We could not telegraph to them from
Cauquenes, or anywhere _en route_, for there were no wires; so on
Wednesday morning, not hearing or seeing anything of us, they returned
to Valparaiso. Tom left a long letter for me, with enclosures (which I
never received), in the innkeeper's hands, asking for a telegraphic
reply as to our plans and intentions, and, as I have already
mentioned, never said a word about coming back. Thursday was spent in
seeing what little there is to see in Valparaiso, and in visiting the
'Opal.' On Friday Tom went for a sail, moved the yacht close inshore,
had a dinner-party on board, and went to a pleasant ball afterwards,
given by the Philharmonic Society, an association of the same sort as
the one at Rio. It was not, however, called a regular ball, but a
_teriulia_, so the ladies were in _demi-toilette_. Tom described the
room as good, the floor first-rate, the music excellent, the ladies
good-looking, and the men agreeable. To-day he met us at the station
with the children; and now, therefore, one account will describe the
movements of the whole reunited party.
_Sunday, October 29th_.--We all went ashore to church, having been
told it was only five minutes' walk from the landing-place, instead of
which it took us at least a quarter of an hour, in an intensely hot
sun, to climb up a steep hill.
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