84 POLICE OP THE CITY. [1839. 



Want of cleanliness is the chief fault of all. The tables 

 are amply provided from a market, held in the pldza, always 

 well supplied with good meat, poultry, fish, bread, fruit, and 

 vegetables. 



No one ever visits this town, of late years, without re- 

 marking the efficiency of the police established by Diego 

 Portales, formerly Minister of War and the' Interior. It 

 consists of two bodies, the vigilantes, or police proper, and 

 the serenos, or watchmen. The former are armed and uni- 

 formed, and patrol the streets on horseback ; the latter are 

 provided with swords alone, and go on foot. Each sereno 

 has his particular beat or district, and carries a small whistle, 

 which makes a loud and shrill noise. It is customary to call 

 the hours at night, and announce the state of the weather. 

 At ten o'clock the sereno commences with — Viva Chile ! 

 viva Chile ! — las diez han dado claw y sereno ! (past ten 

 o'clock and a clear and fine night !) In the morning they 

 say, Viva Chile ! viva Chile ! — Ave Maria purissima — las 

 cuatro de la manana, y nublddo ! (past four o'clock in the 

 morning, and cloudy !) or, — la seis de la mandna, // lluvioso! 

 (past six o'clock in the morning, and rainy !) These calls 

 are uttered in a sort of tune, pitched to a high key, which is 

 rather pleasing than otherwise. If an earthquake takes place, 

 it is announced in the same manner by the sereno, as he goes 

 his round. Midnight brawls and murders were formerly quite 

 common, but they are now of very rare occurrence, and are 

 mainly confined to the southern quarter, the most abandoned 

 part of the town. 



Valparaiso contains not far from thirty thousand inhabi- 

 tants, — a large proportion of whom are foreigners, from Ger- 

 many, England, France, and the United States, — and it is 

 annually increasing in extent and population. The old Span- 

 ish families are few in number, but they are remarkable for 

 the combined grace and dignity of their demeanor, the neat- 

 ness of their personal appearance, and the cleanliness and 

 tidiness of their dwellings. The main dependence of the 

 city is its commerce, and the avocations and tastes of the 



