182 RAMBLES AFTER SPORT. 



nothing can be done. Quien sahe ! All tlie satis- 

 faction you get is '^ Quien sahe ? ^' (^''I donH know.") 

 Oh ! that eternal quien sahe ; they live in a state of 

 quien - sab eism. It is their ruin ; they are an example of 

 a nation coming to grief through two words. They 

 spend half their time in smoking cigarettes, and the 

 other in quien-sabeing. The one muddles their brain, 

 and the other affords them an outlet from all their 

 difficulties. 



The advocates and defenders of the law of primogeni- 

 ture would find here a most extraordinary example on 

 their side. By the law of Chile half the husband^s 

 money goes to the wife and half to the children. The 

 consequence is that although a man may be possessed of 

 a very respectable estate during his lifetime, yet at his 

 death all his broad acres may be split up into little petty 

 fields ; or else, as is usually the case, the eldest of the family 

 manages the estate in the name and for the benefit of the 

 rest of the family ; consequently all the rest do nothing 

 but loaf about on horseback, smoke cigarettes, and idle 

 away their time, secure at least of their bare livelihood. 

 The ignorance of the lower classes is something appalling. 

 Purposely kept from education and enlightened truth, 

 in them the worthless padres have their surest strong- 

 hold; .were I to tell half of what I have actually seen my- 

 self, I should not be believed. The filth they live in is 

 absolutely incredible ; owing to the extreme purity of 

 the air in Chile, dead animals and other offensive matter, 

 that would breed corruption in the air in other countries, 

 are not thought worthy of a mementos consideration or 

 heed. A whole Chile peon's (or labourer's) family live in a 

 sort of rush hut, or half-adobe, half-mud hovel, about 10ft. 

 by 8ft. A dog or two may also generally be found among 



