“You had better take off your hat,” said a friend to me, as some national troops were marching by on the Avenida Central, in Rio de Janeiro; “if you do not, some one may knock it off,” he continued. Then I noticed that every man and boy respectfully lifted his hat as the flag passed him; and I did the same. Three regiments of infantry passed along, each with its banner fluttering in the breeze, and as many times did we lift our hats in salute to the green and yellow starred emblem of Brazil; and I must confess that the sentiment involved in this tribute to the flag, for which we are supposed to be willing to bleed and die at all times, is commendable, and worthy of emulation. Brazil is not a military nation in the sense that European nations are such. The proportion of soldiers to the population is greater than in the United States, but far less than in almost any European nation. The total number of men under arms, including the military police, does not exceed fifty thousand men. Of this number more than one-half are state troops. The soldiers are not much in evidence in any part of the republic, except those doing police duty. A compulsory military service does not exist, after the German or French model, although the right of conscription by either state or federal government is a part of the law, and can be resorted to whenever, in the judgment of either government, such a step becomes necessary. Retired or active officers are stationed at nearly all the colleges, by whom instruction in military tactics is given after established systems, much the same as in our own educational institutions. The term of enlistment in the federal army is for three years, with certain privileges in the event that the soldier re-enlists when a term has expired. One of these privileges is the choice of a free grant of land in one of the government colonies, and the gift of an outfit of agricultural implements with which to cultivate it. Another inducement is in the way of additional remuneration. The entire republic is divided into seven districts, in each of which a barrack is maintained. The federal troops are divided into twenty different regiments, and a number of battalions are made up of the different branches of the service. The arms of all troops are of the latest improved Mauser type, and the artillery is exclusively of German manufacture.