nothing to be desired; the grape is said to have come from Hockheim; if so, it has improved extraordinarily by emigration *.

All these wines are the produce of the south coast of the island. Those of the north are very inferior in quality, and are commonly remarkable for an acidulation, which, with their general poorness of flavour, makes them any thing but agreeable. Now and then I have met with a better specimen, particularly in the Porto Cruz vintage; a light acidulous wine, by no means unpleasant, though very unlike one's ordinary notion of Madeira.

The prices of all these wines is much the same, being nearly double that of the ordinary dry Madeira. The Bual, I believe, is somewhat dearer; though it possesses no peculiar merit to justify the difference.

PORTUGUESE OF MADEIRA-MANNERS-DOMESTIC LIFE-SOCIETY -PROPERTY-LEASES-EDUCATION-LITERATURE- PEASANTRY

-BEGGARS-CLERGY-CONSTITUTION.

WE saw much less of the Portuguese at Madeira than we could have wished. The English circle is so large as to be in a great measure independent of the natives, with whom it mixes very little; and this applies, of course, much more strongly to the visitors, who are commonly ignorant of the Portuguese language; a circumstance that in a great measure disqualifies one from getting any certain or satisfactory information respecting the people. Of the men several speak English, and others French, but not by any means so universally as might be expected. The ladies are all, with a few exceptions, ignorant of any language but their

own.

What we did see of the Portuguese, however, was much in their favour. They seem a very good-natured and obliging folk, that is, for ordinary purposes; and at any rate are invariably civil. The people of the lowest order practise

habitually towards each other a refinement of courtesy, which in England persons much their betters do not trouble themselves to observe; and they do it, too, with an ease and grace of manner which marks it to be native in their constitution.

As for the general tone of their morality I know little, that is, little of my own knowledge, or so certainly, as would justify one's speaking positively on the subject either way.

Conjugal fidelity, I

believe, is not the kind of self-denial on which people in these countries chiefly value themselves; and the Madeirenses probably form no exception to the rule. In the annual returns of births in the parish of the Cathedral, the number of children espostos, que não se sabe quem são seus pays generally nearly equals and sometimes exceeds that of those born de legitimo matrimonio. This relaxation is not confined to the town, or to the upper orders. A lady, living in one of the most populous villages near Funchal, told a friend of mine that she did not believe that a single woman, meaning of the peasantry, in her parish lived with her husband. Very considerable allowance, I hope, must be made for the roundness of this statement; but if it be any thing near true, it presents a strange picture of manners, -and such as one would hardly think the existence of compatible with the fulfilment of the general purposes of society. With us, there is no doubt such

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159

a corruption would lead to the most frightful disorders-whereas here things seem to go on much as elsewhere- external decency is always consulted; more uniformly perhaps than in countries. of stricter practice; and what is more inexplicable, the domestic affections do not seem to suffer essentially from a perversion which one would think must have poisoned the sentiment in its

source.

:

In other respects, too, they seem to have much of the good and the evil of the nations of southern latitudes a certain complectional susceptibility that receives impressions easily, and loses them as quickly people of this temperament act more from impulse than duty--are too exclusively affected by the sense of what is present to be very much alive to the recollection of the past. They have often much kindliness of feeling as well as manner, and are ready enough to act upon that feeling as long as the excitement remains; but that is too commonly of a short duration, and when it fails, one can depend little upon their mere good-will, or even their sense of gratitude.

Something of a similar mobility is observable in their intellect-they are quick, lively, and intelligent, qualities which it is impossible not but to be struck with, even in the most uneducated classes. The common people catch your meaning through all

the obscurity and perversion of a broken idiom, with almost intuitive quickness and precision; and form in this respect a remarkable contrast to our own peasantry, the dullest perhaps of any; and who, from the vacant stare with which they receive your questions, and the repetition they compel you to make of them, one would sometimes fancy do not understand their own language. Yet all this vivacity of apprehension avails them little in cases where continued or persevering application of the faculties, whether of body or mind, is called for. In this respect the natural indolence and impatience of their disposition is insuperable—nothing but the urgency of the moment will compel them to the exercise either of thought or action; and they seem nearly incapable of exertion with a view to distant or contingent exigencies.

The trade of the island is almost wholly with England, and in the hands of English merchants. Judging, indeed, by the vessels that come into the harbour, it is difficult not to fancy oneself in an English sea-port; so seldom do you see the flag of any other nation, or even a Portuguese vessel, except the little yachts that run between the island and St. Ubes. There are, therefore, few Portuguese merchants of importance, and the society in Funchal consists entirely of the landed proprietary,