Captain Anselmo resides upon a cotton plantation which is his own property, and is cultivated by about forty negroes. The house is situated upon the shelf of a steep hill, with a beautiful plain below, upon which trees are thickly scattered. At the foot of the hill is a large fishpond, through which a rivulet runs in the rainy season. The owner has lately inclosed a piece of land, and was making a garden upon the borders of the pond. The dwelling-house was new and had a second floor; it was very clean and well furnished. This was the most pleasantly situated and the best arranged mansion which we visited during this journey; the huts for the slaves were well built and looked comfortable. Here we were entertained with such music as has as yet found its way into these parts of the country. Three negroes with bagpipes attempted to play a few tunes whilst we were at dinner, but they seemed to play in different keys from each other, and sometimes each appeared to have struck up a tune of his own composing. I think I never heard so bad an attempt at producing harmonious sounds as the _charameleiros_ made. The possession of a band of these bespeaks a certain degree of superiority, consequently the planters pride themselves upon their musicians. Our party could not let pass this opportunity of being together without practising the amusement of the _intrudo_[74], although the usual time of its celebration was yet distant one week. On the day subsequent to that of our arrival, dinner was scarcely over before the _farinha_, the bananas, the rice, and other dainties upon the table, were hurled at each other’s heads; soon the smart uniform coats were taken off, and in his shirt sleeves each man began this civil war with heart and soul. Every thing was borne with perfect good humour, and at last, fatigued and bedaubed, all of us retired to the hammocks which had been provided for the party. But as our evil stars would have it, a brave captain closed quietly all the shutters (as the moon was shining very bright into the room) and then he placed himself near to an enormous jar of water, which stood in one corner of the apartment, and with a small pitcher in his hand soon dealt around him its contents, awakening us with repeated showers, and obliging us to take shelter under the chairs and tables. This, and other jokes allied to it, continued until the break of day, when we prepared for a continuation of our journey. One company was reviewed here.