Rarely does the Brazilian born and bred drink anything stronger than coffee, and this he takes, in little cups in the innumerable _cafeterias_ of every city, many times a day. Since the established price of a little cup of hot, very strong black coffee is but a _tostão_ (two U. S. cents) there is no great extravagance about this. At family meals a little wine, generally imported from Portugal, France or Italy, is on the table: since Rio Grande has been trying her hand at wine-making the bottle may contain _vinho nacional_; in any case it is sparingly used. The younger generation has taken to a limited extent to the whisky introduced by the Britisher, the beer of the German, now very well brewed in the country, and the cocktail of the newcomer of North America, but he appears to drink these exotics more with a desire to be in the fashion or a “good sport” than because he likes them. [Illustration: Monroe Palacio, on the Avenida Rio Branco, Rio de Janeiro. Municipal Theatre, São Paulo City. ] Deliberate drinking is almost confined to the _festas_ beloved of the _mestizo_ and mulatto populations, especially celebrated in agricultural districts, when the Brazilian-made _cachaça_, a kind of rum made from sugarcane, is liberally consumed. Its festive use seems to be a survival of Indian custom, for the natives of the coasts and forests in pre-Portuguese days made a fermented liquor (from _milho_ = maize) for special occasions, and their descendants as well as the negro element, also great lovers of celebrations, regard an occasional period of revelry as a right. The influence of Christianity has succeeded in identifying these festal occasions with, and confining them to, saints’ days and other Church celebrations, but their root is more primitive.