SANTIAGO. 201 



which are wide and well paved, having a footpath flagged with slabs 

 of granite and porphyry ; and through most of them a small stream 

 is constantly running, which, with a little more attention from the 

 police, might make it the cleanest city in the world : it is not very 

 dirty ; and when I recollect Rio Janeiro and Bahia, I am ready to 

 call it absolutely clean. 



The house of Cotapos is handsomely, not elegantly furnished. 

 Good mirrors, handsome carpets, a piano by Broadwood, and a rea- 

 sonable collection of chairs, tables, and beds, not just of the forms of 

 modern Paris or London, but such, I dare say, as were fashionable 

 there little more than a century ago, look exceedingly well on this 

 side of the Horn. It is only the dining-room that I feel disposed to 

 quarrel with : it is the darkest, dullest, and meanest apartment in the 

 house. The table is stuck in one corner,- so that one end and one 

 side only allow room for a row of high chairs between them and the 

 wall; therefore any thing like the regular attendance of servants is pre- 

 cluded. One would almost think that it was arranged for the purpose 

 of eating in secret ; and one is led to think, especially when the 

 great gates close at night before the principal meal is presented, 

 of the Moors and the Israelites of the Spanish peninsula, jealously 

 hiding themselves from the eyes of their Gothic tyrants. 



My breakfast was served in my own room according to my own 

 fashion, with tea, eggs, and bread and butter. The family eat nothing 

 at this time of day ; but some take a cup of chocolate, others a little 

 broth, and most a matee. The ladies all visited me on their way to 

 mass ; and on this occasion they had left off their usual French style 

 of dress, and were in black, with the Mantilla and all that makes a 

 pretty Spaniard or Chilena, ten times prettier. 



About noon, M. de la Salle, one of the Supreme Director's Aides 

 de Camp called, with a polite compliment from His Excellency, wel- 

 coming me to Santiago. By this gentleman I sent my letters of 

 introduction to Dona Rosa O'Higgins ; and it was agreed that I should 

 visit her to-morrow evening, as she goes to the theatre to-night. 



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