Brazil, the Amazons and the coast .. . omes the dazzling white light. Redand yellow colors are painful ; shadows are dark pits cut outof the ground, and an object in the shade is defined only byvivid degrees of blackness. It takes a long time for the eyesto accustom themselves to this superabundance of sunshine. The custom-house is an immense stone structure withtwo great towers at the end, recalling its ancient glories. Itwas formerly a convent, but, by the decay and final extinc- 38 BRAZIL. tion in Para of the order that tenanted it, the building re-verted to the government and was turned ov
Brazil, the Amazons and the coast .. . omes the dazzling white light. Redand yellow colors are painful ; shadows are dark pits cut outof the ground, and an object in the shade is defined only byvivid degrees of blackness. It takes a long time for the eyesto accustom themselves to this superabundance of sunshine. The custom-house is an immense stone structure withtwo great towers at the end, recalling its ancient glories. Itwas formerly a convent, but, by the decay and final extinc- 38 BRAZIL. tion in Para of the order that tenanted it, the building re-verted to the government and was turned over to its presentuses ; only the little chapel is still reserved for religious pur-poses. The walls are all blackened with mildew, and clustersof weeds grow about the tile-roof; within, the long, darkcorridors and massive pillars stand in stern contrast to thepiles of barrels and boxes and crates of wine. The walls mayhave their dark secrets ; many a noble life has burned itselfout in these old convents. But our baggage inspector does. not concern himself about that; he glances through his gold-rimmed spectacles with a critical eye for our trunks and va-lises, and brings up no pictures of gray-robed monks andpenitential tears. Speaking from my own experience, I have nothing to sayagainst the Brazilian custom-house official, who is courteousenough, though with a consuming sense of his own impor-tance, developed precisel)- in inverse proportion to his rankin the service. Some travellers appear to think that they PARA. 39 cannot pass the Brazilian frontier without bribing the is unjust. In all ni)^ travels I never paid out a milreisin that way, and never had occasion to. A little quiet polite-ness is all that is required. But then, in larger matters thecustom-houses are as bad as similar establishments are theworld over, and with the added stupidity of these petty offi-cers to make them worse. Cases of dishonesty are commonenough, and illegal extortion is allowed mor
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbrazild, bookyear1879
