The Scenery Certainly Is Most Striking, And, As I
Have Said, Very Peculiar.
I am informed that this same
character is common to the cities on the great Mexican
platform.
Of the town I have nothing to say in detail: it is
not so fine or so large as Buenos Ayres, but is built after the
same model. I arrived here by a circuit to the north; so I
resolved to return to Valparaiso by a rather longer excursion
to the south of the direct road.
September 5th. - By the middle of the day we arrived at
one of the suspension bridges, made of hide, which cross the
Maypu, a large turbulent river a few leagues southward of
Santiago. These bridges are very poor affairs. The road,
following the curvature of the suspending ropes, is made of
bundles of sticks placed close together. It was full of holes,
and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the weight of a
man leading his horse. In the evening we reached a comfortable
farm-house, where there were several very pretty
senoritas. They were much horrified at my having entered
one of their churches out of mere curiosity. They asked
me, "Why do you not become a Christian - for our religion
is certain?" I assured them I was a sort of Christian; but
they would not hear of it - appealing to my own words, "Do
not your padres, your very bishops, marry?" The absurdity
of a bishop having a wife particularly struck them: they
scarcely knew whether to be most amused or horror-struck
at such an enormity.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 405 of 776
Words from 108566 to 108829
of 208183
