Page:An account of a voyage to establish a colony at Port Philip in Bass's Strait.djvu/82

( 57 ) in use among: the rich are cabriolets, drawn by mules, and chairs curtained round, in which they are carried through the streets by Negro slaves; the latter are also female conveyances. Gaming, the peculiar vice of idleness, is prevalent among the men. Pharaoh is In describing the manners of the Brasilians, it will, I trust, be recollected, that I speak generally; divested, as I hope I am, of national prejudice, I suppose the existence of an universal standard of social manners, which, though very far from being arrived at by any nation in the world, is more nearly approached by some than by others, and is perhaps already reached by a few more happy individuals of every nation. Among the Brasilians, though the general mass stand very low upon the scale of refinement, the proportion of these superior minds is, perhaps, equal to what any other country can boast; and I am happy in bearing testimony, that at Rio de Janeiro, refined hospitality, elegant taste, and politeness, devoid of formality, are the conspicuous characteristics of several individuals.their