ibals
and all but eaten. Burton used to visit the place by boat, and the
narrative written by Hans Stade so fascinated him that he induced
a Santos friend, Albert Tootal, to translate it into English. The
translation was finished in 1869, and five years later Burton wrote for
it an introduction and some valuable notes and sent it to press. Though
Burton scarcely shines as an original writer, he had a keen eye for
what was good in others, and he here showed for the first time that
remarkable gift for annotating which stood him in such stead when he
came to handle The Arabian Nights.

Hans Stade's story is so amusing that if we did not know it to be fact
we should imagine it the work of some Portuguese W. S. Gilbert. Never
were more grisly scenes or more captivating and facetious cannibals.
When they told Stade that he was to be eaten, they added, in order to
cheer him, that he was to be washed down with a really pleasant drink
called kawi. The king's son then tied Stade's legs together in three
places. "I was made," says the wretched man, "to hop with jointed feet
through the huts; at this they laughed and said 'Here comes our meat
hopping along,'" Death seemed imminent. They did Stade, however, no
injury beside shaving off his eyebrows, though the younger savages, when
hungry, often looked wistfully at him and rubbed their midriffs. The
other prisoners were, one by one, killed and eaten, but the cannibals
took their meals in a way that showed indifferent breeding. Even the
king had no table manners whatever, but walked about gnawing a meaty
bone. He was good-natured, however, and offered a bit to Stade, who not
only declined, but uttered some words of reproof. Though surprised, the
king was not angry; he took another bite and observed critically, with
his mouth full, "It tastes good!"

Life proceeds slowly, whether at Santos or Sao Paulo, almost the only
excitement being the appearance of companies of friendly Indians. They
used to walk in single file, and on passing Burton's house would throw
out their arms as if the whole file were pulled by a string. Burton did
not confine himself to Santos, however. He wandered all over maritime
Brazil, and at Rio he lectured before the king [214] and was several
times invited to be present at banquets and other splendid gatherings.
On the occasion of one of these notable functions, which was to be
followed by a dinner, one room of the palace was set apart for the
ministers to wai