and wish the parents joy at
possessing such an angel; and, during the first night, the parents,
relations, and friends execute the wildest dances, and feast in the
most joyous fashion before the angelito. I heard that in the
country it was not unusual for the parents to carry the little
coffin to the churchyard themselves, followed by the relations with
the brandy bottle in their hands, and giving vent to their joy in
the most outrageous manner.

A merchant told me that one of his friends, who holds a judicial
appointment, had, a short time previous, been called to decide a
curious case. A grave-digger was carrying one of these deceased
angels to the churchyard, when he stept into a tavern to take a
dram. The landlord inquired what he had got under his poncho, and
on learning that it was an angelito, offered him two reaux for it.
The gravedigger consented; the landlord quickly arranged a niche
with flowers in the drinking-room, and then hastened to inform the
whole neighbourhood what a treasure he had got. They all came,
admired the little angel, and drank and feasted in its honour. But
the parents also soon heard of it, hurried down to the tavern, took
away their child, and had the landlord brought before the
magistrate. On hearing the case, the latter could scarcely restrain
from laughing, but arranged the matter amicably, as such a crime was
not mentioned in the statute book.

The manner in which patients are conveyed to the hospital here is
very remarkable. They are placed upon a simple wooden armchair,
with one band fastened in front of them to prevent their falling
off, and another beneath for them to place their feet on--a most
horrible sight when the sick person is so weak that he can no longer
hold himself in an upright posture.

I was not a little astonished on hearing that, in this country,
where there is yet no post, or, indeed, any regular means of
conveyance from one place to another, that a railroad was about
being constructed from here to Santiago. The work has been
undertaken by an English company, and the necessary measurements
already begun. As the localities are very mountainous, the railroad
will have to make considerable windings, in order to profit by the
level tracts, and this will occasion an enormous outlay, quite out
of proportion to the present state of trade or the amount of
passenger traffic. At present, there are not more than two or three
vehicles a day from one place to t