Nor are there any herds of wild cattle here, like those in parts of our country; and, therefore, the Brazilian custom of catching the cattle by a noose is not in use. I described to Wentworth the dexterity with which the peons fling the noose, or lasso, over the head of any animal, even in full gallop. Here the cattle are in small numbers, and submit readily to the restraint of being confined in fields. The person who takes care of them has comparatively little trouble; and though he does not live on beef for every meal, like the peon, yet he is in fact more comfortable. We saw some very poor people in the hamlet by which we returned home, and found them civil in their manners, and contented with their employment. As to their houses, they are very different, indeed, from the peon’s hovel of upright posts, interwoven with branches of trees, and plastered with mud, thatched with nothing but long grass, and a hide stretched on four sticks, by way of a door.
I was surprised to see with what docility a number of cows allowed themselves to be driven home by a little boy to Farmer Moreland’s. My uncle told me, that it is a great relief to them to have their milk taken away; and that were the fields open, they would go home at the regular hours to be milked. I had imagined that cows had but a small portion of sense or instinct; but my uncle told me several instances of their sagacity, and among others, one which he read lately in travels in Norway and Lapland.
The author frequently saw cows feeding close to precipices several hundred feet high, where an English cow would have but little chance of escape; but the Norway cows, turned out amidst the mountains to procure their subsistence, become as nimble as goats, and climb the rocky crags with the greatest ease.
The manner in which instinct has taught them to descend the mountains is curious. Sitting on their haunches, they place their fore-feet close together, and in this way slide down places, which from their steepness would appear quite impassable with safety.
We went into several cottages belonging to the poor labourers. They are either built of brick, or of frame-work filled in with bricks and plaster, with good doors and glass windows; and inside, every thing, though shewing poverty, gave the idea of comfort. The walls papered, or nicely white-washed, the floors scowered and sprinkled with sand; plates, cups, and saucers displayed on shelves; beds with clean patchwork quilts; and in two of the houses, wooden-clocks to call the people up to their business. And to all of them there was a detached shed for the pig, unlike the filthy place left, between the posts, that support the floor of the Brazilian huts. In the last cottage we visited, we found that the hospitable people it belonged to had contrived to make room for a poor traveller and her child. She had come there on Saturday evening, when they gave her lodging for charity. On Sunday, she begged permission to remain, because she did not think it right to travel on that day; and on Monday she grew ill, and has been in bed ever since. These good people seemed so kind and generous to her, though very poor themselves, that my aunt is much interested for them.
How gratifying it is to see the poorest people assisting each other, even when really distressed themselves, but the most delightful thing of all, dear Mamma, is that there are no slaves here; every body is free, and may work or be idle as they like; but if they prefer idleness, they must of course want the comforts possessed by the industrious;—for industry, as you used to say, brings comfort and happiness.
19th.—This forest of Deane is very extensive, I find, for it is nearly twenty miles long, and ten broad. Here, at the south-east, it is bordered by the Severn, and on the north-west it stretches to the Wye; so that it forms the chief part of the western district of Gloucestershire. It was once the chief support of the English navy; but the timber is much diminished in consequence of the iron works in its neighbourhood, which it supplied a long time with fuel. My uncle says, however, that it has more the appearance of a forest than almost any other in England; and it still contains many noble old oak and beech trees, besides birch, holly, and underwood.
Here and there a few acres, surrounding cottages, have been cleared and cultivated, which make a beautiful variety. These cottages, and some farm-houses which stand upon the forest land, are free from taxes, and belong to no parish.
My aunt says, it is quite remarkable for the quantities of primroses and lilac wood-sorrel that are every where found. There are a few deer in some parts of the forest, but I have not yet seen them.
20th.—What a difference between this country, and that which I have left! I scarcely know which to call my own: should it not be that where I lived during my happy childhood with my dear Mamma? The kindness and affection of all my friends here will, I am sure, soon make this country dear to me also; but beautiful I can never think it, when I recollect Brazil, and all its various charms, and all the innumerable flowers and trees that are at this moment in brilliant beauty; while here, the principal flowers are all gone by, and symptoms of the decay of autumn already appear.