262 JOURNAL, 
The furnace is built a little under-ground, yet so as to admit a free 
current of air; the flooring is about eight feet square, and the whole 
18 feet high. These are of picturesque forms, and, scattered over 
the plain, gave me the idea of antique tombs: on one hand the river 
was flowing majestically past the town, and beyond it Chocolan, with 
light evening clouds hanging round its sides, and woods burning in 
different places near the summit ; to the east the Andes, at about the 
same distance that Mont Blanc is from Geneva, are seen at the end 
of a long valley, whose boundary mountains sink into nothing before 
the “ Giant of the Western Star.” 
Shortly after we returned from our walk, some young women 
neatly dressed, with their long hair braided hanging down their 
backs, and natural flowers placed in it, came and seated themselves 
under the window and played on their guitars, singing at the same 
time some verses welcoming us to Melipilla. We then invited them 
to enter, and they sat with us till a late hour, singing ballads and 
tristes, and dancing various dances ; the newest and most fashionable 
being the Patria, with suitable words not ill adapted to the times. 
15th September. — This morning Doiia Rosario and her brother 
went to early Mass, while Mr. de Roos and I prepared all things for 
beginning our journey back to Santiago. So we left Melipilla quite 
