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commerce, this change is of the last importance; and it is pleasing to reflect, that, while our merchants are consulting their own interests, and advancing the prosperity of their country, they are, at the same time, by stimulating at once and gratifying the wants of a great people, adding incalculably to the amount of human happiness. By thus creating higher tastes, and new wants, they produce fresh motives to exertion, and give more animating hopes to whole nations, which, without such powerful and immediate excitements, might, for aught we know, have long remained in their ancient state of listlessness and ignorance. Every man in the country, rich or poor, not only practically feels the truth of this, but knows distinctly whence the advantage is derived; and it is idle, therefore, to suppose that blessings which come home so directly to all men's feelings, and which so manifestly influence their fortunes and happiness, can be easily taken from them.

"There are, no doubt, many defects in the administration of affairs in Chili, occasional bad faith, and occasional oppression, and sometimes very inconvenient disturbances, and partial polilitical changes; but these are of no moment in so vast a question. The barrier which has so long dammed up the tide of human rights, and free action, has been at length removed, and the stream is assuredly not to be stopped by any thing from without; and what is internal, that might produce mischief, is rapidly improving as men advance in intelligence, and acquire a deeper interest in good order. An invasion, indeed, might cause much mise ry and disorder, and tend for a time, to keep back the moral and political improvement of the country; but the reaction would be inevitable, and, ere long, the outraged country would spring forwards to life and liberty, with tenfold vigour.

"By means of foreign intercourse, and by the experience and knowledge of themselves, acquired by acting, for the first time, as freemen, they will come to know their own strength; by learning also to respect themselves,

which they could hardly have done before, they will be ready to respect a government formed of themselves; and, instead of despising and hating their rulers, and seeking to counteract their measures, will join heartily in supporting them when right, or in exerting a salutary influence over them when wrong. At all events, even now, all parties would unite upon the least show of an attack; and so the result will prove, should any thing so wild and unjust be attempted."*

This general view is extremely cheering; but following the author's example, we shall not dilate so much on historical events, as notice what is most striking in the native manners, especially as they were acted upon by the extraordinary occurrences of late years, when our naval force in that quarter had indeed a very difficult game to play,-so difficult, that we are surprised by Captain Hall's having found opportunity for what he has accomplished in this Journal.

The first volume details his arrival in the Conway frigate at Valparaiso ; various excursions in Chili, particularly to Santiago; an account of the revolution, of San Martin, of O'Higgins, and of Lord Cochrane's exploits; of the expedition against Peru; of his own affairs at Callao and Lima; of the south coast of Chili; of the Árancanians and the pirate chief Benavides; and a multitude of other things both of temporary and permanent interest. But our extracts (and various they will

*The following passage may form a curious note to this, and show what odd circumstances have already grown out of the Revolution:

dinner with two or three friends. He was "At Huacho, we found the governor at of the aboriginal race of the country, spoke a little Spanish, and was probably a discreet and clever fellow, otherwise he would not have been left in a command by San table in the middle of a shop, and the Martin. The dinner was placed on a long whole party forked their meat out of the dish. It was interesting, on looking round political changes. A roll of English broadthe shop, to observe the effect of the recent cloth was resting on a French wine case, marked Medoc; on the table stood a bottle of champagne; the knives and forks were divided the apartment was made of a piece marked "Sheffield," and the screen which of Glasgow printed cotton."

be) must speak for us. The customs are excellently illustrated by the following miscellaneous selections:

"As soon as the dispatches were sent off, I paid a visit to a Chilian family of my acquaintance, and immediately on my entering the drawingroom, the lady of the house, and one of her daughters, each presented me with a rose, apologizing, at the same time, for having omitted to do so before. This custom of presenting strangers with a flower prevails in all Spanish countries, and is one of an extensive class of minute attentions, which the Spaniards and their attendants understand better than any other nation. The favour itself is nothing; indeed, it seems essential to the civility that it should be a mere trifle; the merit lies in the unaffected and simple expression of good will and kindness which, while it really obliges, is of a nature to impose no obligation.

"The Chilians are fond of making pic-nic parties, to dine in the country, at any spot which may suit them during an excursion, and to-day I happened to fall in with some friends bent on such an expedition, all crowded into a careta or covered wagon, on its way to the hills: as they wanted one more cavallero, I was well pleased to be permitted to join them. We reached the destined spot in safety, though sufficiently jolted, and well nigh deafened by the creaking sound of the wheels, which, like those in Spain, are kept purposely without grease, in order, it is said, by this clumsy device, to prevent smuggling since no cart or wagon can pass within half a league of a custom-house officer without calling his attention to the spot. - -

“I went in the evening to visit a family in Almendral, or great suburb of Valparaiso. The ladies were ranged, as usual, along the wall, in a compact line, with their shawls drawn over the head and across the chin, so as nearly to conceal the face. One young lady played the harp, another the guitar, while some occasionally joined with their shrill voices in singing the patriotic songs of the day. Others were chatting, or working, and the evening passing away pleasantly enough, when,

I

without any apparent cause, the whole party jumped up, cast away their music and work, and flew in the most frantic style out of the house, screaming aloud, Misericordia! misericordia ! beating their breasts at the same time, and looking terrified beyond description. I was astonished at all this, but followed the company into the street, calling out Misericordia as loud as any of them. It was a bright moonlight evening, and the street, from end to end, was filled with people; some only half dressed, having just leaped from their beds-children, snatched from their sleep, were crying in all directions-many carried lights in their hands-in short, such a scene of wild confusion and alarm was never seen, and all apparently occasioned by a spontaneous movement, without any visible motive. After standing in the street for about a minute, the whole crowd turned round again and ran into their houses, so that, in the course of a few seconds, the hubbub was stilled, and not a mortal was to be seen. now begged to know the cause of this amazing commotion, having a vague idea of its forming some part of a religious ceremony, when, to my surprise, I learned that it had been produced by an earthquake, so severe, that the people had been afraid of the houses tumbling about their ears, and had run into the open street to avoid the danger; for my part, I was totally unconscious of any motion, nor did I hear the sound, which they described as unusually loud. On mentioning this fact afterwards in company, I was assured, that for a considerable period after the arrival of foreigners, they are in like manner insensible to shocks, which a native can at once distinguish. It may be mentioned also, as an unusual effect of experience, that the sensation of alarm, caused by feeling an earthquake, goes on augmenting instead of diminishing, and that one who at first ridicules the terrors of the inhabitants, comes eventually to be even more frightened than they are.

"The theatre (at Lima,) which was opened during the festivities upon the accession of the new Viceroy, was of rather a singular form, being a long

oval, the stage occupying the greater part of one side, by which means the front boxes were brought close to the actors. The audience in the pit was composed exclusively of men, and that in the galleries of women, a fashion borrowed, I believe, from Madrid, the intermediate space being divided into several rows of private boxes. Between the acts, the Viceroy retires to the back seat of his box, which being taken as a signal that he may be considered as absent, every man in the pit draws forth his steel and flint, lights his segar, and puffs away furiously, in order to make the most of his time, for when the curtain rises, and the Viceroy again comes forward, there can no longer be any smoking, consistently with Spanish etiquette. The sparkling of so many flints at once, which makes the pit look as if a thousand fire-flies had been let loose, and the cloud of smoke rising immediately afterwards and filling the house, are little circumstances which strike the eye of a stranger as being more decidly characteristic than incidents really important. I may add, that the gentlemen in the boxes also smoke on these occasions; and I once fairly detected a lady taking a sly whiff behind her fan. The Viceroy's presence or absence, however, produces no change in the gallery aloft, where the goddesses keep up an unceasing fire during the whole evening.

"We sat down to dinner, a very merry party, the master of the house insisting upon my taking the head of the table; a custom, he said, that could by no means be dispensed with. The first dish which was placed on the table was bread soup, exceedingly good, and cooked either with fish or meat, a distinction so immaterial, we thought, that our surprise was considerable when we observed a gentleman of the party start up, and, with a look as if he had swallowed poison, exclaim, O Lord, there is fish in the soup!' and while we were wondering at this exclamation, our friend ran off to the kitchen to interrogate the cook. He returned with a most woe-begone look, and finished his plate of soup as if it had been the last he was ever to

taste. A feeling of delicacy prevented our asking questions, although our curiosity was raised to the highest pitch, by observing the gentleman touch nothing else, but literally go without his dinner. It was Friday, and it was in Lent, which might have accounted for his horror at meat; but it was fish which had shocked him; besides, we saw the rest of the company eating without scruple, which puzzled us exceedingly, and the more so, as the selfdenying individual was a very sensible man, and showed no other symptoms of eccentricity. We at last discovered that he had, for some reason or other, come under a religious engagement not to eat both fish and flesh, though the South Americans are permited to do so, by an express bull in their favour, and it so happened, that he had set his fancy this day most particularly on a meat dish close to him, never dreaming of what had been put into the soup; fish once tasted, however, his feast was at an end, and he kept his vow in a manner worthy of an anchorite."

Another instance of this kind occurred at a Ball:

"I was surprised (says Capt. H.,) and somewhat disappointed, to see a young lady, one of the gayest and best dancers in Chili, place herself at the instrument. The gentlemen loudly appealed against this proceeding; but she maintained her place resolutely, declaring she would not dance a single step. I saw there was some mystery in this, and took an opportunity of begging to know what could have induced a person, of so much good sense and cheerfulness, and so fond of dancing, to make so very preposterous a resolution. She laughed on hearing the subject treated with such earnestness, and confessed that nothing was farther from her own wishes than her present forbearance, but that she was bound by a promise not to dance for a whole year. I begged an explanation of this singular engagement, when she told me, that, during the recent confinement of her sister, our host's wife, at a moment when her life was despaired of, her mother had made a vow, that, if she recovered, not one of the unmarried girls should dance for twelve

months. Her younger sister, however, was dancing; and I found she had managed to evade the obligation by an ingenious piece of casuistry, arguing that, as the promise had been made in town, it could never be intended to apply to the country. The good-natured mother, who probably repented of her absurd vow, allowed that a good case of conscience had been made out ; and the pretty Rosalita danced away with a spirit which was taken up by the whole room,and a more animated ball was never seen.

"A gentleman had thought fit to commence instructing his daughter in French, a circumstance which the girl, unconscious of any crime, mentioned in the course of her confession to the priest, who expressed the greatest horror at what he heard, denounced the vengeance of Heaven upon her and her father, refused to give her absolution, and sent the poor creature home in an agony of fear. The father soon discovered the cause, and after some correspondence with the confessor, went to the head of the government, who sent for the priest, questioned him on the subject, and charged him with having directly interfered with the let ter and spirit of the constitution, which gave encouragement to every species of learning. The priest affected to carry matters with a high band, and even ventured to censure the director for meddling with things beyond his authority. This was soon settled: a council was immediately called, and the next day it was known throughout the city that the priest had been seen crossing the frontiers, escorted by a military guard. An account of the whole transaction, with the correspondence between the parent and the confessor, were also published officially in the Gazette, and full authority given, in future, to every person to teach any branch of knowledge not inconsistent with morals and religion.

"The Host is usually carried in procession on foot; but a carriage has been appropriated to this duty in Lima, in consequence of a curious circumstance, the details of which were related to me by a person who delight 31 ATHENEUM VOL. 1. 2d series.

ed in any thing tending to make the past times look ridiculous.

"It seems that a certain Viceroy, some years ago, had become deeply enamoured of a celebrated actress, named La Pericholé, and as vice-mon- ' archs, like real monarchs, seldom sigh in vain, La Serona Pericholé soon became mistress of the palace, where, besides spending large sums of the public money, she succeeded in making her vice-regal admirer even more contemptible than he had been before. Every request she chose to make was immediately granted to her, except in one trifling case; and she, therefore, of course, resolutely set her heart upon attaining this object. Her whim was not of any great consequence, it might be thought, since it was merely to be allowed, for once, to drive in a carriage of her own through the streets of Lima. Now this, which to us seems the simplest thing in nature, is looked upon in quite a different light in the capital of Peru, for although any one might ride about as long as he pleased in a gig, or a calesh, or in a balancin, no one ever presumed of entering a coach but a grandee of the highest class. The Viceroy tried every argument to free La Pericholé's head of this most unreasonable fancy, but all in vain; and at length he was obliged to set public opinion at defiance, and, at the risk of a rebellion, to order a coach to be made for the lady, whose folly was destined to render them both ridiculous. How to traverse the streets without being mobbed, was now the grand difficulty, for the Viceroy was pretty sure that he should never behold the fair Pericholé again if she went alone; to go in the same carriage, however, was too scandalous an abomination to be thought of,-besides, it was not what the lady wanted, who who must needs go in her own carriage. In the end, it was arranged that the Viceroy should lead in his coach of state, and that La Pericholé should follow, while the usual train of carriages brought up the rear, with the body-guard surrounding all. It is even said the Viceroy had a window cut in the back part of his carriage, for the

express purpose of keeping an eye on his lady; be that as it may, it so happened that the mob were amused with the ridiculous nature of the procession, and followed with huzzas the delighted Pericholé, while she crossed and recrossed the city. On returning towards the palace, she drew up before the cathedral, and stepping out, declared that her ambition once satisfied, she had no farther occasion for the coach, and would, therefore, in gratitude to Heaven, devote it to the service of the church, and desired that henceforward it might always carry the Host whenever the Sacrament of extreme unction was to be administered.

"A strange custom prevails every where in this country at balls, public as well as private. Ladies of all ranks, who happen not to be invited, come in disguise, and stand at the windows or

in the passages, and often actually enter the ball-room. They are called Tapadas, from their faces being covered, and their object is, to observe the proceedings of their unconscious friends, whom they torment by malicious speeches, whenever they are within hearing. At the palace, on Sunday evening, the Tapadas were somewhat less froward than usual; but at the Cabildo, or magistrates' ball, given previously, the lower part of the room was filled with them, and they kept up a constant fire of jests at the gentlemen near the bottom of the dance."

With this cento of amusing traits we must close our introduction of these highly-pleasing volumes; but they af ford us too many temptations to be disposed of in one paper, and we promise to return to them, with a firm hope that it will gratify the public.

(New Mon.)

BRING FLOWERS.

Bring flowers, young flowers, for the festal board,
To wreathe the cup ere the wine is pour'd:
Bring flowers! they are springing in wood and vale,
Their breath floats out on the southern gale,
And the touch of the sunbeam hath waked the rose,
To deck the hall where the bright wine flows.
Bring flowers to strew in the Conqueror's path-
He hath shaken thrones with his stormy wrath!
He comes with the spoils of nations back,
The vines lie crush'd in his chariot's track,
The turf looks red where he won the day-
Bring flowers to die in the Conqueror's way!
Bring flow'rs to the Captive's lonely cell,
They have tales of the joyous woods to tell;
Of the free blue streams, and the glowing sky,
And the bright world shut from his languid eye;
They will bear him a thought of the sunny hours,

And a dream of his youth-Bring him flowers, wild flowers.
Bring flowers, fresh flowers, for the Bride to wear!

They were born to blush in her shining hair.
She is leaving the home of her childish mirth,
She hath bid farewell to her father's hearth,

Her place is now by another's side

Bring flowers for the locks of the fair young Bride!

Bring flowers, pale flowers, o'er the bier to shed,

A crown for the brow of the early Dead!
For this through its leaves hath the white-rose burst,
For this in the woods was the violet nurst.

Though they smile in vain for what once was ours,
They are Love's last gift-bring ye flowers! pale flowers!

Bring flow'rs to the shrine where we kneel in prayer,
They are Nature's offering, their place is there!

They speak of hope to the fainting heart,

With a voice of promise they come and part,

They sleep in dust through the wintry hours,

They break forth in glory-Bring flowers, bright flowers!

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