transient guests are irritable, they are themselves the losers.

It being our purpose to go to housekeeping as soon as convenient after reaching Rio, one of the first things to occupy our attention was to search for a suitable house. We had got the impression that, to be secure against yellow fever, one should reside on elevated ground-say on either the Gloria or the Santa Theresa Hill. We first looked, therefore, at houses on both these hills, making the ascent on foot, in very warm weather, several times to do so, and saw some very fair houses, commanding a splendid view of the harbor and the mountain scenery on the opposite side, but they were so difficult of access that we were reluctant to take either one; and finally learning, what I have since become satisfied is the truth, that those localities are no more exempt from the fever than some other parts of the city less elevated, we began to look elsewhere. We visited houses in the favorite districts of São Christovão, Botafogo, and Larangeiras; and, finally, a desirable new house was pointed out to me by Mr. Rainsford, an old resident and former United States vice-consul, at No. 143 Rua das Larangeiras, which I hired (of course, unfurnished) at one thousand dollars per

year.

We had visited over a dozen vacant houses altogether, and in this way had obtained information about the inside of Brazilian houses that we otherwise would not have had. What I saw in this regard impressed me that sleepingrooms in the older houses frequently lack windows-mere dark alcoves being used for that purpose; that the kitchens are very small; and that the quarters for servants are either dark basement-rooms under the principal rooms, or else are in small, detached buildings without windows.

There were things, sometimes, in sanitary regards that were shocking.

We had got into our new house and settled at housekeeping inside of three weeks after our arrival at Rio. Neither carpets nor furniture with woolen or upholstered covers are common in Brazilian houses, though there is nothing in the climate to prevent their use-for moths are no more troublesome in Brazil than in the United States; but not uncommonly a large rug is used to cover the middle part of the parlor-floor. For the most part, the house furniture is cane-seated, with wood-work of rosewood, mahogany, or some other reddish-colored wood of the country. The sofa has a high back, and is a neat and substantial piece of furniture. Two rows of about three chairs each, facing, are placed at right angles to the sofa, forming a little avenue to it. The sofa, about a dozen chairs, including two arm-chairs, and two cabinets, or

dunkerquerks," with marble tops and mirrored doors, will cost about five hundred dollars. This will answer as a specimen for a part of the furniture in houses of the middle class. Of course, rich upholstered furniture is found in the dwellings of the wealthy. In damp and hot weather, clothing and books gather mold, and should be frequently looked after and exposed to the sun.

There is no trouble about stoves or furnaces. I know only one house in Rio provided with heating accommodations. The stoves for cooking are put in as a part of the house. The fuel consists of wood obtained in the vicinity, and comes in small bundles of slender split sticks, three feet long, each bundle being about a foot in diameter. The numerous grocery-shops, or "venders," furnish and deliver them; but they can generally be obtained more economically by the cart-load from wood-dealers.

The majority of the people live from hand to mouth, and buy their supplies from day to day at the handiest shop; others buy a month's supply of groceries from some dealer down town. The bread made by the bakers in Rio is so good that no family thinks of baking its own bread. Beef is bought fresh every morning, and is generally good. The slaughter of beef-creatures takes place several miles out of the city, under government supervision. The meat is brought into the city on the railroad before evening, and, just before dark, great, heavy, closed wagons, drawn by four mules, go rumbling through the city and deliver the beef in quarters at the numerous meat-shops. By ten o'clock in the morning the retailer has generally sold out all of his stock, though after that a few pieces may be seen hanging up at his door. Ice is rather a dear luxury, though it is now manufactured extensively at Rio. Families get along, however, very well without ice, by cooking their meat the day it is bought, and keeping the food in perforated zinc-paneled, movable cupboards-a most useful article of pantry furniture, which I have only seen in Brazil.

Fresh pork is regarded in Rio as a luxury. The salt pork of the country is good, and comes in a dry condition in heavy rolls. Poultry is sold alive through fear of disease. Turkeys are driven in flocks and peddled at a high price; the drivers, at a slow pace and in a singing tone, advertising as they go. There are numerous cow-stables all through the city, and milk is delivered in bottles by men afoot, though a few carts are making a beginning. It is also common to drive cows around singly in the morning, and to milk at the door the quantity a family may require. In such cases the calf is allowed to accompany the cow, but is subjected to a muzzle. This dairy business appears

to be in the hands of the Portuguese; and the frequent sight of these cows led about through the streets by innocent, country-looking youths, in some cases quite fresh from the valleys of Portugal, gives Rio a rustic feature which is pleasant.

Of family subsistence, more things are of foreign production than would, at first thought, be supposed. Butter comes in tin cans from Denmark, or some other foreign country; lard from the United States; potatoes and onions from Portugal. Neither green corn, green peas, nor tomatoes to any extent, are found in the Rio market. There is a fair supply of several kinds of delicate sea-fish, and the best way to procure them is to go direct to the principal market, rather than depend on fish-peddlers, whose presence can often be known by the sense of smell. The mero, one of the best, is a thick fish with black skin, without scales, costing forty cents a pound, and grows to the size of two hundred pounds. The badejo is another dark-skinned fish, without scales, and attains a weight of sixty pounds. The roballo has scales of the color of the shad, a black stripe on each side, and looks like our salt-water striped bass; its ordinary weight is about seven pounds. The curvina is reddish-colored, has thick, hard scales, which have to be shaved off, with an outer skin, and weighs about six pounds. This, and the vermelho, are similar to the red snapper of the Gulf of Mexico in appearance, and in the delicacy and firmness of their flesh. Nearly all the fish are caught in the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, into which they come from the sea, though some are taken outside as far as Cape Frio, eighteen hours distant by sail. The mero and badejo are caught only with the hook.

The metric system of weights and measures is in use,.

and meat, fish, and groceries are bought by the kilogramme of two and twenty hundredths pounds. The unit for the measure of money is the milreis-thousand reis—on the same principle as if we in the United States were to indicate our money in mills, and in writing a dollar should say one thousand mills. In figures the Brazilians write a milreis thus, 18000. Five hundred reis, or half a milreis, they write $500, and a conto-one thousand milreis1,000$000. There are nickel one hundred and two hundred reis-pieces, the first worth about four cents and the latter eight cents. There are also copper pieces of which five are equal to a hundred reis. The Brazilian milreis in gold has the value of fifty-four and six tenths cents. But neither gold nor silver is in circulation. All of the money consists of irredeemable legal-tender Government notes which have for years been continually depreciating in value till in 1885 the milreis, in paper, was worth only about thirty-six cents. It rose to the value of forty cents the first half of 1886. This sort of money in a country affects business just on the same principle as if the length of the yardstick were to change from week to week.

The average wages of servants in good families are about forty-five milreis, say sixteen dollars, per month. Some of the best servants are slaves, who are owned and have been trained by people of the upper class. The wages of such servants all go to the owner. The Portuguese generally make industrious and reliable servants, and are very commonly employed in such capacity. They do not expect to make or receive many visits; and they are usually bright, cheerful, and respectful. As the halls, stairs, and floors, especially in dining-rooms, are uncarpeted, there is considerable scrubbing to be done, and that is done by men on their knees. A man-servant of some