enclosed in tightly-fitting tin canisters.

The worst plague of all, however, are the sand-fleas, which attach
themselves to one's toes, underneath the nail, or sometimes to the soles
of the feet. When a person feels an irritation in these parts, he must
immediately look at the place; and if he discern a tiny black point,
surrounded by a small white ring, the former is the _chigoe_, or sand-
flea, and the latter the eggs which it has deposited in the flesh. The
first thing to be done is to loosen the skin all round as far as the
white skin is visible; the whole deposit is then extracted, and a little
snuff strewn in the empty space. The blacks perform this operation with
considerable skill.

Rich as the Brazils are in natural productions, they are wanting in many
articles which Europeans regard as of the first importance. There are
sugar and coffee, it is true; but no corn, no potatoes, and none of our
delightful varieties of fruit. The flour of manioc, obtained from the
cassava plant, which forms a staple portion of almost every dish,
supplies the place of bread, but is far from being so nutritious and
strengthening; while the different kinds of sweet-tasting roots are far
inferior in value to our potato. The only fruit which Madame Pfeiffer
thought really excellent, were the oranges, bananas, and mangoes. The
pine-apples are neither very sweet nor very fragrant. And with regard to
two most important articles of consumption, the milk is very watery, and
the meat very dry.

* * * * *

Our traveller, during her sojourn at Rio