THE ARABIAN RACE. 



229 



ever, an evident disinclination to walking; and it must be a rare cir- 

 cumstance in this region, to meet a man on foot. The country has 

 such a desert aspect, that it is matter of astonishment, how the great 

 numbers of horses and bullocks are enabled to procure subsistence. 



We here began to perceive an influence in the surface of a country, 

 in modifying the habits of its population. In an open accessible re- 

 gion, men in the course of their ordinary pursuits, become accustomed 

 to rove widely ; tenfold more, than in agricultural districts ; or even 

 a hundred fold more, than where hemmed in by close woods. 



Northern Chili, although less barren in aspect than the country on 

 the Rio Negro, supports comparatively fewer cattle ; but being broken 

 and mountainous, irrigation for agricultural purposes, is sometimes 

 available. The climate seems extremely healthy, as is shown, among 

 other circumstances, by the robust forms of the women of the lower 

 orders. The hospitality and obliging disposition of the country 

 people, formed a strong contrast to the habits of the Brazilians ; and 

 extended even to annoyance on oar botanical excursions, by the offer 

 of horses. 



At a ball given in honour of a victory, I had occasion to admire the 

 good taste shown in the arrangements, and the dancing ; an accom- 

 plishment in which the Spanish ladies are acknowledged to excel; 

 and I was also struck with the similarity between such fetes in this 

 remote quarter of the globe, and those I had attended at home. 



It will be difficult to find another continental nation that is so com- 

 pletely isolated by natural boundaries ; the Andes forming a barrier 

 to the extension of population on the East, and the Atacaman desert, 

 on the North. Chili is generally conceded to be in advance of the 

 other Spanish American countries; among which, it alone has en- 

 joyed internal tranquillity. It should also be observed, that only in 

 one direction can Chili conveniently carry on foreign war. 



The English language, was found to be making progress in Chili. 

 I often heard it spoken ; and I observed translations on many of the 

 sign-boards, both at Valparaiso and in the Interior ; showing the nu- 

 merical importance of customers from England and the United States. 

 Of other foreign residents, those from Germany and France, appeared 

 to be the most numerous. 



A change had taken place in the relalions between the former domi- 

 nions of Spain, and a severe battle had been fought immediately prior 



58 



