154 NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



town by the Alameda, a straight street, with fine 

 houses on one side and a pubHc garden on the other, 

 nearly tw^o miles in length, along which, at intervals, 

 are statues of the men who have earned the gratitude 

 of their country, the most conspicuous being the 

 equestrian statue of General O'Higgins, the foremost 

 hero of the war of independence. 



Turning at right angles into one of the side streets, 

 v/e soon reached the Hotel Oddo, unpretending in 

 appearance, which was recommended to me as being 

 quieter and more comfortable than the Grand Hotel. 

 This, which was close at hand, occupies the upper 

 floor of a fine pile of building, that fills one side of 

 the Plaza Major, or great square of the city. There 

 seems to be an uneasy feeling that at the first severe 

 shock of earthquake this monument of misplaced 

 architecture may be levelled to the ground, to the 

 destruction of all its inmates. 



My first visit in Santiago was made to Don Carlos 

 Swinburne, an English merchant, long established in 

 the city, who has acquired the universal respect and 

 regard of all classes, and whose well-earned personal 

 influence has been on several occasions effective for 

 the mutual benefit of his native land and his adopted 

 country. To his kindness and courtesy I am under 

 many obligations. Later in the day I proceeded to 

 call upon Dr. Philippi, the veteran naturalist, to whom 

 we owe so much of our knowledge of the flora and 

 fauna of Chili. 



In Santiago, as in most other South American 

 towns, the first thing that a stranger should do is 

 to learn the routes of the tramcars, which con- 



