VALPARAISO. 157 



heart. His companions say, that, with the word Spain on his lips, he 

 died in the cart and then fell. These are things to make the heart 

 ache ; and the more painfully, as that the evil comes not from the 

 ordinary course of nature, wherein men's sufferings and trials come 

 proportioned to their strength, or from that high hand which is mer- 

 ciful as powerful ; but from man — man who preys upon his fellows ; 

 and who to cruelty adds hypocrisy, and commits his crimes in the 

 sacred name of virtue. * The story of these prisoners combines all 

 that is base and cruel, and cowardly ; but when was a cruel man 

 brave ! f 



It is the festival of Nuestra Sefiora del Pilar La Avogada de los 

 Marineros. How could I do otherwise than observe it ? I went to 

 my old friend at the flower-garden, who is commonly called La Cha- 

 velita ; and, as I knew she intended being at the ceremony which 

 takes place at the church of the Merced, I obtained permission to 

 accompany her ; and the afternoon was productive of considerable 

 amusement and information, which I could not have obtained without 

 such a companion. In the first place, I do not know if I should other- 

 wise ever have had courage to go into a ventana or wine-house, which 

 I did to-day. We arrived at the church-door too early ; and, after 

 walking up and down the space proposed for the procession, we went 

 to the said ventana, which is exactly opposite to the church. I ima- 

 gined, at first, that it was a private house belonging to a friend of 

 La Chavelita ; and the table at the door set out with fruit and cakes 

 for sale, seemed to me to be only a compliment to the festival. On 

 entering a very large room, with benches round three sides and a 

 brassero in the middle, I saw on the fourth side of the apartment, a 

 table covered with jugs and bottles, containing various kinds of liquor, 

 and glasses of different sizes by them. On one of the benches sat 

 two religious of the order of the Merced, with their long, full, white 

 robes with black crosses and enormous hats, smoking and talking 



* We all remember the exclamation of Madame Roland, in passing the statue of 

 Liberty : " Oh Liberte ! que de crimes on commet en ton nom." 

 f See p. 88. of the Introduction. 



