The Chileans delight to call themselves the “English of the Pacific,” or the “Yankees of South America.” In neither case is the comparison a perfect one, although they are probably the hardest working race on that continent. The Chileno is very proud of the progress that his country has made, and this pride sometimes carries him to peculiar extremes. It at least causes the average Chileno to become more or less of a braggart. He is inclined to take all the credit for this advancement to himself, when, in fact, much of it has been due to the English and German elements in the country. His ideals of life, however, are not German or English, but rather French, with its love of polished surface and general dislike for disagreeable truths. Peru has retained more of the old culture and grace of the Spanish cavalier than Chile, but the latter is far more robust. The climate of Chile is remarkably healthful, and it has produced a vigorous race. This is a general truth, whether applied to the race amalgamated with the virile Araucanian of the south, or to the mixture with the more delicate and refined descendant of the Inca at the north. The ordinary _roto_ is tough and wiry, and capable of prolonged fatigue on the poorest and simplest of food. The creoles have inherited all the traditions of the original _conquistadores_—love, sentiment and passion, and the habit of intrigue. It is not uncommon to see in a family the natural children of one or the other parent, generally of the father, living side by side with the legitimate children. The percentage of illegitimacy is very large, as shown by the government statistics, for they do not attempt to cover up this flagrant fault. The café and club life of the cities appeals to the Chileans, and they have acquired a love of alcoholic stimulants. The light wines, with which most of the people of Spanish blood are content, do not satisfy, but they must have the stronger alcoholic beverages. As a result there is much drunkenness in Chile, more than in the neighbouring republics. It is an unfortunate fact, but true, as all who have made a study of the subject agree. The first establishment in a new community is generally a factory for the production of _aguardiente_, brandy made from sugar cane, wheat or some vegetable. Some of it is as bad and ruinous to the health as it is cheap.