3 



Dress. President's visit. 



CHILI. 



Grand ball described. 



addition to this, they sang a national love-song, in 

 Spanish, at the top of their voices, one singing 

 a kind of alto ; the whole producing a very strange 

 combination of sounds. 



The dance is performed by a young man and 

 woman ; the former is gaudily decked in a light 

 scarlet jacket, embroidered with gold lace, white 

 pantaloons, red sash, and pumps, with a tiny red 

 cap ; whilst that of his partner consists of a gaudy 

 painted muslin dress, quite short and stiffly starched, 

 not a little aided by an ample pair of hips ; thrown 

 over all is a rich-coloured French shawl ; these, 

 with well-fitted silk stockings, complete her attire. 

 These last are in truth characteristic of the Chilian 

 women of all classes, and they take no pains to 

 conceal them. One not unfrequently sees the 

 extravagance of silk stockings in the washerwomen 

 at their tubs, and even with their hands in the 

 suds. The dress in general fits neatly, and nature 

 is not distorted by tight lacing, or the wearing 

 of corsets. Nothing is worn on the head, and the 

 hair, parted and equally divided from the forehead 

 back to the neck, hangs down in two long plaits on 

 each shoulder to the waist. 



The style of dancing is somewhat like a fan- 

 dango. The couple begin by facing each other 

 and flirting handkerchiefs over each other's heads, 

 then approaching, slowly retreating again, then 

 quickly shooting off to one side, passing under 

 arms without touching, with great agility, rattling 

 and beating time with castanets. Their move- 

 ments are quite graceful, those of their feet pretty, 

 and withal quite amorous ; the gestures may be 

 readily understood, not only by the native audi- 

 ence, but by foreigners. I cannot say much for 

 its moral tendency. 



The higher classes of females have the name of 

 being virtuous and estimable in their domestic 

 circle, but we cannot say that they are beautiful. 

 They dress their hair with great care and taste. 

 Their feet are small, and they have a graceful 

 carriage. 



The French fashion of dress prevails, and they 

 are just beginning to wear bonnets. The advance- 

 ment of civilization is rapid ; the imitation of 

 foreign habits and customs will soon predominate 

 over those of Chili ; and what is of more conse- 

 quence, some attention is being paid to their edu- 

 cation. 



A rather singular occurrence took place at a 

 review of the militia on the Plaiancia, one Sun- 

 day, by the president, who was attended by his 

 daughter, and a number of the most respectable 

 ladies of the place. They marched down the line, 

 and afterwards danced with the officers on the 

 field, in the presence of the soldiers. All the South 

 Americans are inveterate dancers, the Chilians 

 taking the lead. The taste for music is general, 

 but although they have a number of national airs, 

 few have been printed. All the printed music in 

 common use is foreign, as are the instruments. 

 Pianos are to be seen in almost every house. 



The natives have a fondness for flowers, al- 

 though they are but little cultivated. Few gardens 

 are yet to be seen of any consequence. They re- 

 quire constant irrigation the most of the year, 

 which may account for this want. There are two 

 in the Almendral, surrounded by high walls, and 

 kept in tolerable order ; and great attention is paid 

 in these to foreign plants. 



We happened to be at Valparaiso during the 

 president's visit, which, connected with the late 

 victory and successes in Peru, caused much re- 

 joicing ; every possible attention was shown to the 

 chief magistrate, by both natives and foreigners. 

 Among others, he was taken on an aquatic excur- 

 sion, on board of a small brigantine, decked out with 

 the flags of all nations, and was accompanied by 

 the civil authorities of Valparaiso, the English 

 admiral, and others. On passing the men-of-war, 

 he received the customary salutes from all but our- 

 selves. We could not fire the guns on account of 

 our chronometers. On his passing, however, the 

 rigging was manned, and we gave him several 

 hearty cheers, which, it was said, much delighted 

 the president and his suite, from the novelty of the 

 compliment. 



Three balls were given during the stay of the 

 squadron here, in consequence of the visit of the 

 president (General Prieto); one in honour of the 

 recent victory of Yungai over the Peruvians ; the 

 others by the citizens and foreigners to his ex- 

 cellency. As the former was an extraordinary 

 occasion, a description of it will give some insight 

 into the manner in which they conduct these 

 affairs in Chili. All three were managed in a 

 manner that would have been highly creditable in 

 any part of the world. 



The place selected for the great ball was be- 

 tween the walls of two large unfinished storehouses, 

 a space of one hundred and fifty feet long by ninety 

 wide, over which temporary arches were built, the 

 whole covered with an awning lined with blue, and 

 studded with stars, from which were suspended 

 some twenty very handsome chandeliers. The 

 whole was carpeted, and the various pillars which 

 supported the roof were decorated with emblems of 

 the victory and nation. At the end opposite to 

 the entrance was a transparency of General Bulnes, 

 the hero of Yungai, surrounded with scrolls of his 

 deeds. Along the corridors which the piazzas 

 formed, ranges of sofas and seats were placed; on 

 the walls were hung rich mirrors and paintings : 

 the former rested on massive pier-tables, in which 

 hundreds of lights were seen reflected, whilst the 

 graceful festoons of the national flags and pennants 

 formed into draperies, intermixed with wreaths of 

 flowers and evergreens in endless variety, en- 

 circling emblematic designs of the nation's glory, 

 produced an effect not easily surpassed. The re- 

 ception-room of the president was hung with scar- 

 let tapestry, decorated with paintings, mirrors, 

 and pier-tables, and brilliantly lighted with chan- 

 deliers, &c. 



There were likewise card-rooms, smoking-rooms, 

 supper-rooms, and a dressing-room for the ladies, 

 in which were a number of hair-dressers and 

 mantua-makers constantly in attendance. The 

 whole was well got up, unique, and truly splendid ; 

 all Valparaiso had sent furniture of every kind, 

 and even the churches had contributed to assist in 

 the great gala fete in commemoration of the na- 

 tional victory. 



The company consisted of about five hundred, 

 one-third of whom were females. Many costly 

 uniforms, of various patterns, and not a little 

 fanciful, added to the brilliancy of the scene. 



About ten o'clock, the ball was opened by the 

 president, Don Joaquim Prieto, in person, a novel 

 sight to us. He was dressed in a richly em- 



