3i 



CHILI. 



mental porch, on either side of which are the 

 stables and coach-house. The drawing and din- 

 ing-room occupy that side of the Patio fronting 

 the entrance, and the bed-rooms and counting- 

 house the other two sides. In the hot season, an 

 awning is drawn over the patio, which contributes 

 greatly to the coolness of the rooms. Behind 

 every house lies a garden, beyond which runs a 

 clear rapid stream. 



^th of Jan. — I was introduced to a family this 

 morning, long known to strangers for their hospi- 

 tality and useful friendship. They were seated 

 in the corner of a room, kept almost dark, with a 

 view to the exclusion of the heat. It is the fa- 

 shion of the country for the ladies to crowd into 

 corners, or to plant themselves in determined 

 lines along the walls, not a little formidable to 

 strangers. Upon the present occasion, one of the 

 ladies perceiving the conversation to be hurt by 

 this arrangement, rose and went to the piano 

 forte ; the rest remained at their needle, as formal 

 as ever, but presently some other visitors coming 

 in, the parties became intermixed, and the stiff- 

 ness, which had chilled us at first, yielded to a 



