288 Voyage of the Novara. 



soon as they have earned enough for the daily necessaries of 

 life, which they can supply for a trifle. Nay, we are told 

 that it is by no means unusual for day-labourers, as soon 

 as they have earned their day's wage for their principal want, 

 to reply in an indifferent tone to the offer of further work, 

 '' Tengo mis dos reals" (I have my two reals) ! * 



Not all the Quebradas, however, round Valparaiso are in- 

 fested with wretched huts ; some are occupied by tasteful and 

 comfortable residences, especially the Cerro Algre, where at 

 present a considerable number of Germans reside, and which 

 is conspicuous for the number of elegant little villas, as also 

 by the cordiality and hospitality there lavished upon strangers. 

 Cerro Algre is one of the most charming, delightful, and 

 salubrious spots in the neighbourhood of Valparaiso, with a 

 magnificent panorama, although not so fashionable a resort 

 as the Almendral, which, since the recent appalling confla- 

 gration of 1858, reducing within a few hours the finest portion 

 of the city to ashes, has been rebuilt with numbers of hand- 

 some edifices, and has at the same time been widened and 

 extended. 



The frequency of fires, and the totally inadequate means 

 and appliances for their extinction at the disposal of the au- 

 thorities, led to a number of foreigners settled in Valparaiso 

 organizing a Fire-brigade [Pomperos), in which the elite of 

 the community shortly after were enrolled. The founders 

 and first company were the English, after whom came the 



* About Is. \d. ; a dollar is about 4?. Ad, and a dollar has 8 reals. 



