174 THE SEA. 



built along- a narrow strip of land, between the cliffs and the sea; and, as this space is 

 limited in extent, the buildings have straggled up the sides and bottoms of the numerous 

 ravines which intersect the hills. A suburb the Almendral, or Almond Grove much 

 larger than the town proper, spreads over a low sandy plain, about half a mile broad, bordering 

 the bay. In the summer months i.e., November to March the anchorage is safe and. 

 pleasant; but in the wintry months, notably June and July, gales are prevalent from the 

 north, in which direction it is open to the sea. 



Captain Basil Hall, R.N., gave some interesting accounts of life in Chili in his 

 published Journal,* and they are substantially true at the present day. He reached 

 Valparaiso at Christmas, which corresponds in climate to our midsummer. Crowds thronged 

 the streets to enjoy the cool air in the moonlight ; groups of merry dancers were seen at 

 every turn; singers were bawling out old Spanish romances to the tinkle of the guitar; 

 wild-looking horsemen pranced about in all directions, stopping to talk with their friends, 

 but never dismounting ; and harmless bull-fights, in which the bulls were only teased, 

 not killed, served to make the people laugh. The whole town was en, carnival. "In the 

 course of the first evening of these festivities," says Captain Hall, "while I was rambling 

 about the streets with one of the officers of the ship, our attention was attracted, by the 

 sound of music, to a crowded pulperia, or drinking-house. We accordingly entered, and 

 the people immediately made way and gave us seats at the upper end of the apartment. 

 We had not sat long before we were startled by the loud clatter of horses' feet, and in the 

 next instant, a mounted peasant dashed into the company, followed by another horseman, 

 who, as soon as he reached the centre of the room, adroitly wheeled his horse round, and 

 the two strangers remained side by side, with their horses' heads in opposite directions. 

 Neither the people of the house, nor the guests, nor the musicians, appeared in the least 

 surprised by this visit; the lady who was playing the harp merely stopped for a moment 

 to remove the end of the instrument a few inches further from the horses' feet, and the 

 music and conversation went on as before. The visitors called for a glass of spirits, and 

 having chatted with their friends around them for two minutes, stooped their heads to avoid 

 the cross-piece of the doorway, and putting spurs to their horses' sides, shot into the streets 

 as rapidly as they had entered; the whole being done without discomposing the company 

 in the smallest degree." The same writer speaks of the common people as generally very 

 temperate, while their frankness and hospitality charmed him. Brick-makers, day-labourers, 

 and washerwomen invited him and friends into their homes, and their first anxiety was that 

 the sailors might " feel themselves in their own house ; " then some offering of milk, bread, or 

 spirits. However wretched the cottage or poor the fare, the deficiency was never made more 

 apparent by apologies ; with untaught politeness, the best they had was placed before them, 

 graced with a hearty welcome. Their houses are of adobes, i.e., sun-dried bricks, thatched in 

 with broad palm-leaves, the ends of which, by overhanging the walls, afford shade from the 

 scorching sun and shelter from the rain. Their mud floors have a portion raised seven or 

 eight inches above the level of the rest, and covered with matting, which forms the couch 

 for the invariable siesta. In the cottages Hall saw young women grinding baked corn in 



* "Extracts from a Journal written on the Coasts of Chili, Peru, and Mexico, &c." 



