Santiago was founded as the first town in Chile. Valdivia erected a stronghold on the rock, which he named Santa Lucia, and then set to work to build the city at its base, which he had named after the patron saint of Spain. The squares were laid out with the lines running east and west, north and south. Each of his followers to whom was given a square for a garden, was required to construct a house for his own use. Thus it will be seen that Santiago is not a new city, nor has its growth been of the mushroom variety. Founded in the sixteenth century, it preserves in wood and stone, to a great extent, the spirit of old Spain transplanted to the New World. The Spanish cavalier stalked in complete mail through the streets of Santiago before the _Mayflower_ landed the pilgrims on the shores of Massachusetts. The priests were chanting the solemn service of the church here long before the English landed at Jamestown. Dust had gathered on the volumes in the municipal library of this city centuries preceding the building of the first little red school-house in the United States. Before New York was even thought of, the drama of life was being enacted daily in this beautiful valley after Castilian models. [Illustration: SANTA LUCIA.] But let us take a look at this ancient capital. At one side of the city is El Cerro de Santa Lucia, a mass of volcanic rock almost as high as the Washington Monument. It has a base of several acres, but gradually narrows as it rises precipitously above all the buildings, until it ends in the jagged piece of rock which crowns the summit. After the fortress was removed it became the burial place of Jews, Protestants, infidels and all who were forbidden burial in consecrated ground. When these bones were finally removed they were dumped in a corner of one of the Catholic cemeteries, and the church authorities erected a monument with the inscription “exiles from both heaven and earth.” This freak of nature, which geologists say was dropped by some wandering iceberg, has been made into a delightful place, partly by private subscription and partly at public expense. The summit is reached by several winding roads and walks that are enclosed by walls in a most picturesque manner. In the crevices of the rocks flowers, bushes and curious plants are growing. Eucalyptus trees rise up, and gigantic ferns reach out so that the hill seems a veritable garden in the air. At intervals are kiosks for music or refreshments, and half way up is a theatre where vaudeville entertainments are occasionally given for the entertainment of the people. Terraces, fountains, winding walks and steps cut out of the rock add to the beauties and comforts of Santa Lucia. On the summit is a little chapel where the remains of Mr. Benjamine Vicuña Mackenna, who planned this scheme and gave large sums towards its completion, lies buried. On the way up one passes one wonderful rock formation after