The evening times., 1900-01-08
THE ARISToCRACY OF CHILE.
Their Habits AT Home and When in
Public Places
CFrom the Chicago Record.)

OfrCm the Chicago Record.)
The landholding aristocracy OF Chile are
I highly educated and cultured people.
They live in handsome houses. luxuriously :
! furnished and adorned with works of art
/ that indicate taste and refinement They
have libraries. and go in for bindings and
/ first editions and all kinds OF fads They
are educated in music and are much more
advanced in social accomplishments than
our own people. You seldom find a society
woman in Santiago or Valparaiso who does
not speak at least two languages and most
(, Of them three. They are excessively formal
with strangers. and are fastidious about
matteS of etiquette and dress. You can
tell the tastes OF people from their shop
windows, which in Santiago are as lovely
and alluring as those OF Paris They are
full of the latest fashions and novelties
from every country. In fact, it is the
boast of the people that they can buy any
thing in Santiago that can be bought In
Paris
There are several large department
stores and aTeades and portaIes filled with
little shops for the sale Of jewelry. MILL
merry, and fancy goods. which Indicate the
extravaganza and the luxurious tastes OF
the population. No city of the size of San
tiago, 25G,000 inhabitants either in the
United States or Europe has so many fine
play of the gilded side of life.
The shoppers are as fascinating as the
shops. The fashionable hour for trading is
in the morning after mass, and the ladies
order the bills sent TO papa. But the re-
sentiment of the stranger is always aroused
by the crowds of well-dresSed young men
who spend their mornings hanging around
the entrances of the retail stores. staring
at the ladies who come and go, and making
rude comments upon their appearance.
Where do they come from. you ask? WHY
are they not in colleges or the counting
houses or employed in some capacity some
where? Evidently they are the sons Of
the aristocracy. judging by their dress
and manners. Do their mothers and their
fathers know they are out? Some of them
are very young-not more than sixteen or
seventeen years old-others are men of
thirty or more who have all the signs Of
experienced roues and appear to be wait
ing for a chance for a Irritation.
Yes. their fathers and their mothers do !
know that they are out, and see them fre-
quently," said a gentleman with whom |
was walking one day. They are the sons !
of the aristocracy and they ought to be |
at work or in school. They are the vic !
tins of the indulgent parents and our /
social system. These young men are rot |
allowed the freedom of acquaintance and |
association with young women as in your
country. The two sexes are kept apart as !
much as possible until marriage, as in /
France. Hence, they crave forbidden fruit.
And again. these young men are taught I.
that labor is degrading. They are edu-
Gated to be gentlemen of leisure. They
have allowances of money every month
from their fathers. which they are per-
mtted to spend as they please and it goes
mostly for cocktails and cigarettes. What
becomes of them? Why, some of them
succeed to the management of the family
estate; some secure appointments in the
army; others go into politics and similar
professions which require no special pre-
but the devil gets his share"
To see the aristocracy of Santiago at it's
best one must attend the opera, which is
given four nights each week during the
season by an Italian company brought over
with full chorus and orchestra from Milan.
Italy, and its performances are as perfect
here as there The opera house, which is
one Of the finest in the world, surpasses
everything in London, and equal to any
thing we have in the United States is
owned by the municipality, and equipped
With costumes, properties, and scenery for
all the standard operas, and everything
new that Is successful in Paris or other
European musical centres. The house is
free of cost, and the city govern
ment gives the manager as subsidy of S40,-
100 year in cash. The seats and boxes are
sold by subscription for a season of sixty
nights, as in New York. and are paid for in
advance. There is usually guarantee fund
llso to protect the manager from financial
oss. Those who lease boxes and seats for
he season often sublet them to strangers.
ind it is not considered an impropriety so
hat people who are spending only few
lays in the city can go to box Office and OBJ
ain seats by paying the regular rates. The
ame company appears thirty nights during
he season at Valparaiso under similar con-
litions and with a smaller subsidy
The singers in the chorus, as we'll as the
rchestra, are all Italians, and the princi-
'al ballet dancers also come from Milan
rhe soloists are first class. The people
will not tolerate anything else, and the au-
iences are quite as interesting as the per-
ormers, for the dressing and the display
# jewels is equal to that seen at the
'ovent Garden in London. the Grand
)pera House in Paris, or the Metropolitan |
q New York. 1t surpasses the display at
berlin and other cities of Germany where !
he people go to hear the music and not to
how their clothes.
There is a large foyer in which the peo-
lie promenade between the acts, refresh
nent room, where ices, wines, sandwiches. |
nd other light refreshments are served;