Brazil, the Amazons and the coast . s and candles, and various oils,have done very well. But for ordinary mechanics, I cangive only one kind of advice ; that is, keep away from Brazil,unless you are paid to go there, or have money enough tokeep you idle for a year or two ; even then, think longbefore you leave the United States. It is not that skilledlabor is not needed here ; it is, sadly ; but a vast number ofclumsy workmen drive it out of the market. A mechanic * Cotton rags could be obtained, I think, as they are in the United States, bymeans of small traders ; they are all wasted, at pres
Brazil, the Amazons and the coast . s and candles, and various oils,have done very well. But for ordinary mechanics, I cangive only one kind of advice ; that is, keep away from Brazil,unless you are paid to go there, or have money enough tokeep you idle for a year or two ; even then, think longbefore you leave the United States. It is not that skilledlabor is not needed here ; it is, sadly ; but a vast number ofclumsy workmen drive it out of the market. A mechanic * Cotton rags could be obtained, I think, as they are in the United States, bymeans of small traders ; they are all wasted, at present. PROFIT AND LOSS. 501 could establish himself, only after long and patient workingand waiting. He would have to master the language, learnthe peculiar service required of him ; and, after all, hisfamily would be deprived of society ; he himself would belooked down upon as one of an inferior class, by men whowere beneath him morally and intellectually ; finally, livingexpenses (at least in Rio de Janeiro) are very high, and pay-. The Sugar-loaf, from the South. ment for his work would not be very secure. In nine casesout of ten, a poor mechanic will make more money in theUnited States than in Brazil. I know that I shall be criticised for these views ; I knowthat they are widely opposed to the glowing accounts ofvarious newspaper correspondents. But, writing always as afriend of Brazil, as an admirer of her splendid natural re-sources, I must yet write the truth. And the truth I have 502 BRAZIL. seen on many a sad, weary face ; I have heard it from menwho came to the Southern Empire full of eager expecta-tions; who have found themselves, too late, strangers in astrange land, penniless, without work, ignorant of the lan-guage—worst of all, perhaps, with wife and children lookingto them for support. The writers of these glowing para-graphs have never seen this side of the picture ; their holidaytrip showed them only the bright surface of Rio life, its gaysociety, its pleasant
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