THE GOVERNOR'S FAMILY. i^-j 



The evening of this day was very agreeably spent 

 at the house of the governor, who had invited to his 

 table Commander Pietrabona and two officers of the 

 Argentine corvette, Cabo de Ornos, Signor Vinciguerra, 

 the captain of the port, and two or three of the prin- 

 cipal inhabitants. One of the favourable features by 

 which a stranger is impressed in Chili is the com- 

 parative moderation with which political conflicts are 

 conducted. In the other South American republics 

 a conspicuous party leader is marked by the opposite 

 party for relentless proscription, and not rarely for 

 assassination. In Chili political offences are condoned. 

 Don Francisco Sampayo, who is a courteous and 

 accomplished gentleman, had been mixed up in the 

 same abortive movements in which Don B. Vicuna 

 Mackenna was concerned, and had with that gentle- 

 man undergone a term of exile, but was subsequently 

 appointed by his political opponents to the govern- 

 ment of this settlement. 



The government house was unpretending, and could 

 not by any stretch of language be called luxurious. 

 Two good reception-rooms and the bedrooms of the 

 family, all on the ground floor, opened into a small court 

 exposed to rain and snow. The reception-rooms had 

 fireplaces, but these were used only in the evenings, 

 and it was not surprising that the governor's wife, 

 brought up in the tepid climate of Peru, seemed unable 

 to resist the inclemency of this region. Their children, 

 however, were vigorous and thriving, reminding one 

 more of English boys and girls than any I had seen 

 in South America. The most interesting figure in the 

 family group was that of the mother of Madame 



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