The upper classes of the Brazilians are a well educated and cultivated people. Most of them have been schooled in France, and speak the French language almost as fluently as their own. In Paris there is always a goodly sized Brazilian colony, and the boats passing between Rio and Europe always carry a number of Brazilians to and from that European capital. They find the atmosphere of the French capital more congenial, and full of the _simpatica_ which means so much to the Latin people. The girls who go abroad for education are all sent to the convents of France, but many boys are now sent to schools in the States, especially for a technical education. Those who do go come back enthusiastic over the United States, and many of them bring back American wives, much to the discomfiture of the parents. An aristocracy exists which can yet be traced, and it is an aristocracy of wealth. It divides, with a sharp distinction, the aristocracy from the labouring element. It is perhaps unreasonable to expect the classes developed by a monarchical form of government to disappear so soon, for the spirit was imbued in the dozen or more generations preceding the present one. Among that class it was considered a disgrace to labour with one’s hands, and this fact has made politics and the holding of political positions a profession. This weakness in politics is, in my opinion, one of the evils of Brazil. It becomes a business and a passion with the men, even in a more intense degree than in our own land. The young man must first secure the title of doctor, and every professional man, physician, lawyer, civil engineer, teacher, etc., receives this title.[1] Then he must obtain some government appointment. Finally, when his own prestige becomes great enough, he seeks election to some office. To politics can be blamed the lack of advancement in many lines.