Mr. Nelson to Mr. Tocornal.
Sir: I have the honor to address myself to your excellency, to express, on behalf of the American citizens resident in Chili, and on my own, our profound and earnest sympathy in the terrible misfortune which upon Tuesday last befell this city, bringing desolation and grief into so many families, and mourning into the hearts of the entire community. The government and people whom I represent will be stricken with the deepest sorrow when the sad intelligence reaches them.
A calamity so appalling and horrible has no parallel in the world’s history. May He who “tempers the wind to the shorn lamb” in mercy console the bereaved and afflicted, and may this awful dispensation of His providence ever remind us of the uncertainty of life, and the necessity of constant preparation to obey His summons.
I have the honor to renew to your excellency the assurances of the high estimation and respect with which I remain your excellency’s obedient servant,
His Excellency the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, of the Republic of Chili.