the traveller does not recognise the vale of paradise, covered with brown and parched vegetation. The harbour of Valparaiso is commodious, the anchorage good, though at certain seasons dangerous. In winter, which is from the middle of May to the middle of August, north winds prevail, and throw into the bay a swell so heavy, that vessels sometimes are driven ashore and beaten to pieces. During the rest of the year southerly winds blow, sometimes so strongly that ships drag to sea. The town is divided into the port and Almendrál; the former consists of one irregular street, and the quebradas or ravines, which are built in wherever a site for a house can be obtained. Ranchos or huts are perched about the hill sides like birds' nests, wherever a resting place can be scooped out. Notwithstanding the disadvantage arising from the want of level land, this improves more rapidly than any other city on this side Cape Horn. Most of the houses on the main street are good two story buildings, whose ground floors are occupied as stores and warerooms; in the eastern part of the port, and in the almendral, the houses are only one story high. They are all built of adobes, or sun-dried bricks, whitewashed, and roofed with tiles. The markets are said to be the best and cheapest on the coast, abounding in fruits, vegetables, beef, mutton, poultry, game, and fish. Owing to the greater part of the business being transacted within a small space, the street, in the morning, presents a very lively appearance, which our author has very successfully described, together with the various portions of the population which animate it. The conventional customs of society differ, in many respects, from those in the United States. Day visiting, except on Sundays, is not usual. At sunset, the ladies are generally prepared to receive company, and expect it. To give an idea of the forms of society, our author narrates the history of his first visit, at great length, and with that minute particularity, which introduces not only the most ordinary features, but such as are common in all civilized countries. These add to the volume of the book, but do not increase its interest. We will strive to select such circumstances from this narrative as are peculiar and characteristic. "I followed a friend into a drawing room, furnished in the Chile fashion, with tables, mirrors, a sofa, a piano, and a great number of chairs, ranged in two rows facing each other, on that side of the room where the sofa stood. A 'petáte,' or thick straw mat, covered the floor, and a strip of carpet was laid only under the chairs on one side of the room. It was twilight, and candles had not been yet brought. Three ladies sat upon the sofa, conversing, with their feet drawn up under them, à la Turque, while a fourth stood looking through a glass door that opened upon a balcony, beating one of the panes with her fingers, as if it had been a piano, and humming a waltz. The evening was cool, and the ladies were all covered with large shawls, the right corner being thrown over the left shoulder, so as to bury the chin in its folds, much after the manner that dandies wear the Spanish cloak. In the winter, this custom is universal; then the nose and chin are hidden in the shawl, the eyes only being seen above the fold. During that season, having neither hearths nor chimneys in the house, except for the kitchen, the ladies keep warm by placing a 'brazéro,' or copper pan of well burned charcoal, near the sofa, with a basket, made for the purpose, turned over it, upon which they rest their feet, or even sit. As we entered the apartment, which was high and airy, the ladies on the sofa ceased their conversation, and bent forward in formal salutation, as my conductor said, '¿Como pasan ustedes; Señoritas? Un Amigo!'-How do you do, ladies? A friend-pointing to me as he pronounced the last word. The lady who was humming, curtsied and took a chair." After the usual remarks on the weather, and questions as to health, and time of arrival of the stranger, which almost every where attend the reserve of a first introduction, the ladies entertained their guests with music, cakes, tea, and maté. The young Indian girl, who bore a silver salver of cakes, being an Araucanian, gives occasion for one of the episodes which too frequently break in upon and mar some of the best descriptions in the work. Thus we are told, in a sketch of a tea party, that "the Araucanians, when taken and instructed young, make excellent servants; and there is scarcely a family without one in its service, particularly where there are young ladies. This race has borne the character of fierce and warlike from the earliest times; their valor and martial prowess have been celebrated in an epic of thirty-seven cantos, entitled 'La Araucana,' by Don Alonzo de Ercilla y Zuñiga.-Speaking of the country of Arauco, he says, "Vénus y Aman aquí no alcanzan parte, "The 'maté,' or, as it is familiarly called, 'yerba maté,' (llex Paraguensis), is a plant of Paraguay, used in almost every part of South America, as a substitute for tea. It arrives in Chile from the Rio de la Plata, by the way of Cape Horn, or by crossing the Cordilleras, packed in bales of hide. It presents to the eye a greenish yellow dust, in which are mingled broken leaves and stems of the plant. This material, infused in boiling water, forms the 'maté,' which every where in Chile, previous to the revolution, was substituted for the more costly tea of China; since that period, the old ladies only adhere to the practice, while the young ones, more refined in taste, prefer sipping Young Hyson or Bohea, from a gilt edged China teacup. The 'yerba,' with sugar and the outer rind of orange or lemon peel, or pieces of cinnamon, are placed in a globular vessel holding about a gill, and boiling water is poured in upon them. The vessel containing the infusion, termed 'a maté,' is either entirely of silver, or of a small gourd, banded with silver, supported by a stem and plate of the same metal. A silver cover, perforated with a hole for the passage of the bombilla,' and secured to the side by a chain, serves to retain the heat and aroma of the plant. The bombilla' is a tube from ten to twelve inches long, terminated at one end by a bulb (not unlike that of a thermometer) pierced with many small holes; like the maté,' it is silver, or consists of a cane tube with a metal bulb. "Such is the apparatus from which the elderly Chilénas sip, or rather suck their favorite beverage, at a temperature very little below that of boiling water. Doña Juana took the maté,' and after two or three sips, offered it to me, to try whether it were pleasant; however willing I might have been to receive the tube into my mouth, immediately after coming from the pouting lips of her daughters, I must confess, I felt some repugnance to suck the same stem with Doña Juana. Yet, recollecting that one of Basil Hall's officers had given offence by carrying a 'bombilla' for his peculiar use, I took the maté,' and finding it agreeable in flavor, did not relinquish it until I had drawn it to the dregs. Those who take maté' for the first time, usually burn their lips; and it is the only mistake at which ladies laugh; in fact, a cynic could scarcely keep his countenance: fancy a gentleman pressing a hot silver tube between his lips, jerking back his head in surprise, then resorting to his handkerchief to dry his eyes, and while he does so, attempting to smile-the tout ensemble produces the most whimsical expression of countenance imaginable. Two or three 'mates' are generally quite sufficient to supply a company of eight or ten persons; for they are passed from mouth to mouth till all are satisfied. When the fluid is exhausted, 'the maté' is replenished with sugar, and hot water from a silver kettle, usually placed in the room upon a small 'brazéro' of living coals." Smoking followed the maté, a single coal of fire having been brought, in a small silver globe, supported on a stem and plate like the maté cup, and Doña Juana urging her visiters to smoke as freely as if they were in their own house. "The cigars of Chile, called 'hojas,' or 'hojitas,' are about two and a half inches long; the wrapper is made of the inner husk of corn, and filled with coarsely powdered tobacco. As their use is apt to stain the fingers of the smoker, the fashionable young gentlemen carry a pair of delicate gold tweezers for holding them. The cigar is so small in size, that it requires not more than three or four minutes to smoke one. It serves well to fill up an interval in conversation. At tertúlias, the gentlemen sometimes retire to a balcony to smoke one or two cigars after a dance." Other guests arrived in the course of the evening, to whom, it is recorded, the same courtesies were extended. The party broke up, leaving upon our author the impression that the ladies frequently displayed considerable archness and humour in their remarks; and this he found to be the case in all his intercourse with Chilian society. "Just before taking leave, Doña Ignacita presented a flower to each of her guests, in a manner that was very graceful, her face being lighted up with smiles, yet she said not a word. This custom of presenting flowers to guests is universal, and is a beautiful token of welcome, which is renewed, when the guest has made a favorable impression, at the first three or four visits. If none be given him, he may infer that the repetition of his visits will not be acceptable.” A morning visit paid to the same family admits us to the Chilian belles, at an hour not usually devoted to company. 66 My second visit to Doña Juana, was between the hours of twelve and one o'clock in the day. I found two of the young ladies seated at their frames, embroidering shawls, in very beautiful patterns. They wore the shawl, and the hair was braided and hanging down the back. Doña Carmencita was sitting on the sofa, à la Turque, with a book in her lap, and stooping forward, in such a way that her hair, which was loose and wet, formed a complete veil for her face. On my entrance, she laid her hair behind her ears, and closed her book. Her sisters pushed aside their work, and adjusted their shawls and dresses. The shawl of a Chilian belle is a most rebellious and troublesome article of dress, for it will be constantly slipping off the shoulder, and so disclose a pretty neck and upper part of the bust, which the young ladies are ever anxious to conceal. Ladies never pursue their needle-work in the presence of strangers, or rather visiters, as it is considered impolite; from this circumstance, foreigners have charged them with being idle. Yet when it is recol lected that there are no mantua-makers in Chile, and that the ladies make their own dresses, they must be exonerated from that accusation. They are always neat in the decoration of their feet;-silk stockings are universally worn. "Doña Carmencita apologized for the state of her parure, saying that she had just been washing her hair in a solution or suds of 'quillai,' and it had not yet dried. The 'quillai' is the bark of the Quillaja Saponaria, Molina, a large tree, growing at the foot of hills, and in the mountain valleys of Chile. When the bark is broken into small pieces, and infused in cold water, it forms a suds similar to that of soap. With this, the ladies of Chile are in the habit of washing their heads, once in about ten days; they say it preserves the scalp from dandruff; it certainly gives the hair a very clean, glossy appearance. Besides, it is also useful for cleansing cloths, silks, and crapes, from grease, without injuring either their texture or color, and is sometimes used as a medicine. "The ladies were very conversible, and made many inquiries about the United States, the North American ladies, their amusements, dress, &c. They spoke of the Peruvian ladies as being distinguished for their intrigues and want of modesty, and as an illustration, Doña Juana related the following anecdote. "A Marquesa was walking towards her home one evening, concealed in the peculiar dress of the country, called 'saya y manto,' and was spoken to by an unknown young gentleman in a cloak, who importuned her to go to a caffé, and accept of some refreshment. She finally consented. After partaking of ices, cakes, and costly wines, to an amount so great that she thought her beau would not have money enough in his purse to pay, she called the host aside, (whom she knew well,) and told him not to permit the gentleman to leave the house till he had paid, nor to accept from him any other pledge than his pantaloons; for which purpose the landlord was to receive a douceur. The young gentleman's purse could not cover one half the amount of the charge, and mine host vowed that he must have the whole before he left. The young gentleman offered his watch in pledge, which was obstinately refused. The marquesa grew impatient at the delay, and urged her beau to make haste, or she would leave him. The landlord demanded the pantaloons. The young gentleman was indignant, and referred the case to his fair enchantress, who, after some coaxing, persuaded him to yield his pantaloons, roll his cloak about him, and accompany her home. He consented. She delighted the victim of her sport with her lively jeux d'esprit, as they walked along, and at last ushered him into a splendidly furnished room, occupied by a brilliant party of ladies and gentlemen. The youth would have escaped, but the fair one held him tight by the arm, and conducted him to a seat. He drew his cloak closer around him, and bent his feet under his chair. The marquesa introduced several of her female friends to him, after giving them a hint of her joke. The young ladies insisted that he must be very warm, but he thought it was cold;-they urged him to dance, but he vowed he could not. At last the ladies became rude, and, forcibly removing the cloak from the young cavalier's shoulders, exposed him to the whole company, standing in his drawers and boots; after being heartily laughed at, he was turned out of doors! "On a Sunday evening, I accompanied my friend, Don Samuel, 'to assist' at the tertúlia given weekly by Doña Juana. We found a number of ladies and gentlemen, old and young, pretty and plain, already assembled. The ladies were ranged, seated facing each other, in a long file, extending across the room, the appearance of which was much improved by the carpet being spread entirely over the 'petáte,' or mat. In the United States the carpets are always taken up for soirées or tertúlias (preferring the latter word), when dancing forms a part of the amusement; but here, on the contrary, they are always spread for that purpose, and kept rolled up to one side of the apartment at other times. Even at public balls, the dancing room is always carpeted; the reason for this practice is that the floors are of tiles. · Tea, coffee, &c. were served as with us, and afterwards one of the ladies took a seat at the piano. While she was preluding, a gentleman, styled 'el bastonéro,' (who is some intimate, self-elected for the evening,) cried out, Contradanza Señores'-'Contradance, Gentlemen'-upon which intimation, they led forth their partners, and stood up in order. The music commenced; the time, that of a slow waltz. That the grace and beauty of the contradanza' may be appreciated, it must be seen; the figures are so various, and some of them so intricate or labyrinth-like, that I will not attempt to describe them; they exhibit what might be termed the very poetry of the Terpsichorean art. The contradance was followed by quadrilles and waltzing." "A few dances and a few songs, some dulces,' (and ices occasionally,) bring the evening near its close. Then, if the party has been a merry one, the 'cuando,' or 'perdiz,' dances. peculiar to the country, one or both are performed. They are always accompanied by a song appropriate to the measure; are spirited and graceful. In the last, after a customary introductory verse, the lady repeats some stanza from memory, to which the gentleman is bound to reply, in an appropriate stanza from some of the poets, or an impromptu. This alternate dancing and recitation are continued till the lady has exhausted her memory, or till she has repeated six or eight stanzas. When the dancers possess humor or wit, as they frequently do, la perdiz' becomes the source of great merriment and enjoyment. "About eleven, the old ladies embrace; the young imitate them, and the tertúlia is broken up. Nothing in the way of evening party can exceed the sccial cordiality, the freedom from restraint, and the general enjoyment, afforded at the tertúlias' and reuniones' of Chile." In May 1832, our naval officer, having a few weeks' leisure, resolved to visit Santiago, the capital of Chile. The usual mode of travelling is in a gig, differing in nothing from that of the United States, save that it is more clumsily and rudely built. He has taken care, however, to communicate to us, that "the one selected for his journey had a neat green body, hung low, with a gilt wreath running round the pannels; the top was broad, and hung forward so much that it afforded ample protection from sun and rain. The gear of the team is rather peculiar, and his very minute description of it may amuse the reader. We have also given to us, with great minuteness, and we must say, with much effect, a description of the persons and costume of the attendants; but for this also we refer the reader to the volume itself, as well as for an account of their looks and conduct, even to the lighting of a cigar upon the journey. The summit of the Altos de Valparaiso is 1260 feet above the sea, and like all the high land around is composed chiefly of decomposing feltspar covered with a thin soil, scarcely sufficient to nourish the cactus plants that stand on its most prominent points. The road has been cut into the solid rock in some places with great labour. From it there is a magnificent view, seaward, of the town, the bay, and the ocean; landward, of a boundless, barren, irregular, and uncultivated country, in which a lonely palm tree is occasionally visible. A curious mode of checking the motion of carriages in their descent down the precipitous hills, was displayed in the passage of some carts and of the traveller's gig. In the first case a yoke of oxen was attached, by a hide |