The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-11-24

QulreQ 10 Iancy yOufSeiL III the court or some old-time marble palace-the AL hambra, perhaps-arched with glass overhead, besides beautified by frescoes, carvings, paintings and innumerable inches each containing its exquisite statuette. Here is a cave, apparently as nature made it, beneath a chaos of boulders, overhung with growing ferns and ivy. Penetrate the miniature cav- ern, and you are at first startled by. a remarkably life-Iike stone serpent, evil 1 looking head raised as if to strike; and then by the discovery that you have in- advertently wondered into private dwelling, whose owner has had the sim gular taste to thus disguise his front door. All these fanciful doors along both sides of the Portales de Fernan- deg Concha lead into business houses, the fashionable shopping places of the elite, where jewelry, bric-a-brac and Parisian millinery are chiefly sold.
 This is a favorite resort for the fair Santiagoians, particularly after morn ing Mass, when you meet them by hun dreds, every one with black manta, or shawl, drawn tightly over her head, prayer-book and rosary in hand, and a small rug thrown over one arm. The latter is usually of embroidered felt, but sometimes it is a square of vicuna de guanaca fur, and 1t is used to spread upon the cold, damp stones of the church floor, when its owner kneels to say her prayers. It used to be the rule for servant to follow close behind my lady, bearing her rug and prayer-book, but nowadays-perhaps owing to the example of package-carrying foreign CTS, though of wealth and high degree the fashion has changed and the gentle church-goers no longer disdain to bear their own. Their duty done at church, they gaze upon the ravishing display in the shop windows to their hearts con- tent, or purchase little bouquets at the flower stands that are strung all along the outer edge of the arcade, or gather in groups to solace their feminine souls with bits of gossip.
 The best shops dosnot open before nine or ten o'clock in the morning, be- cause before that hour there is nobody to patronize them; then they are closed between five and seven p. m. to allow the clerks and proprietors time to dine as in many Mexican cities, where the post-office remains locked most of the afternoon so that the employees may not be disturbed in their daily long siesta. Here they are open till midnight, as the heaviest part of the retail trade is ac- complished after nine in the evening.
 On the north side of the Plaza is the old "Palacio" of the government-an irregular, heavy-looking polo, which was formerly the abode of the presi- dents of the republic, but is now util- ized for the public good in a variety of ways, includuing barrack and prison. Collectively, the buildings are known as Lac Cajas; and though their glory has departed, they inelude some of the most noteworthy of the government build ings. The handsome new post-office is ; close by, resplendent with inner walls of marble, tiled floors and gilded ceil- ings In a court-yard of the post-office the North American traveller is amazed at the apparition of two unexpected ghosts standing before him-rnarble statues of George washington and Abraham Lincoln; both of which, I re- gret to add, were brought from Lima. with great deal of other plunder, by the victors in the last war between Peru and Chilli. a .:.
 The president now resides in the Mo- neda or Mint, which is generally con sidered the finest of Santiago's public buildings. It is auadrangular In shape, five hundred feet long, with a front three hundred and sixty feet wide. Be- ing much higher than the adjacent structures, 1t presents an appearance of dignity and strength rather than of beauty, although the interior shows considerable ornamentation, It was built during the days of the elder O'Hig- gins, more than a century ago, at the cost of nearly two million pesos; but the whole thing was a misconception, hav- ing been planned for a government pal ace in Mexico, but given to Chili through @ stupid mistake on the part of the architect. However, it serves as sort of oriental omnibus, in which there is always room for more. It holds not only the presidents household, the af- fees of the cabinet ministers, the gov- ernment architect, the commander in chief of the army, the civil engineer of 1.-the state, the superintendent of prirna- ry education and the families of several of the aforementioned officials. It also contains the northern telegraph office: the headquarters for the superintendent of police; besides being the Chilian treasury and the place where all the nations money is coined.
 Probably the most conspicuous edifice in the city is the capitol. It is very much like our capitol at Washington, on a smaller scale. It occupies an entire square, and it's walls are coated with brownish-yellow stucco, faced by great rows of columns.
 It is a combination of the Doric and Grecian architecture, and a beautifully kept garden spreads out in fraont. There are three extensive halls inside, of the senators, the deputies and that in which the presidents take the oath of office. They are plainly finished in white stucco, with few simple frescos on the ceiling, illuminated with great skylights and furnished with leather covered arm chairs and the plainest of desks and tables. The large, cool semi circular senate chamber looks as invi- ting to repose as that in Uncle Samuel's capitol: and when visiting if we find if