whose virtue sits lightly enough upon them. And indeed if
there are a few who, passing for virtuous characters, are yet
so indiscreet as to make unbecoming advances to strangers, I
am afraid they have but too good an excuse to plead in the
abominable conduct of some of the men, of which the accusation
of the friars seems to be but too well corroborated.
Most of the women of Rio, from constant confinement and
inactivity, are inclined to become corpulent at an early
period of life. Their Countenances are in general pale and
rather sallow, but they have almost invariably dark expressive
eyes and fine teeth. Their long black hair is generally
tied in tresses with white or coloured ribbands, and adorned
with chaplets of flowers, chiefly such as give out a powerful
and agreeable odour, as the Plumeria, the Polianthes or
tuberose, and the jasmine.
The elderly dames, however, and such as would be thought
to imitate the fashions of Europe, load their black locks with
a profusion of oil and farinha. Their dress in the house consists
of a thin muslin or calico jacket trimmed with lace, and
a flounced petticoat; sometimes with but more frequently
without stockings. They seldom walk in the streets, but are
carried about in sedan chairs open at the two sides, borne by
slaves in the same manner as the Chinese carry theirs by poles
on the shoulders. The men who can afford it usually ride in
a clumsey kind of cabriolet, drawn by two horses. Their
dress is the same as in Europe.. They rarely go abroad without
their swords and cocked hats, and a pair of enormous
gold or silver buckles in their shoes and at the knees, set
with diamonds or Brazilian topazes; and they are generally
muffled up in a great cloak in the hottest weather.
We had few opportunities of judging what was the state of
society in St. Sebastian, but one may form a tolerable conjecture
from what it is in their other settlements. The inhabitants
are said to go sometimes in small parties to the
Passeo Publico, where they sup and walk and enjoy themselves
with music and fireworks to a late hour of the night,
but during our stay we saw nothing of the kind. Balls and
concerts are said also to be given occasionally at the government
house; but the Viceroy was considered as a close penurious
man, who had no other aim than that of amassing a
princely fortune. There is likewise an opera house, but it
had been shut up for some time on account of the indisposition
of the Queen of Portugal. We were, therefore, unlucky
enough not to see any of their assemblies, or amusements,
or convivial meetings. They are very indolent, very jealous
of each other, and very superstitious. The day is divided
between sleep and ceremony, and mutual distrust is but ill
suited for the pleasures of social intercourse. In fact, the
minds of the mass of the people are not sufficiently cultivated
to feel any relish for them; for it is a certain truth, as a great
moralist has observed, that “ without intelligence man is not
“ social, he is only gregarious.”
As the avowed object, in conquering the Brazils, was the
conversion of the native Indians to the Christian faith, all the
o