CHILDREN
660
CHILE
ladies. The work was in its infancy, yet Mother
Barat saw what it might lead to, and resolved to de-
velop it. Father Druilhet, S. J., then drew up the
rules by which the Children of Mary of the Sacred
Heart are still governed, and Mother Barat placed
the association under the patronage of the archbishop.
A little later she obtained for it the authorization of
Rome, and constituted it on a like basis for all houses
of the Society. Mother Barat wrote on that occasion:
" Your mission is a very high one, and I do not fear to
call it an apostolate, for you are to act as apostles in
the midst of a perverse world. You must lead into
the right path those who are wandering from it, en-
courage those kept back by human respect, and stop
the downward course of those in danger." To be
apostles in the world these Children of Mary are ex-
pected by their rules to practise many virtues, but
it is still the lily of Mary's spotlessness which must
shine pre-eminent, hence their love for her Immacu-
late Conception. Their devotion to the Heart of
Jesus prompts the making of vestments and other
altar requirements for poor churches and distant mis-
sions. Their zeal takes many other forms: — support-
ing orphans, visiting hospitals, helping the poor in
their homes, opening work-rooms and guiding reading-
circles for young girls, providing for the maintenance
of youthful aspirants to the priesthood: — in a word,
all the interests of God and Holy Church are theirs.
Few large cities of continental Europe are without one such sociality connected with some convent of the Sacred Heart. From New York to San Francisco, Halifax to Buenos Ayres, they exist in both Americas. Algiers and Cairo in Africa, Melbourne, Sydney and Wellington in Australasia have theirs, active and flourishing. Bishops and pastors find them efficient- helpers, and the sovereign pontiffs have appealed to them, never in vain. Many members have led lives of eminent usefulness, some have risen to unusual distinction in the practice of virtue, whilst not a few have died in the odour of sanctity. Monseigneur Baunard well sums up their character: "A place of honour is here due those thousands upon thousands of women and maidens, Children of Mary, whose as- sociation, now spread throughout France, was born of the desire to serve her and imitate her virtues. . . . A vast secular association of Christian perseverance, it has Mary Immaculate for model and patroness, spiritual exercises for means, charity and mutual sup- port for resource, and sanctification of self and others for aim, the glory of the adorable Heart of Jesus for final end. Associations imitated from this type and bearing the same names, are founded everywhere, and prosper to-day throughout the Catholic Church" (Un siecle de l'Eglise de France, Paris, 1902).
Lady Georgians Fullerton, herself a president of one of these sodalities, thus writes concerning them: "What struck us as eminently, if not peculiarly, dis- tinctive of this institute, is the intense desire, and we might almost say the special gift . of imparting to those they educate, and those they influence, the spirit of active apostleship in the world, which is limited to no particular sphere of action, but spreads itself in every place and throughout every social circle, where those inspired with it and trained to it may be thrown. It was the ardent thought of Mother Barat, and the thought which she was continually placing before her community, to follow souls through life, and by means of congregations for the rich and for the poor, never to lose sight of the children educated in their schools. This thought and this desire led to the foun- dation of those associations of the Children of Mary of the Sacred Heart, which have won so many com- mendations and encouragements from successive pontiffs."
Baunabd, Un Stick de VUglise de France (Paris. 1902); Tdem, Cm ./.- Madam* linrnt (Paris, 1S77); Goopy, Sommaire rfu Reglemmt eta Enfantt dc Marie (Paris); Reolttmeni eta Enfanls dc Marie da dehors (Paris, for private circulation);
Life of the Ven. Mother Barat (Roehampton, 1900); Life of
Madame Barat, tr. Fullerton {Roehampton, 1876); Vie de
Madame Goetz (Roehampton. 1S9.5, for private circulation);
Vie de Madame du Rousier (Paris, for private circulation); Vie
de Madame Perdrau (Roehampton, for private circulation).
Alice Power.
Chile, (also written Chili), a comparatively nar- row strip of coast-land in South America between the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Andes Mountains on the east, including the watershed. It extends from 17° 30' S. lat. to the extremity of South America (Cape Horn), about 57° S. lat., thus including Tierra del Fuego and the islands of Navarino, Hoste, and smaller isles to the south, besides, in the west, the islands of Chiloe\ Wellington, with their surroundings, and farther out in the Pacific, Juan Fernandez. The surface of the country, including the main islands, is calculated at about 290,000 sq. miles. Civile is ap- proximately 2600 miles long, while the width varies between 18.5 and 100 miles. Ascent from the Pacific shore to the eastern crests is therefore very abrupt, the highest mountain peaks rising to over 22,000 feet in the Aconcagua. The whole chain and its ramifi- cations are dotted with more than forty volcanoes, some of which are active. Northern Civile, including the recently occupied Peruvian province of Tacna and the Bolivian province of Tarapacd, etc., are arid along the coast, and the soil is alkaline; south of these provinces fertile valleys abound; the timbered south- ern extremity is cold, and glaciers reach the seashore. The eastern shores of the Strait of Magellan are bar- ren. The agricultural sections of the republic lie almost exclusively in the temperate zone and are very productive in cereals, fruit, and grapes: in short, all alimentary products characteristic of temperate regions. Chile has gold, silver, copper, iron, nitrates, borates, and coal; all of these minerals are worked by the people of the country as well as by foreign enter- prise. The country is therefore progressing rapidly, owing chiefly to the character of its inhabitants, who distinguish themselves by energy and intense patriot- ism. The gold production of Chile from 1544 to August 1894, has been stated at about 9,917,000 ounces. Chile has, in its southern and central sec- tions, a number of rivers, some of which are partly navigable, at least for smaller craft. The most im- portant of these, from south to north, are the Cautin or Imperial, the Biobio. and further north, the Maule, Rapel, and Maip6. The streams are short and descend from mountain lakes, of which there are a great number. The southern coast is remarkably indented and the Strait of Magellan, with countless islands and islets, terminates the mainland about 53° S. lat. The north of Chile (Tacna, Tarapaca, Anto- fagasta and Northern Atacama) is ven' dry. and rains are scarce. The climate of the coast, further smith, is usually from seven to eight degrees cooler than that of corresponding latitudes on the Atlantic. Varia- tions are abrupt, storms frequent, not seldom violent. and rain falls in great quantities. Towards the ex- tremity of the continent and in Tierra del Fuego the rams are still heavier, the climate colder, approaching Arctic conditions, with heavy snowfalls. Tempests increase in violence towards the south, along the coast .
Population. — According to the census of 1903, the population of Chile numbered 3,205,992 souls, most of whom are Catholics. Of these, however. 15 per rent were only estimated. In 1S95 it included 72,812 foreign residents; Italians. ( Jermans, and Eng- lish being the most numerous. Since 1835 the popu- lation hud increased threefold. It is the most homo- geneous of any country in South America, t he North- ern Indians having completely disappeared as such.
In the South, the Araucanians continue to enjoy a sort of autonomy under military surveillance; their number is variously stated, but is probably more t ban 20,000. while some put it as high as 60,000. The
