PERU AMD CHILI CONXllASTED. 89 



change in the government of one of the two coun- 

 tries. As long as both were similarly adminis- 

 tered, Peru had an infinite advantage over Chili 

 in wealth and importance ; but as soon as Chili 

 became independent, she at once assumed the su- 

 periority. 



We left Valparaiso harbour filled with ship- 

 ping ; its custom-house wharfs piled high with 

 goods, too numerous and bulky for the old ware- 

 houses ; the road between the port and the capi- 

 tal was always crowded with convoys of mules, 

 loaded with every kind of foreign manufacture ; 

 while numerous ships were busy taking in car- 

 goes of the wines, corn, and other articles, the 

 growth of the country ; and large sums of trea- 

 sure were daily embarked for Europe, in return 

 for goods already distributed over the interior. 

 A spirit of inquiry and intelligence animated the 

 whole society ; schools were multiplied in every 

 town ; libraries established ; and every encou- 

 ragement given to literature and the arts : and as 

 travelling was free, passports were unnecessary. 

 In the manners, and even in the gait of every 

 man, might be traced the air of conscious freedom 



