VALPARAISO. 119 
and a very pretty young woman the grandchildren of the old lady. 
They all got up from the bench eager to receive me, and show me 
kindness. One of the boys ran to fetch his mother, the other went 
to gather a bunch of roses for me, and the daughter Joanita, taking 
me into the house gave me some beautiful carnations. J'rom the 
garden we entered immediately into the common sittingroom, 
where, according to custom, one low latticed window afforded but a 
scanty light. By the window, along bench covered with a sort of 
coarse Turkey carpet made here, runs nearly the length of the room, 
and before this a wooden platform, called the estrada, raised about 
six inches from the ground, and about five feet broad, is covered 
with the same sort of carpet, the rest of the floor being bare brick. 
A row of high-backed chairs occupies the opposite side of the room. 
On a table in a corner, under a glass case, I saw a little religious 
baby work,—a waxen Jesus an inch long, sprawls on a waxen 
Virgin’s knee, surrounded by Joseph, the oxen and asses, all of the 
same goodly material, decorated with moss and sea shells. Near 
this 1 observed a pot of beautiful flowers, and two pretty-shaped 
silver utensils, which I at first took for implements of worship, and 
then for inkstands, but I discovered that one was a little censer for 
burning pastile, with which the young women perfume their hand- 
kerchiefs and mantos, and the other the vase for holding the infusion 
of the herb of Paraguay, commonly called matte, so universally 
drank or rather sucked here. The herb appears like dried senna ; 
a small quantity of it is put into the little vase with a proportion 
of sugar, and sometimes a bit of lemon peel, the water is poured 
boiling on it, and it is instantly sucked up through a tube about six 
inches long. This is the great luxury of the Chilenos, both male 
and female. The first thing in the morning is a matte, and the 
first thing after the afternoon siesta is a matte. Ihave not yet tasted 
of it, and do not much relish the idea of using the same tube with 
a dozen other people. 
I was much struck with the appearance of my venerable neighbour ; 
although bent with age she has no other sign of infirmity; her walk 
