VALPARAISO. 227 



iV ///////<//, near the Matriz Hmnli. and the other the Plaza Victoria, not far from the 

 centre ..I' tin- Alim-inlral. The latter is ornamental with a handsome hasin of white marble 

 resting "ii ;i tastefully cut \ <!. -stal, and intended for a fountain; but, as may be inferred from 

 the smivitv ..f the element spoken of, its destination has not yet been fulfilled. For the same 

 reason, and because of son n- little vandalism perhaps, a row of orange trees planted in tubs 

 around this square have all perished, and their branchless trunks are forlorn-looking remnant* 

 of arboriculture. The first-named plaza is much smaller. The two ravines that debouch on 

 ii keep it iu wretched condition all winter, and the multitude that collect here to sell shoes 

 and common furniture render it disagreeable at all times. Two of its sides are occupied 

 by handsome buildings three and four stories high ; the others by more ordinary edifices, from 

 among which issue the narrow and winding streets leading to localities which sailors have called 

 the Fore-top, Main-top, and Mizen-top. 



The custom-house is of stuccoed brick and in excellent taste. As a perpendicular cliff forms 

 parts of two of its sides, the other two faces only are visible. That towards the sea is about 

 250 feet long ; the other, to the eastward, not quite so large. It is two stories high, sur- 

 mounted by a parapet and tower, and ornamented with pilasters of the Tuscan order. 



One side of the Plaza Victoria is occupied by a handsome theatre capable of containing from 

 1,800 to 2,000 persons ; and an equally well-built though unfinished church faces it, the remaining 

 sides having houses of no especial note. Besides the church just mentioned, the Augustins, 

 Dominicans, Franciscans, and Mercedarios, have each convents and chapels ; and the Jesuits, 

 under the name of " Religiosos de Propaganda" and "Padres de la Congregacion de los 

 Sagrados Corazones de Jesus y Maria," have also their chapels and houses for spiritual 

 penance. By sufferance, the Protestants have been allowed to put up an unpretending building 

 back of the residences on Cerro Alegre, where service is performed every Sabbath morning ac- 

 cording to the rubric of the Church of England. Indeed, it may be considered an exclusively 

 English church ; for her Majesty Queen Victoria is the only sovereign prayed for, although 

 American and German families are among its attendants and supporters. It is proper to add, 

 however, that England and the English pay the lion's share; government by act of Parliament 

 appropriating a sum for the support of churches abroad equal to that voluntarily subscribed by 

 its citizens. 



A free Protestant chapel has also been permitted. To this end a room near the custom- 

 house is used, and it is more especially intended for those " who go down to the sea in ships." 

 Its expenses are borne by voluntary subscriptions from residents and one of the American 

 missionary societies. The Rev. David Trumbull, in charge of it, devotes a portion of his time 

 to editing " The Neighbor,"* a paper printed in English, whose object is " not gain, but the 

 diffusion of intelligence, correct opinions, and sound morality." Some years ago, there was 

 an amount of bigotry and intolerant oppression here proportionate to that which still remains 

 at Santiago. Even quiet sepulture was denied the unfortunate heretics who died thus far away 

 from homes and kindred ; it being regarded commendable to disinter bodies, and leave them on 

 the surface of the ground, after committing upon them indecencies of every kind. Of course 

 they were not in the ground deemed consecrated by Catholics, nor has it been many years since a 

 cemetery has been publicly permitted. But, in spite of the wry faces of the priests, the influx of 

 Protestant population has forced measurable toleration at last ; and, in consequence, the larger 

 number of the long-robed and broad-brimmed gentry have retreated to the capital, where 

 hypocrisy and indolence meet neither opposition nor criticism. It was not agreeable to 

 witness other and simpler forms of worship practised amid their more sensual and unintelligible 

 ceremonies, and still less so to forego the pomp of conveying the host, attended by a military 

 guard, a bare-headed crowd kneeling humbly in the streets as they passed. Yet, their spiritual 

 flocks do not desert to the Protestant fold, a conversion having rarely, if ever, been made. 



* Since discontinued. 



