It must evidently be the custom of the
Chilenos to visit by rail these fertile districts, for the purpose of
doing their marketing; for the occupants of the train soon absorbed
the entire stock of the vendors, who were left with empty baskets.
I never saw such a country as this is for eggs and chickens. A hen
seems never to have a smaller brood than ten, and I have often counted
from seventeen to twenty-one chickens with the mother, and, more than
once, as many as twenty-four. However well you may have breakfasted or
dined, the waiters always come at the end of the meal to ask, not
_whether_ you will have any eggs, but _how_ you will have them--fried,
boiled, poached, or in some sort of omelette. If you refuse
altogether, the chances are that two very lightly boiled eggs will be
placed by your side, with the suggestion that you should beat them up
and drink them. The inhabitants of the country always seem to finish
their meals with eggs in some form or another.
The celebrated 'Bell of Quillota,' a mountain which derives its name
from its peculiar shape, and which serves as a good landmark in
entering the harbour of Valparaiso, is well seen from the railway, a
little below Quillota Station. We stopped again at Limache, a little
village, situated in the midst of a fertile country, about twenty-five
miles from Valparaiso, where fruit, flowers, &c.
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