SANTIAGO. ]s;j 



sinnors who fe. I -j" Hally called mi, flock ili.-r- -luring Lent ti pmiinh the flesh and receive 

 pious exhortations. Such I'uniit un- as they have t In- c.,n< i.-nco to gratify theiiiKclves with \* 



CM||Vr\rd from tllrir i.WIl ll"U>eS. \\lllTr (||. Illiquid or \S 1 fe. ] .;U<Tl t H OP children, tO 



manage as h.-.st can lc done \\ hiUt they pass nine days in ejercicioa (penance8). Many come 

 (.lit lean and wan, llieir liudies lacerated with self intl libation no doubt richly m< 



I'm- deserting their families on such mi errand, it' for no other reason. There is, moreover, a 

 largo unfinished church, which "was commenced hy the urder of San Juan de Dios, adjoining 

 the hospital of that name ; hut the government, having displaced the monks from the charge 

 of the hospital, their resources failed, their numbers gradually diminished, and the order no 

 longer exists in ( 'hile. 



The .Mint, not far from the centre of the city, is hy far the most extensive and imposing in 

 appearance of any of its edifices. The style is Doric. Its centre is of three stories, ornamented 

 Avith eij^lit columns projecting two thirds of their diameter from the face of the walls. The 

 remainder of the huilding is of two stories only, with pilasters between each window, which 

 support a Avell-constructed cornice surmounted by a balustrade. To each of the windows, 

 which are placed twenty feet apart, there is a light iron balcony. The external ranges of 

 rooms are crossed by others at right angles, enclosing courts from forty to fifty feet square, some 

 of which have hasins and fountains of water at their centres. The mint, properly so called, is 

 a separate edifice of the same order of architecture, crossing the entire space within the second 

 range of courts. Until recently the operations of coining were exceedingly slow, its machinery 

 being of the most primitive description, and worked by mules. Within a year or two, how- 

 ever, a steam-engine and coining apparatus have been imported from France, which were in 

 progress of putting together when we left Santiago. 



A part of the eastern half is occupied by the President, whose large and commodious rooms 

 have been handsomely furnished in modern style at the expense of the government. In other 

 portions, the several ministers of state and their clerks are accommodated with offices, and a 

 guard stationed constantly at the door have temporary quarters on either side of the main 

 entrance ; indeed every portion of its more than 400 feet square seems to have occupants. La 

 Moneda (the Mint) was erected by the Spanish government towards the close of the last century, 

 at a cost of nearly a million of dollars, little thinking how soon the flag of an independent 

 nation would float above its portals. A fountain in the middle of the narrow plazuela in front, 

 and a low range of barracks facing it, are scarcely in keeping with its magnitude and elegance. 



There are no buildings so pleasant to the sight as the range on the north side of the plaza, 

 known as El Palacio (the Palace), from a part having been occupied by the several chiefs of the 

 nation as a residence. At the same time, more than two thirds of it were devoted to other 

 purposes. It is composed of three edifices of different dimensions ; yet, as the style of archi- 

 tecture is preserved and they are united, the facade is a harmonious whole. Of the three, that 

 in the centre has been the most elaborately finished ; and did it stand alone, it would be re- 

 garded with admiration in any part of the world. Reference to the plate, however, will show 

 that the Spaniards of the past century profited by the example of their Moorish neighbors, 

 and, in their national edifices of America, have left monuments of their liberal and cultivated 

 judgment. The eastern portion is a prison, the central is devoted to municipal offices, and the 

 western, formerly occupied by the governors and presidents, is now used by the fire brigade for 

 their engines and quarters. 



On the plazuela of La Campania there are two other buildings erected by the Spanish 

 government, one intended as a custom-house, the other for the commercial tribunal (considado), 

 a court for the decision of suits and disputes in matters of trade. Each of these occupies nearly 

 half the front of a square, and their architecture is similar to that of the eastern portion of 

 El Palacio without its central tower. Neither the university building, the three theatres, nor 

 the cockpit for which there is a large establishment near Santa Lucia merit particular atten- 

 tion ; the other public buildings will be referred to in connexion with their uses. Two on the 



