Our lady friend, who had been absent for some four years in France, had not perhaps enjoyed an opportunity during her absence, or since her return, to avail herself of the native feijão; and I was quite interested to observe the evident relish with which she partook of these beans.
On our route to-day we encountered a vestige of former days that is still in use in many rugged parts of the country, called the banquet.
It consists of a sort of box, as the body of the carriage, having shafts at each end, so that a mule may be placed in each, to bear the burden. With this firm and apt support, one mule having his tail to the body, and the other with his head towards the other end of it, progress is made successfully over the most irregular and narrow roads. Women and children are placed in this box-carriage and travel to any part of the country in comparative comfort and safety, and should any portion of our people go far into the interior, this is the mode of transportation which must be relied upon for families, as carts and wagons cannot travel over many of the roads in the country.
We reached São Paulo after dark, and I proceeded to the Hotel de Italia, and was pleased to receive the salutation of the landlady in my own language. She sent a servant with me to search for Mr. Preller and Mr. Sampson, to whom I had letters of introduction, but neither of them was found, and after returning, I went to my room. After sleeping until after midnight, I was awoke by the sound of music and voices in the house, and I could recognize the voice of our landlady, in the midst of others, speaking in an excited and elevated strain. Being kept awake for two hours, this did not seem in keeping with an orderly establishment, and I concluded that my landlady was quite too fond of company and late hours to suit my taste.
Sunday, September 24, 1865.
The humiliating confession must be made, that I had not noted the return of the Sabbath, and went out this morning for the purpose of doing some shopping. There was no indication in the business aspects of the streets that it was a day of rest, and it was only brought to my mind that I was violating this holy day by a remark of my landlady referring to the day of the week. I only bought, however, Vieyra’s small Portuguese and English Dictionary, which is in two volumes, so that one may be carried in each coat pocket, and be ready for use whenever a word is needed.
Mr. D. H. Sampson was found this morning at the Hotel da Europa, and my letter from Dr. Thomas Rainey, of Rio, being presented, he expressed his satisfaction upon making my acquaintance, and manifested a readiness to aid me, which was quite gratifying. He suggested that it would be more pleasant for me to move round to this hotel, as I would find more persons here speaking the English language, and with a view to introduce me to his friends he invited me to dine with them to-day at the Hotel da Europa.
As my experience at the Hotel Italia was not calculated to attach me to that establishment, I concluded to change hotels, and closed my account.
In the course of the morning I made the acquaintance of Mr. Newton Bennaton, who is a Brazilian that spent several years at school in Maryland, and speaks the English language as well as the Portuguese and French. He seemed at once to take an interest in the object of my visit, and offered to render me any assistance that lay in his power.[[11]]
Monday, September 25, 1865.