TO THE GOLD COAST FOR GOLD

_A Personal Narrative_

BY Richard F. Burton AND Verney Lovett Cameron

In Two Volumes--Vol. I. 

TO OUR EXCELLENT FRIEND

JAMES IRVINE

(OF LIVERPOOL, F. R. G. S, F. S. A, &C. )

WE INSCRIBE THESE PAGES AS A TOKEN OF OUR APPRECIATION AND ADMIRATIONFOR HIS COURAGE AND ENERGY IN OPENING AND WORKING THE GOLDEN LANDS OFWESTERN AFRICA

_'Much have I travelled in the realms of gold'_

SHAKESPEARE

PREFACE. 

The following extract from 'Wanderings in West Africa, ' a book which Iwrote in 1862 and published (anonymously) in 1863, will best explain thereasons which lately sent me to Western Africa:--

In several countries, for instance, Dinkira, Tueful, Wásá (Wassaw), andespecially Akim, the hill-region lying north of Accra, the people arestill active in digging gold. The pits, varying from two to three feetin diameter, and from twelve to fifty deep (eighty feet is the extreme), are often so near the roads that loss of life has been theresult. 'Shoring up' being little known, the miners are not unfrequentlyburied alive. The stuff is drawn up by ropes in clay pots, orcalabashes, and thus a workman at the bottom widens the pit to apyriform shape; tunnelling, however, is unknown. The excavated earth iscarried down to be washed. Besides sinking these holes, they pan in thebeds of rivers, and in places collect quartz, which is roughly pounded. 

They (the natives) often refuse to dig deeper than the chin, for fear ofthe earth 'caving in;' and, quartz-crushing and the use of quicksilverbeing unknown, they will not wash unless the gold 'show colour' to thenaked eye. 

As we advance northwards from the Gold Coast the yield becomesricher. . . . 

It is becoming evident that Africa will one day equal half-a-dozenCalifornias. . . . 

Will our grandsons believe in these times . . . That this Ophir--thatthis California, where every river is a Tmolus and a Pactolus, everyhillock is a gold-field--does not contain a cradle, a puddling-machine, a quartz-crusher, a pound of mercury? That half the washings are wastedbecause quicksilver is unknown? That whilst convict labour isattainable, not a company has been formed, not a surveyor has been sentout? I exclaim with Dominie Sampson--'Pro-di-gious!'

Western Africa was the first field that supplied the precious metal tomediaeval Europe. The French claim to have imported it from Elmina asearly as A. D. 1382. In 1442 Gonçales Baldeza returned from his secondvoyage to the regions about Bojador, bringing with him the first gold. Presently a company was formed for the purpose of carrying on thegold-trade between Portugal and Africa. Its leading men were thenavigators Lanzarote and Gilianez, and Prince Henry 'the Navigator' didnot disdain to become a member. In 1471 João de Santarem and PedroEscobar reached a place on the Gold Coast to which, from the abundanceof gold found there, they gave the name of 'São Jorje da Mina, ' thepresent Elmina. After this a flood of gold poured into the lap ofEurope; and at last, cupidity having mastered terror of the Papal Bull, which assigned to Portugal an exclusive right to the Eastern Hemisphere, English, French, and Dutch adventurers hastened to share the spoils. 

For long years my words fell upon flat ears. Presently the Ashanti warof 1873-74 brought the subject before the public. The Protectorate wasoverrun by British officers, and their reports and itineraries neverfailed to contain, with a marvellous unanimity of iteration, the magicword--Gold. 

The fraction of country, twenty-six miles of seaboard out of twohundred, by a depth of sixty--in fact, the valley of the AncobraRiver--now (early 1882) contains five working companies. Upwards ofseventy concessions, to my knowledge, have been obtained from nativeowners, and many more are spoken of. In fact, development has at lengthbegun, and the line of progress is clearly traced. 

At Madeira I was joined (January 8, 1882) by Captain Cameron, R. N. , C. B. , &c. Our object was to explore the so-called Kong Mountains, whichof late years have become _quasi_-mythical. He came out admirablyequipped; nor was I less prepared. But inevitable business had delayedus both, and we landed on the Gold Coast at the end of January insteadof early October. The hot-dry season had set in with a heat and adrought unknown for years; the climate was exceptionally trying, and allexperts predicted early and violent rains. Finally, we found so much todo upon the Ancobra River that we had no time for exploration. Geographyis good, but Gold is better. 

In this joint book my energetic and hard-working friend andfellow-traveller has described the five working mines which I was unableto visit. He has also made an excellent route-survey of the country, corrected by many and careful astronomical observations. It is curiousto compare his work with the sketches of previous observers, Jeekel, Wyatt, Bonnat, and Dahse. To my companion's industry also are mainly dueour collections of natural history. 

We are answerable only for our own, not for each other's statements. Asregards my part, I have described the Gold-land as minutely as possible, despite the many and obvious disadvantages of the 'photographic style. 'Indeed, we travellers often find ourselves in a serious dilemma. If wedo not draw our landscapes somewhat in pre-Raphaelite fashion, they donot impress the reader; if we do, critics tell us that they arewearisome _longueurs, _ and that the half would be better than thewhole. The latter alternative must often be risked, especially inwriting about a country where many at home have friends andrelatives. Of course they desire to have as much detail about it aspossible; hence the reader will probably pardon my 'curiosity. '

The Appendix discusses at some length the various objections made to theGold Coast mines by the public, which suffers equally from the 'bull'and the 'bear' and from the wild rumours set afloat by those notinterested in the speculation. I first dispose of the dangers menaced byAshanti invasions. The second number notices the threatenedlabour-famine, and shows how immigration of Chinese, of coolies, and ofZanzibar-men will, when wanted, supply not only the Gold Coast, but alsothe whole of our unhappy West African stations, miscalled colonies, which are now starving for lack of hands. The third briefly sketches thehistory of the Gold-trade in the north-western section of the DarkContinent, discusses the position and the connections of the auriferousKong Mountains, and suggests the easiest system of 'getting' theprecious metal. This is by shallow working, by washing, and by the'hydraulicking' which I had studied in California. The earlier minershave, it is believed, begun at the wrong end with deep workings, shafts, and tunnels; with quartz-crushers, stamps, and heavy and expensivemachinery, when flumes and force-pumps would have cost less and broughtmore. Our observations and deductions, drawn from a section of coast, will apply if true, as I believe they are, to the whole region betweenthe Assini and the Volta Rivers. 

I went to the Gold Coast with small expectations. I found the Wásá(Wassaw) country, Ancobra section, far richer than the most glowingdescriptions had represented it. Gold and other metals are there inabundance, and there are good signs of diamond, ruby, and sapphire. 

Remains to be seen if England has still honesty and public spirit enoughto work this old-new California as it should be worked. I will answerfor its success if the workers will avoid over-exclusiveness, unduejealousy and rivalry, stockjobbing, and the rings of 'guinea-pigs' and'guinea-worms. '

RICHARD F. BURTON. 

CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 

CHAPTER

I. PRELIMINARY: TRIESTE TO LISBON

II. FROM LISBON TO MADEIRA

III. A FORTNIGHT AT MADEIRA

IV. MADEIRA _(continued)_--CHRISTMAS--SMALL INDUSTRIES--WINE--DEPARTURE FOR TENERIFE

V. TO TENERIFE, LA LAGUNA, AND OROTAVA

VI. THE ROUTINE ASCENT OF MOUNT ATLAS, THE 'PIKE' OF TENERIFE

VII. THE SPANISH ACCOUNT OF THE REPULSE OF NELSON FROM SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE

VIII. TO GRAND CANARY--LAS PALMAS, THE CAPITAL

IX. THE COCHINEAL--THE 'GALLO'--CANARY 'SACK'--ADIEU TO THE CANARIES

X. THE RUINED RIVER--PORT AND THE TATTERED FLAG

XI. SIERRA LEONE: THE CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

TO THE GOLD COAST FOR GOLD. 

CHAPTER I. 

PRELIMINARY: TRIESTE TO LISBON. 

The glory of an explorer, I need hardly say, results not so much fromthe extent, or the marvels of his explorations, as from the consequencesto which they lead. Judged by this test, my little list of discoverieshas not been unfavoured of fortune. Where two purblind fever-strickenmen plodded painfully through fetid swamp and fiery thorn-bush over theZanzibar-Tanganyika track, mission-houses and schools may now benumbered by the dozen. Missionaries bring consuls, and consuls bringcommerce and colonisation. On the Gold Coast of Western Africa, whencecame the good old 'guinea, ' not a washing-cradle, not a pound ofquicksilver was to be found in 1862; in 1882 five mining companies areat work; and in 1892 there will be as many score. 

I had long and curiously watched from afar the movement of the GoldenLand, our long-neglected El Dorado, before the opportunity of a revisitpresented itself. At last, in the autumn of 1881, Mr. James Irvine, ofLiverpool, formerly of the West African 'Oil-rivers, ' and now a largemine-owner in the Gulf of Guinea, proposed to me a tour with the objectof inspecting his concessions, and I proposed to myself a journey ofexploration inland. The Foreign Office liberally gave me leave to escapethe winter of Trieste, where the ferocious Bora (nor'-nor'-easter) wageseternal war with the depressing and distressing Scirocco, orsouth-easter. Some One marvelled aloud and said, 'You are certainly thefirst that ever applied to seek health in the "genial and congenialclimate" of the West African Coast. ' But then Some One had not realisedthe horrors of January and February at the storm-beaten head of the everunquiet Adriatic. 

Thus it happened that on November 18, 1881, after many adieux and _aurevoirs, _ I found myself on board the Cunard s. S. _Demerara_(Captain C. Jones), bound for 'Gib. ' My wife was to accompany me as faras Hungarian Fiume. 

The Cunard route to 'Gib' is decidedly roundabout. We began with a runto Venice, usually six hours from the Vice-Queen of the Adriatic: it wasprolonged to double by the thick and clinging mist-fog. The sea-city wasenjoying her usual lethargy of repose after the excitement of the'geographical Carnival, ' as we called the farcical Congress of lastSeptember. She is essentially a summering place. Her winter ismiserable, neither city nor houses being built for any but the finest offine weather; her 'society'-season lasts only four months fromSt. Stephen's Day; her traveller-seasons are spring and autumn. We foundall our friends either in bed with bad colds, or on the wing for Englandand elsewhere; we inhaled a _quant. Suff. _ of choking vapour, evenin the comfortable Britannia Hotel; and, on the morning of the 23rd, weawoke to find ourselves moored alongside of the new warehouses on thenew port of Hungarian, or rather Croatian, Fiume. 

Fiume had made prodigious strides since I last saw her in 1878; and sheis gradually taking the wind out of the sails of her sister-rival. Whileold Tergeste wastes time and trouble upon futile questions of policy, and angry contrasts between Germans and Slavs, and Italians andTriestines, Fiume looks to the main chance. The neat, clean, andwell-watered little harbour-city may be called a two-dinner-a-day place, so profuse is her hospitality to strangers. Here, too, we once moreenjoyed her glorious outlook, the warm winter sun gilding thesnowy-silvery head of Monte Maggiore and raining light and life upon theindigo-tinted waters of Fiume Bay. Next to Naples, I know nothing inEurope more beautiful than this ill-named Quarnero. We saw a shot or soof the far-famed Whitehead torpedo, which now makes twenty-one miles anhour; and on Nov. 25 we began to run down the Gulf _en route_ forPatras. 

It was a pleasure to emerge from the stern and gloomy Adriatic; andnothing could be more lovely than the first evening amongst the IonianIslands. To port, backed by the bold heights of the Grecian sea-range, lay the hoary mount, and the red cliffs, 780 feet high, of Sappho'sLeap, a never-forgotten memory. Starboard rose bleak Ithaca, frontingthe black mountain of Cephalonia, now bald and bare, but clothed withdark forests till these were burnt down by some mischievousmalignant. Whatever of sterility deformed the scene lay robed under aglory of colour painted with perfect beauty by the last smile of thesun. Earth and air and sea showed every variety of the chromatic scale, especially of rose-tints, from the tenderest morning blush of virginsnow to the vinous evening flush upon the lowlands washed by the purplewave. The pure translucent vault never ceased to shift itschameleon-like hues, that ranged between the diaphanous azure of thezenith and the faintest rainbow green, a border-land where blue andyellow met and parted. The air felt soft and balmy; a holy calm was onthe face of creation; all looked delicious after the rude north, and weacknowledged once more that life was worth living. 

Patras also has greatly improved since I last saw her in 1872. Themalaria-swamps to the north and south of the town have been drained andare being warped up: the 'never-failing succession of aguish fevers'will presently fade out of the guide-books. A macadamised boulevard hasbeen built, and a breakwater is building. The once desert square, 'Georgios A', ' has been planted with trees, which should be Eucalyptus;and adorned with two French statues of bronze which harmonise admirablywith the surroundings. The thoroughfares are still Sloughs of Despondafter rain, and gridirons of St. Laurence in dusty summer; but there areincipient symptoms of trottoirs. And throughout there is a disappearanceof the hovels which resembled Port Sa'id in her younger day, and anotable substitution of tall solid houses. 

All this has been brought about by 'fruit, ' which in Patras meanscurrants; that is, 'Corinthian grapes. ' The export this year is unusual, 110, 000 tons, including the Morea and the Islands; and of this totalonly 20, 000 go to France for wine-making. It gives a surprising idea ofthe Christmas plum-pudding manufacture. Patras also imports for all thesmall adjacent places, inhabited by 'shaggy capotes. ' And she will havea fine time when that talented and energetic soldier, General Türr, whomwe last met at Venice, begins the 'piercing of the Isthmus. ' _Àpropos_ of which, one might suggest to Patras, with due respect, that(politically speaking) 'honesty is the best policy. '

Being at Patras on St. Andrew's Day, with a Scotch demoiselle on board, we could hardly but pilgrimage to the place of the Apostle'smartyrdom. Mrs. Wood kindly sent her daughters to do the honours. Aghyos Andreas lies at the extreme south of the town on the system ofruts, called a road, which conducts down-coast. The church is a longyellow barn, fronting a cypress-grown cemetery, whose contents are beingtransferred to the new extramural. A little finger of the holy manreposes under a dwarf canopy in the south-eastern angle: his left arm ispreserved at Mount Athos in a silver reliquary, set with gems. Outside, near the south-western corner, is the old well of Demeter (Ceres), whichhas not lost its curative virtues by being baptised. You descend a dwarfflight of brick steps to a mean shrine and portrait of the saint, andremark the solid bases and the rude rubble arch of the pagan temple. Afig-tree, under which the martyrdom took place, grew in the adjacentcourt; it has long been cut down, probably for fuel. 

The population of Patras still affords a fine study of the 'dirtypicturesque, ' with clothes mostly home-made; sheepskin cloaks;fustanellas or kilts, which contain a whole piece of calico; redleggings, and the rudest of sandals; Turkish caps, and an occasionalpistol-belt. The Palikar still struts about in all his old bravery; andthe _bourgeois_ humbly imitates the dingy garb of SouthernItaly. The people have no taste for music, no regard for art, no respectfor antiquities, except for just as much as these will bring. They owntwo, and only two, objects in life: firstly, to make money, andsecondly, to keep and not to spend it. But this dark picture has abright side. No race that I know is so greedy of education; the smallboys, instead of wending unwillingly to school, crowd the doors beforethey are opened. Where this exceptional feeling is universal we may hopefor much. 

The last evening at Patras showed us a beautiful view of what is herecalled Parnassus (Parnassó), the tall bluff mountain up the Gulf, whosesnows at sunset glowed like a balass ruby. We left the Morea at 2A. M. (December 2), and covered the fifty-two miles to Zante beforebreakfast. There is, and ever has been, something peculiarly sympatheticto me in the 'flower of the Levant. ' 'Eh! 'tis a bonny, bonny place, 'repeatedly ejaculated our demoiselle. The city lies at the foot of thegrey cliffs, whose northern prolongation extends to the Akroteri, orLighthouse Point. A fine quay, the Strada Marina, has been opened duringthe last six years along the northern sea-front, where the arcadessuggest those of Chester. It is being prolonged southwards to the oldquarantine-ground and the modern prison, which rests upon the skirts ofthe remarkable Skopo, the Prospect Mountain, 1, 489 feet high. Thisfeature, which first shows itself to mariners approaching Zakynthos fromnorth or from south, has a saddle-back sky-line, with a knob oflimestone shaped like a Turkish pommel and sheltering its monastery, Panaghia of Skopo, alias Our Lady of the Look-out. Below it appearsanother and a similar outcrop near a white patch which has suggestedmarble-quarrying; and the northern flank is dotted with farmhouses andvillas. The dwarf breakwater, so easily prolonged over the shallows, hasnot been improved; but at its base rises a brand-new opera-house, bigenough for a first-rate city. Similarly at Barletta they raised a loanto build a mole and they built a theatre. Unlike Patras, Zante long hadthe advantage of Italian and then of English rule; and the citizens carefor music more than for transformation-scenes. The Palikar element alsois notably absent; and the soldiers are in uniform, not in half-uniformand half-brigand attire. I missed the British flag once so conspicuousupon the southern round tower of the castle, where in days, or rathernights, of old I had spent not a few jolly hours; but I heard withpleasure that it is proposed to make a _haute-ville_ of the nowdeserted and crumbling triangle, a _Sommerfrisch_ where theparboiled citizens of Athens will find a splendid prospect and a coolingsea-breeze. 

Mr. E. Barff kindly accompanied us in the usual drive 'round theWrekin, ' for which we may here read the 'wreck. ' We set out along thesea-flank of the Castle hill. This formation, once a regular hog's-back, has been split by weather about the middle; and its southern end hasbeen shaken down by earthquakes, and carved by wind and rain intoprecipices and pinnacles of crumbling sandstone, which form the 'GreyCliffs. ' Having heard at Patras the worst accounts of Zante since itpassed under Greek rule, I was not a little surprised by the excellentcondition of the roads and the general look of prosperity. 

Turning to the right we entered Mr. Barff's garden-house, where thegrounds were bright and beautiful with balsam and mignonette, dahliasand cyclamens, chrysanthemums and oleanders, jasmine and double-violets, orange-blossoms, and a perfect Gulistan of roses, roses of York andLancaster, white, pink, and purple, yellow and green--a perfumed springin dreary December. Laden with bouquets we again threaded theolive-grounds, whose huge trunks are truly patriarchal, and saw baskingin the sun old Eumæus, the Swine-King, waiting upon his black andbristly herd. The glimpse led to a characteristic tale. A wealthy Greekmerchant in London had made the most liberal offers to his brother, ashepherd in the hills of Cephalonia; the latter returned his very bestthanks, but declared himself perfectly happy and unwilling to temptfortune by change of condition to England. Greece, it is evident, hasnot ceased to breed 'wise men. '

We returned, _viâ_ the landward flank of the hog's-back, along thefine plain ('O Kampos') bounded west by the range called after MountMeriy, the apex, rising 3, 274 feet. Anglo-Zantiots fondly compare itsoutline with the Jura's. The look of the rich lowlands, 'the vale, ' asour charts call it, suggested a river-valley, but river there isnone. Every nook and corner was under cultivation, and eachcountry-house had its chapel and its drying-ground for 'fruit, ' levelyards now hidden under large-leaved daisies and wild flowers. We passedthrough the Graetani village, whose tenants bear a bad name, and sawnone of the pretty faces for which Zante is famed. The sex was dressedin dark jackets and petticoats _à l'italienne_; and the elders wereapparently employed in gathering 'bitter herbs, ' dandelion and the wildendive. Verily this is a frugal race. 

The drive ended with passing up the Strada Larga, the inner High Street, running parallel with the Marina. After Turkish fashion, trades flocktogether, shoemakers to the south and vegetable-vendors to thenorth. There are two good specimens of Venetian palazzetti, onefantastic, the other classical; and there is a rough pavement, which isstill wanting in Patras. A visit to the silk-shop of GarafugliaPapaiouanou was obligatory: here the golden-hued threads reminded me ofthe Indian Tussur-moth. Also _de rigueur_ was the purchase of nougatand raki, the local mandorlato and mastaché, almond-cake andgrape-spirit. 

Zante appears to me an excellent home for a large family with a smallincome. A single man lives at the best hotel (Nazionale) for forty-fivefrancs per week. A country-house with nine bedrooms, cellarage, stabling, dog-house, orangery, and large garden, is to be had for25_l. _ a year. Fowls cost less than a franc; turkeys, if you do notbuy them from a shipchandler, two francs and a half. The strong andsherry-flavoured white wine of Zante rarely exceeds three shillings thegallon, sixpence a bottle. And other necessaries in the same proportion. 

But, oh that St. Dionysius, patron saint of Zante, would teach his_protégés_ a little of that old Persian wisdom which abhorred a lieand its concomitants, cheating and mean trickery! The _Esmeralda_, after two days and one night at Zante, was charged 15_l. _, forpilotage, when the captain piloted himself; for church, where there isno parson; and for harbour dues where there is no harbour. It is almostincredible that so sharp-witted a race can also be so short-sighted; sowise about pennies, so foolish about pounds. 

On Saturday we left Zante in the teeth of a fresh but purely localnorth-easter, which whistled through the gear and hurled the spray highup Cape Skinari. The result was, as the poet sings--

 That peculiar up-and-down motion Which belongs to the treacherous ocean. 

Not without regret I saw the last of the memorious old castle and ofSkopo the picturesque. We ran along the western shore of Cephalonia, theisle of three hundred villages: anyone passing this coast at onceunderstands how Greece produced so many and such excellent seamen. Theisland was a charming spectacle, with its two culminations, Maraviglia(3, 311 ft. ) and Elato (5, 246 ft. ), both capped by purple cloud; itsfertile slopes and its fissured bight, Argostoli Bay, running deep intothe land. 

We fondly expected to pass the Messina Straits by daylight, and to castanother glance upon old Etna, Scylla and Charybdis, the Liparis andStromboli. And all looked well, as about noon we were abreast of CapeSpartivento, the 'Split-wind' which divides the mild northers andsouthers of the Straits from the raw Boras and rotting Sciroccos of theAdriatic. But presently a signal for succour was hoisted by a marvellousold tub, a sailer-made-steamer, sans boats, sans gunwales; a somethingwhose dirt and general dilapidation suggested the Flying Dutchman. Ialmost expected to see her drop out of form and crumble into dust as ourboys boarded her. The _America_, of Barletta, bound from Brindisito Genoa, had hurt her boilers. We hauled in her cable--these gentrymust never be trusted with a chance of slipping loose--and tugged herinto Messina, thereby losing a valuable day. 

The famous Straits were almost a replica of Ionian Island scenery: theshores of the Mediterranean, limestone and sandstone, with here andthere a volcanic patch, continually repeat themselves. After passing thebarren heel of the Boot and its stony big toe, the wady-streaked shoresbecome populous and well cultivated, while railway trains on eitherside, island and continent, toss their snowy plumes in the pride ofcivilisation. The ruined castles on the crags and the new villages onthe lowlands told their own story of Turkish and Algerine piracy, nowdoomed to the limbo of things that were. In the evening we were safelyanchored within the zancle (sickle) of Messina-port, whose depth ofwater and circular shape have suggested an old crater flooded. It wasSunday, and we were greeted with the familiar sounds, the ringing ofcracked bells, the screaming of harsh, hoarse voices, a military bandand detached musical performances. The classical facade of the Marina, through whose nineteen archways and upper parallelograms you catch avista of dark narrow wynd, contrasts curiously with Catania: the formeris a 'dicky, ' a front hiding something unclean; while the latter is laidout in Eastern style, where, for the best of reasons, the marble palacehides behind a wall of mud. The only new features I noted were a metalfish-market, engineer art which contrasts marvellously with the Ionicpilasters and the solid ashlar of the 'dicky;' and, at the root of thesickle, a new custom-house of six detached boxes, reddest-roofed andwhitest-walled, built to copy children's toy cottages. Croatian Fiumewould blush to own them. Of the general impurity of the town and of the_bouquet de Messine_ the less said the better. 

As we made fast to the Marina our tobacco was temporarily sealed afterthe usual mean Italian fashion. Next morning an absurd old person, in abroad red baldrick, came on board and counted noses, to ascertain thatwe had not brought the dreaded small-pox from the Ionian Islands. Afterbeing graciously and liberally allowed to land, we were visited by thelocal chapmen, whose goods appeared rather mixed--polished cowhorns andmildewed figs, dolls in costume and corrosive oranges; by the normalmusical barber, who imitates at a humble distance bird and beast; and bythe vendor of binoculars, who asks forty francs and who takes ten. Thecaptain noted his protest at the Consulate, and claimed by way of_sauvetage 200l_. The owners offered 200 lire--punds Scots. Briefly, noon had struck before we passed out of the noise and the smells ofMessina. 

Our good deed had cost us dear. A wet scirocco had replaced the brightnorther and saddened all the view. Passing the tide-rip Charybdis, ameeting of currents, which called only for another hand at the wheel;and the castled crag of naughty Scylla, whose town has grownprodigiously, we bade adieu to the 'tower of Pelorus. ' Then we shapedour course for the Islands of Æolus, or the Winds, and the Lipariarchipelago, all volcanic cones whose outlines were misty as Ossian'sspectres. And we plodded through the dreary dull-grey scene of drizzlingscirocco--

 Till, when all veilèd sank in darkling air, Naught but the welkin and the wave was there. 

Next morning showed us to port the Cone of Maritimo: it outlies Marsala, whose wine caused the blinding of Polyphemus, and since that time hasbrought on many an attack of liver. The world then became to us_pontus et aer_. Days and nights were equally uneventful; the diarytells only of quiet seas under the lee of Sardinia and of the Balearics, ghostly glimpses of the North African coast and the steady setting in ofthe normal wester, the indraught of 'the Straits. '

On Friday (November 9) the weather broke and deluged us with rain. AtGibraltar the downpour lasted twenty-four hours. We found ourselves atanchor before midnight with a very low barometer, which suggestedunpleasantries. Next morning we sighted the deep blue waters of the Bay, and the shallow brown waters of the Bayside crested with foam by afurious norther, that had powdered the far Ronda highlands withsnow. Before noon, however, the gale had abated and allowed me totransfer myself and African outfit on board the _Fez_ (Capt. Hay), Moroccan Steamship Company, trading to North Africa. This was agodsend: there is no regular line between Gibraltar and Lisbon, and onemight easily be delayed for a week. 

The few hours' halt allowed me time to call upon my old friend, M. Dautez, a Belgian artist. Apparently he is the only person in theplace who cares for science. He has made extensive collections. He ownstwenty-four coins from Carteia, whereas Florez (Medallas, Madrid, 1773)shows a total of only thirty-three. Amongst his antiquities there is acharming statuette of Minerva, a bronze miniature admirably finished. Hehas collected the rock fauna, especially the molluscs, fossil andmodern. He is preparing an album of the Flora Calpensis. His birds'nests were lately sold to an Englishman. All these objects, of immenselocal interest, were offered by him at the lowest possible rate to theMilitary Library, but who is there to understand their value? I wonderhow many Englishmen on the Rock know that they are within easy ride ofthe harbour which named the 'Ships of Tarshish'? Tartessus, which wasCarteia, although certain German geographers would, against the generalvoice of antiquity, make the former the country and the latter the city, lay on both sides of the little Guadarranque stream, generally calledFirst River; and the row of tumuli on the left bank probably denotes thesite of the famous docks. I was anxious to open diggings in 1872, butpermission was not forthcoming: now, however, they say that the Duke ofMedina Sidonia would offer no objections. 

Gib, though barbarous in matters of science, is civilised as regards'business. ' It was a treat to see steamer after steamer puff in, load upwith blue peter at the fore, and start off after a few hours which wouldhave been days at Patras, Zante, and Messina. Here men work with a will, as a walk from the Convent to the Old Mole, the Mersa or water-port of aMoroccan town, amply proves. The uniforms are neat and natty--they werethe reverse five years ago--and it is a pleasure to look upon the freshfaces of English girls still unstained by unconsumed carbon. And theauthorities have had the good sense to preserve the old Moorish town ofTárik and his successors, the triangle of walls with the tall tower-likemosque for apex, and the base facing the bay. 

We left Gibraltar at 5 P. M. On Saturday (December 10), giving a wideberth to the hated Pearl Rock, which skippers would remove by force ofarms. Seen from east or west Gib has an outline of its own. TheBritisher, whose pride it is, sees the 'lion of England who has laid hispaw upon the key of the Mediterranean, ' and compares it with the king ofbeasts, sejant, the tail being Europa Point. The Spaniards, to whom itis an eyesore, liken it to a shrouded corpse, the outlined head lying tothe north, and declare, truly enough, that to them it is a dead body. 

The norther presently changed to the rainy south-wester, the builder ofthe Moroccan 'bars' and the scourge of the coast fringing North-westAfrica, Rolling set in with the usual liveliness. Events were noteventful. The first midnight found us off Cape Trafalgar, and the secondoff St. Vincent. At 4 P. M. (December 12), we saw the light of Espíchel(_Promóntorium Barbaricum_), the last that shines upon the voyagerbound Brazilwards. Before nightfall we had left Buzio lighthouse tostarboard. We then ran up the northern passage in charge of a laggingpilot; and, as the lamps were lighting, we found ourselves comfortablyberthed off that pretty toy, Belem Tower. 

Next morning broke upon a lovely view: no wonder that the Tagus is thepride of Portuguese bards. The _Rosicler_, or rosy dawn-light, wasthat of a May morning--the May of poetry, not of meteorology--and theupper windows of distant Lisbon were all ablaze with the unrisen sun. Itwas a picture for the loveliest colours, not for 'word-painting;' andthe whole scene was classical as picturesque. We may justly say of it, 'Nullum sine nomine saxum. ' Far over the rising hills of the north bankrose shaggy Cintra, 'the most blessed spot in the habitable globe, ' withits memorious convent and its Moorish castle. The nearer heights werestudded with the oldest-fashioned windmills, when the newest are foundeven in the Canaries; a single crest bore its baker's dozen, mostlydecapitated by steam. Advancing we remarked the glorious Belemmonastery, defiled by its ignoble modern ruin to the west; the newhippodrome crowning the grassy slope; the Bed House of Belem, now beingbrightened up for Royal residence during the Exhibition of 1882; theMemoria and the Ajuda Palace, more unfinished, if possible, thanever. As we approached the bulk of the city the marking objects were thecypressed Prazeres Cemetery; the red Necessidades Palace, and theEstrella, whose dome and domelets, built to mimic St. Peter's, look onlylike hen and chickens. Then in due time came the Carmo Church, stillunrepaired since 1755; Blackhorse Square, still bare of trees; theGovernment offices, still propped to prevent a tumble-down, and the oldCustom House, still a bilious yellow; the vast barrack-like pile ofS. Vicente, the historic _Sé_ or cathedral with dumpy towers; theblack Castle of São Jorge, so hardly wrung from the gallant Moors, andthe huge Santa Engracia, apparently ever to be a ruin. 

I spent a pleasant week at Lisbon, and had a fair opportunity ofmeasuring what progress she has made during the last sixteen years. Wehave no longer to wander up and down disconsolate

 Mid many things unsightly to strange ee. 

If the beggars remain, the excessive dirt and the vagrant dogs havedisappeared. The Tagus has a fine embankment; but the land side isoccupied by mean warehouses. The sewers, like those of Trieste, stillwant a _cloaca maxama_, a general conduit of masonry running alongthe quay down-stream. The Rocio has been planted with mean trees, greatly to the disgust of the average Lusitanian, who hates suchsun-excluding vegetation like a backwoodsman; yet the Quintellasquarelet shows what fine use may be made of cactus and pandanus, aloesand palms, not to mention the ugly and useful eucalyptus. Thethoroughfares are far cleaner than they were; and Lisbon is nowsurrounded by good roads. The new houses are built with some respect forarchitectonic effect of light and shade: such fine old streets as theRua Augusta offend the eye by façades flat as cards with rows of pipsfor windows. Finally, a new park is being laid out to the north of thePasseio Publico. 

Having always found 'Olisipo' exceptionally hospitable and pleasant, Ilook forward to the days when she will be connected with Paris by directrailway. Her hotels are first-rate; her prices are not excessive; herwinter climate is delightful, and she is the centre of most charmingexcursions. The capital has thrown off much of her old lethargy. HerGeographical Society is doing hard and honest work; she has noblyexpiated the national crime by becoming a 'Camonian' city; and sheindulges freely in exhibitions. One, of Ornamental Art, was about to beopened when I last saw her, and it extended deep into the next spring. 

CHAPTER II. 

FROM LISBON TO MADEIRA. 

My allotted week in Lisbon came to an end only too soon: in the societyof friends, and in the Camonian room (Bibliotheca Nacional), whichcontains nearly 300 volumes, I should greatly have enjoyed a month. Thes. S. _Luso_ (Captain Silva), of the 'Empresa Insulana, ' one of thevery few Portuguese steamers, announced her departure for December 20;and I found myself on board early in the morning, with a small buthighly select escort to give me God-speed. 

Unfortunately the 'May weather' had made way for the _cacimbas_(mists) of a rainy sou'-wester. The bar broke and roared at us; Cintra, the apex of Lisbon's extinct volcano and the Mountain of the (Sun and)Moon, hid her beautiful head, and even the Rock of Lisbon disdained thenormal display of sturdy flank. Then set in a _brise carabinée_, which lasted during our voyage of 525 miles, and the _Luso_, rolling like a moribund whale, proved so lively that most of thefourteen passengers took refuge in their berths. A few who resisted thesea-fiend's assaults found no cause of complaint: the captain andofficers were exceedingly civil and obliging, and food and wines weregood and not costly. 

From Madeira the _Luso_ makes, once a month, the tour of theAzores, touching at each island--a great convenience--and returning inten days. 

Early on Thursday, the 22nd, the lumpy, churning sea began to subside, and the invisible balm seduced all the sufferers to thequarter-deck. They were wild to sight Madeira as children to see therising of the pantomime-curtain. There was not much to gaze at; but whatwill not attract man's stare at sea?--a gull, a turtle, a flying fish!By the by, Captain Tuckey, of the Congo Expedition, remarked the'extraordinary absence of sea-birds in the vicinity of Madeira and theCanaries:' they have since learned the way thither. Porto Santo appearedas a purple lump of three knobs, a manner of 'gizzard island, ' backed bya deeper gloom of clouds--Madeira. Then it lit up with a pale glimmer asof snow, the effect of the sun glancing upon the thin greens of thenorthern flank; and, lastly, it broke into two masses--northern andsouthern--of peaks and precipices connected by a strip of lowland. 

It is generally held that the discovery of the Madeiran group (1418-19)was the first marking feature of the century which circumnavigatedAfrica, and that Porto Santo was 'invented 'by the Portuguese beforeMadeira. The popular account, however, goes lame. For instance, thestory that tried and sturdy soldiers and seamen were deterred fromadvancing a few miles, and were driven back to Portugal by the 'thickimpenetrable darkness which was guarded by a strange noise, ' and byanile fancies about the 'Mouth of Hell' and 'Cipango, ' reads like merestuff and nonsense. Again, great are the difficulties in determining thenationality of the explorers, and settling the conflicting claims of theFrench, Genoese, Portuguese, Spanish, English, and Arabs. History, andperhaps an aptitude for claiming, have assigned the honour exclusivelyto Lusitania: and every guide-book tells the same old tale. But I havelived long enough to have seen how history is written; and the discoverywas, at best, a mere re-discovery, as we learn from Pliny (vi. 36), whose 'insulae purpurariae' cannot be confounded [Footnote: Mr. Major, however, would identify the Purple Islands with Oanarian Fuerteventuraand Lanzarote, both possibly Continental. ] with the Fortunate Islands, or Canaries. The 'Gaetulian dye' of King Juba in the Augustan age isnot known. Its origin has been found in the orchilla still growing uponthe Desertas; but this again appears unlikely enough. Ptolemy (iv. 1, 16)also mentions 'Erythía, ' the Red Isle--'red, ' possibly, for the samereason; and Plutarch (in Suet. ) may allude to the Madeiran group when herelates of the Fortunate Islands: 'They are two, separated only by anarrow channel, and at a distance of 400 leagues (read 320 miles) fromthe African coast. '

The Jesuit, Antonio Cordeyro, [Footnote: _Historia insulana das Ilhasa Portugal sugoytas_, pp. 61-96. Lisbon, 1717. ] who borrows from thelearned and trustworthy Dr. Gaspar Fructuoso, [Footnote: _As Saudadesda Terra_, lib. I. Ch. Iii, _Historia das Ilhas, &c_. Thislettered and conscientious chronicler, the first who wrote upon thePortuguese islands, was born (A. D. 1522) at Ponta Delgada (Thin Point)of St. Michael, Azores. He led a life of holiness and good works, composed his history in 1590, left many 'sons of his soul, ' as he calledhis books, and died in his natal place, A. D. 1591. The Madeiran portionof the two huge folios (some 4, 000 pages of MS. ) has been printed atFunchal, with copious notes by Dr. A. Rodrigues de Azevedo, Professor ofLiterature, &c. , at the National Lyceum; and a copy was kindly lent tome, during the author's absence in Lisbon, by Governor Viscount de VillaMendo. ] declares in 1590: 'The first discoverers of the Porto SantoIsland, many say, were those Frenchmen and Castilians (Spaniards) whowent forth from Castile to conquer the Canaries; these, when eitheroutward or homeward bound, came upon the said island, and, for that theyfound it uninhabited and small, they abandoned it; but as they hadweathered a storm and saved themselves there, they named it Port Holy. 'Fructuoso (i. 5) expressly asserts that the Portuguese sailed fromLisbon in June 1419 for 'the Isle of Porto Sancto'(in 32° N. Lat. ), which two years before had been discovered by some Castilian shipsmaking the Canaries, the latter having been occupied a short timepreviously by the French; wherefore the pilot took that route. ' TheJesuit chronicler continues to relate that after the formally proclaimedannexation of the Canaries by the Normans and Castilians (A. D. 1402-18), Prince Henry, the Navigator, despatched from Lagos, in 1417, anexpedition to explore Cape Bojador, the 'gorbellied. ' The three shipswere worked by the Italian master-seaman Bertholomeu Palestrello orPalestro, commonly called Perestrello. The soldiers, corresponding toour marines, were commanded by the 'sweet warman, ' João Gonçales daCamara, nicknamed 'O Zargo, ' the Cyclops, not the squint-eyed;[Footnote: Curious to say, Messieurs White and Johnson, the writers ofthe excellent guide-book, will translate the word 'squint-eyed:' theymight have seen the portrait in Government House. ] his companion wasTristão Vaz Teyxeyra, called in honour 'the Tristam. ' Azurara, [Footnote: _Chronica do Descobrimento de Guiné. _ By Gomes Eannes deAzurara, written between A. D. 1452-53, and quoted by Prof. Azevedo, Notes, p. 830. ] a contemporary, sends the 'two noble squires, ' Zarco andTristam, 'who in bad weather were guided by God to the isle now calledPorto Sancto' (June 1419). They returned home (marvellous to relate)without touching at Madeira, only twenty-three miles distant; and nextyear (1420) Prince Henry commissioned Palestrello also. 

The Spaniards prefer to believe that after Jehan de Béthencourt's attackupon the Canaries (A. D. 1403), his soldier Lancelot, who named LanzaroteIsland, touched at Porto Santo in 1417; and presently, sailing to thesouth-west, discovered Madeira. This appears reasonable enough. 

Patriotic Barbot (1700), in company with the mariner Villault deBelfons, Père Labat, and Ernest de Fréville, [Footnote: _Mémoire surle Commerce Maritime de Rouen. _] claims the honour for France. According to that 'chief factor for the African Company, ' themerchants of Dieppe first traded to West Africa for cardamoms andivory. This was during the reign of Charles V. , and between 1364 and1430, or half a century before the Portuguese. Their chief stations wereGoree of Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, Cape Mount, the Kru or Liberiancoast, then called 'of Grain, ' from the 'Guinea grains' or Malaguettapepper (_Amomum granum Paradisi_), and, lastly, the GoldCoast. Here they founded 'Petit Paris' upon the Baie de France, at'Serrelionne;' 'Petit Dieppe, ' at the mouth of the St. John's River, near Grand Bassá, south of Monrovia; and 'Cestro' [Footnote: Nowgenerally called Grand Sestros, and popularly derived from thePortuguese _cestos_--pepper. ] or 'Sestro Paris, ' where, threecenturies afterwards, the natives retained a few words of French. HenceAdmiral Bouet-Willaumez explains the Great and Little 'Boutoo' of ourcharts by _butteau_, from _butte_, the old Norman word stillpreserved in the great western prairies. 

Barbot resumes that in 1383 the Rouen traders, combining with the Dieppemen, sent upon an exploring voyage three ships, one of which, _LaVierge_, ran down coast as far as where Commenda (Komenda or Komání)and Elmina now stand. At the latter place they built a fort and factoryjust one century before it was occupied by the Portuguese. The Frenchmandeclares that one of the Elmina castles was called Bastion de France, and 'on it are still to be seen some old arithmetical numbers, which are_anno_ 13' (i. E. 1383); 'the rest being defaced by weather. ' Thisfirst factory was afterwards incorporated with the modern building; andin 1387 it was enlarged with the addition of a chapel to lodge more thanten or twelve men, the original garrison. 

In 1670 Ogilvy [Footnote: London: Printed by Tho. Johnson for theauthor, and to be had at his house in White Fryers, MDCLXX. ] notes: 'Thecastle (Elmina) was judged to be an Antient Building from several marksof Antiquity about it; as first by a decay'd Battery, which the_Dutch_ repaired some years ago, retaining the name of _theFrench Battery_, because it seems to have been built by the_French_; who, as the Inhabitants say, before the coming of the_Portugals_ harbour'd there. The _Dutch_ when they won it, found the numerical Figures of the year thirteen hundred; but were notable to make anything of the two following Characters. In a small placewithin also, may be seen a Writing carved in Stone between two oldPillars, but so impair'd and worn out by the weather that it is notlegible. ' At Groree, too, similar remains were reported. 

The adventurers, it is said, carried on a good trade till 1430-90, whenthe civil wars distracting France left her without stomach for distantadventure; and in 1452 Portugal walked over the course. M. D'Avezac, whofound Porto Santo in a French map of the fourteenth century, [Footnote:_Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_, cinquième série, tomev. P. 260. Also 'Iles de l'Afrique, ' in the _Univers. _ Paris, 1868. ] seems inclined to take the part of 'quelques précurseursméconnus contre les prétentions trop exclusives des découvreursofficiels. '

Barbot's details are circumstantial, but they have not been confirmed bycontemporary evidence or by local tradition. The Portuguese indignantlydeny the whole, and M. Valdez in his 'Complete Maritime Handbook'[Footnote: _Six Years of a Traveller's Life in Western Africa. _London, Hurst & Blackett, 1861. ] alludes contemptuously to 'Normanpirates. ' They point out that Diego d'Azembuja, the chief captain, sentin 1481 to found São Jorje da Mina, our 'Elmina Castle, ' saw no tracesof previous occupation. But had he done so, would he have dared topublish the fact? Professor Azevedo relies upon the silence of Azurara, Barros, and Camoens concerning the French, the Spaniards, and theEnglish in the person of Robert à Machim. But this is also at best anegative argument: the 'Livy of Portugal' never mentions the greatmathematician, Martin Behaim, who accompanied Diego Cam to his discoveryof the Congo. In those days fair play was not a jewel. 

The truth is that it would be as easy to name the discoverer ofgunpowder or steam-power as to find the first circumnavigator of theAfrican continent. I have no difficulty in believing that thePhoenicians and Carthaginians were capable of making the voyage. Theywere followed to West Africa in early days, according to El-Idrisi andIbn. El-Wardi, by the Arabs. The former (late eleventh century) relatesthat an Arab expedition sailed from Lisbon, shortly after the eighthcentury, and named Madeira and Porto Santo the 'Islands El-Ghanam andRákah. ' However that may be, the first Portuguese occupants foundneither men nor ruins nor large quadrupeds upon any of the group. 

The English accident of hitting upon Madeira, and the romantic tale ofMaster Robert à Machim, or Machin, or Macham, and Mistress Anne d'Arfet, or Darby, or Dorset, which would have suited Camoens, and which I havetold elsewhere, [Footnote: Wanderings in West Africa, vol. I, p. 17. Chapter II. , 'A Day at Madeira, ' was written after my second andbefore my third visit. ] and need not repeat, was probably an 'ingeniousaccount' invented for politico-international ends or to flatter DomEnrique, a Britisher by the distaff-side. It is told with a thousandvariants, and ignored by the learned Fructuoso. According to theapocryphal manuscript of Francisco Alcoforado, the squire whoaccompanied the Zargo, this elopement took place in the earlier days ofEdward III. (A. D. 1327-77). The historian Antonio Galvão fixes uponSeptember 1344, the date generally accepted. Thus the interval betweenMachim's death and the Zargo's discovery would be seventy-four years;and--_pace_ Mr. Major--the Castilian pilot, Juan Damores (deAmores), popularly called Morales, could _not_ have met the remnantof the Bristol crew in their Moroccan prison, and could _not_ havetold the tale to the Portuguese explorers. 

M. D'Avezac (_loc. Cit. _ p. 116) supports the claims of theGenoese, quoting the charts and portulans of the fourteenth century inwhich appear Italian names, as _Insule dello Legname_ (of wood, materia, Madeira), _Porto Sancto, Insule Deserte_, and _InsuleSelvaggie_. Mr. R. H. Major replies that these Italian navigatorswere commandants of expeditions fitted out by the Portuguese; and thatthis practice dated from 1341, when two ships officered by Genoese, withcrews of [footnote: Amongst the 'ridiculous little blots, which are"nuts" to the old resident, ' I must confess to killing Robert Machim in1334 instead of 1344; 'Collegio' was also translated 'College' insteadof 'Jesuit Church. '] Italians, Castilians, and _Hispani_ (Spanishand Portuguese), were seat to explore the Canaries. 

'Holy Port' began badly. The first governor, Perestrello, fled from theprogeny of his own she-rabbit. This imprudence was also committed atDeserta Grande; and, presently, the cats introduced by way of cure ranwild. A grass-clad rock in the Fiume Gulf can tell the same tale: sheepand lambs were effectually eaten out by rabbits and cats. It will beremembered that Columbus married Philippa, third daughter of thenavigator Perestrello, lived as a mapper with his father-in-law, andthence travelled, between 1470 and 1484, to Guinea, where he found thatthe equatorial regions are not uninhabitable by reason of the heat. Heinherited the old seaman's papers, and thus arose the legend of hislearning from a castaway pilot the way to the New World. [Footnote:Fructuoso writes that in 1486 Columbus gave food and shelter to the crewof a shattered Biscayan ship; the pilot dying bequeathed to him papers, charts and valuable observations made on the Western Ocean. ]

Long years rolled by before Porto Santo learnt to bear the vine, tobreed large herds of small cattle, and to produce cereals whose yield issaid to have been 60 to 1. Meanwhile it cut down for bowls, mortars, andcanoes, as the Guanches did for shields, its thin forest of 'Dragons. 'The Dragoeiro (_Dracaena Draco_ Linn. , _Palma canariensis_Tourn. ), which an Irish traveller called a 'dragon-palm, ' owed itsvulgar name to the fancy that the fruit contained the perfect figure ofa standing dragon with gaping mouth and long neck, spiny back andcrocodile's tail. It is a quaint tree of which any ingenious carpentercould make a model. The young trunk is somewhat like that of the_Oreodoxa regia_, or an asparagus immensely magnified; but itfrequently grows larger above than below. At first it bears onlybristly, ensiform leaves, four feet long by one to three inches broad, and sharp-pointed, crowning the head like a giant broom. Then it putsforth gouty fingers, generally five, standing stiffly up and stillcapped by the thick yucca-like tufts. Lastly the digitations grow toenormous arms, sometimes eighteen feet in girth, of light and porous, soft and spongy wood. The tree then resembles the baobab or calabash, the elephant or hippopotamus of the vegetable kingdom. 

Amongst the minor uses of this 'Dragon, ' the sweet yellowish berriescalled _masainhas_ were famous for fattening pigs. The splintersmade tooth-picks which, dipped in the juice, secured health for humangums. But the great virtue resided in the _Sanguis Draconis_, the'Indian Cinnabaris' of Pliny, [Footnote: _N. H. _ xxxiii. 38. ] whoholds it to be the sanies of the dragon mixed with the blood of thedying elephant. The same semi-mystical name is given to the sap by theArab pharmists: in the Middle Ages this strong astringent resin was asovereign cure for all complaints; now it is used chiefly forvarnishes. The gum forms great gouts like blood where the bark iswounded or fissured: at first it is soft as that of the cherry, but ithardens by exposure to a dry red lump somewhat like 'mummy. ' It has nospecial taste: when burnt the smell is faintly balsamic. The produce wascollected in canes, and hence the commercial name 'Dragon's blood inreeds. '

Mr. P. Barker Webb believed the Dragoeiro to be a species peculiar tothe Madeiras and Canaries. But its chief point of interest is itsextending through Morocco as far as Arabo-African Socotra, and throughthe Khamiesberg Range of Southern Africa, where it is called theKokerboom. As it is utterly African, like the hippopotamus, the zebra, and the giraffe, we must account, by transplantation from Socotra, forthe D. Draco seen by Cruttenden in the mountains behind Dhofar and onthe hills of El-Yemen. [Footnote: _Journ. R. Geogr. Soc. _ p. 279, vol. Viii. Of 1838. ] The line of growth, like the coffee-shrub and thecopal-tree, suggests a connection across the Dark Continent: thus thesimilar flora of Fernando Po Peak, of Camarones volcano, and of thehighlands of Abyssinia seems to prove a latitudinal range traversing theequatorial regions, where the glacial epoch banished for ever thehardier plants from the lower levels. When Humboldt determined it to bea purely Indian growth, he seems to have confounded the true 'dragon'with a palm or some other tree supplying the blood. It was a 'dazzlingtheory, ' but unsound: the few specimens in Indus-land, 'its realcountry, ' are comparatively young, and are known to have been imported. 

The endogenous monster, indigenous to the Elysian Fields, is to thesurrounding vegetation what the cockatrice is to the cock, the wyvern tothe python. I should say 'was, ' for all the replants at Madeira and theCanaries are modern, and resemble only big toothsticks. But 'dragons'proper have existed, and perhaps memories of these portents longlingered in the brain of protohistoric man. Even if they had beenaltogether fabulous, the fanciful Hellenic mind would easily havecreated them. The Dragoeiro with its boa-like bole, its silvery, light-glancing skin, and its scars stained with red blood, growing in awild garden of glowing red-yellow oranges, would easily become the fierysaurian guarding the golden apples of the Hesperides. 

Porto Santo and Madeira, though near neighbours, are contrasts in mostrespects. The former has yellow sands and brackish water, full ofmagnesia and lime, which blacken the front teeth; the latter sweet waterand black shingles. The islet is exceedingly dry, the island damp asDevonshire. Holy Port prefers wheeled conveyances: Wood-and-Fennel-land_corsas_ or sledges, everywhere save on the New Road. Finally, thewines of the northern mite are comparatively light and acidulous; of thesouthern, luscious and heady. 

Both scraps of ground are of kindred although disputedorigin. Classicists [Footnote: Plato, _Timaeus_, ii. 517. His'fruit with a hard rind, affording meat, drink, and ointment, ' isevidently the cocoanut. The cause of the lost empire and the identity ofits site with the Dolphin's Ridge and the shallows noted byH. M. S. _Challenger_, have been ably pleaded in _Atlantis_, &c. , by Ignatius Donnelly (London, Sampson Low, 1882). ] find in these sons ofVulcan, the _débris_ of Platonic Atlantis, a drowned continent, a'Kingdom of Nowhere, ' which some cataclysm whelmed beneath the waters, leaving, for all evidence, three shattered groups of outcrops, like theChannel Islands, fragments of a lost empire, the 'bones of a wastedbody. ' Geologists, noting that volcanoes almost always fringe mainlands, believe them destined, together with the Cape Verdes, to rampart infuture ages the Dark Continent with a Ghaut-chain higher than theAndes. Other theorists hold to a recent connection of the Madeiras withMount Atlas, although the former rise from a narrow oceanic trough some13, 000 to 15, 000 feet deep. Others again join them to Southern Europeand to Northern America. The old Portuguese and certain modern realistsmake them a continuation of the Serra de Monchique in the Algarves, evenas the Azores prolong Cintra; and this opinion is somewhat justified bythe flora, which resembles in many points the tertiary and extinctgrowths of Europe. [Footnote: Such is the opinion of M. Pégot-Ogier in_The Fortunate Islands_, translated by Frances Locock (London, Bentleys, 1871). Moquet set the example in 1601 by including Madeiraalso in the 'Elysian Fields and Earthly Paradise' of the ancients. ]

Porto Santo was till lately distinguished only for pride, poverty, andpurity of blood. Her soil, according to the old chroniclers, has neverbeen polluted, like São Thomé and other colonies, by convicts, Jews, orother 'infected peoples. ' She was populated by Portuguese 'noble andtaintless'--Palestrellos, Calaças, Pinas, Vieyras, Rabaçaes, Crastos, Nunes, Pestanas, and Concellos. And yet not a little scandal was causedby Holiport when the 'Prophet Fernando' and the 'Prophetess Philippa'(Nunes), 'instigated by the demon and the deceitfulness of mankind, 'induced the ecclesiastics to introduce into the introit, with the namesof St. Peter and St. Paul, the 'Blessed Prophet Fernando. ' The tale ofmurder is told with holy horror by Dr. Gaspar Fructuoso, and theislanders are still nicknamed 'prophetas. ' Foreigners, however, whohave lately visited them, speak highly of their simple primitive ways. 

I boated to the Holy Port in 1862, when Messieurs Blandy's steamship_Falcon_ was not in existence. And now as the _Luso_ steamedalong shore, no external change appeared. A bird's-eye view of the isletsuggests a _podão_ or Madeiran billhook, about six miles bythree. The tool's broken point is the Ilha da Cima, facing tonorth-east, a contorted pile which resembles a magnified cinder. Thehandle is the Ilheu Baixo, to the south; and the blade is the tract ofyellow sandy lowlands--the sole specimen of its sort in theMadeiras--connecting the extremities. Three tall cones at once disclosevulcanism; the Pico de Facho, or Beacon Peak (1, 660 feet), the Pico deAnna Ferreira (910 feet), and the sugarloaf Pico de Castello (1, 447feet). The latter rises immediately north of the single town, and itshead still shows in white points the ruins of the fort which more thanonce saved the population from the 'Moors. ' The lower levels areterraced, as usual in this archipelago, and the valleys are green withvines and cereals. The little white _Villa Baleira_ is groupedaround its whiter church, and dotted with dark vegetation, trees, andhouses, straggling off into open country. Here lodge the greater part ofthe islanders, now nearly 1, 750 souls. The population is far toothick. But the law of Portugal has, till lately, forbidden emigration tothe islanders unless a substitute for military service be provided; theforce consists of only 250 men, and the term of service is three years;yet a _remplaçant_ costs upwards of 50_l_. Every emigrant was, therefore, an energetic stowaway, who landed at Honolulu or Demerarawithout shoes and stockings, and returned in a few years with poundssterling enough to purchase an estate and a pardon. Half-a-dozen boats, some of them neat little feluccas with three masts, are drawn up on thebeach: there is not much fishing; the vine-disease has raged, and thestaple export consists of maize in some quantities; of _cantaria, _a grey trachyte which works more freely than the brown or black basalt, and of an impure limestone from Ilheu Baixo, the only _calcaire_used in Funchal. This rock is apparently an elevated coral-reef: it alsoproduces moulds of sea-shells, delicately traced and embedded in blocksof apparently unbroken limestone. Of late a fine vein of manganese hasbeen found in the northern or mountainous part of the island: specimensshown to me by Mr. J. Blandy appeared remarkably rich. 

Under the lee of Porto Santo we enjoyed a dry deck and a foretaste ofthe soft and sensuous Madeiran 'Embate, ' the wester opposed to theLeste, Harmattan, Khammasin, or Scirocco, the dry wind which bringswet. [Footnote: The popular proverb is, 'A Leste never dies thirsty. ']Then we rolled over the twenty-five geographical miles separating usfrom our destination. Familiar sites greeted my eyes: here the 'Isle ofWood' projects a dwarf tail composed of stony vertebræ: seen upon themap it looks like the thin handle of a broad chopper. The outermost orextreme east is the Ilha de Fora, where the A. S. S. _Forerunner_ andthe L. And H. _Newton_ came to grief: a small light, one of themany on this shore, now warns the careless skipper; but apparentlynothing is easier than to lose ships upon the safest coasts. Inside itis the Ponta de São Lourenço, where the Zargo, when startled, calledupon his patron Saint of the Gridiron; others say it was named after hisgood ship. It has now a lighthouse and a telegraph-station. [Footnote:The line runs all along the southern shore as far as the Ponta do Pargo(of the 'braise-fish, ' _Pargus vulgaris_), the extreme west. AtFunchal the cable lands north of Fort São Thiago Minor, where ships arerequested not to anchor. It is used chiefly for signalling arrivals fromnorth and south; and there is talk of extending it to the Porto da Cruz, a bay on the north-eastern side. It would be of great advantage toMadeira if steamers could here land their mails when prevented fromtouching at Funchal by the south winds, which often last aweek. Accordingly a breakwater has been proposed, and Messieurs Blandyare taking interest in the improvement. ] The innermost of this sharpline of serrated basaltic outliers is the Pedra do Furado, whichEnglishmen call the Arch-Rock. 

The substantial works of the Gonçalo-Machico highway, thetelegraph-posts, and the yellow-green lines of sugar-cane, were the onlychanges I could detect in Eastern Madeira. Nothing more charming thanthe variety and contrast of colours after the rusty-brown raiment whichSouthern Europe dons in mid-December. Even the barren, arid, andwindswept eastern slopes glowed bright with the volcanic muds locallycalled laterites, and the foliated beds of saibros and maçapés, decomposed tufas oxidised red and yellow. As we drew nearer to Funchal, which looks like a giant _plate-bande_, tilted up at an angle of40°, we were startled by the verdure of every shade and tint; theyellow-green of the sugar and common cane (_Arundo sagittata_), ofthe light-leaved aloe, banana, and hibiscus; the dark orange, myrtle, and holm-oak; the gloomy cypress, and the dull laurels and bay-trees, while waving palms, growing close to stiff pines and junipers (_Oedroda Serra_), showed the contrast and communion of north and south. 

Lines of plane-trees, with foliage now blighted yellow and bright greenin February, define the embouchures of the three grim black ravinesradiating from the upper heights, and broadening out as they approachthe bay. The rounded grassy hill-heads setting off the horizontalcurtains of dry stone, 'horticultural fortifications' which guard theslopes, and which rise to a height of 3, 000 feet; the lower monticulesand parasitic craters, Signal Hill, Race-course Hill, São Martinho andSanto Antonio, telling the tale of throes perhaps to be renewed; thestern basaltic cliff-walls supporting the island and prolonged in blackjags through the glassy azure of the transparent sea; the giganticheadlands forming abutments for the upper arch; the chequered lights andshades and the wavy play of sunshine and cloudlet flitting over the faceof earth; the gay tenements habited in white and yellow, red, green, and, not unfrequently, blue; the houses built after the model ofcigar-boxes set on edge, with towers, belvederes, and gazebos so tallthat no one ascends them, and with flat roofs bearing rooms of glass, sparkling like mirrors where they catch the eye of day; the toy-forts, such as the Fortaleza do Pico de São João, built by the Spaniards, anupper work which a single ironclad would blow to powder with abroadside; the mariner's landmark, 2, 000 feet high, Nossa Senhora doMonte, white-framed in brown-black and backed by its feathery pines, distance-dwarfed to mere shrubs, where the snow-winds sport; thecloud-cap, a wool-pack, iris-tinted by the many-hued western sky, andthe soft sweet breath of the _serre-chaude_ below, profuselyscented with flower and fruit, all combined to form an _ensemble_whose first sight Northern travellers long remember. Here everyonequotes, and so will I:--

 Hic ver assiduum atque alienis mensibus æstas. 

Though it be midwinter, the land is gorgeous with blossoms; with glowingrose, fuchsia, and geranium; with snowy datura, jasmine, belladonna, stephanotis, lily, and camelia; with golden bignonia and grevillea; withpurple passion-creeper; with scarlet coral and poinciana; with blue_jacaranda_ (rosewood), solanum and lavender; and withsight-dazzling bougainvillea of five varieties, in mauve, pink, andorange sheets. Nor have the upper heights been wholly bared. Themountain-flanks are still bushy and tufty with broom, gorse, and furze;with myrtle, bilberry and whortleberry; with laurels; with heaths 20feet high, and with the imported pine. 

We spin round fantastic Garajáo, [Footnote: Not the meaningless Garajão, as travellers will write it. ] the wart-nosed cliff of 'terns' or'sea-swallows' (_Sterna hirundo_), by the northern barbariantermed, from its ruddy tints, Brazen Head. Here opens the well-knownview perpetuated by every photographer--first the blue bay, then thesheet of white houses gradually rising in the distance. We anchor in theopen roadstead fronting the Fennel-field ('Funchal'), concerning whichthe Spaniard spitefully says--

 Donde crece la escola Nace el asno que la roya. 

[Footnote:

 Wheresoe'er the fennel grows Lives the ass that loves to browse. ]

And there, straight before us, lies the city, softly couched against thehill-side that faces the southern sea, and enjoying her 'kayf' in thesinking sun. Her lower zone, though in the Temperates, is sub-tropical:Tuscany is found in the mid-heights, while it is Scotland in the bleakwolds about Pico Ruivo (6, 100 feet) and the Paül (Moorland) da Serra. Inow see some change since 1865. East of the yellow-washed, brown-boundfort of São Thiago Minor, the island patron, rises a huge white pile, orrather piles, the Lazaretto, with its three-arched bridge spanning theWady Gonçalo Ayres. The fears of the people forbid its being used, although separated from them by a mile of open space. This over-cautionat Madeira, as at Tenerife, often causes great inconvenience to foreignresidents; moreover, it is directly opposed to treaty. There is a neatgroup, meat-market, abattoir, and fish-market--where there is ne'er aflat fish save those who buy--near those dreariest of academic groves, the Praça Academica, at the east end proper, or what an Anglo-Indianwould term the 'native town. ' Here we see the joint mouth of thetorrent-beds Santa Luzia and João Gomes which has more than once delugedFunchal. Timid Funchalites are expecting another flood: the first was in1803, the second in 1842, and thus they suspect a cycle of fortyyears. [Footnote: The guide-books make every twenty-fifth year a seasonof unusual rain, the last being 1879-80. ] The lately repaired Sé(cathedral) in the heart of the mass is conspicuous for its steeple of_azulejos_, or varnished tiles, and for the ruddy painting of theblack basaltic façade, contrasting less violently with the hugesplotches of whitewash, the magpie-suit in which the church-architectureof the Madeiras and the Canaries delights. The São Francisco convent, with its skull-lined walls, and the foundations of its proposedsuccessor, the law courts, have disappeared from the space adjoining themain square; this chief promenade, the Praça da Constituição, is grownwith large magnolias, vinhaticos, or native mahogany (_PerseaIndica_), and til-trees (_Oreodaphne foetens_), and has beensupplemented by the dwarf flower-garden (Jardim Novo) lately opened tothe west. The latter, I regret to say, caused the death of many nobleold trees, including a fine palm; but Portuguese, let me repeat, havescant sympathy with such growth. The waste ground now belonging to thecity will be laid out as a large public garden with fountains andband-stands. Finally, that soundly abused 'Tower of Babel, ' _alias_'Benger's Folly, ' built in 1796, has in the evening of its days beenutilised by conversion into a signal-tower. So far so good. 

But the stump of _caes_, or jetty, which was dashed to pieces morethan a score of years ago, remains as it was; The landing-place callsloudly for a T-headed pier of concrete blocks, or a gangway supportedupon wooden piles and metal pilasters: one does not remark the want infine weather; one does bitterly on bad days. There has been no attemptto make a port or even a _débarcadère_ by connecting the basalticlump Loo (Ilheu) Fort with the Pontinha, the curved scorpion's tail ofrock and masonry, Messieurs Blandy's coal stores, to the west. Big shipsmust still roll at anchor in a dangerous open roadstead far off shore;and, during wet weather, ladies, well drenched by the surf, must belanded with the aid of a crane in what should be the inner harbour. Thebroken-down circus near Reid's is to become a theatre, but whence themoney is to come no one knows. The leper hospital cannot afford to makeup more than nine or ten beds. The jail is in its old disgraceful state, and sadly wants reform: here the minimum of punishment would suffice; Inever saw the true criminal face, and many of the knick-knacks bought inMadeira are the work of these starving wretches. The Funchal Club givesperiodically a subscription ball, 'to ameliorate, if possible, thecondition of the prisoners at the Funchal jail'--asking strangers, infact, to do the work of Government. The Praça da Rainha, a dwarf walkfacing the huge yellow Government House, alias Palacio de São Lourenço, has been grown with mulberries intended for sericulture. Unfortunately, whatever may here be done by one party (the 'ins') is sure to be undonewhen the 'outs' become 'ins. ' There has been no change in the 'Palace, 'except that the quaint portraits of one-eyed Zargo, who has left manydescendants in the island, and of the earlier Captains-General, dignitaries who were at once civil and military, have been sent to theLisbon Exhibition. The queer old views of Machim's landing and ofFunchal Bay still amuse visitors. Daily observations for meteorology arehere taken at 9 A. M. And 3 and 9 P. M. ; the observatory standing eightyfeet above sea-level. 

As our anchor rattles downwards, two excise boats with the national flagtake up their stations to starboard and port; and the boatmen arecarefully watched with telescopes from the shore. The wiser Spaniardshave made Santa Cruz, Tenerife, a free port. The health-officerpresently gives us _pratique_, and we welcome the good 'monopolist, 'Mr. William Reid, and his son. The former, an Ayrshireman, has made himself proprietor of the four chief hostelries. Yates'sor Hollway's in the _Entrada da Cidade_, or short avenue runningnorth from the landing-place, has become a quasi-ruinoustelegraph-station. Reid's has blossomed into the 'Royal Edinburgh;' itis rather a tavern than an hotel, admitting the 'casuals' from passingsteamers and men who are not welcome elsewhere. One of these, who calledhimself a writer for the press, and who waxed insultingly drunk, madeour hours bitter; but the owner has a satisfactory and sovereign way ofdealing with such brutes. Miles's has become the Carmo, and Schlaff'sthe 'German. ' The fourth, Santa Clara, retains her maiden name; theestablishment is somewhat _collet monté_, but I know none in Europemore comfortable. There are many others of the second rank; and theHôtel Central, with its café-billiard and estaminet at thecity-entrance, is a good institution which might be made better. 

We throw a few coppers to the diving-boys, who are expert as the Somalisavages of Aden, and we quit our water prison in the three-keeled boats, Magno telluris amore Egressi

'Tellus, ' however, is represented at Funchal by chips and pebbles ofblack basalt like petrified kidneys, stuck on edge, often upon a base ofbare rock. They are preferred to the slabs of Trieste and NorthernItaly, which here, with the sole exception of the short Rua deBettencourt, are confined to flights of steps. The surfaces are greasedby rags and are polished by the passage of 'cars' or coach-sleighs, which irreverents call 'cow-carts;' these vehicles, evidently suggestedby the _corsa_, or common sleigh, consist of a black-curtainedcarriage-body mounted on runners. The queer cobble-pavement, thatresembles the mosaics of clams and palm-nuts further south, has sundryadvantages. It is said to relieve the horses' back sinews; it is neverdusty; the heaviest rain flows off it at once; nor is it bad walkingwhen the kidney-stones are small. The black surface is sometimesdiapered with white pebbles, lime from Porto Santo. Very strange is theglare of moonlight filtered through the foliage; the beams seem to fallupon patches of iced water. 

We had not even the formality of a visit to the Custom-house: ourunopened boxes were expected to pay only a small fee, besides the hireof boat, porters, and sledges. A _cedula interina_, costing 200reis (11_d_. ), was the sole expense for a permit to reside. What acontrast with London and Liverpool, where I have seen a uniform-case anda cocked hat-box subjected to the 'perfect politeness' of certainunpleasant officials: where collections of natural history are plunderedby paid thieves, [Footnote: When we last landed at Liverpool (May 22), the top tray of my wife's trunk reached us empty, and some of thechoicest birds shot by Cameron and myself were stolen. Since the days ofWaterton the Liverpudlian custom-house has been a scandal and a nationaldisgrace. ] and where I have been obliged to drop my solitary bottle ofSyrian raki!

I was hotelled at the 'Royal Edinburgh, ' and enjoyed once more therestful calm of a quasi-tropical night, broken only by the Christmastwanging of the machete (which is to the guitar what kit is to fiddle);by the clicking of the pebbles on the shore, and by the gentle murmuringof the waves under the window. 

NOTE. --The Madeiran Archipelago consists of five islands disposed in ascalene triangle, whose points are Porto Santo (23 miles, north-east), Madeira (west), and the three Desertas (11 miles, south-east). The Greatand Little Piton of the Selvagens, or Salvages (100 miles, south), though belonging to Portugal and to the district of Funchal, aregeographically included in the Canarian group. Thus, probably, we mayexplain the 'Aprositos, ' or Inaccessible Island, which Ptolemy

[Footnote: The great Alexandrian is here (iv. 6, §§ 33-4) sadly out ofhis reckoning. He places the group of six islands adjacent to Libya manydegrees too far south (N. Lat. 10°-16°), and assigns one meridian (0° 0'0") to Aprositos, Pluitana (Pluvialia? Hierro?), Caspeiria (Capraria?Lanzarote?), and another and the same (1° 0' 0") to Pintouaria (Nivaria?Tenerife?), Hera (Junonia? Gomera?), and Canaria. ]

includes in his Six Fortunates; and the Isle of SS. Borondon andMaclovius the Welshman (St. Malo). The run from Lizard's Point is laiddown at 1, 164 miles; from Lisbon, 535; from Cape Cantin, 320; fromMogador (9° 40' west long. ), 380; and 260 from Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Themain island lies between N. Lat. 32° 49' 44" and 32° 37' 18"; theparallel is that of Egypt, of Upper India, of Nankin, and ofCalifornia. Its longitude is included within 16° 39' 30" and 17° 16' 38"west of Greenwich. The extreme length is thus 37-1/2 (usually set downas 33 to 54) miles; the breadth, 12-1/2 (popularly 15-16 1/2); thecircumference, 72; the coast-line, about 110; and the area, 240--nearlythe size of Huntingdonshire, a little smaller than the Isle of Man, anda quarter larger than the Isle of Wight. Pico Ruivo, the apex of thecentral volcanic ridge, rises 6, 050-6, 100 feet, with a slope of 1 in3. 75; the perpetual snow-line being here 11, 500. Madeira is supposed totower from a narrow oceanic trough, ranging between 13, 200 and 16, 800feet deep. Of 340 days, there are 263 of north-east winds, 8 of north, 7of east, and 62 of west. The rainfall averages only 29. 82 to 30. 62inches per annum. The over-humidity of the climate arises from its lyingin the Guinea Gulf Stream, which bends southward, about the Azores, fromits parent the great Gulf Stream, striking the Canaries and flowingalong the Guinea shore. (White and Johnson's Guide-Book, and 'Du Climatde Madère, ' &c. , par A. C. Mourão-Pitta, Montpellier, 1859, the latterably pleading a special cause. )

CHAPTER III. 

A FORTNIGHT AT MADEIRA. 

I passed Christmas week at the 'Flower of the Wavy Field;' and, in thesociety of old and new friends, found nothing of that sameness andmonotony against which so many, myself included, have whilomdeclaimed. The truth is that most places breed _ennui_ for an idleman. Nor is the climate of Madeira well made for sedentary purposes: itis apter for one who loves to _flâner_, or, as Victor Hugo has it, _errer songeant_. 

Having once described Funchal at some length, I see no reason to repeatthe dose; and yet, as Miss Ellen M. Taylor's book shows, [Footnote: _Madeira: its Scenery, and how to see it. _ Stanford, London, 1878. This is an acceptable volume, all the handbooks being outof print. I reviewed it in the _Academy_ July 22, 1882. ]

the subject, though old and well-worn, can still bear a successor to theexcellent White and Johnson handbook. 

[Footnote: Mr. Johnson still survives; not so the well-known Madeirannames Bewick, (Sir Frederick) Pollock, and Lowe (Rev, R. T. ) The latterwas drowned in 1873, with his wife, in the s. S. _Liberia_, CaptainLowry. The steamer went down in the Bay of Biscay, it is supposed from acollision. I sailed with Captain Lowry (s. S. _Athenian_) in January1863, when St. George's steeple was rocking over Liverpool: he wasnearly washed into the lee scuppers, and a quartermaster was sweptoverboard during a bad squall. I found him an excellent seaman, and Ideeply regretted his death. ]

 As early as 1827 'The Rambler in Madeira' (Mr. Lyall) proclaimed the theme utterly threadbare, in consequence of 'every traveller opening his quarto (?) with a short notice of it;' and he proceeded at once to indite a fair-sized octavo. Humboldt said something of the same sort in his 'Personal Narrative, ' and forthwith wrote the worst description of the capital and the 'Pike' of Tenerife that any traveller has ever written of any place. He confesses to having kept a meagre diary, not intending to publish a mere book of travels, and drew his picture probably from recollection and diminutive note-books. 

I found Funchal open-hearted and open-handed as ever; and the pleasureof my stay was marred only by two considerations, both purelypersonal. Elysian fields and green countries do not agree with alltemperaments. Many men are perfectly and causelessly miserable in thedamp heats of Western India and the Brazil. We must in their case simplyreverse the Wordsworthian dictum, Not melancholy--no, for it is green. 

They are perfectly happy in the Arabian desert, and even in Tenerife, where others feel as if living perpetually on the verge of high fever. 

To this 'little misery' were added the displeasures of memory. Our lastlong visit was in 1863, when the Conde de Farrobo ruled the land, andwhen the late Lord Brownlow kept open house at the beautiful Vigia. Ineed hardly say that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves: the impressions ofthat good old time were deep and durable. 

Amongst other things, Governor Farrobo indulged his fair friends with adisplay of the old _jogo de canas_, or running at the ring. ThePraça Academica had been rigged out to serve as a tilting-yard, with acentral alley of palisading and two 'stands, ' grand and little. Thepurpose was charitable, and the performers were circus-horses, mountedby professionals and amateurs, who thus 'renowned it' before the publicand their _damas_. The circlet, hanging to a line, equalled thediameter of a small boy's hat; and when the 'knight' succeeded inbearing it off upon his pole, he rode up to be decorated by the hands ofa very charming person with a ribbon-_baudrière_ of Bath dimensionsand rainbow colours. Prizes were banal as medals after a modern war, andperhaps for the same purpose--to prevent unchristian envy, hatred, andmalice. Almost any trooper in an Anglo-Indian cavalry regiment wouldhave done better; but then he would have couched his bamboo spearproperly and would have put out his horse to speed--an idea which seemedto elude the Madeiran mind. The fête ended with a _surprise_ lessexpensive than that with which the Parisian restaurant astonishes thetravelling Britisher. A paper chandelier was suspended between twoposts, of course to be knocked down, when out sprang an angryhunch-backed dwarf, who abused and fiercely struck at all straight backswithin reach. 

Madeira is celebrated for excursions, which, however, are enjoyable onlyin finest weather. Their grand drawback is inordinate expense; you mayvisit the whole seaboard of Morocco, and run to Tenerife and return forthe sum spent in a week of Madeiran travel. The following tour to thenorth of the island was marked out for us by the late Mr. Bewick; hisreadiness to oblige, his extensive local knowledge, and his highscientific attainments caused his loss to be long felt in the Isle ofWood. 'You make on the first day Santa Anna, on the opposite coast, asix to eight hours' stage by horse or hammock, passing through the grandscenery of the valleys Metade, Meiometade, and Ribeiro Frio. 

[Footnote: Most of these places are given in _Views_ (26) _in theMadeiras, &c. _, by the Rev. James Bulwer. London, Rivington, 1829. Healso wrote _Rambles in Madeira and in Portugal in _1826. ]

 The next day takes you to Pico Ruivo, Rothhorn, Puy Rouge, or Red Peak, the loftiest in the island, whose summit commands a view of a hundred hills, and you again night at Santa Anna. The third stage is to the rocky gorge of São Vicente, which abounds in opportunities for neck-breaking. The next is a long day with a necessary guide to the Paül da Serra, the "Marsh of the Wold, " and the night is passed at Seixal, on the north-west coast, famous for its corniche-road. The fifth day conducts you along-shore to Ponta Delgada, and the last leads from this "Thin Point" through the Grand Curral back to Funchal. '

I mention this excursion that the traveller may carefully avoid it inwinter, especially when we attempted the first part, February being thevery worst month. After many days of glorious weather the temper of theatmosphere gave way; the mercury fell to 28. 5, and we were indulged witha succession of squalls and storms, mists and rain. The elemental rage, it is true, was that of your southern coquette, sharp, but short, andbroken by intervals of a loving relapse into caress. In the uplands andon the northern coast, however, it shows the concentrated spleen andgloom of a climate in high European latitudes. 

We contented ourselves with the Caminho do Meio, the highway supposed tobisect the island, and gradually rising to the Rocket Road (_Caminhodo Foguete_) with a pleasant slope of 23°, or 1 in 2 1/3. These roadsare heavy on the three h's--head, heart, and hand. We greatly enjoyedthe view from the famous Levada, the watercourse or leat-road of SantaLuzia, with its scatter of noble _quintas_, [Footnote: The country-house is called a _quinta_, or fifth, because that is the proportion of produce paid by the tenant to theproprietor. ]

St. Lucy's, St. Anne's, Quinta Davies, Palmeira, and Til. Nossa Senhorado Monte, by Englishmen misnamed 'the Convent, ' and its break-armslide-down, in basket-sleighs, is probably as well known, if not betterknown, to the reader than St. Paul's, City. Here we found sundryvotaries prostrating themselves before a dark dwarf 'Lady' with jewelledhead and spangled jupe: not a few were crawling on their knees up thecruel cobble-stones of the mount. On the right yawned the 'LittleCurral, ' as our countrymen call the Curral das Romeiras (of thePilgrimesses); it is the head of the deluging torrent-bed, JoãoGomes. Well worth seeing is this broken punch-bowl, with its wild steepgap; and, if the traveller want a vertiginous walk, let him wend his wayalong the mid-height of the huge tongue which protrudes itself from thegorge to the valley-mouth. 

Near the refuge-house called the Poizo, some 4, 500 feet above sea-level, a road to the right led us to Comacha, where stood Mr. Edward Hollway'ssummer _quinta_. It occupies a ridge-crest of a transverse ribprojected southerly, or seawards, from the central range which, trendingeast-west, forms the island dorsum. Hence its temperature is 60° (F. )when the conservatory upon the bay shows 72°. Below it, 1, 800 feet high, and three miles north-east of the city, lies the Palheiro do Ferreiro('blacksmith's straw-hut'), the property of the once wealthy Carvalhalhouse. The name of these 'Lords of the Oak-ground' is locallyfamous. Chronicles mention a certain Count Antonio who flourished, orrather 'larked, ' circa A. D. 1500. In those days the land bore giants andheroes, and Madeiran blood had not been polluted by extensivemiscegenation with the negro. Anthony, who was feller than More of MoreHall, rode with ungirthed saddle over the most dangerous _achadas_(ledges); a single buffet of this furious knight smashed a wild boar, and he could lift his horse one palm off the ground by holding to a treebranch. The estate has been wilfully wasted by certain of hisdescendants. Comacha, famous for picnics, is a hamlet rich in seclusionand fine air; it might be utilised by those who, like the novel-heroesof Thackeray and Bulwer, deliberately sit down to vent themselves in abook. 

Pico Ruivo was a distressing failure. We saw nothing save a Scotch mist, which wetted us to the bones; and we shivered standing in a slush ofsnow which would have been quite at home in Upper Norwood. On thistopmost peak were found roots of the Madeiran cedar (_JuniperusOxycedrus_), showing that at one time the whole island was wellwooded. 

We need not believe in the seven years' fire; but the contrast of thesouthern coast with the northern, where the forests primaeval ofLauraceae and Myrtaceae still linger, shows the same destructive processwhich injured Ireland and ruined Iceland. The peculiarity of theseuplands, within certain limits, is that the young spring-verdure clothesthem before it appears in the lower and warmer levels. Here they catch asunshine untarnished by watery vapour. 

During our short trip and others subsequent many a little village showedus the Madeiran peasant pure and simple. Both sexes are distressinglyplain; I saw only one pretty girl amongst them. Froggy faces, darkskins, and wiry hair are the rule; the reason being that in the good olddays a gentleman would own some eighty slaves. [Footnote: As early as1552 the total of African imports amounted to 2, 700. ] But they are anindustrious and reproductive race. 

[Footnote: The following note of the census of 1878 was given to me bymy kind colleague, Mr. Consul Hayward:--

 Habitations Males Females TotalMadeira. . . . . . . . . . . . . 28, 522 62, 900 67, 367 130, 267Porto Santo. . . . . . . . . 435 874 874 1, 748 _______ 132, 015

_No. Of Persons who can read and write. _

 Males Females TotalMadeira. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 454 4, 286 8, 740Porto Santo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 34 111 ______ 8, 851

_No. Of Persons who can read but not write. _

 Males Females TotalMadeira. . . . . . . 1, 659 2, 272 3, 931Porto Santo. . . 42 60 102 _____ 4, 033

Miss Taylor (_Madeira_, p. 58) reduces to 33, 000--evidently amisprint--this population about four times as dense as that ofPortugal. ]

Many Madeirans highly distinguished themselves in the Dutch-Brazilianwars, especially the 'Castriota Lusitano. ' His name is unknown; hechanged it when he left his islet home, the townlet Santa Cruz. Theseislanders were the model 'navvies' of the age before steam: Albuquerqueapplied for Madeirans when he formed the barbarous project of divertingthe Nile to the Red Sea. Their descendants are beggars from the cradle;but they beg with a good grace, and not with a curse or an insult likethe European 'asker' when refused: moreover, the mendicant pest is notnow over-prevalent. In the towns they cheat and pilfer; they gamble inthe streets; they drink hard on Saturdays and Sundays, and at times theymurder one another. Liquor is cheap; a bottle of _aguardente_ or_caxaça_ (new raw rum) costs only fivepence, and the seconddistillation ninepence. I heard of one assault upon an English girl, butstrangers are mostly safe amongst them. Their extreme civility, docility, and good temper, except when spoilt by foreigners, makes it apleasure to deal with them. They touch their hats with a frank smile, not the Spanish scowl near Gibraltar, or of Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Themen are comparatively noiseless; a bawling voice startles you like apistol-shot. I rarely heard a crying child or a scolding woman offering'eau bénite à la Xantippe;' even the cocks and hens tied to old shoescackle with reserve. The climate tames everything from Dom todonkey. Except in January and February it is still, intensely still--thevery leaves seem to hang motionless. This softness shows itselfespecially in the language, which has none of the abruptness of EuropeanPortuguese. The sound is a drawling singsong; the articulation ispeculiar, and the vocabulary is in some points confined to the Island. 

The country people, an active, agile, unmuscular race, mostly preservethe old national dress. Some men still wear, and both sexes once wore, the ridiculous _carapuça_, or funnel-cap with a rat-tail for atassel. The rest of the toilet consists of homespun cottons, shirts andknickerbockers, with buff shoes or boots broad-soled and heelless. Thetraveller who prefers walking should always use this _chaussure_, and the 'little girl in topboots' is still a standing joke. The womenaffect parti-coloured petticoats of home-made baize or woollen stuff, dyed blue, scarlet, brown, or orange; a scalloped cape of the samematerial bound with some contrasting hue; and a white or colouredhead-kerchief, sometimes topped by the _carapuça_, but rarely bythe vulgar 'billycock' of the Canaries. In the villages crimson shawlsand capes are general, and they cover the head like mantillas. 

The peasant's cot is of the simplest, and those in the plantationssuggest African huts. Even the best houses, except when copied from theEnglish, are scantily furnished; and little beyond a roof is absolutelywanted. The home of the _cazeiro_, or peasant tenant practicallyirremovable, is whitewashed and thatched, the straw forming a crestalong the ridge. It covers only one room, converted by a curtain into'but' and 'ben. ' A parental bed, a rickety table, and two or threestools or settles compose the necessaries; the ornaments are the saintshanging to the walls, and for windows there are shutters with a slidingpanel. The feeding apparatus consists of a kind of quern for grindingcorn, especially maize, [Foonote: The word is of doubtful origin, generally derived from theHaytian _mahiz_. But in northern Europe _mayse_ (Irish _maise_)bread, and the Old High German _maz_ (Hind. _mans_) means meat]

which, however, is now too dear for general use; sundry vegetablebaskets, and an iron pot for boiling fish and porridge, arums(_Inhame_), and koko (_Colocasia esculenta_). They have somepeculiar dishes, such as the _bolo de mel_, a ginger cake eaten atChristmas, and the famous _carne de vinho e alhos_ (meat of wineand garlic). The latter is made by marinating pork in vinegar withgarlic and the herb called _oragão_ (origanum, or wild marjoram);it is eaten broiled, and even Englishmen learn to appreciate a dishwhich is said to _conversar_. The stewed fowl with rice is alsonational. As everywhere in Portugal, _bacalháo_, [Footnote: Brevoort derives the word from _baculus_, the stickwhich keeps the fish open; others from the German _boloh_, fish. In1498 Seb. Cabot speaks of 'great fishes which the natives callBaccalaos. ' He thus makes the word 'Indian;' whereas Dr. Kohl, whennoticing the cod-fisheries of Europe, declares that in Germany it isBackljau. Mr. O. Crawford (_Portugal, Old and New. _ London:C. Kegan Paul, 1880) rightly notes that 'bacalháo' applies equally tothe fresh fish and the dried fish. ]

or dried cod-fish, cooked with garlic or onions, is deservedly afavourite: it contains more nourishment than beef. There is superiororiginality amongst the _doces_ (sweetmeats) for which Madeira wasonce world-famous; and in the _queques_ (cakes), such aslagrimas-cakes, cocoanut-cakes, and _rabanadas_, the Moorish'rabanat, ' slabs of wheat bread soaked in milk, fried in olive oil, andspread with honey. The drink is water, or, at best, _agua-pé_, thelast straining of the grape. Many peasants, who use no stimulant duringthe day, will drink on first rising a dram _para espantar o Diabo_(to frighten the Devil), as do the Congoese _paramatar o bicho_ (tokill the worm). 

Here cleanliness is _not_ next to godliness. People bathe only inhot weather--the rule of man and the lower mammalia. A quick andintelligent race they are, like the Spaniards and Bedawi Arabs, acontradiction in religious matters: the Madeiran believes in little ornothing, yet he hates a _Calvinista_ like the very fiend. They havelost, as the census shows, something of their extreme ignorance, andhave abated their worst superstitions since the expulsion of the Jesuitsby Pombal (1759), and the reforms of 1820, 1828, and 1835. In the latteryear Dom Pedro suppressed monkeries and nunneries by disallowing masses, and by pensioning the holy tenantry with 9 dols. Per mensem, afterwards, reduced to 5 dols. In 1863 the bishop, Dom Patricio Xavier de Moura, didhis best to abolish the pretty _refocaria_ (the hearth-lighter), who, as Griraldus hath it, extinguished more virtue than she lit fires;and now the rectory is seldom gladdened by the presence of noisy littlenephews and nieces. The popular morals, using the word in its limitedsense, were peculiar. The number of _espostos que não se sabe quem, são seus pais_ (fatherless foundlings) outnumbered those born _delegitimo matrimonio_; and few of the gudewives prided themselves uponabsolute fidelity. This flaw, which in England would poison all domesticaffection, was not looked upon in a serious light by the islandry. Thepriesthood used to lament the degeneracy of the age and sigh for thefine times of _foros e fogos_, the rights and fires of an_auto-da-fé_. The shepherds have now learned to move with the timesand to secure the respect of their sheep. Imagine being directed toParadise by a reverend man who gravely asks you where and what Hanoveris. 

Another important change is being brought about by the emigrant. Duringthe last few years the old rule has been relaxed, and whole familieshave wandered abroad in search of fortune. Few Madeirans in these daysship for the Brazil, once the land of their predilection. They preferCape Town, Honolulu, the Antilles, and especially Demerara; and now the'Demerarista' holds the position of the 'Brasileiro' in Portugal and the'Indio' or 'Indiano' of the Canaries: in time he will buy up half theisland. 

In 1862 we hired rowing and sailing boats to visit the southern coasteast and west of Funchal. For the last twelvemonth Mr. Blandy'ssteam-tug _Falcão_ has carried travellers to and fro: it is a greatconvenience to the lazy sightseer, who cares only to view the outside ofthings, and here the outsides are the only things worth viewing. 

We will begin with the western trip to Paül do Mar, affording a grandprospect of basaltic pillars and geological dykes, and of the threefeatures--rocky, sylvan, and floral. Steaming by the mouth of the wadyor ravine Sao João, whose decayed toy forts, S. Lazaro and thepalace-battery, are still cumbered with rusty cannon, we pass under thecliff upon whose brow stand some of the best buildings. These are thePrincess Dona Maria Amelia's _Hospicio_, or Consumptive Hospital, built on Mr. Lamb's plans and now under management of the French_soeurs_, whose gull wings are conspicuous at Funchal; the Asylo, or Poor-house, opened in 1847 for the tempering of mendicancy; andfacing it, in unpleasant proximity, the Portuguese cemetery, decoratedas to its entrance with sundry skulls and cross-bones, and showing itstall cypresses to the bay. Here comes the Quinta (Comtesse) Lambert, once occupied by Queen Adelaide. The owner doubled the rent;consequently _Las Angustías_ (the Agonies), as it was called froman old chapel, has been unrented for the last two years. A smallpleasaunce overhanging a perpendicular cliff, and commanding a gloriousview, shows the Quinta da Vigia, lately bought by Mr. Hollway for8, 000_l_. , and let at 500_l_. To 1, 000_l_, a year. Nothing morecharming than its grounds, which attracted H. I. M. Of Austria, andnow the charming Countess Tyszkiewicz. Landward it faces the Ruada Imperatriz, which leads to the 'Loo Fields. '

The study of basaltic pillars at once begins: Loo Fort is partly builtupon them. Beyond Vigia cliff we pass in succession three jaggedisland-rocks, called 'gurgulhos, ' or black-beetles (_curculio_), which, like the opposite foreshore, admirably show the formation. As arule the columns are quadrangular; I saw but few pentagons andhexagons. We cast a look at a spouter of circular shape, the Forja, andthe Forno, a funnel-formed blowing-rock. The cliff is pierced with amultitude of caves, large and small, and their regular arches look as ifthe ejected matter, as happens with lava, had cooled and solidifiedabove, while still flowing out in a fiery torrent below. Mostly, however, they are the work of wind and water. 

Then comes the old Gurgulho Fort--a dwarf square, partly thatched andconverted into a private dwelling. It lies below Signal Hill, with itsdwarf ruined tower, a lumpy parasitic crater whose western slopes havebeen ruined by disforesting. Between the two runs the New Road, whichowes its being to the grape-famine of 1852. It is the 'Rotten Row' ofFunchal, where horses tread the earth instead of skating and slidingover the greased pebbles; and where fair amazons charge upon you likeIndian irregular cavalry. Five miles long, it is the only level line ofany extent in Madeira, and it wants but one thing--prolongation. Thelion in the path, however, is Cape Girâo, which would cost a treasure to'tunnel' or to cut into a corniche. 

The next feature is the Ponta da Cruz, a fantastic slice of detachedbasalt. Here, at the southernmost point of the island, the Descobridoresplanted a cross, and every boatman doffs his cap to its little irondescendant. Beyond it comes the Praia Formosa, a long line of shinglewashed down by a deep ravine. All these brooks have the same origin, andtheir extent increases the importance of the wady. In 1566 the Frenchpirates under De Montluc, miscalled heretics (_hereges Ugnotas_)landed here, as, indeed, every enemy should. The colour of 'Fair Reach'is ashen grey, scolloped with cinder-black where the creamy foam breaks:for beauty it wants only golden sands, and for use a few bathingmachines. 

The next notable feature is the Ribeira dos Soccorridos ('River of theRescued'), where two of the Zargo's lads were with difficulty saved fromthe violent stream then flowing. It is now provided with a longbridge-causeway of three arches, approached by a chapel, Nossa Senhoradas Victorias, whose tiled and pillared porch reminds one ofIstria. This bed is the drain of the Grand Curral, called by the people'Das Freiras, ' because the holy women here took refuge from theplundering French 'Lutherans. ' The favourite picnic-ground is reached inthree hours from Funchal by two roads, both winding amongst thepap-shaped hillocks which denote parasitic cones, and both abutting uponthe ravine-side, east and west. The latter, skirting the Pico dos Bodes(of he-goats), a tall cone seen from near Funchal, and sentinelling thegreat gap, is the joy-for-ever of midshipmites. To the horror of theburriqueiro, or syce, they gallop hired screws, high-heeled as theirgrandams, over paths at which an English stag would look twice; and fora dollar they secure as much chance of a broken limb, if not of 'goingto pot with a young lady' (Captain Basil Hall's phrase), as reasonablebeings can expect. 

The Grand Curral is the central vent of a volcano originally submarine, and, like the Peak of Tenerife, of the age miocene. Fossils of thatepoch have been found upon the crater-walls of both. Subsequentmovements capped it with subaerial lavas and conglomerates; and wind andweather, causing constant degradation, deepened the bowl and almostobliterated signs of igneous action. This is general throughout Madeira;the only craters still noticed by guide-books are the Lagos (Lake) deSanto Antonio da Serra, east of Funchal and west of Machico, 500 feetacross by 150 deep; and, secondly, the Fanal to the north-west, about5, 000 feet above sea-level. The Curral floor, smooth and bald, is cut bya silvery line of unsunned rivulet which at times must swell to atorrent; and little white cots like egg-shells are scattered around thenormal parish-church, Nossa Senhora do Livramento. The basin-walls, some2, 000 feet high and pinnacled by the loftiest peaks in the island, areprofusely dyked and thickly and darkly forested; and in the bright blueair, flecked with woolpack, Manta, the buzzard, and frequent kestrelspass to and fro like flies. 

Beyond the Soccorridos lies the charming valley of Camara dos Lobos, popularly Cama di Lobos, [Footnote: It is placed west instead of east of Cape Girao in the_Conoise Handbook of Madeira_, by the Rev. J. M. Rendell. London:Kegan Paul and Co. , 1881. ]

the lair of the sea-wolves, or seals. With its vivid lines ofsugar-cane, its terraces, its fine remains of forest vegetation, and itsdistances of golden lights, of glazed blue half-lights, and of purpleshades, it looks like a stage-rake, a _décor de théatre_. Tunny-fishing, wine-making, and sugar-boiling have made it, from a 'miserable place, ' a wealthy townlet whose tall white houseswould not disgrace a city; two manufactories show their craft by heapsof _bagasse_, or trash; and the deep shingly bay, defended by a_gurgulho_ of basaltic pillars, is covered with piscator's gear andwith gaily painted green boats. 'Seal's Lair' was the model district ofwine-production, like its neighbour on the north-western upland, Campanario, famous for its huge Spanish chestnut: both were, however, wasted by the oidium of 1852. In 1863 it partially recovered, under thefree use of sulphur; but now it has been ravaged by the more dangerousphylloxera, which is spreading far faster than Mr. Henry Vizetellysupposes. 

[Footnote: _Facts about Port and Madeira_, by Henry Vizetelly, whovisited the island in 1877. The papers first appeared in the (oldoriginal) Pall Mall Gazette (August 26-September 4, 1877), and then werepublished in a volume by Ward and Lock, 1880]

The only cure of this pest known to Madeira is the troublesome andexpensive process practised by a veteran oenologist, Mr. Leacock. 

He bares every vine-root, paints it with turpentine and resin, andcarefully manures the plant to restore its stamina. Mr. Taylor, ofFunchal, has successfully defended the vines about his town-house by thesimple tonic of compost. But the Lobos people have, methinks, donewisely to uproot the infected plant wholesale: indeed, from this pointto the furthest west we hardly saw a vine-stock. They have supplied itsplace with garden-stuff, an article which always finds a ready sale. Theisland is annually visited by at least 500 English ships, and there is asteady demand for 'green meat. ' I am not aware that beet-root, one ofthe best antiscorbutics, has been extensively tried. 

Off Cama di Lobos is the best tunny-fishing. It is practised quitedifferently from the Mediterranean style; here the labyrinth of nets issupplanted by the line of 300 fathoms. At night the bright fires onboard the fishing-canoes make travellers suspect that spears, grains, orharpoons are used. This, however, is not the case; line-fishing isuniversal, and the lights serve mostly for signals. 

From Cama di Lobos the huge hill-shoulder to the west, whose face, CaboGirão, must be ascended by a rough, steep incline. Far easier to viewthe scene from a boat. Cape 'Turn Again' is the furthest occidentalpoint reached by the far-famed exploration of O Zargo. The profilesuggests it to be the northern half of a dome once regular and complete, but cut in two, as a cake might be, by time and the elements. It has thename of being the 'highest sea-wall in the world' (1, 934 feet); if so, little Madeira can boast her 'unicum. ' Beaching the summit, you eitherstand up regardant or you peer couchant, as your nerves incline, down aheight whose merit is to be peculiarly high. Facetious picnickers rollover the edge-rocks which may kill the unfortunates gatheringgrass--dreadful trade!--upon the dizzy ledges. There are also quarrymenwho extract _cantaria_-slabs for sills and copings from the foursquare apertures which look afar like mortice-holes; and a fine marbledstone, white, blue, and ruddy, has been taken from this part of thecliff-face. Finally, there is a little knot of tiny huts which stickslike a wasp-nest to the very foot of the huge wall. 

Seen from the deep indigo-blue water, that turns leek-green in theshallows, Cape Girão ('they turn') is a grand study of volcanicdykes. They are of all sizes, from a rope to a cable multiplied athousandfold; and they stand out in boldest dado-relief where the softbackground of tufa, or laterite, has been crumbled away by rain andstorm-blast. Some writers have described them as ramifying like a treeand its branches, and crossing and interlacing like the ties of abuilding; as if sundry volcanic vents had a common centre below. I sawnothing of this kind. The dykes of light grey material, sometimeshollowed out and converted into gutters by falling water, appeared tohave been shot up in distinct lines, and the only crossing was where aslip or a fault occurred. 

A front view of Cape Girão shows that it is supported on either side, east and west, by buttresses of a darker rock: the eastern dip at anangle of 45°, the western range between 20° above and 40° below. Thegreat central upheaval seems to have pushed its way through these olderstrata, once straight, now inclined. The layers of the more modernformation--lavas and scoriae--are horizontal; sheets of sub-columnar, compact basalt have been spread upon and have crushed down topaper-thickness their beds of bright red tufa, here and there white witha saline effervescence. Of such distinct superimpositions we counted inone place five; there may have been many more. All are altered soils, asis shown by remains of trees and decayed vegetation. 

Beyond Cabo Girão the scenery is grand enough, but monotonous in theextreme. The island is girt by a sea-wall, more or less perpendicular;from this coping there is a gentle upslope, the marvellous terracing forcultivation being carried up to the mountain-tops. The lower levels areeverywhere dotted with white farmhouses and brown villages. The coloursof the wall are the grey of basalt, the purple of volcanicconglomerates, and the bright reds and yellows of tufas. Here and there, however, a thread of water pouring from the summit, or bursting from theflank, fills a cavity which it has worn and turned for itself; and fromthis reservoir the industrious peasant has diverted sufficient toirrigate his dwarf terraced plots of cane, bananas, yams, or othervegetables; not a drop of the precious fluid is wasted, and beds arelaid out wherever the vivifying influence can extend. The water-racedown the wall is shown by mosses and lichens, pellitories, androck-plants; curtains and hangers; slides, shrubs, and weepers of themost vivid green, which give life and beauty to the sternest stone. 

The only breaks in this regular coast-wall are the spines and spursprotruding seawards; the caverns in which the surges break and roar, andthe _ribeiras_ or ravines whose heads are far inland, and whoselines show grey second distances and blue third distances. At theirmouths lie the sea-beaches and the settlements: the latter, with theirtowered churches and their large whitewashed houses, look more likedetached bits of city than our notion of villages. Other places arebuilt upon heaps of _débris_ washed down from the heights, whichhold out no promise of not falling again. The huts scattered amidst thecultivation remind one of nothing but Africa. In some places, too, asoft layer of tufa has been hollowed for man's abode, suggesting, likethe caves, a fine old smuggling-trade. As many as eight doors may becounted side by side. In other places a rock-ledge, or even a detachedboulder, has been converted into a house by masonry-walls. We shallseldom see these savageries on the eastern coast of the island. 

The seafaring settlements are connected with the interior by breakneckpaths and by rude steps, slippery with green moss. The people seem todelight in standing, like wild goats, upon the dizziest of 'jumpy'peaks; we see boys perched like birds upon impossible places, and menwalking along precipice-faces apparently pathless. The villages arejoined to one another by roads which attempt to follow the sea-line; thechasms are spanned by the flimsiest wooden bridges, and the cliff istunnelled or cut into a _corniche_. 

After disembarking passengers at Ponta d'Agua and Ribeira Nova we passedthe great landslip of 1805, Lugar do Baixo. The heap of ruins has longbeen greened over. The cause was evidently a waterfall which nowdescends freely; it must have undermined the cliff, which in time wouldgive way. So in the Brazil they use water instead of blasting powder: atrench is dug behind the slice of highland to be removed; this is filledby the rains and the pressure of the column throws the rock bodilydown. We shall find this cheap contrivance useful when 'hydraulicking'the auriferous clays of the Gold Coast. 

Then we came to Ponta do Sol, the only remarkable site on the trip, famous for bodice-making and infamous for elephantiasis. Here a hugecolumn of curiously contorted basalt has been connected by a solidhigh-arched causeway with the cliff, which is equally remarkable, showing a central boss of stone with lines radiating quaquaversally. There are outer steps and an inner flight leading undera blind archway, the latter supplied with a crane. The landing in the_levadia_, or surf, is abominable and a life-boat waits accidentsoutside. It works with the heavy Madeiran oars, square near the grip andprovided with a board into whose hole the pin fits. The townlet, capitalof the 'comarca, ' fronted by its little Alameda and a strip of beachupon which I should prefer to debark, shows a tall factory-chimney, noting the sugar-works of Wilhabram Bros. There is a still largerestablishment at the Serra d'Agoa in the Arco [Footnote: _Arco_(bow, arch) is locally applied to a ridge or to the district bounded byit. ] da Calheta (Arch of the Creeklet), a property of the Visconde deCalçada. The guide-books mention iron pyrites and specular iron in smallquantities behind Ponta do Sol. 

Passing the deep ravine, Ribeiro Fundo, and the Ponta da Galéra, withits rooky spur, we sighted Jardim do Mar, a village on a mound of_débris_ with black walls of dry stone defending the terraces fromsurf and spray. The furthest point, where we halted half an hour, is'Paül do Mar' (Swamp of the Sea), apparently a misnomer. It is the portof the Fajãa da Ovelha (Ewe's landslip), whose white tenements we seeperched on the _estreito_, or tall horizon-slope. The largeharbour-town is backed by a waterfall which may prove disastrous to it;its lands were formerly famous for the high-priced _malvasiaCandida_--Candia malmsey. 

The day had been delightful, 'June weather' in fickle April. The sea wassmooth as glass, and the skies, sunny in the morning and starry atnight, were canopied during the day by clouds banking up from thesouth-east. The western wind blew crisp and cold. This phase of climateoften lasts till the end of June, and renders early summer endurable atMadeira. The steam-tug was more punctual going than coming. She leftFunchal at 9 A. M. , reached Paül do Mar at half-past twelve, coveringsome twenty-one direct knots; and returned to her moorings, crowded withpassengers, at half-past five, instead of half-past four. My companion, M. Dahse, and I agreed that the coast was well worth seeing. 

It would hardly be fair to leave Madeira without a visit to Machico, thescene of Machim's apocryphal death. The realists derive the name fromAlgarvan Monchique. I have made it on foot, on horseback, and by boat, but never so comfortably as when on board the steam-tug_Falcão_. Garajáo, whose ruddy rocks of volcanic tufa, embeddingbits of lava, probably entitled it 'Brazenhead, ' is worth inspectingfrom the sea. Possibly the classic term 'Purple Islands' may have arisenfrom the fiery red hue of the volcanic cliffs seen at the sunsethour. Like Girão, the middle block of Tern Point is horizontallystratified, while the western abutment slopes to the water. Eastward, however, there has been immense degradation; half the dome has beenshaken down and washed away; while a succession of upheavals andearthquakes has contorted the strata in the strangest manner. Seen fromFunchal, the profile of Garajáo is that of an elephant's head, themahaut sitting behind it in the shape of a red-brown boss, the expandedhead of a double dyke seaming the tufas of the eastern face. Wedistinguish on the brow two 'dragons, ' puny descendants of theaboriginal monsters. Beyond Garajáo the shore falls flat, and the uplandsoil is red as that of Devonshire. It is broken by the Ponta daOliveira, where there is ne'er an olive-tree, and by the grim ravine ofPorto de Caniço o Bispo, the 'bishop' being a basaltic pillar with mitreand pontifical robes sitting in a cave of the same material. I find abetter _episkopos_ at Ponta da Atalaia, 'Sentinel Point. ' Head, profile, and shoulders are well defined; the hands rest upon the knees, and the plaited folds of the dress are well expressed by the basalticcolumns of the central upheaval. Beyond Porto Novo do Cal, with its oldfort and its limekiln, is the chapel of São Pedro, famous for its_romeiro_, 'pattern' or pilgrimage for St. Peter's Day. June 29 iskept even at Funchal by water-excursions; it is homage enough to pay apenny and to go round the ships. 

We anchored and screamed abominably off Santa Cruz, the capital of its'comarca. ' The townlet lies on the left of a large ravine, whose upperbed contains the Madre d'Agoa, or water-reservoir. The settlement, fronted by its line of trees, the Alameda, and by its broad beachstrewed with boats, consists of white, red, and yellow houses, one-, two-, and three-storied; of a white-steepled church and of a newmarket-place. East of it, and facing south, lies the large house of 'theSquire' (Mr. H. B. Blandy), a villa whose feet are washed by the waves;the garden shows the lovely union, here common, of pine and palm. Thelatter, however, promises much and performs little, refusing, like theolive, to bear ripe fruit. Beyond the Squire's is the hotel, approachedby a shady avenue: it is the most comfortable in the island after thefour of Funchal. 

[Footnote: There are only two other country inns, both on the northerncoast. The first is at Santa Anna, some 20 miles north-north-east of thecapital; the second at São Vicente, to the north-west. All three arekept by natives of Madeira. Unless you write to warn the owners that youare coming, the first will be a 'banyan-day, ' the second comfortableenough. This must be expected; it is the Istrian 'Città Nuova, chi portatrova. ']

Santa Cruz has a regular spring-season; and the few residents of thecapital frequent it to enjoy the sea-breeze, which to-day (April 23)blows a trifle too fresh. 

We then pass the Ponta da Queimada, whose layers of basalt are deeplycaverned, and we open the Bay of Machico. The site, a broad, green andriant valley, with a high background, is softer and gayer than that ofFunchal. It has been well sketched in 'Views in the Madeiras, ' and bythe Norwegian artist Johan F. Eckersberg in folio, with letterpress byMr. Johnson of the guide-book. The 'Falcon' anchors close to thelanding-stairs, under a grim, grey old fort, O Desembarcadouro, originally a tower, and now apparently a dwelling-place. The_débarcadère_ has the usual lamp and the three iron chains intendedto prevent accidents. 

The prosperous little fishing-village, formerly the capital of_the_ Tristam, lies as usual upon a wady, the S. Gonsales, andconsists of a beach, an Alameda, a church with a square tower, and somegood houses. Twenty years ago the people had almost forgotten a storywhich named the settlement; and the impromptu cicerone carried strangerswho sought the scene of Machim's death to the Quinta de Santa Anna, [Footnote: Here Mr. White made some of his meteorologicalobservations. VOL. I. ]

well situated upon a land-tongue up the valley; to the parish church, which was in a state of chronic repair, and in fact to every place butthe right. The latter is now supposed to be the little _Ermida_(chapel) _de N. S. Da Visitação. _ with its long steps andwall-belfry on the beach and the left jaw of the wady: it is a merehumbug, for the original building was washed away by the flood of1803. In those days, too, visitors vainly asked for the 'remains ofMachim's cross, collected and deposited here by Robert Page, 1825. ' Nowa piece of it is shown in frame. About 1863 I was told that a member ofthe family, whose name, it is said, still survives about Bristol, wishedto mark the site by a monument--decidedly encouraging toGretna-Greenism. 

From Machico Bay we see the Fora and other eastern outliers which formthe Madeiran hatchet-handle. Some enthusiasts prolong the trip to whatis called the 'Fossil-bed, ' whose mere agglomerations of calcareousmatter are not fossils at all. The sail, however, gives fine views ofthe 'Deserters' (_Desertas_), beginning with the 'Ship Rock, ' astack or needle mistaken in fogs for a craft under sail. Next to it liesthe Ilheu Chão, the Northern or Table Deserta, not unlike Alderney or aPérigord pie. Deserta Grande has midway precipices 2, 000 feet high, bisected by a lateral valley, where the chief landing is. Finally, Cu deBugio (as Cordeyro terms it) is in plan a long thin strip, and inelevation a miniature of its big brother, with the additions of sundryjags and peaks. 

The group is too windy for cereals, but it grows spontaneously orchiland barilla (_Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum_), burnt for soda. Fewstrangers visit it, and many old residents have never attempted theexcursion. It is not, however, unknown to sportsmen, who land--withleave--upon the main island and shoot the handsome 'Deserta petrels, 'the _cagarras_ (_Puffinus major_, or sheerwater), the rabbits, the goats that have now run wild, and possibly a seal. A poisonousspider is here noticed by the guide-books, and the sea supplies theedible _pulvo (octopus)_ and the dreaded _urgamanta_. Thishuge ray (?) enwraps the swimmer in its mighty double flaps and dragshim to the bottom, paralysing him by the wet shroud and the dreadfulstare of its hideous eyes. 

CHAPTER IV. 

MADEIRA (_continued_)--CHRISTMAS--SMALL INDUSTRIES--WINE--DEPARTURE FOR TENERIFE. 

The Christmas of 1881 at Madeira could by no means be called gay. Theforeign colony was hospitable, as usual, with dinners, dances, andChristmas trees. But amongst the people festivities seemed to consistchiefly of promenading one's best clothes about the military band andfiring royal salutes, not to speak of pistols and squibs. The noisereminded me of Natal amongst the Cairene Greeks; here, as in the Brazil, if you give a boy a copper he expends it not on lollipops, but onfireworks. We wished one another _boas entradas_, the 'buon'principio' of Italy, and remembered the procession of seventeen yearsago. The life-sized figures, coarsely carved in wood and dressed in realclothes, were St. Francis, St. Antonio de Noto, a negro (MadeiranCatholics recognise no 'aristocracy of the skin'); a couple of marriedsaints (for even matrimony may be sanctified), SS. Bono and Luzia, withhalf a dozen others. The several platforms, carried by the brotherhoodsin purple copes, were preceded by the clergy with banners and crossesand were followed by soldiers. The latter then consisted of a battalionof _caçadores_, 480 to 500 men, raised in the island and commandedby a colonel entitled 'Military Governor. ' They are small, dark figurescompared with the burly Portuguese artillerymen stationed at the LooFort and São Thiago Battery, and they are armed with old Englishsniders. 

Behind the Tree of Penitence and the crosses of the orders came an EcceHomo and a bit of the 'true Cross' shaded by a canopy. The peasantry, who crowded into town--they do so no longer--knelt to kiss whatever waskissable, and dodged up and down the back streets to gainopportunities. Even the higher ranks were afoot; they used to acquire ininfancy a relish for these mild amusements. And one thing is to be notedin favour of the processions; the taste of town-decoration wasexcellent, and the combinations of floral colours were admirable. Perhaps there is too much of nosegay in Madeira, making usremember the line--

 Posthume, non bene olet qui bane semper olet. 

I went to the Jesuit church to hear the _predica_, or sermon. Thepreacher does not part his hair 'amidships, ' or display cambric anddiamond-rings, yet his manner is none the less _maniérée_. For himand his order, in Portugal as in Spain, the strictest minutiae ofdemeanour and deportment are laid down. The body should be borneupright, but not stuck up, and when the congregation is addressed thechest is slightly advanced. The dorsal region must never face theSacrament; this would be turning one's back, as it were, upon theDeity. The elbow may not rest upon the cushion. The head, held erect, but not haughtily, should move upon the atlas gently and suavely, avoiding 'lightness' and undue vivacity. The lips must not smile; but, when occasion calls for it, they may display a saintly joy. The eyebrowsmust not be raised too high towards the hair-roots; nor should one beelevated while the other is depressed. The voice should be at times_tremolando_, and the tone periodically 'sing-song. ' Finally, theeyes are ordered to wander indiscriminately, and with all pudicity, overthe whole flock, and never to be fixed upon a pretty lamb. 

Our countrymen are not over-popular in Portugal or in Madeira; suchmortal insults as those offered by Byron, to name only the corypheus, will rankle and can never be forgotten. In this island strangers, especially Englishmen, have a bad practice of not calling upon the twogovernors, civil and military. The former, Visconde de Villa Mendo, isexceptional; he likes England and the English. As a rule the highestclasses mix well with strangers; not so the _medio ceto_ who, undera constitutional _régime_, rule the roast. Men with small fixedincomes have little to thank us for; we make things dear, and we benefitonly the working men. Bourgeois exactions have driven both French shipsand American whalers to Tenerife; and many of them would do the samewith the English and German residents and visitors of Funchal. Not a fewhave noble and historic names, whose owners are fallen into extremepoverty. Professor Azevedo's book is also a _nobiliaire deMadère_. The last generation used to be remarkably prim and precise, in dress as in language and manner. They never spoke of 'hogs' or'horns, ' and they wore the skimpy waistcoats and the regulation whiskersof Wellington's day. The fair sex appeared only at 'functions, ' atchurch, and at the Sunday promenade in the Place. The moderns dressbetter than their parents, who affected the most violent colours, anexceedingly pink pink upon a remarkably green green; and the shape ofthe garment was an obsolete caricature of London and Paris. They nolonger assume the peculiar waddle, looking as if the lower limbs wereunequal to the weight of the upper story; but the walk never equals thatof the Spanish woman. This applies to Portugal as well. The strongpoints, here as in the Peninsula, are velvety black eyes and blue-blackhair dressed _à la Diane_. It is still the fashion, as at Lisbon, to look somewhat _boudeuse_ when abroad, by way of hint that manmust not expect too much; yet these cross faces at home or withintimates are those of _bonnes enfants_. Lastly, the darkcomplexions and the irregular features do not contrast well with thecharming faces and figures of Tenerife, who mingle the beauty ofGuanchedom with that of Spain and Ireland. 

The list of public amusements at Funchal is not extensive. Years ago thetheatre was converted into a grain-store, and now it is awine-store. The circus of lumber has been transferred from under thePeak Fort to near the sea; it mostly lacks men and horses. The Germanshave a tolerable lending library; and the public _bibliotheca_ inthe Town House, near the Jesuit church, is rich in old volumes, mostlycollected from religious houses. In 1851 the books numbered 1, 800; nowthey may be 2, 000; kept neat and clean in two rooms of the fine solidold building. Of course the collection is somewhat mixed, Fox's'Martyrs' and the 'Lives of the Saints' standing peacefully near the'Encyclopédie' and Voltaire. A catalogue can hardly be expected. 

There are three Masonic lodges and two Portuguese clubs, one good, theother not; and the former (Club Funchalense), well lodged in a housebelonging to Viscountess Torre Bella, gives some twice or three times ayear very enjoyable balls. The Café Central, with _estaminet_ andFrench billiard-table, is much frequented by the youth of the town, butnot by residents. The great institution is the club called the 'EnglishRooms, ' which has been removed from over a shop in the Aljube toViscondessa de Torre Bella's house in the Rua da Alfandega. The BritishConsulate is under the same roof, and next door is Messieurs Blandy'subiquitous 'Steamer Agency. ' The roomy and comfortable quarters, with afine covered balcony looking out upon the sea, are open to bothsexes. The collection of books is old; but the sum of 100_l_. Laidout on works of reference would bring it fairly up to the level of theaverage English country-club. Strangers' names were hospitably put downby any proprietary member as guests and visitors if they did not outstaythe fortnight; otherwise they became subscribers. But crowding was theresult, and the term has been reduced to three days: a month'ssubscription, however, costs only 10_s_. 6_d_. The doors closeat 7. 30 P. M. : I used to think this an old-world custom kept up by theveteran hands; but in an invalid place perhaps it is wisely done. 

The principal _passetemps_ at Madeira consists of eating, drinking, and smoking; it is the life of a horse in a loose box, where the animaleats _pour passer le temps_. After early tea and toast there isbreakfast à la fourchette_ at nine; an equally heavy lunch, or ratheran early dinner (No. 1), appears at 1 to 2 P. M. ; afternoon tea follows, and a second dinner at 6 to 7. Residents and invalids suppress tiffinand dine at 2 to 3 P. M. In fact, as on board ship, people eat becausethey have nothing else to do; and English life does not admit of thesensible French hours--_déjeuner à la fourchette_ at 11 A. M. Anddinner after sunset. 

The first walk through Funchal shows that it has not improved during thelast score of years, and to be stationary in these days is equivalent tobeing retrograde. It received two heavy blows--in 1852 the vine-disease;and, since that time, a gradual decline of reputation as asanatorium. Yet it may, I think, look for a better future when the LandBill Law system, extending to England and Scotland, will cover thecontinent with colonies of British _rentiers_ who rejoice in largefamilies and small incomes. Moreover, Anglo-African officials aregradually learning that it is best to leave their 'wives and wees' atMadeira; and the coming mines of the Gold Coast will greatly add to thenumbers. For the economist Funchal and its environs present peculiaradvantages. The dearness of coin appears in the cheapness of houses andpremises. Estates which cost 5, 000_l_. To 15, 000_l_. A generationago have been sold to 'Demerarists' for one-tenth thatsum. 'Palmeira, ' for instance, was built for 42, 000_l_. , and wasbought for 4, 000_l_. A family can live quietly, even keepingponies, for 500_l_. Per annum; and it is something to find a placefour to seven days' sail from England inhabitable, to a certain extentall the year round. The mean annual temperature is 67. 3 degrees; that ofsummer varies from 70 degrees to 85 degrees, and in winter it rarelyfalls below 50 degrees to 60 degrees. The range, which is the mostimportant consideration, averages 9 degrees, with extremes of 5 degreesto 35 degrees. The moist heat is admirably adapted for old age, and Idoubt not that it greatly prolongs life. Youth, English youth, cannotthrive in this subtropical air; there are certain advantages foreducation at Funchal; but children are sent north, as from Anglo-India, to be reared. Otherwise they will grow up yellow and languid, withoutenergy or industry, and with no object in life but to live. 

Madeira has at once gained credit for comfort and has lost reputation asa sanatorium, a subject upon which fashion is peculiarly fickle. Duringthe last century the Faculty sent its incurables to Lisbon andMontpellier despite the _mistral_ and the fatal _vent debise_. The latter town then lodged some 300 English families ofinvalids, presently reduced to a few economists and wine-merchants. Succeeded Nice and Pisa, one of the most wearying and relaxingof 'sick bays;' and Pau in the Pyrenees, of which the nativeBéarnais said that the year has eight months of winter and four ofinferno. Madeira then rose in the world, and a host of medical residentssounded her praises, till Mentone was written up and proved a powerfulrival. And the climate of the hot-damp category was found to suit, mainly if not only, that tubercular cachexy and those, bronchialaffections and lung-lesions in which the viscus would suffer from theover-excitement of an exceedingly dry air like the light invigoratingmedium of Tenerife or Thebes. Lastly, when phthisis was determined to bea disease of debility, of anæmia, of organic exhaustion, and ofdefective nutrition, cases fitted for Madeira were greatly limited. Hereinstruments deceive us as to humidity. The exceeding dampness is shownby the rusting of iron and the tarnishing of steel almost as effectuallyas upon the West African coast. Yet Mr. Vivian's observations, assuming100 to be saturation, made Torquay 76 and Funchal 73. [Footnote: Othersmake the mean humidity of Funchal 76, and remark that in the healthiestand most pleasant climates the figures range between 70 and80]. Moreover it was found out that consumption, as well as intermittentfevers, are common on the island, so common, indeed, as to require anespecial hospital for the poorer classes, although the people declarethem to have been imported by the stranger. I may here observe thatwhile amongst all the nations of Southern Europe great precautions aretaken against the contagion of true phthisis, English medicos seem toignore it. A Pisan housekeeper will even repaper the rooms after thedeath of a consumptive patient. At Funchal sufferers in every stage ofthe disease live in the same house and even in the same rooms. 

Then came the discovery that for consumptives dry cold is a mediumsuperior to damp heat. Invalids were sent to the Tyrol, to the Engadine, to Canada, and even to Iceland, where phthisis is absolutely unknown, and where a diet of oleaginous fish is like feeding upon cod-liver orshark-liver oil. The air as well as the diet proved a tonic, andpatients escaped the frequent cough, catarrh, influenza, and neuralgiawhich are so troublesome at Funchal. Here, too, the invalid must beaccompanied by a 'prudent and watchful friend, ' or friends, and thecompanions will surely suffer. I know few climates so bad and none worsefor those fecund causes of suffering in Europe, liver-affections('mucous fevers'), diarrhoeas, and dysenteries; for nervous complaints, tic douloureux, and neuralgia, or for rheumatism and lumbago. Asthma isone of the disorders which shows the most peculiar forms, and must betreated in the most various ways: here some sufferers are benefitted, others are not. Madeira is reputedly dangerous also for typhoidaffections, for paralysis, and for apoplexy. There is still anotherchange to come. The valley north of the beautiful and ever maligned'Dead Sea' of Palestine, where the old Knights Templar had theirsugar-mills and indigo-manufactories, has peculiar merits. Lying some1, 350 feet below the Mediterranean, it enables a man to live with aquarter of a lung: you may run till your legs fail with fatigue, but youcan no more get out of breath than you can sink in the saline waters ofLake Asphaltites. When a railway from Jafa to Jerusalem shall civilisethe 'Holy Land, ' I expect great things from the sites about the Jordanembouchure. 

After the 'gadding vine' had disappeared the people returned to theirold amours, the sugar-cane, whose five loaves, disposed crosswise, gavethe island her heraldic cognisance. Madeira first cultivated sugar inthe western hemisphere and passed it on to the New World. Yet the canewas always worked under difficulties. Space is limited: the upperextreme of cultivation on the southern side may be estimated at 1, 000feet. The crop exhausts the soil; the plant requires water, and itdemands what it can rarely obtain in quantity--manure. Again, machineryis expensive and adventure is small. Jamaica and her slave-labour soonreduced the mills from one hundred and fifty to three, and now five. Myhospitable friend, Mr. William Hinton, is the only islander who workssugar successfully at the _Torreão_. The large rival mill with thetall regulation smoke-stack near the left mouth of the Ribeira de São'João, though inscribed 'Omnia vincit improbus labor, ' and thoughprovided with the most expensive modern appliances, is understood not tobe a success for the Companhia Fabril d'Assucar. 

Here sugar-working in the present day requires for bare existence highprotective duties. The Government, however, has had the common sense, and the Madeirans patriotic feeling enough, to defend their industryfrom certain ruinous vagaries, by taxing imported growths 80 reis(4_d_. ) per kilo. A hard-grit free-trader would abolish thisabomination and ruin half the island. And here I would remark that inEngland the world has seen for the first time a wealthy and commercial, a great and generous nation proclaim, and take pride in proclaiming, themost immoral doctrine. 'Free Trade, ' so called, I presume, because it ispractically the reverse of free or fair trade, openly abjures publicspirit and the chief obligation of the citizen--to think of hisneighbour as well as himself, and not to let charity end, as it oftenbegins, at home. 'Buy cheap and sell dear' is the law delivered by itsprophets, the whole duty of 'the merchant and the man. ' When itstheorists ask me the favourite question, 'Would you not buy in thecheapest market?' I reply, 'Yes, but my idea of cheapness is not yours:I want the best, no matter what its price, because it will provecheapest in the end. ' How long these Free-trade fads and fooleries willlast no one can say; but they can hardly endure till that millenniumwhen the world accepts the doctrine, and when Free Trade becomes freetrade and fair trade. 

As regards _petite industrie_ in Madeira, there is a considerabletraffic in 'products of native industry, ' sold to steamer-passengers. The list gives jewellery and marquetry or inlaid woodwork;feather-flowers, straw hats, lace and embroidery, the latter animportant item; boots and shoes of unblackened leather; sweetmeats, especially guava-cheese; wax-fruits, soap-berry bracelets, and 'Job'stears;' costumes in wood and clay; basketry, and the well-known wickerchairs, tables, and sofas. The cooperage is admirable; I have nowhereseen better-made casks. The handsomest shops, as we might expect, arethe apothecaries'; and, here, as elsewhere, they thrive by charging asixpence for what cost them a halfpenny. 

An enterprising Englishman lately imported sheep from home. The nativemutton was described in 1842 as 'strong in flavour and lean incondition;' in fact, very little superior to that of Trieste. Now it isremarkably good, and will be better. Silk, I have said, has not beenfairly tried, and the same is the case with ginger. Cotton sufferedterribly from the worm. Chinchona propagated from cuttings, not from theseed, did well. Dr. Grabham [Footnote: _The Climate and Resources ofMadeira_. By Michael C. Grabham, M. D. , F. R. G. S. , F. R. C. P. London;Churchill, 1870. ] tells us that the coffee-berry ripens and yields abeverage locally thought superior to that of the imported kinds. It hasbecome almost extinct in consequence of protracted blights: the islandair is far too damp. Tea did not succeed. [Footnote: Page 189, _DuClimat de Madère, etc_. , par C. A. Mourão Pitta, Montpellier, 1859. ]Cochineal also proved a failure. The true Mexican cactus (_OpuntiaTuna_) was brought to supplant the tree-like and lean-leafed nativegrowth; but there is too much wind and rain for the insects, and thepeople prefer to eat the figs or 'prickly pears. ' Bananas grow well, anda large quantity is now exported for the English market. But the climatedoes not agree with European fruits and vegetables; strawberries andFrench beans are equally flavourless. I remarked the same in theglorious valley of the Lower Congo: it must result from some telluric oratmospheric condition which we cannot yet appreciate. 

Tobacco has been tried with some success, though the results do notequal those of the Canaries; there, however, the atmosphere is too dry, here it is not. The _estanco_ (monopoly) and the chronic debt tothose who farm the import-tax long compelled the public to pay dear fora poor article. Home-growth was forbidden till late years; now it isencouraged, and rate-payers contribute a small additional sum. Hitherto, however, results have not been over-favourable, because, I believe, thetobacco-beds have been unhappily placed. Rich valley-soils andsea-slopes, as at Cuban Vuelta de Abajo and Syrian Latakia, are theproper habitats of the 'holy herb. ' Here it is planted in the high drygrounds about the 'Peak Fort' and the uplands east of the city. Manurealso is rare and dear, and so is water, which, by the by, is sadlywasted in Madeira for want of reservoirs. Consequently the peasantssmoke tobacco from the Azores. 

The Casa Funchalense, north of the Cathedral, is the chief depôt forisland-growths. It sells 'Escuros' (dark brands) of 20 reis, or1_d_. , and 50 reis, according to size. The 'Claros, ' which seem tobe the same leaf steamed, fetch from 40 to 100 reis. A small half-ounceof very weak and poor-flavoured pipe-tobacco also is worth 1_d_. 

An influential planter, Senhor João de Salles Caldeira, kindly sent toMr. John Blandy some specimens of his nicotiana for me to test inAfrica. The leaf-tobaccos, all grown between 1879 and 1881, at Magdalenain the parish of St. Antonio, were of three kinds. The Havano was fartoo short for the trade; the Bahiano, also dark, was longer; and theso-called 'North-American' was still longer, light-coloured and welltied in prick-shape. The negro verdict was, 'Left, a lilly he be foine, 'meaning they want but little to be excellent. The Gold Coast prefersyellow Virginia, whose invoice price is 7_d_. Per lb. The tradersare now introducing Kentucky, which, landed from Yankee ships, costs6_d_. But, here as elsewhere, it is difficult to bring about anysuch change. 

There were two qualities of Madeiran _charutos_ (cigars): one longClaro which smoked very mild, and a short Escuro, which tasted a triflebitter. The blacks complained that they were too new; and I should rankthem with the average produce of Brazilian Bahia. A papered_cigarilha_, clad in an outer leaf of tobacco, was exceptionallygood. The _cígarros_ (cigarettes), neatly bound in bundles oftwenty-five, were of three kinds, _fortes_ (strong), _entre-fortes_, and _fracos_ (mild). All were excellent andfull of flavour; they did not sicken during the voyage, and I shouldrank them with the far-famed Bragança of the Brazil. 

The most successful of these small speculations is that ofMr. E. Hollway. Assisted by an able gardener from Saint Michael, Azores, where the pineapple made a little fortune for Ponta Delgada, he hasconverted Mount Pleasant, his father's house and grounds on the Caminhodo Meio, into one huge pinery. The Madeiran sun does all the work ofEnglish fires and flues; but the glass must be whitewashed; otherwise, being badly made, with bubbles and flaws, it would burn holes in theplants. The best temperature for the hot-houses is about 90° F. : it willrise after midday to 140°, and fall at night to 65°. The speciespreferred are, in order of merit, the Cayena, the black Jamaica, and theBrazilian Abacaxi. The largest of Mr. Hollway's produce weighed 20lbs. --pumpkin size. Those of 12 lbs. And 15 lbs. Are common, but themarket prefers 8 lbs. His highest price was 2_l_. , and he easilyobtains from 10_s_. To 15_s_. In one greenhouse we saw 2, 500plants potted and bedded; the total numbers more than double thatfigure. The proprietor has a steam-saw, makes his own boxes, and packshis pines with dry leaves of maize and plantain. He is also cultivatinga dwarf banana, too short to be wind-wrung. His ground will growanything: the wild asparagus, which in Istria rises knee-high, herebecomes a tall woody shrub. 

And now of the wine which once delighted the world, and which has notyet become 'food for the antiquary. ' To begin with, a few dates andfigures are necessary. In 1852, that terrible year for France, theOïdium fungus attacked the vine, and soon reduced to 2, 000 the normalyearly production of 20, 000 and even 22, 000 pipes. 

[Footnote: Between 1792 and 1827 the yearly average was 20, 000. In 1813 it was 22, 000. " 1814 " 14, 000. " 1816 " 15, 000. 

In 1816 it was 12, 000. " 1818 " 18, 000. " 1825 " 14, 000. 

It then decreased to an average of 7, 000 till the oïdium-year(Miss E. M, Taylor, p. 74). ]

The finest growths suffered first, as animals of the highest bloodsuccumb the soonest to epidemics. When I wrote in 1863 the grape wasbeing replanted, chiefly the white _verdelho_, the Tuscan_verdea_. In 1873 the devastating Phylloxera appeared, and before1881 it had ruined two of the finest southern districts. The followingnumerals show the rapid decline of yield:--6, 000 pipes in 1878, 5, 000 in1879, 3, 000 in 1880, and 2, 000 in 1881. There are still in store some30, 000 pipes, each=92 gallons (forty-five dozen); and a single firm, Messrs. Blandy Brothers, own 3, 000. Mr. Charles R. Blandy, the late headof the house, bought up all the _must_ grown since 1863; but he didnot care to sell. This did much harm to the trade, by baulking thedemand and by teaching the public to do without it. His two survivingsons have worked hard and advertised on a large scale; they issue ayearly circular, and the result is improved enquiry. Till late years theworld was not aware that the Madeiran vine has again produced Madeirawine; and a Dutch admiral, amongst others, was surprised to hear thatall was not made at Cettes. I give below Messrs. Blandy's trade-prices, to which some 20 per cent, must be added for retail. 

[Footnote: Sound light medium Madeiras from 26s. To 32s. Per dozen, packed and delivered in London; light, golden, delicate, 36_s_. ;tawny Tinta, also called 'Madeira Burgundy, ' a red wine mixing well withwater, 40_s_. ; fine old dry Verdelho, 48_s_. ; rich soft oldBual, not unlike Amontillado, 54_s_. ; very fine dry old Sercial(the Riesling grape), 56_s_. ; and the same for highly-flavouredsoft old Malmsey, 'Malvasia Candida, ' corrupted from 'Candia' becausesupposed to have been imported from that island in 1445. 'Grand Old Oamade Lobos' is worth 70_s_. , and the best Old Preserve wine86_s_. For wines very old in bottle there are special quotations. ]

The lowest price free on board is 23_l_, and the values rise from40_l_. At four years old to 1OO_l_. At ten years old. 

'Madeira' was most popular in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, especially at the Court of Francois I. Shakespeare in 'Henry IV. ' makesdrouthy Jack sell his soul on Good Friday for a cup of Madeira and acold capon's leg. Mr. H. Vizetelly, whose professional work should beread by all who would master the subject, marvels why and how this'magnificent wine' went out of fashion. The causes are many, all easy totrace. Men not yet very old remember the day when England had no _vinode pasto_ fit to be drunk at meals; when they found only ports, sherries, and loaded clarets; and when they sighed in vain for lightRhine or Bordeaux growths, good _ordinaire_ being to drink whatbread is to food. 

[Footnote: This, however, is a mere individual opinion. I have latelyread a book recommending strong and well-brandied wines as preventingthe crave for pure alcohol. ]

Now, however, the national taste has changed; the supply of Madeira notsufficing for the demand, the class called _boticarios_(apothecaries) brought rivals into the market; and extensive imitation'swith apples, loquats (Japanese medlars), and other frauds, brandied tomake the stuff keep, plastered or doctored with Paris-plaster to correctover-acidity, and coloured and sweetened with burnt sugar and withboiled 'must' (_mosto_) to mock the Madeira flavour, gave theisland-produce a bad name. Again, the revolution in the wine-trade of1860-61 brought with it certain Continental ideas. In France a glass ofMadeira follows soup, and in Austria it is drunk in liqueur-glasses likeTokay. 

[Footnote: 'Madeira' is the island modification of the Cyprus and theCandia (?) grape. 'Tokay' comes from the Languedoc muscatel, and'Constantia' from Burgundy, like most of the Rhine-wines. ]

The island wine must change once more to suit public taste. At presentit ships at the average strength of 18°-25° per cent, of 'proof spirit, 'which consists of alcohol and water in equal proportions. For thatpurpose each pipe is dosed with a gallon or two of Porto Santo or SãoVicente brandy. This can do no harm; the addition is homogeneous andchemically combines with the grape-juice; but when potato-spirit andcane-rum are substituted for alcohol distilled from wine, the result isbad. The vintage is rarely ripened by time, whose unrivalled work isimperfectly done in the _estufa_ or flue-stove, the old fumarium, or in the _sertio_ (apotheca), an attic whose glass roofing admitsthe sun. The voyage to the East Indies was a clumsy contrivance for thesame purpose; and now the merchants are beginning to destroy the germsof fermentation not by mere heat, but by the strainer extensively usedin Jerez. The press shown to me was one of Messrs. Johnson and Co. , which passes the liquor through eighteen thick cottons supported by ironplates. It might be worth while to apply electricity in the form used todestroy fusel-oil. Lastly, the wine made for the market is a brand or ablend, not a 'vintage-wine. ' At any of the _armazems_, or stores, you can taste the wines of '70, '75, '76, and so forth, of A 1 quality;and you can learn their place as well as their date of birth. But theseare mixed when wine of a particular kind is required and the producebecomes artificial. What is now wanted is a thin light wine, red orwhite, with the Madeira flavour, and this will be the drink of thefuture. The now-forgotten _tisane de Madère_ and the 'rain-waterMadeira, ' made for the American markets, a soft, delicate, andstraw-coloured beverage, must be the models. 

I sampled the new wines carefully; and, with due remembrance of thepeaches in 'Gil Blas, ' I came to the conclusion that they are no longerwhat they were. The wine is tainted with sulphur in its odorous unionwith hydrogen. It is unduly saccharine, fermenting irregularly andinsufficiently. For years the plant has constantly been treated againstoidium with antiseptics, which destroy the spores and germ-growths; andwe can hardly expect a first-rate yield from a chronically-diseasedstock. Still the drink is rich and highly flavoured; and, under manycircumstances, it answers better than any kind of sherry. No moresatisfactory refreshment on a small scale than a biscuit and a glass ofBual. Moreover, the palate requires variety, and here finds it in aharmless form. But as a daily drink Madeira should be avoided: even inthe island I should prefer French Bordeaux, not English claret, with anoccasional change to Burgundy. Meanwhile, 'London particular' is a fact, and the supply will probably exceed the demand of the presentgeneration. 

I also carefully sampled the wines of the north coast, which had not, asin Funchal, been subjected to doctoring by stove, by spirits, and byblend. They are lighter than the southern; but, if unbrandied, some soonturn sour, and others by keeping get strong and heady. The proportion ofalcoholism is peremptorily determined by climate--that is, thecomparative ratio of sun and rain. In Europe, for instance, light winescannot be produced without 'liquor, ' as the trade calls _aquapura_, by latitudes lower than Germany and Southern France. When heatgreatly exceeds moisture, the wines may be mild to mouth and nose, yetthey are exceedingly potent; witness the _vino d'oro_ of theLibanus. 

At Funchal I also tasted a very neat wine, a _vin de pays_ with theisland flavour and not old enough to become spirituous. If the vine beagain grown in these parts, its produce will be drunk in England undersome such form. But Madeira has at last found her 'manifest destiny:'she will be an orchard to Northern Europe and (like the England of thefuture) a kitchen-garden to the West African Coast, especially the GoldMines. 

My sojourn at the Isle of Wood and its 'lotus-eating' (which meansdouble dinners) came to an end on Sunday, January 8, thes. S. _Senegal_ Captain W. L. Keene, bringing my long-expectedfriend Cameron, of African fame. The last day passed pleasantly enoughin introducing him to various admirers; and we ate at Santa Clara afinal dinner, perfectly conscious that we were not likely to see itslike for many a month. We were followed to the beach by a choice band ofwell-wishers--Baron Adelin de Vercour, Colonel H. W. Keays Young, andDr. Struthers--who determined upon accompanying us to Tenerife. Thenight was black as it well could be, and the white surf rattled theclicking pebbles, as we climbed into the shore-boat with broadcheek-pieces, and were pulled off shipwards. On board we foundMr. William Reid, junior, who had carefully lodged our numerousimpediments; and, at 10 P. M. , we weighed for Tenerife. 

I must not leave the Isle of Wood, which has so often given mehospitality, without expressing a hearty wish that the Portuguese'Government, ' now rhyming with 'impediment, ' will do its duty byher. The Canaries and their free ports, which are different from 'freetrade, ' have set the best example; and they have made great progresswhile the Madeiras have stood still, or rather have retrograded. TheFunchal custom-house is a pest; the import charges are so excessive thatvisitors never import, and for landing a single parcel the ship must payhigh port-charges where no port exists. The population is heavily taxed, and would willingly 'pronounce' if it could only find a head. Theproduce, instead of being spent upon the island, is transmitted toLisbon: surely a portion of it might be diverted from bureaucraticpockets and converted into an emigration fund. It is sad to think that asingle stroke of the Ministerial pen would set all right and give newlife to the lovely island, and yet that the pen remains idle. 

And a parting word of praise for Madeira. Whatever the traveller fromEurope may think of this quasi-tropical Tyrol, those homeward-bound fromAsia and Africa will pronounce her a Paradise. They will enjoy goodhotels, comfortable _tables d'hôte_, and beef that does notresemble horseflesh or unsalted junk. Nor is there any better placewherein to rest and recruit after hard service in the tropics. Moreover, at the end of a month spent in perfect repose the visitor will lookforward with a manner of dismay to the plunge into excited civilisedlife. 

But Madeira is not 'played out;' _au contraire_, she is one ofthose 'obligatory points' for commerce which cannot but prosper as theworld progresses. The increasing traffic of the West African coast willmake men resort to her for comforts and luxuries, for climate andrepose. And when the Gold Mines shall be worked as they should be thisisland may fairly look forward to catch many a drop of the goldenshower. 

The following interesting table, given to me by M. D'Oliveira, clerk ofthe English Rooms, shows what movement is already the rule of Funchal. 

SUMMARY OF VESSELS ENTERED IN THE PORT FROM JANUARY 1 TO DECEMBER 31. 

Vessels of War

Nationality Sailing/Steamers Frigates Corvettes Schooners/Transports -/GunboatsAmerican -/1 1/1 -/- -/-Argentine -/- -/- -/- -/-Austrian -/- -/- -/- -/-Belgian -/- -/- -/- -/-Brazilian -/- -/- -/- -/-British -/6 -/3 1/10 -/7Danish -/- -/1 -/- -/-Dutch -/- -/2 -/- -/1French 2/2 -/- -/1 -/1German -/3 -/3 -/- -/-Italian -/- -/1 -/- -/-Norwegian -/- -/1 -/- -/-Portuguese -/- -/- -/- -/2Russian -/- -/- -/- -/-Spanish -/- -/- -/- -/-Swedish -/- -/1 -/- -/-Totals: 2/12 1/13 1/11 -/11

Pleasure Vessels

Nationality Steam Yachts YachtsAmerican - -Argentine - -Austrian - -Belgian - -Brazilian - -British 2 4Danish - -Dutch - -French - -German - -Italian - -Norwegian - -Portuguese - -Russian - -Spanish - -Swedish - -

Totals: 2 4

Merchant Vessels

Nationality Steamers Ships Barques Barquantines Brigs

American - - 3 - -Argentine 1 - - - -Austrian - 1 2 - -Belgian 26 - - - -Brazilian 3 - - - -British 439 1 9 20 9Danish - - - - 1Dutch 1 - - - -French - - 3 - -German 8 - 16 - 2Italian - - - - -Norwegian - - 5 1 1Portuguese 48 - 3 - -Russian - - 2 - -Spanish - - 2 - -Swedish - - 2 - -

Totals: 526 2 43 21 13

CHAPTER V. 

TO TENERIFE, LA LAGUNA, AND OROTAVA. 

When I left, in 1865, the western coast of the Dark Continent, itstransit and traffic were monopolised by the A(frican) S(team) S(hip)Company, a monthly line established in 1852, mainly by the lateMacgregor Laird. In 1869 Messieurs Elder, Dempster, and Co. , of Glasgow, started the B(ritish) and A(frican) to divide the spoils. The juniornumbers nineteen keel, including two being built. It could easily 'eatup' the decrepit senior, which is now known as the A(frican)S(tarvation) S(teamers); but this process would produce seriouscompetition. Both lines sail from Liverpool on alternate Saturdays, andmake Funchal, with their normal unpunctuality, between Fridays andSundays. This is dreary slow compared with the four days' fast runningof the 'Union S. S. C. ' and the comfortable 'Castle Line, ' alias theCape steamers. 

The B. And A. S. S. _Senegal_ is a fair specimen of the modern WestAfrican trader 'improved:' unfortunately the improvements affect theshareholders' pockets rather than the passengers' persons. Thesleeping-berths are better, but the roomy, well-lighted, comfortable oldsaloon, sadly shorn of its fair proportions, has become the upper storyof a store-room. The unfortunate stewards must catch fever by frequentdiving into the close and sultry mine of solids and fluids underfloor. There being no baggage-compartment, boxes and bags are stowedaway in the after part, unduly curtailing light and air; the sternlockers, once such pleasant sleeping-sofas, and their fixed tables areof no use to anything besides baskets and barrels. Here the surgeon, who, if anyone, should have a cabin by way of dispensary, must lodge hismedicine-chest. Amongst minor grievances the main cabin is washed everynight, breeding a manner of malaria. The ice intended for passengers iseither sold or preserved for those who ship most cargo. Per contra, thecook is good, the table is plentiful, the wines not over bad, thestewards civil, and the officers companionable. 

Both lines, however, are distinctly traders. They bind themselves to notime; they are often a week late, and they touch wherever demand callsthem. The freight-charges are exorbitant, three pounds for fine goodsand a minimum of thirty-six shillings, when fifteen per ton wouldpay. The White Star Line, therefore, threatens _concurrence_. Letus also hope that when the Gold Mines prosper we shall have our specialsteamers, where the passenger will be more prized than the puncheon ofpalm-oil. But future rivals must have a care; they will encounter asomewhat unscrupulous opposition; and they had better ship Americancrews, at any rate not Liverpudlians. 

The night and the next day were spent at sea in a truly deliciousclimate, which seemed to wax softer and serener as we advanced. Here themoon, whose hue is golden, not silvern, has a regular dawn beforerising, and an afterglow to her setting; and Venus casts a broad cestusof glimmering light upon the purple sea. Mount Atlas, alias the Pike ofTeyde, gradually upreared his giant statue, two and a half miles high:travellers speak of seeing him from Madeira, a distance of some 260(dir. Geog. ) miles; but this would be possible only were both termini15, 000 feet in altitude. The limit of sight for terrestrial objectsunder the most favourable conditions does not exceed 210 miles. Yet hereit is not difficult to explain the impossible distances, 200 milesinstead of 120, at which, they say, the cone has been sighted: mirage orrefraction accounts for what the earth's convexity disallows. 

We first see a low and regular wall of cloud-bank whose coping bearshere and there bulges of white, cottony cloud. Then a regular pyramid, at this season white as snow, shows its gnomon-like point, impaling thecumuli. Hour by hour the outlines grow clearer, till at last theterminal cone looks somewhat like a thimble upon a pillow--the_cumbre_, or lofty foundation of pumice-plains. But the aspecteverywhere varies according as you approach the island from north, south, east, or west. 

The evening of January 9 showed us right abeam a splendid display of theZodiacal Light, whose pyramid suggested the glow of a hemisphere onfire. The triangle, slightly spherical, measured at its base 22 degreesto 24 degrees and rose to within 6" of Jupiter. The reflection in thewater was perfect and lit up with startling distinctness the wholeeastern horizon. 

At 7 A. M. Next morning, after running past the Anaga knuckle-bone--andvery bony it is--of the Tenerife _gigot_, we cast anchor in the Bayof Santa Cruz, took boat, and hurried ashore. In the early times of theA. S. S. Halts at the several stations often lasted three days. Businessis now done in the same number of hours; and the captain informs youthat 'up goes the anchor' the moment his last bale or bag comes onboard. This trading economy of time, again, is an improvement moresatisfactory to the passenger than to the traveller and sightseer whomay wish to see the world. 

Brusque was the contrast between the vivid verdure of Sylvania, the Isleof Wood, and the grim nudity of north-eastern Tenerife; brusquer stillthe stationary condition of the former compared with the signs, ofprogress everywhere evident in the latter. Spain, under the influence ofanticlerical laws and a spell of republicanism, has awoke from her sleepof ages, and we note the effects of her revival even in thesecolonies. A brand-new red fort has been added to La Ciudadela at thenorthern suburb, whence a mole is proposed to meet the southern branchand form a basin. Then comes the triangular city whose hypothenuse, fronting east, is on the sea; its chief fault is having been laid out ontoo small a scale. At the still-building pier, which projects some 500yards from the central mass of fort and _cuadras_ (insulae orhouse-blocks), I noticed a considerable growth of buildings, especiallythe Marineria and other offices connected with the free port. The oldpink 'castle' San Cristobal (Christopher), still cumbers the jetty-root;but the least sentimental can hardly expect the lieges to level sohistoric a building: it is the site of Alonso Fernandez de Lugo's firsttower, and where his disembarkation on May 3, 1493, gave its Christianname 'Holy Cross' to the Guanche 'Añasa. ' Meanwhile the Rambleta deRavenal, dated 1861, a garden, formerly dusty, glary, and dreary as theold Florian of Malta, now bears lovers' seats, a goodly growth of planesand tamarinds, a statue, a fountain, and generally a gypsy-likefamily. By its side runs a tramway for transporting the huge blocks ofconcrete intended to prolong the pier. The inner town also shows a newpalace, a new hospital, and a host of improvements. 

Landing at Santa Cruz, a long dull line of glaring masonry, smokelessand shadeless, was to me intensely saddening. A score of years hadcarried off all my friends. Kindly Mrs. Nugent, called 'the Admiral, 'and her amiable daughter are in the English burial-ground; thehospitable Mr. Consul Grattan had also faded from the land of theliving. The French Consul, M. Berthelot, who published [Footnote:_Histoire naturelle des Iles Canaries_, par MM. P. Barker Webb etSabin Berthelot, ouvrage publié sous les auspices de M. Guizot, Ministrede l'Instruction Publique, Paris, 1839. Seven folio vols. , with maps, plans, and sketches, all regardless of expense. ] by favour of the lateMr. Webb, went to the many in 1880. One of the brothers Richardson haddied; the other had subsided into a clerk, and the Fonda Ingleza hadbecome the British Consulate. The new hotel kept by Señor Camacho andhis English wife appeared comfortable enough, but it had none of thoseassociations which make the old familiar inn a kind of home. _Enrevanche_, however, I met Mr. Consul Dundas, my successor at the portof Santos, whence so few have escaped with life; and his wife, thedaughter of an Anglo-Brazilian friend. 

Between 1860 and 1865 I spent many a week in Tenerife, and here I amtempted to transcribe a few extracts from my voluminous notes uponvarious subjects, especially the Guanche population and the ascent ofthe Pike. A brief history of the unhappy Berber-speaking goatherds who, after being butchered to make sport for certain unoccupied gentlemen, have been raised by their assailants to kings and heroes rivalling thedemi-gods of Greece and Rome, and the melancholy destruction of therace, have been noticed in a previous volume. [Footnote: Yol. I. Chap, ii. , _Wanderings in West Africa_. The _modorra_, lethargy ormelancholia, which killed so many of those Numidian islanders suggeststhe pining of a wild bird prisoned in a cage. ] I here confine myself tothe contents of my note-book upon the Guanche collections in the island. 

One fine morning my wife and I set out in a venerable carriage for SanCristobal de la Laguna. The Camiño de los Coches, a fine modern highwayin corkscrew fashion from Santa Cruz to Orotava, was begun, by the graceof General Ortega, who died smoking in the face of the firing party, andended between 1862 and 1868. This section, eight kilomètres long, occupies at least one hour and a half, zigzagging some 2, 000 feet up asteep slope which its predecessor uncompromisingly breasted. Here stoodthe villa of Peter Pindar (Dr. Walcott), who hymned the fleas ofTenerife: I would back those of Tiberias. The land is arid, beingexposed to the full force of the torrid northeast trade. Its principalproduce is the cactus (_coccinellifera_), a fantastic monster withfat oval leaves and apparently destitute of aught beyond thorns andprickles. Here and there a string of small and rather mangy camels, eachcarrying some 500 lbs. , paced _par monts et par vaux_, and gave aBedawi touch to the scene: they were introduced from Africa by DeBéthencourt, surnamed the Great. We remarked the barrenness of thebronze-coloured Banda del Sur, whose wealth is in cochineal and'dripstones, ' or filters of porous lava. Here few save the hardiestplants can live, the spiny, gummy, and succulent cactus and thistles, aloes and figs. The arborescent tabayba (_Euphorbia canariensis_), locally called 'cardon, ' is compared by some with the 'chandelier' ofthe Cape, bristling with wax tapers: the Guanches used it extensivelyfor narcotising fish. This 'milk plant, ' with its acrid, viscid, andvirulent juice, and a small remedial shrub growing by its side, probablygave rise to the island fable of the twin fountains; one killed thetraveller by a kind of _risus Sardonicus_, unless he used the otherby way of cure. A scatter of crosses, which are impaled against everywall and which rise from every eminence; a ruined fort here and there; along zigzag for wheels, not over-macadamised, with an older short cutfor hoofs, and the Puente de Zurita over the Barranco Santo, an oldbridge made new, led to the _cuesta_, or crest, which looks downupon the Vega de la Laguna, the native Aguere. 

The 'noble and ancient city' San Cristobal de la Laguna was founded onJune 26, 1495, St. Christopher's Day, by De Lugo, who lies buried in theSan Miguel side-chapel of La Concepcion de la Victorias. The site is anancient lava-current, the successor of a far older crater, originallysubmarine. The latest sub-aerial fire-stream, a broad band flowing fromnorth to south--we have ascended it by the coach-road--and garnishedwith small parasitic craters, affords a bed and basis to thecapital-port, Santa Cruz. After rains the lake reappears in mud andmire; and upon the lip where the town is built the north-east and thesouth-west winds contend for mastery, shedding abundant tears. Yet theold French chronicler says of the site, 'Je ne croy pas qu'il y eu aiten tout le monde aucune autre de plus plaisante. ' The mean annualtemperature is 62° 51' (F. ), and the sensation is of cold: the altitudebeing 1, 740 feet. Hence, like Orotava, it escaped the yellow fever whichin October 1862 had slain its 616 victims. 

[Footnote: The list of epidemics at Santa Cruz is rather formidable, _e. G. _ 1621 and 1628, _peste_ (plague); 1810 and 1862, yellowJack; 1814, whooping cough, scarlatina, and measles; 1816-16, small-pox(2, 000 victims); 1826, cough and scarlet ferer; 1847, fatal dysentery;and 1861-62, cholera (7, 000 to 12, 000 deaths). ]

La Laguna offers an extensive study of medieval baronial houses, ofcolonial churches, of _ermitas_, or chapels, of altars, and ofconvents now deserted, but once swarming with Franciscans and Augustinesand Dominicans and Jesuits. These establishments must have been veryrich, for, here as elsewhere, Dieu prodigue ses biens À ceux qui font voeu d'être siens. 

St. Augustine, with its short black belfry, shows a Christus Vinctus ofthe Seville school, and the institute or college in the ex-monasterycontains a library of valuable old books. The Concepcion boasts apicture of St. John which in 1648 sweated for forty days. [Footnote:Evidently a survival of the classic _aera sudantia_. Mrs. Murraynotices the 'miracle' at full length (ii. 76). ] The black and whitecathedral, bristling with cannon-like gargoyles, a common architecturalfeature in these regions, still owns the fine pulpit of Carrara marblesent from Genoa in 1767. The _chef d'oeuvre_ then cost 200_l. _;now it would be cheap at five times that price. In the sacristyare the usual rich vestments and other clerical curios. TheErmita de San Cristobal, built upon an historic site, is denoted asusual by a giant Charon bearing a small infant. There is a Carriera orCorso (High Street) mostly empty, also the great deserted Plaza delAdelantado, of the conqueror Lugo. The arms of the latter, with hislance and banner, are shown at the Ayuntamiento, or town-house; I do notadmire his commercial motto--

 Quien lanza sabe tener, Ella le da de comer. 

[Footnote: Whose lance can wield Daily bread 'twill yield. ]

Conquering must not be named in the same breath as 'bread-winning. 'There, too, is the scutheon of Tenerife, given to it in 1510; Michaelthe Archangel, a favourite with the invader, stands unroasted upon thefire-vomiting Nivarian peak, and this grand vision of the guarded mountgave rise to satiric lines by Vieira:--

 Miguel, Angel Miguel, sobre esta altura Te puso el Rey Fernando y Tenerife; Para ser del asufre y nieve fria Guardia, administrador y almoxarife. 

[Footnote: Michael, archangel Michael, on this brow Throned thee King Ferdinand and Tenerife; To be of sulphur grough and frigid snow Administrator, guard, and reeve-in-chief. ]

The deserted streets were long lines with an unclean centralgutter. Some of the stone houses were tall, grand, solid, and stately;such are the pavilion of the Counts of Salazar, the huge, heavy abode ofthe Marquesses de Nava, and the mansions of the Villanuevas delPardo. But yellow fever had driven away half of the population--10, 000souls, who could easily be 20, 000--and had barricaded the houses to thecurious stranger. Most of them, faced and porticoed with florid pillars, were mere dickies opening upon nothing, and only the huge armorialbearings showed that they had ever been owned. Mixed with these'palaces. ' were 'cat-faced cottages' and pauper, mildewed tenements, whose rusty iron-work, tattered planks, and broken windows gave them atruly dreary and dismal appearance. The sole noticeable movement was atendency to gravitate in the roofs. The principal growth, favoured bythe vapour-laden air, was of grass in the thoroughfares, of moss on thewalls, and of the 'fat weed' upon the tiles. The horse-leek(_sempervivum urbium_), brought from Madeira, was first describedby the 'gifted Swede' Professor Smith, who died on the CongoRiver. Finally, though the streets are wide and regular, and the largetown is well aired by four squares, the whole aspect was stronglysuggestive of the _cocineros_ (cooks), as the citizens of thecapital are called by the sons of the capital-port. They retort byterming their rival brethren _chicharreros_, or fishers of the_chicharro_ (horse-mackerel, _Caranx Cuvieri_. )

From La Laguna we passed forward to Tacoronte, the 'Garden of theGuanches, ' and inspected the little museum of the late D. SebastianCasilda, collected by his father, a merchant-captain de long_cours_. It was a chaos of curiosities ranging from China toPeru. Amongst them, however, were four entire mummies, including onefrom Grand Canary. Thus we can correct M. Berthelot, who follows othersin asserting that only the Guanches of Tenerife mummified theirdead. The oldest description of this embalming is by a 'judicious andingenious man who had lived twenty years in the island as a physitianand merchant. ' It was inserted by Dr. Thomas Sprat in the 'Transactionsof the Royal Society, ' London, and was republished in John Ogilby'senormous folio [Footnote: The 'physitian' was Dr. Eden, an Englishmanwho visited Tenerife in 1662. --Bohn's _Humboldtr_, i. 66] yclept'Africa. ' The merchant 'set out from Guimar, a Town for the most partinhabited by such as derive themselves from the Antient_Guanchios_, in the company of some of them, to view their Cavesand the corps buried in them (a favour they seldom or never permit toany, having the Corps of their Ancestors in great veneration, andlikewise being extremely against any molestation of the Dead); but hehad done many Eleemosynary Cures amongst them, for they are very poor(yet the poorest think themselves too good to Marry with the best_Spaniard_), which endeared him to them exceedingly. Otherwise itis death for any Stranger to visit these Caves and Bodies. The Corps aresew'd up in Goatskins with Thongs of the same, with very greatcuriosity, particularly in the incomparable exactness and evenness ofthe Seams; and the skins are made close and fit to the Corps, which forthe most part are entire, the Eyes clos'd, Hair on their heads, Ears, Nose, Teeth, Lips, and Beards, all perfect, onely discolour'd and alittle shrivell'd. He saw about three or four hundred in several Caves, some of them standing, others lying upon Beds of Wood, so hardened by anart they had (which the Spaniards call _curay_, to cure a piece ofWood) that no iron can pierce or hurt it. [Footnote: The same writertells that they had earthen pots so hard that they could not bebroken. I have heard of similar articles amongst the barbarous raceseast of Dalmatia. ] These Bodies are very light, as if made of straw; andin some broken Bodies he observ'd the Nerves and Tendons, and also theString of the Veins and Arteries very distinctly. By the relation of oneof the most antient of this island, they had a particular Tribe that hadthis art onely among themselves, and kept it as a thing sacred and notto be communicated to the Vulgar. These mixt not themselves with therest of the Inhabitants, nor marry'd out of their own Tribe, and werealso their Priests and Ministers of Religion. But when the_Spaniards_ conquer'd the place, most of them were destroy'd andthe art perisht with them, onely they held some Traditions yet of a fewIngredients that were us'd in this business; they took Butter (some saythey mixed Bear's-grease with it) which they kept for that purpose inthe Skins; wherein they boyl'd certain Herbs, first a kind of wildLavender, which grows there in great quantities upon the Rocks;secondly, an Herb call'd _Lara_, of a very gummy and glutinousconsistence, which now grows there under the tops of the Mountains;thirdly, a kind of _cyclamen_, or sow-bread; fourthly, wild Sage, which grows plentifully upon this island. These with others, bruised andboyl'd up into Butter, rendered it a perfect Balsom. This prepar'd, theyfirst unbowel the Corps (and in the poorer sort, to save Charges, tookout the Brain behind): after the Body was thus order'd, they had inreadiness a _lixivium_ made of the Bark of Pine-Trees, wherewiththey washt the Body, drying it in the Sun in Summer and in the Winter ina Stove, repeating this very often: Afterward they began their unctionboth without and within, drying it as before; this they continu'd tillthe Balsom had penetrated into the whole Habit, and the Muscle in allparts appear'd through the contracted Skin, and the Body becameexceeding light: then they sew'd them up in Goat-skins. The Antientssay, that they have above twenty Caves of their Kings and greatPersonages with their whole Families, yet unknown to any but themselves, and which they will never discover. ' Lastly, the 'physitian' declaresthat 'bodies are found in the caves of the _Grand Canaries_, inSacks, quite consumed, and not as these in Teneriff. '

This assertion is somewhat doubtful; apparently the practice was commonto the archipelago. It at once suggests Egypt; and, possibly, at onetime, extended clean across the Dark Continent. So Dr. Barth [Footnote:_Travels_, &c. , vol. Iv. Pp. 426-7. ] tells us that when the chiefSonni Ali died in Grurma, 'his sons, who accompanied him on theexpedition, took out his entrails and filled his inside with honey, inorder that it might be preserved from putrefaction. ' Many tribes inSouth America and New Zealand, as well as in Africa, preserved thecorpse or portions of it by baking, and similar rude devices. Accordingto some authorities, the Gruanche _menceys_ (kinglets or chiefs)were boxed, Egyptian fashion, in coffins; but few are found, because thesuperstitious Christian islanders destroy the contents of everycatacomb. 

In the Casilda collection I observed the hard features, broad brows, square faces, and _flavos crines_ described by old writers. Twoshowed traces of tongue and eyes (which often were blue), proving thatthe softer and more perishable parts were not removed. There werespecimens of the dry and liquid balsam. Of the twenty-six skulls sixwere from Grand Canary. All were markedly of the type called Caucasian, and some belonged to exceptionally tall men. The shape wasdolichocephalic, with sides rather flat than rounded; the perceptiveregion was well developed, and the reflective, as usual amongst savagesand barbarians, was comparatively poor. The facial region appearedunusually large. 

The industrial implements were coarse needles and fish-hooks ofsheep-bone. The domestic _supellex_ consisted of wooden ladlescoarsely cut, and of rude pottery, red and yellow, generally withouthandles, round-shaped and adorned with scratches. None of these_ganigos_, or crocks, were painted like those of Grand Canary. Theyused also small basaltic querns of two pieces to grind the _gofio_, [Footnote: The _gofio_ was composed of ripe barley, toasted, pounded, and kneaded to a kind of porridge in leathern bags like Turkishtobacco-pouches. The object was to save the teeth, of which the Guancheswere particularly careful. ] or parched grain. The articles of dress weregrass-cloth, thick as matting, and _tamarcos_, or smock-frocks, ofpoorly tanned goatskins. They had also rough cords of palm-fibre, andthey seem to have preferred plaiting to weaving; yet New Zealand flaxand aloes grow abundantly. Their _mahones_ correspond with Indianmoccasins, and they made sugar-loaf caps of skins. The bases of shells, ground down to the thickness of a crown-piece, and showing spiraldepressions, were probably the _viongwa_, necklaces still worn inthe Lake Regions of Central Africa. The beads were of many kinds; somehorn cylinders bulging in the centre, and measuring 1. 25 inch long;others of flattened clay like the American wampum or the ornaments ofthe Fernando Po tribes; and others flattened discs, also baked, almostidentical with those found upon African mummies--in Peru they were usedto record dates and events. A few were of reddish agate, a material notfound in the island; these resembled bits of thick pipe-stem, varyingfrom half an inch to an inch in length. Perhaps they were copies of themysterious Popo-bead found upon the Slave Coast and in inner Africa. 

The Gruanches were doomed never to reach the age of metal. Theircivilisation corresponded with that of the Chinese in the days ofFo-hi. [Footnote: Abel Rémusat tells us that of the two hundredprimitive Chinese 'hieroglyphs' none showed a knowledge of metal. ] Thechief weapons were small triangles of close-grained basalt and_iztli_ (obsidian flakes) for _tabonas, _ or knives, both beingwithout handles. They carried rude clubs and _banot, _ or barbedspears of pine-wood with fire-charred points. The _garrotes_(pikes) had heads like two flattened semicircles, a shape preservedamongst negroes to the present day. Our old author tells us that thepeople would 'leap from rock to rock, sometimes making ten Fathoms deepat one Leap, in this manner: First they _tertiate_ their Lances, which are about the bigness of a Half-Pike, and aim with the Point atany piece of a Rock upon which they intend to light, sometimes not halfa Foot broad; in leaping off they clap their Feet close to the Lance, and so carry their bodies in the Air: the Point of the Lance comes firstto the place, which breaks the force of their fall; then they slidegently down by the Staff and pitch with their Feet on the very placethey first design'd; and so from Rock to Rock till they come to thebottom: but their Novices sometimes break their necks in the learning. '

I observed more civilisation in articles from the other islands, especially from the eastern, nearer the African continent. In 1834Fuerteventura yielded, from a depth of six feet, a dwarfish image of awoman with prominent bosom and dressed in the native way: it appearedalmost Chinese. A pot of black clay from Palmas showed superiorconstruction. Here, too, in 1762 a cavern produced a basalt plate, uponwhich are circular scrawls, which support the assertions of old writersas regards the islanders not being wholly ignorant of letters. I couldtrace no similarity to the peculiar Berber characters, and held them tobe mere ornamentation. The so-called 'Seals of the Kings' were darkstones, probably used for painting the skin; they bore parallelogramsenclosed within one another, diaper-work and gridirons of raisedlines. In fact, the Guanches of Tenerife were unalphabetic. 

Hierro (Ferro), the Barranco de los Balos (Grand Canary), Fuerteventura, and other items of the Fortunates have produced some undoubtedinscriptions. They are compared by M. Berthelot with the signs engravedupon the cave-entrance of La Piedra Escrita in the Sierra Morena ofAndalusia; with those printed by General Faidherbe in his work on theNumidic or Lybian epigraphs; with the 'Thugga inscription, ' Tunis; andwith the rock-gravings of the Sahará, attributed to the ancient Tawárikor Tifinegs. Dr. Gran-Bassas (El Museo Canario), who finds a notablelikeness between them and the 'Egyptian characters (cursive or demotic), Phenician and Hebrew, ' notes that they are engraved in vertical series. Dr. Verneau, of the Academy, Paris, suggests that some of these epigraphsare alphabetic, while others are hieroglyphic. [Footnote: _El MuseoCanario_, No. 40, Oct. 22, 1881. ] Colonel H. W. Keays-Young kindly copiedfor me, with great care, a painting in the Tacoronte museum. Itrepresents a couple of Guanche inscriptions, apparently hieroglyphic, found (1762) in the cave of Belmaco, Isle of Palma, by the ancients calledBenahoave. They are inscribed upon two basaltic stones. 

[Illustration: THE NOMIDIO INSCRIPTIONS OF HIEBRO. ]

[Illustration]

I also inspected the collection of a well-known lawyer, Dr. FranciscoMaria de Leon. Of the three Guanche skulls one was of African solidity, with the sutures almost obliterated: it was the model of a soldier'shead, thick and heavy. The mass of mummy-balsam had been tested, withoutother result than finding a large proportion of dragon's blood. In thefourteenth century Grand Canary sent to Europe at one venture twohundred doubloons' worth of this drug. 

By the kindness of the Governor I was permitted to inspect four Guanchemummies, discovered (June 1862) in the jurisdiction of Candelaria. Awaiting exportation to Spain, they had been temporarilycoffined upon a damp ground-floor, where the cockroaches respectednothing, not even a Guanehe. I was accompanied by Dr. AngelM. Yzquierdo, of Cadiz, physician to the hospital, and we jotted down asfollows:--

No. 1, a male of moderate size, wanted the head and upper limbs, whilethe trunk was reduced to a skeleton. The characteristic signs wereCaucasian and not negro; nor was there any appearance of the Jewishrite. The lower right leg, foot, and toe-nails were well preserved; theleft was a mere bone, wanting tarsus and metatarsus. The stomach wasfull of dried fragments of herbs (_Ohenopodium_, &c. ), and theepidermis was easily reduced to powder. In this case, as in the otherthree, the mortuary skins were coarsely sewn with the hair inside: it isa mistake to say that the work was 'like that of a glove. '

No. 2 was large-statured and complete; the framework and the form of thepelvis were masculine. The skin adhered to the cranium except behind, where the bone protruded, probably the effect of long resting upon theground. Near the right temporal was another break in the skin, whichhere appeared much decayed. All the teeth were present, but they werenot particularly white nor good. The left forearm and hand were wanting, and the right was imperfect; the lower limbs were well preserved even tothe toe-nails. 

No. 3, also of large size, resembled No. 2; the upper limbs werecomplete, and the lower wanted only the toes of the left foot. The lowerjaw was absent, and the upper had no teeth. An oval depression, about aninch in its greater diameter, lay above the right orbit. If this be abullet-mark, the mummy may date from before the final conquest andsubmission in A. D. 1496. But it may also have resulted from someaccident, like a fall, or from the blow of a stone, a weapon which theGuanches used most skilfully. Mr. Sprat, confirmed by Glas, affirms thatthey 'throw Stones with a force almost as great as that of a Bullet, andnow use Stones in all their fights as they did antiently. '

No. 4, much smaller than the two former, was the best preserved. Theshape of the skull and pelvis suggested a female; the arms also werecrossed in front over the body, whereas in the male mummy they were laidstraight. The legs were covered with skin; the hands were remarkablywell preserved, and the nails were darker than other parts. The tongue, in all four, was absent, having probably decayed. 

These crania were distinctly oval. The facial angle, well opened, andranging from 80° to 85°, counterbalanced the great development of theface, which showed an animal type. A little hair remained, colouredruddy-chestnut and straight, not woolly. The entrails had disappeared, and the abdominal walls not existing, it was impossible to detect theincisions by which the tanno-balsamic substances, noted by Bory deSaint-Vincent and many others, were introduced. The method appearsuncertain. It is generally believed that after removing the entrailsthrough an irregular cut made with the _tabona_, or obsidian(knife), the operators, who, as in Egypt, were of the lowest caste, injected a corrosive fluid. They then filled the cavities with thebalsam described above; dried the corpse; and, after, fifteen to twentydays, sewed it up in tanned goatskins. Such appears to have been thecase with the mummies under consideration. 

The catacombs, inviolable except to the sacrilegious, were numerous inthe rockiest and least accessible parts of the island. Mr. Addison foundthem in the Cañádas del Pico, 7, 700 feet above sea-level. [Footnote:Tenerife: 'An Ascent of the Peak and Sketch of the Island, ' by RobertEdward Alison. _Quarterly Journal of Science_, Jan. 1806. ] Hence ithas been remarked of the Guanches that, after a century of fighting, nothing remained of them but their mummies. The sharp saying is ratherterse than true. 

The Guanches were barbarians, not savages. De Béthencourt's twochaplains, speaking in their chronicle of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, tell us 'there are many villages and houses, with numerous inhabitants. 'The ruins still found in the Isles are called 'casas hondas' ("deephouses"); because a central excavation was surrounded by a low wall. Thecastle of Zonzamas was built of large stones without lime. In PortArguineguin (Grand Canary) the explorers sent by Alfonso IV. (1341) cameupon 300 to 400 tenements roofed with valuable wood, and so clean insidethat they seemed stuccoed. They encircled a larger building, probablythe residence of the chief. But the Tenerifans used only caves. 

The want of canoes and other navigating appliances in Guanche-land by nomeans proves that the emigration took place when the Canaries formedpart of the Continent. The same was the case with the Australians, theTasmanians, and the New Zealanders. The Guanches, at the same time, wereadmirable swimmers, easily able to cross the strait, nine miles wide, separating Lanzarote from La Graciosa. They could even kill fish withsticks when in the water. The fattening of girls before marriage was, and is still, a Moroccan, not an Arab custom. The rude feudalism muchresembled that of the Bedawi chiefs. George Glas, [Footnote: _TheHistory of the Discovery and Conquest of the Canary Islands_, &c. 4to. London, 1764. I have given some notices of the unfortunate'master mariner' in _Wanderings in West Africa_, vol. I. P. 79] orrather Abreu Galindo, his author, says of their marriages, 'None of theCanarians had more than one wife, and the wife one husband, contrary towhat misinformed authors affirm. ' The general belief is that at the timeof the conquest polyandry prevailed amongst the tribes. It may haveoriginated from their rude community of goods, and probably it became alocal practice in order to limit population. Possibly, too, it wasconfined to the noble and the priestly orders. 

Humboldt remarks, [Footnote: _Personal Narrative_, chap, i. P. 32, Bohn's ed. London, 1852. ] 'We find no example of this polyandry exceptamongst the people of Thibet. ' Yet he must have heard of the Nayr ofMalabar, if not of the Todas on the Nilagiri Hills. D. Agustin Millares[Footnote: _Historia de la Gran Canaria_. Published at Las Palmas. ]explains the custom by 'men and women being born in almost equalproportions, ' the reverse being the fact. Equal proportions induce themonogamic relation. 

Learned M. D'Avezac derives 'Guanche' from Guansheri or Guanseri, aBerber tribe described by El-Idrisi and Leo Africanus. This is betterthan finding it in the Keltic _gwuwrn, gwen_, white. Olderauthorities hold it a corruption of 'Vinchune, ' the indigenous name ofthe Nivarian race. Again, 'the inhabitants of Tenerife called themselvesGuan (the Berber Wan), one person, Chinet or Chinerf, Tenerife; so that_Guanchinet_ meant a man of Tenerife, and was easily corrupted toGuanche. Thus, too, Glas's 'Captain Artemis' was Guan-arteme, the one orchief ruler. Vieira derives 'Tenerf' or'Chenerf' from the last king; andold MSS. Have 'Chenerife. ' The popular voice says it is composed of'Tener, ' mountain or snow, and of 'ryfe, ' snow or mountain. Pritchard[Footnote: _Researches into the Physical History of Mankind_, bookiii. Chap. Ii. ] applied the term Guanche to all the Canarian races, andhe is reproached for error by M. De Macedo, [Footnote: 'EthnologicalRemarks, ' &c. , by J. J. De Costa de Macedo, of Lisbon, _RoyalGeographical Society's Journal_, vol. Ii. P. 172. _Wanderings inWest Africa_, i. 116, contains my objections to his theory. ] whowould limit it to the Tenerifans. The same occurs in the Eev. Mr. Delany[Footnote: _Notes of a Residence in the Canary Islands_, &c. London, 1861. ] and in Professor Piazzi Smyth, [Footnote: _AnAstronomer's Experiment_, p. 190. L. Reeve, London, 1868. ] who speaksof the 'Guanches of Grand Canary and Teneriffe. ' According to popularusage all were right, 'Guanche' being the local and general term for theaborigines of the whole archipelago. But the scientific object that itincludes under the same name several different races. 

The language is also a point of dispute: some opine that all theislanders had one tongue, others that they were mutually unintelligible;many that it was Berber (Numidian, Getulian, and Garamantan), a few thatit was less distinctly Semitic. The two chaplains of De Béthencourt[Footnote: Bontier and Le Verrier, _Histoire de la première Découvertee Conquête des Canaries_. Bergeron, Paris, 1630. ] noted itsresemblance with that of the 'Moors' of Barbary. Glas, who knewsomething of Shilha, or Western Berber, made the same observation. Butthe Genoese pilot Niccoloso di Recco during the expedition of A. D. 1344collected the numerals, and two of these, _satti_ (7) and_tamatti_ (8), are less near the original than the Berberan_set_ and _tem_. 

The catalogue of Abreu Galindo, who lived here in 1591 and printed hishistory in 1632, preserves 122 words; Vieira only 107, and Bory deSaint-Vincent [Footnote: _Essai sur les Iles fortunées_. Humboldthas only five. ] 148. Webb and Berthelot give 909. Of these 200 arenouns, including 22 names of plants; 467 are placenames, and 242 areproper names. Many are questionable. For instance, _sabor_(council-place) is derived from _cabocer_, 'expression par laquelleles nègres de la Sénégambie dénotent la réunion de leurs chefs. '[Footnote: Vol. I. Part i. P. 223. ] As all know, it is the corruptedPortuguese _caboceiro_, a headman. 

Continuing our way from Tacoronte we reached Sauzal, beyond which thecoach did not then run; the old road was out of condition, and the newnot in working order. We offered a dollar each for carrying our lightgear to sturdy men who were loitering and lying about the premises. Theyshook their heads, wrapped their old blanket-cloaks around them, andstretched themselves in the sun like dogs after a cold walk. I couldhardly wonder. What wants have they? A covering for warmth, porridge forfood, and, above all, the bright sun and pure air, higher luxuries andbetter eudaemonics than purple and fine linen. At last some passingmuleteers relieved us of the difficulty. 

The way was crowded with Laguneros, conspicuous in straw-hats; clothjackets, red waistcoats embroidered at the back; bright crimson sashes;white knickerbockers, with black velveteen overalls, looking as if'pointed' before and behind; brown hose or long leather gaitersornamented with colours, and untanned shoes. Despite the heat many worethe Guanche cloak, a blanket (English) with a running string round theneck. The women covered their graceful heads with a half-square of whitestuff, and deformed the coiffure by a hideous black billycock, anunpleasant memory of Wales. Some hundreds of men, women, and childrenwere working on the road, and we were surprised by the beauty of therace, its classical outlines, oval contours, straight profiles, magnificent hair, and blue-grey eyes with black lashes. This is not theresult of Guanche blood, as a town on the south-western part of theisland presently showed me. Also an orderly of Guanche breed from theparts about Arico, who had served for years at the palace, was pointedout as a type. He stood six feet four, with proportional breadth; hisface was somewhat lozenge-shaped, his hair straight, black like aHindu's, and his tawny skin looked only a little darker than that ofPortuguese Algarves. The beauty of the islanders results from a mixtureof Irish blood. During the Catholic persecution before 1823 many fledthe Emerald Isle to Tenerife, and especially to Orotava. The women'sfigures in youth are charming, tall, straight, and pliant as their ownpine-trees. All remark their graceful gait. 

We passed through places famed in the days of the conquest--La Matanza, the native Orantapata, where De Lugo's force was nearly annihilated. Nowit is the half-way station to Orotava; and here the _coche_ stopsfor dinner, prices being regulated by Government. The single inn showsthe Pike, but not the subjacent valley. Then to Acentejo, the localRoncesvalles, where the invaders were saved only by St. Michael; andnext to La Vitoria, where they avenged themselves. At Santa Ursula wefirst saw the slopes of Orotava, the Guanche Tavro or Atanpalata; and onthe Cuesta de la Villa we were shown near its mark, a date-palm, thecave that sheltered the patriot chief, unfortunate Bencomo. As thefashionables came forth to walk and drive we passed the _calvario_and the _place_ leading to the Villa Orotava, and found quarters inthe _fonda_ of D. José Gobea. The _sala_, or chief room, some30 feet long, wanted only an Eastern divan round the walls; it waseasily converted into a tolerable place of bivouac, and here we resolvedto try country life for a while. 

The first aspect of the Orotava Tempe was disappointing after Humboldt'sdictum, 'Voici ce qu'il y a de plus délicieux au monde. ' But ourdisappointment was the natural reaction of judgment from fancy toreality, which often leads to a higher appreciation. At last we learnedwhy the Elysian [Footnote: In Arabic El-Lizzat, the Delight, or from theold Egyptian _Aahlu_, ] Fields, the Fortunate Islands, the Garden ofthe Hesperides--where the sea is no longer navigable, and where Atlassupports the firmament on a mountain conical as a cylinder; the land ofevening, of sunset, where Helios sinks into the sea, and where Nightbore the guardians of the golden apples--were such favourites with thepoets. And we came to love every feature of the place, from the snowyPike of Teyde flushing pink in the morning sun behind his lofty rampart, to the Puerto, or lower town, whose three several reef-gates are outlaidby creamy surf, and whose every shift of form and hue stands distinct inthe transparent and perfumed air. The intermediate slopes are clothedwith a vegetation partly African, partly European; and here Humboldt, atthe end of the last century, proposed to naturalise the chinchona. 

La Villa lies some two miles and a half from and about 1, 140 feet abovethe Puerto; and the streets are paved and precipitous as any part ofFunchal. The population varied from 7, 000 to 8, 000 souls, whereas thelower town had only 3, 500. It contains a few fine houses with hugehanging balconies and interior _patios_ (courts) which wouldaccommodate a regiment. They date from the 'gente muy caballerosa'(knightly folk) of three centuries ago. The feminine population appearedexcessive, the reason being that some five per cent. Of the youths go toHavannah and after a few years return 'Indianos, ' or 'Indios, ' our old'nabobs. '

At the Puerto we were most kindly received by the late BritishVice-Consul, Mr. Goodall, who died about the normal age, seventy-seven:if this be safely passed man in Tenerife becomes a macrobian. All wasdone for our comfort by the late Mr. Carpenter, who figures in the'Astronomer's Experiment' as 'the interpreter. ' Amongst the scantypublic diversions was the Opera. The Villa theatre occupied an ancientchurch: the length of the building formed pit, boxes, and gallery; and'La Sonnambula' descended exactly where the high altar had been. At thePuerto an old monastery was chosen for 'La Traviata:' the latter wasrealistic as Crabbe's poetry; even in bed the unfortunate 'Misled' onecould not do without a certain truncated cylinder of acajou. I sighedfor the Iberian 'Zarzuela, ' that most charming _opera buffa_ whichtakes its name from a 'pleasaunce' in the Pardo Palace near Madrid. 

The hotel diet was peculiarly Spanish; already the stews and 'pilaffs'(_puláos_) of the East begin in embryo. The staple dish was the_puchero_, or _cocido_, which antiquated travellers still call'olla podrida' (pot-pourri). This _lesso_ or _bouilli_ consistsof soup, beef, bacon, and _garbanzos_ (chick-peas, or _Cicerarietinium_) in one plate, and boiled potatoes and small gourds(_bubangos_) in another. The condiments are mostly garlicand saffron, preferred to mustard and chillies. The pastry, they tellme, is excellent. 

In those days the Great Dragon Tree had not yet lost its upper cone bythe dreadful storm of January 3, 1868; thus it had survived by twocenturies and a half the Garoe Laurel, or Arbol Santo, the miraculoustree of Hierro (Ferro). It stood in the garden of the Marquez de Sauzal, who would willingly have preserved it. But every traveller had his owninfallible recipe, and the proprietor contented himself with propping upthe lower limbs by poles. It stood upon a raised bank of masonry-work, and the north-east side showed a huge cavity which had been stopped withstone and lime. About half a century ago one-third came down, and in1819 an arm was torn off and sent, I believe, to Kew. When we saw thefragment it looked mostly like tinder, or touchwood, 'eld-gamall, 'stone-old, as the Icelanders say. Near it stood a pair of tallcypresses, and at some distance a venerable palm-tree, which 'relates toit, ' according to Count Gabriel de Belcastel, [Footnote: I quote from the Spanish translation, _Las Islas Canarias yel Valle Orotava, _ a highly popular work contrasting wonderfully withsome of ours. The courteous Frenchman even promised that Morocco wouldbe the Algeria of the Canaries. His observations for temperature, pressure, variation, hygrometry, and psychrometry of the Orotavanclimate, which he chose for health, are valuable. He starts with atheory of the three conditions of salubrity--heat-and-cold, humidity, and atmospheric change. The average annual mean of Orotava is 66. 34degrees (F. ), that of Southern France in September; it never falls below54. 5 degrees nor rises above 73. 88 degrees, nor exceeds 13. 88 degrees invariation. ]

'in the murmurs of the breeze the legends of races long disappeared. '

Naturalists modestly assigned to the old Dragon 5, 000 to 10, 000 years, thus giving birth to fine reflections about its witnessing revolutionswhich our planet underwent prior to the advent of man. So Adamson madehis calabash a contemporary of the Noachian Deluge, if that partialcataclysm [Footnote: The ancient Egyptians, who ignored the BabylonianDeluge, well knew that all cataclysms are local, not general, catastrophes. ] ever reached Africa. The Orotava relic certainly was anold tree, prophetic withal, [Footnote: It was supposed infallibly topredict weather and to regulate sowing-time. Thus if the southern sideflowered first drought was to be expected, and vice versa. Now thepeasant refers to San Isidro, patron of Orotava: he has only changed theform of his superstition. ] when De Lugo and the _conquistadores_entered the valley in 1493 and said mass in its hollow. But that eventwas only four centuries ago, and dates are ticklish things when derivedfrom the rings and wrinkles of little-studied vegetation. AlreadyMr. Diston, in a letter to Professor Piazzi Smyth, [Footnote:'Astronomical Experiment on the Peak of Tenerife, ' _Philosoph. Trans. _, part ii. For 1858. ] declared that a young 'dragon, 'which he had planted in 1818, became in 38 years so tall thata ladder was required to reach the head. And let us observe that Nature, though forbidden such style of progression by her _savans_, sometimes does make a local _saltus_, especially in the change ofclimates. Centuries ago, when the fires about Teyde were still alight, and the lava-fields about Orotava were still burning, the rate ofdraconian increase, under the influence of heat and moisture, might havebeen treble or quadruple what it would now be. 

[Footnote: The patriarch was no 'giant of the forest. ' Its stature didnot exceed 60 feet. Humboldt made it only 45 French feet(= 47 ft. Llins. English) round the base. Dr. Wilde (_Narrative_, p. 40) blamesthe measurer and gives about the same measurement, Professor PiazziSmyth, who in 1856 reproduced it in an abominable photo-stenograph, reckons 48. 5 feet at the level of the southern foot, 35. 6 feet at 6 feetabove the ground, and 28. 8 feet at 14. 5 feet, where branches spring fromthe rapidly narrowing conical trunk. The same are said to have been itsproportions in the days of the conquest. In 1866 Mr. Addison made it 60feet tall, 35. 5 feet at 6 feet from the ground, and 49. 5 incircumference at the base which he cleared. Mr. Barker Webb's sketch in1830 was the best; but the tree afterwards greatly changed. Mr. J. J. Williams made a neat drawing in boarding-schoolstyle, with a background apparently borrowed from Richmond Hill. ]

The Jardin de Aclimatacion, or Botanical Garden, mentioned by Humboldt

[Footnote: Page 59. It is regretable that his forecasts havefailed. Neither of the ohinohonas (_C. Tanoifolia_ and _C. Oblongifolia_) has been naturalised in Southern Europe. Nor hasthe Hill of Duragno yet sent us the 'protea, the psidium, the jambos, the chirimoya of Peru, the sensitive plant, the heliconia, and severalbeautiful species of glyoine from New Holland. ']

as far back as 1799, still flourishes. It was founded in 1788-95 by anable _savan_, the Marquis de Villanueva del Pardo (D. Alonso deNava y Grimon), who to a Government grant of 1, 000_l_. Added4, 000_l_. Of his own, besides 400_l_. A year for an averagegeneration. The place is well chosen, for the Happy Valley combines theflora of the north and the south, with a Nivaria of snow-land above itand a semi-tropical temperature on the shores of the 'Chronian Sea. '

CHAPTER VI. 

THE ROUTINE ASCENT OF MOUNT ATLAS, THE 'PIKE' OF TENERIFE. 

The trip was so far routine that we followed in the steps of allprevious travellers, and so far not routine that we made it in March, when, according to all, the Mal Pais is impassable, and when furiouswinds threaten to sweep away intruders like dry leaves. 

[Footnote: The usual months are July and August. Captain Baudin, notfavourably mentioned by Humboldt, ascended in December 1797 with M. LeGros and the naturalists Advenier, Mauger, and Riedlé. He rolled downfrom half-way on the cone to the bottom of La Rambleta, and was stoppedonly by a snow-covered lava-heap. Mr. Addison chose February, when he'suffered more from enormous radiation than from cold. ' He justifies hischoice (p. 22) by observing that 'the seasons above are much earlierthan they are below, consequently the latter part of the spring is thebest season to visit the Peak. ' In October, at an elevation of 10, 700feet, he found the cold greater than it was in February. In July 1863 Irode round the island, to the Cumbre pumice-plains, and by no meansenjoyed the southern ride. A place near Guimar showed me thirty-six_barrancos_ (deep ravines) to be crossed within three leagues. ]

The good folk of the Villa, indeed, declared that the Ingleza couldnever reach even the Estancia de los Inglezes. 

Our train was modest--a pair of nags with their attendants, and twoexcellent sumpter-mules carrying provisions and blankets. The guide wasManoel Reyes, who has already appeared in the 'Specialities of aResidence Above the Clouds. ' He is a small, wizen-faced man, quiet, self-contained, and fond--exceedingly fond--of having his own way. Bydint of hard work we left the Fonda Gobea at 9 A. M. On March 23, withloud cries of 'Mulo!' and 'Anda, caballo!' and 'So-o-o!' when thebât-beasts indulged in a free fight. 

Morning smiled upon our incept. Nothing could be lovelier than theweather as we crossed the deluging Martinianez Fiumara; struck thecoast-road westward, and then, bending to the south-west, made for the'Gate of Taoro, ' a gap in the Cañáda-wall. From the higher level trulycharming was the aspect of Orotava: it was Funchal many timesimproved. Beyond the terraced foreground of rich deep yellow clay, growing potatoes, wheat, and the favourite _chochos_ (lupines), with apple and chestnut trees, the latter of two kinds, and the lowerfields marked out by huge agaves, lay the Happy Valley. Its contrast ofvivid greens, of white _quintas_, of the two extinct volcanosoverlooking Orotava, and of the picturesque townlets facing the mistyblue sea, fringed with a ceaseless silvery surf by the _brisa_, ornorth-east trade, the lord of these latitudes, had not a symptom of theMadeiran monotony of verdure. Behind us towered high the snowy Pilon(Sugar-loaf), whose every wave and fold were picked out by goldensunlight, azure half-light, and purple shade. 

As we advanced up the Camiño de Chasna, a road only by name, the_quintas_ were succeeded by brown-thatched huts, single or inclumps. On the left, 3, 400 feet above sea-level, stood the Pino delDornajito ('of the Little Trough'), one of the few survivors in thisonce wealthy pine-ground. The magnificent old tree, which was full grownin the days of the conquest, and which in the seventeenth century was afavourite halting-point, suffered severely from the waterspout ofNovember 7, 1826; but still measured 130 feet long by 29 in girth. Thevegetation now changed. We began brushing through the arbutus(_callicarpa_), the wild olive (_Olea excelsa_), the Canarianoak, the daphne, the myrtle entwined with indigenous ivy (_Hederacanariensis_); the cytisus, the bright green hypericum of threespecies, thyme, gallworts, and arborescent and other ferns in numbers, especially the hare's-foot and the peculiar _Asplenium canariense_, the _Trichomanes canariensis_, and the _Davallia canariensis_;the _brezo_ (_Erica aborea_ and _E. Scoparia_), a heathwhose small white bells scented the air; and the luxuriant blackberry, used to fortify the drystone walls. The dew-cloud now began to floatupwards from the sea in scarf-shape, only a few hundred feet thick; ithad hangings and fringes where it was caught by the rugged hill-flanks;and above us globular masses, white as cotton bales, rolled over oneanother. As in the drier regions of Africa the hardly risen sun madeitself felt. 

At 10. 20 A. M. We had passed out of the cultivated region to the Montijo, or Monte Verde, the laurel-region. The 'wood' is the remains of a fineforest accidentally fired by charcoal-burners; it is now a copse ofarborescent heath-worts, ilex (_I. Perado_), and _Faya_(_Myrica Faya_), called the 'Portugal laurel, ' some growing tenfeet high. We then entered upon rough ground, El Juradillo ('theHollow'); this small edition of the Mal Pais, leading to the Canadas, isa mass of lava-beds and dry _barrancos_ (ravines) grooved andsheeted by rushing torrents. The latter show the anatomy of theland--tufas, lavas, conglomerates, trachytes, trachydolerites, andbasalts of various kinds. Most of the rocks are highly magnetic, and areseparated by thin layers of humus with carbonised plant-roots. AroundEl Juradillo rises a scatter of _montanetas_, shaped likehalf-buried eggs: originally parasitic cones, they evidently connectwith the main vent. About 1 P. M. , after four hours' ride, we dismountedat the Estancia de la Sierra (6, 500 feet); it is a pumice-floor a fewfeet broad, dotted with bush and almost surrounded by rocks that keepoff a wind now blowing cold and keen. Consequently, as broken pots andbottles show, it is a favourite resting-place. 

After halting an hour we rode up a slope whose obtuser talus showed thatwe were reaching the far-famed platform, called Las Cañádas delPico. The word, here meaning level ground, not, as usual, a canefield, applies especially to the narrow outer rim of the hollow plain; abristling fortification of bluffs, pointing inwards, and often tilted toquoins 300 feet high, with an extreme of 1, 000. Trachyte and basalt, with dykes like Cyclopean walls, are cut to jagged needles by thefurious north-easter. Around the foot, where it is not encumbered with_débris_ like the base of an iceberg, a broad line of comminutedpumice produces vegetation like a wady-growth in Somali Land. Thecentral bed allows no short cut across: it is a series of rubbish-heaps, parasitic cones, walls, and lumps of red-black lavas, trachytes, andphonolites reposing upon a deluge of frozen volcanic froth ejected byearly eruptions. The aspect was rejoicing as the Arabian desert: I wouldwillingly have spent six months in the purest of pure air. 

These flats of pumice, 'stones of emptiness, ' loose incoherent matter, are the site of the first great crater. Tenerife is the type of athree-storied volcano, as Stromboli is of one and Vesuvius of twostages. The enormous diameter of this ancient feature is eight by sevenmiles, with a circumference of twenty-three--greater even thanHawaii--and here one feels that our earth was once a far sublimerscene. Such forms belong to the earlier volcanic world, and astronomersstill suspect them in the moon. [Footnote: Las Cañádas was shown to be avolcanic crater in 1803 by Professor Cordier, the first scientificvisitor in modern days (_Lettre à Devilliers fils_), and in 1810 byD. Francisco Escobar (_Estadistica_). They make the old vent tenleagues round. ] The altitude is 6, 900 feet, nearly double the height ofVesuvius (3, 890 feet); and the lines sweep upwards towards the Pilon, where they reach 8, 950 feet. 

The tints of Las Cañádas, seen from above, are the tenderest yellow anda brownish red, like the lightest coat of vegetation turning ruddy inthe sun. Where level, Las Cañádas is a floor of rapilli andpumice-fragments, none larger than a walnut, but growing bigger as theyapproach the Pike. The colours are dun (_barriga de monja_), golden-yellow, and brown burnt red like autumnal leaves. There ismarvellous colouring upon the bluffs and ridges of the rim--lamp-blackand brown-black, purple (light and dark), vermilion-red, and sombre huessuperficially stained ruddy by air-oxygen. The picture is made brighterby the leek-green vegetation and by the overarching vault of glaringblue. Nor are the forms less note-worthy. Long centuries of weatheringhave worked the material into strange shapes--here a ruined wall, therean old man with a Jesuit's cap; now a bear, then a giant python. It isthe oldest lava we have yet seen, except the bed of the Orotavavalley. The submarine origin is denoted by fossils found in the flank;they are of Miocene age, like those common in Madeira, and they wereknown as early as the days of Clavijo (1772). 

Las Canadas is not wholly a 'dead creation;' the birds were morenumerous than on the plains. A powerful raptor, apparently an eagle withblack-barred wings, hung high in air amongst the swallows winging theirway northwards, and the Madeiran sparrow-hawk was never out of sight;ravens, unscared by stone-throwing boys, flew over us unconcernedly, while the bushes sheltered many blackbirds, the Canary-bird(_Fringilla canaria_) showed its green belly and grey back andwings, singing a note unknown to us; and an indigenous linnet(_F. Teydensis_), small and green-robed, hopped over the groundtame as a wren. We saw nothing of the red-legged partridge or theTetraonidae, reported to be common. 

The scattered growths were composed of the broomy _Codeso_ and_Retama_. The former (_Adenocarpus frankenoides_), a leguminousplant, showed only dense light-green leaves without flower, and consequently without their heavy, cloying perfume. The woody stemacts in these regions as the _doornboom_ of South Africa, the wildsage of the western prairies, and the _shih_ (_absinthium_) ofthe Arabian desert. The Arabic _Retama_, or Alpine broom(_Cytisus fragrans_, Lam. ; _Cyt. Nubigenus_, Decan. ; _Spartiumnubigenum_, Alton and Von Buch), is said to be peculiarto Tenerife, where it is not found under one vertical mile ofheight. Some travellers divide it into two species, _Spartiummonospermum_ and _S. Nubigenum_. The bush, 9 to 10 feet tall by 7 to15 inches diameter, is easily distinguished from the _Codeso_ byits denser and deeper green. This pretty rounded growth, with its shortbrown stem throwing out lateral branches which trail on the ground, flavours meat, and might be naturalised in Europe. From June till Augustit is covered with a profusion of white blossoms, making Las Canadas aHymettus, an apiarian heaven. It extends as far as the second cone, butthere it shrinks to a foot in height. We did not see the tree growing, but we met a party of Chasna men, [Footnote: A romantic tale is told ofthe origin of Chasna. In 1496, before the wars ended, one Pedro deBracamonte, a captain under De Lugo, captured a 'belle sauvage, ' whomade her escape after a few days. He went about continually repeating, 'Vi la flor del valle' (I saw the valley flower), and died after threemonths. His soldiers buried him and priests said masses for the soul ofthis 'hot amorist. '] driving asses like onagers, laden with the gummywood of the _Tea_ or _Tiya_ pine (_P. Canariensis_). Thevaluable material, which resists damp and decay for centuries, and whichDecandolle declares would grow in Scotland, is rapidly disappearing fromthe Pinals. The travellers carried cochineal-seed, for which theirvillage is famous, and a hive which might have been Abyssinian. It was ahollow cylinder of palm-bole, closed with board at either end; in Julyand August it is carried up the mountain, where the bees cannot destroythe grapes. We searched in vain for M. Broussonet's white violet(_V. Teydensis_), [Footnote: Humboldt's five zones of vegetation onthe Pike are vines, laurels, pines, broom, and grasses (p. 116). Mr. Addison modifies this scale to vines, laurels, pines andjunipers, mountain-brooms and pumice-plains, I should distribute theheights as growing cochineal, potatoes, and cereals, chestnuts, pines, heaths, grasses, and bare rock. ] and for the lilac-coloured _Violacheiranthifolia_, akin to _V. Decumbens_. 

The average annual temperature of Las Canadas is that of N. Latitude 53degrees, Holland and Hanover; in fact, here it is the Pyrenees, andbelow it Africa. The sun blazed from a desert of blue, and the wavingheat-reek rose trembling and quivering from the tawny sides of theforegrounds. The clouds, whose volumes were disposed like the leaves ofa camellia, lay far down to the north-east, as if unable to face thefires of day. And now the great trachytic dome, towering in thetranslucent air, was the marking feature. Its angle, 35 to 42 degrees, or double that of the lower levels, suggests distant doubts as to itspracticability, nor could we believe that it rises 3, 243 feet above itswestern base, Las Cañádas. The summit, not including the terminalPilon--a comparatively dwarf cone [Footnote: There is a very bad sketchof the Pike in Mr. Scrope's popular work on _Volcanoes_ (p. 5); theeruptive chimney is far too regularly conical. ]--is ribboned withclinker, and streaked at this season with snow-lines radiating, likewheel-spokes from a common centre. Here and there hang, at an impossibleangle, black lava-streams which were powerless to reach the plain: theyresembled nothing so much as the gutterings of a candle hardening on theoutside of its upright shaft. Evidently they had flowed down the slopein a half fluid state, and had been broken by contraction whencooling. In places, too, the surface was streaked with light yellowpatches, probably of sun-gilt _tosa_ or pumice. 

On our right, or to the north-north-east of the Pike, rose La Fortaleza, _alias_ the Golliada del Cedro. The abrupt wall had salient andre-entering angles, not unlike the Palisades of the Hudson River, withintercalated strata and a smooth glacis at the base, except between theeast and north-west, where the periphery has been destroyed. It isapparently basalt, as we may expect in the lower levels before reachingthe trachytic region. The other notable features were Monte Tigayga, with its vertical cliff, trending northwards to the sea; the gap throughwhich the Orotava lava-bed burst the crater-margin; the Llano de Maja('Manja' in Berthelot), a strip of Las Canadas, and the horizontallystriated Peak of Guajara (8, 903 feet). 

Riding over the 'pumice-beach of a once fiery sea, ' whose glare andother accidents suggested the desert between Cairo and Suez, we made ourway towards the Rastrojito. This 'Little Stubble' is a rounded heap ofpumice, a southern offset of the main mountain. On the left rose theMontana Negra (Black Mountain) and the Lomo de la Nieve ('Snow Ridge), 'a dark mass of ribbed and broken lavas (8, 970 feet), in whichsummer-snow is stored. A little black kid, half wild, was skipping overthe rocks. Our men pursued it with the _garrotes_ (alpenstocks), loudly shouting, ' Tio Jose!': 'Uncle Joseph, ' however, escaped, runninglike a Guanche. Here it is allowed to shoot the animals on condition ofleaving a shilling with the skin. The latter is used in preparing thenational _gofio, _ the Guanche _ahoren, _ the _kuskusu_ ofnorth-western Africa, the _polenta, _ or daily bread, of theNeo-Latins. 

Climbing the Rastrojito slopes, we sighted the Pedras Negras: these arehuge travelled rocks of basalt, jet-black, breaking with a conchoidalfracture, and showing debris like onion-coats about their base. Theaspect was fantastic, resembling nothing so much as skulls 10 to 15 feethigh. They are doubtless the produce of the upper slopes, which by slowdegrees gravitated to the present pumice-beds. 

The first step of the Pike is Las Canadas, whose glacis forms the_Cumbre_, or pumice-plains (6, 500 feet), the long dorsum, whichshows far out at sea. Bending abruptly to the east, we began to breastthe red pumice-bed leading to the Estancia de Abajo or de losInglezes. 'El es Inglez porque subio al Pico' ('he is English, becausehe climbed the Pike'), say the people. This ramp, whose extreme angle is26 degrees, bordered by thick bands of detached lava-rocks, is doubtlessthe foundation-matter of the Pike. Hence the latter is picturesquelytermed 'Hijo de las Canadas. ' [Footnote: Especially by D. BenignoCarballo Wanguement in his work, _Las Afortunadas_ (Madrid, 1862), a happy title borrowed from D. Francisco Escobar. Heyley(_Cosmography_), quoted by Glas and Mrs. Murray, tells us of anEnglish ambassador who, deeming his own land the 'Fortunate Islands, 'protested against Pope Clement VI. So entitling the Canaries in a deedof gift to D. Luis de la Cerda, the 'Disinherited' Conde deClaramonte. The latter was deprived of the Crown of Castile by hisuncle, Sancho IV. , and became the founder of the Medina Celi house. ]

After a total climb and ride of six hours, we reached the 'Englishstation. ' M. Eden (Aug. 13, 1715) [Footnote: Trans. Royal Soc. OfLondon, 1714-16. ] calls it simply Stancha, and M. Borda 'Station desRochers. ' Pere Feutree, a Frenchman who ascended in 1524, and wrote theearliest scientific account, had baptised it Station de St. Francois dePaul, and set up a cross. It is a shelf in the pumice-slope, 9, 930 feethigh, and protected against the cold night-winds of thenorth-north-east, the lower or polar current, by huge boulders ofobsidian, like gigantic sodawater-bottles. The routine traveller sleepsupon this level a few hundred yards square, because the guides storetheir fuel in an adjacent bed of black rocks. Humboldt miscalls thestation 'a kind of cavern;' and a little above it he nearly fell on theslippery surface of the 'compact short-swarded turf' which he had left4, 000 feet below him. 

The bât-mules were unpacked and fed; and a rough bed was made up underthe lea of the tallest rock, where a small _curral_ of dry stonekept off the snow. This, as we noticed in Madeira, is not in flakes, norin hail-like globes: it consists of angular frozen lumps, and theselvage becomes the hardest ice. Some have compared it with the Swiss'firn, ' snow stripped of fine crystals and granulated by time andexposure. In March the greatest depth we saw in the gullies radiatingfrom the mountain-top was about three feet. But in the cold season allmust be white as a bride-cake; and fatal accidents occur in the Canadadrifts. Professor Piazzi Smyth characterises the elevated region as coldenough at night, and stormy beyond measure in winter, when thesouth-wester, or equatorial upper current, produces a fearfulclimate. Yet the Pike summit lies some 300 feet below the snow-line(12, 500 feet). 

The view was remarkable: we were in sight of eighty craters. At sunsetthe haze cleared away from the horizon, which showed a straightgrey-blue line against a blushing sky of orange, carmine, pale pink, andtender lilac, passing through faint green into the deep dark blue of thezenith. In this _cumbre_, or upper region, the stars did notsurprise us by their brightness. At 6 P. M. The thermometer showed 32degrees F. ; the air was delightfully still and pure, [Footnote: We hadno opportunity of noticing what Mr. Addison remarks, the air becomingsonorous and the sound of the sea changing from grave to acute aftersunset and during the night. He attributes this increased intensity toadditional moisture and an equability of temperature in the atmosphericstrata. Perhaps the silence of night may tend to exaggerate theimpression. ] and Death mummifies, but does not decay. 

A bright fire secured us against the piercing dry night-cold; and the_arrieros_ began to sing like _capirotes_ [Footnote: The_Capirote_ or _Tinto Negro_, a grey bird with black head(_Sylvia atricapilla_), is also found in Madeira, and muchresembles the Eastern bulbul or Persian nightingale. It must be cagedwhen young, otherwise it refuses to sing, and fed upon potatos and breadwith milk, not grain. An enthusiast, following Humboldt (p. 87), describes the 'joyous and melodious notes' of the bird as 'the purestincense that can ascend to heaven. '] (bulbuls), sundry _seguidillas_, and _El Tajaraste_. The music may be heard everywhere between Moroccoand Sind. It starts with the highest possible falsetto and graduallyfalls like a wail, all in the minor _clef_. 

We rose next morning with nipped feet and hands, which a cup of hotcoffee, 'with, ' speedily corrected, and were _en route_ at 4. 30A. M. Formerly animals were left at the lower _estancia_; now theyare readily taken on to Alta Vista. My wife rode a sure-footed blacknag, I a mule which was perfect whilst the foot-long lever acting curblay loose on its neck. Returning, we were amazed at the places they hadpassed during the moonless night. 

Our path skirted the Estancia de los Alemanos, about 300 yards higherthan the English, and zig-zagged sharply up the pumice-slope. The talusnow narrowed; the side-walls of dark trachytic blocks pinching it in. Atthis grisly hour they showed the quaintest figures--towers andpinnacles, needles and tree-trunks, veiled nuns and monstrousbeasts. Amongst them were huge bombs of obsidian, and masses withtranslucent, vitreous edges that cut like glass. Most of them containedcrystals of felspar and pyroxene. 

After half an hour we reached the dwarf platform of Alta Vista, 700 feetabove the Estancia and 10, 730, in round numbers, above sea-level. Thelittle shelf, measuring about 100 to 300 yards, at the head of the forkwhere the north-eastern and the south-western lava-streams part, isdivided by a medial ledge. Here we saw the parent rock of the pumicefragments, an outcrop of yellowish brown stone, like fractured andhardened clay. The four-footed animals were sent back: one rides up butnot down such places. 

Passing in the lower section the shell of a house where the Astronomer's

[Footnote: The author came out in 1856 to make experiments inastronomical observations. Scientific men have usually a contempt forlanguage: we find the same in _Our Inheritanse_, &c. (Dalby & Co. , London, 1877), where the poor modern hierogrammats are not highlyappreciated. But it is a serious blemish to find 'Montana Blanco, ''Malpays, ' 'Chahzorra' (for Chajorra), and 'Tiro del Guanches. ' Theauthor also is wholly in error about Guanche mummification. He derides(p. 329) the shivering and shaking of his Canarian guide under a cloudysky of 40°F. , when the sailor enjoyed it in their 'glorious strength ofSaxon (?) constitution. ' But when the latter were oppressed anddiscouraged by dry heat and vivid radiation, Manoel was active as achamois. Why should enduring cold and not heat be held as a test ofmanliness?]

experiment had been tried, Guide Manoel pointed out the place wherestood the _tormentos_, as he called the instruments. Thence wetoiled afoot up the Mal Pais. This 'bad country' is contradictorilydescribed by travellers. Glas (A. D. 1761) makes it a sheet of rockcracked cross-wise into cubes. Humboldt (1799) says, 'The lava, brokeninto sharp pieces, leaves hollows in which we risked falling up to ourwaists. ' Von Buch (1815) mentions 'the sharp edges of glassy obsidian, as dangerous as the blades of knives. ' Wilde (1857) tamely paints thescene as a 'magnified rough-cast. ' Prof. Piazzi Smyth is, as usual, exact, but he suggests more difficulty than the traveller finds. I sawnothing beyond a succession of ridge-backs and shrinkage-crevasses, disposed upon an acute angle. These ragged, angular, and mostly cuboidalblocks, resembling the ice-pack of St. Lawrence River, have apparentlybeen borne down by subsequent lava-currents, which, however, lackedimpetus to reach the lower levels of Las Cañádas. 

Springing from boulder to boulder, an exhilarating exercise for a time, over a 'surface of horrible roughness, ' as Prof. Dana says of Hawaii, wehalted to examine the Cueva de Hielo, whose cross has long succumbed tothe wintry winds. The 'ice-house' in a region of fire occupies a littleplatform like the ruined base of a Pompey's Pillar. This is the tableupon which the _neveros_ pack their stores of snow. The cave, amere hole in the trachytic lava, opens to the east with an entrance somefour feet wide. The general appearance was that of a large bubble in abaked loaf. Inside we saw a low ceiling spiky with stalactites, possiblyicicles, and a coating of greenish ice upon the floor. A gutter leadsfrom the mouth, showing signs of water-wear, and the blocks of trachyteare so loaded with glossy white felspar that I attempted to dust thembefore sitting down. 

Local tradition connects this ice-cave with the famous burial-cavernnear Ycod, on the northern coast; this would give a tunnel 8 miles longand 11, 040 feet high. Many declare that the meltings ebb and flow withthe sea-tide, and others recount that lead and lines of many fathomsfailed to touch bottom. We are told about the normal dog which fell inand found its way to the shore through the cave of Ycod de los Vinos. Inthe latter a M. Auber spent four hours without making much way; in partshe came upon scatters of Guanche bones. Mr. Robert Edwards, of SantaCruz, recounted another native tradition--that before the eruption ofA. D. 1705 there was a run of water but no cave. Mr. Addison was let downinto it, and found three branches or lanes, the longest measuring 60-70feet. What the _neveros_ call _el hombre de nieve_ (thesnow-man) proved to be a honeycombed mass of lava revetted withice-drippings. He judged the cave to be a crater of emission; and didnot see the smoke or steam issuing from it as reported by theice-collectors. 

Professor P. Smyth goes, I think, a little too far in making thiscontemptible feature compose such a quarrel as that between the Englisheruptionist and the Continental upheavalist. Deciding a disputed point, that elevation is a force and a method in nature, he explains the caveby the explosion of gases, which blew off the surface of the dome, 'whenthe heavy sections of the lava-roof, unsupported from below, felldownward again, wedging into and against each other, so as nearly toreform their previous figure. ' But the unshattered state of the stonesand the rounded surfaces of the sides show no sign of explosion. Theupper _Piton_ is unfitted for retaining water, which must percolatethrough its cinders, pumices, and loose matter into many a reservoirformed by blowing-holes. Snow must also be drifted in and retain, thecold. Moisture would be kept in the cavern by the low conducting powerof its walls; so Lyell found, on Etna, a bed of solid ice under alava-current. Possibly also this cave has a frozen substratum, like manyof the ice-pools in North America. 

We then toiled up to another little _estancia_, a sheltered, rock-girt hollow. The floor of snow, or rather frozen rain, wassprinkled with red dust, and fronts the wind, with sharp icy pointsrising at an angle of 45°. Here, despite the penetrating cold, wegravely seated ourselves to enjoy at ease the hardly won pleasures ofthe sunrise. The pallid white gleam of dawn had grown redder, brighterand richer. An orange flush, the first breaking of the beams faintlyreflected from above, made the sky, before a deep and velvetyblack-blue, look like a gilt canopy based upon a rim of azure mist. Thebrilliancy waxed golden and more golden still; the blending of thecolours became indescribably beautiful; and, lastly, the sun's upperlimb rose in brightest saffron above the dimmed and spurious horizon ofnorth-east cloud. The panorama below us emerged dimly and darkly from atorrent of haze, whose waving convex lines, moving with a majestic calm, wore the aspect of a deluge whelming the visible world. Martin the Greatmight have borrowed an idea from this waste of waters, as it seemed tobe, heaving and breaking, surging and sweeping over the highestmountain-tops. We saw nothing of the immense triangular gnomon projectedby the Pilon as far as Gomera Island, [Footnote: At sunset of July 10, 1863, I could trace it extending to Grand Canary, darkening the southernhalf and leaving the northern in bright sunshine: the right limb wasbetter defined than the left. ] and gradually contracting as the lamp ofday rises. Item, we saw nothing of the archipelago like a map in relief;the latter, however, is rarely visible in its entirety. Disappointment!

During the descent we had a fair prospect of the CanarianTriquetra. Somewhat like Madeira, it has a longitudinal spine ofmountains, generically called Las Cañádas; but, whilst the volcanicridge of the Isle of Wood runs in a latitudinal line, the JunonianCordillera has a whorl, the ancient as well as the modern seat oferuption. Around the island appeared to be a rim, as if the sea-horizonformed a raised saucer--a common optical delusion at these altitudes. 

As we advanced the Mal Pais became more broken: the 'bad step' was uglyclimbing, and we often envied our men, who wore heelless shoes of softuntanned leather with soles almost as broad as they were long. Theroughness of the trachytic blocks, however, rendered a slipimpossible. At 6. 45 we reached the second floor of this three-storiedvolcano, here 11, 721 feet high. The guides call it the _Pico delPilon_, because it is the ancient Peak-Crater, and strangers theRambleta (not Rembleta) Volcano, which strewed Las Cañádas with fierypumice, and which shot up the terminal head 'conical as a cylinder. ' Ithas now become an irregular and slightly convex plain a mile indiameter, whose centre is the terminal chimney. Its main peculiarity isin the fumaroles, or escapes of steam, and _mofetti_, mephiticemanations of limpid water and sulphur-vapour. Of these we counted fivenarices within as many hundred yards. Their temperature greatly varies, 109° and 158° Fahr. Being, perhaps, the extremes; my thermometer showed130°. These _soupiraux_ or _respiradouros_ are easily explained. The percolations from above are heated to steam by stonesrich in 'grough brimstone. ' Here it was that Humboldt saw apparentlateral shiftings and perpendicular oscillations of fixed stars; and ourAdmiralty, not wishing to be behind him, directed Professor P. Smyth'sattention to 'scintillations in general. ' Only the youngest oftravellers would use such a place as an observatory; and only theyoungest of observers would have considered this _libration of thestars_ an extraordinary phenomenon. 

Directed by a regular line of steam-puffs, we attacked _El Pilon_, the third story, the most modern cone of eruption, the dwarf chimneywhich looks like a thimble from the sea. The lower third was of loosecrumbling pumice, more finely comminuted than we had yet seen; this iswhat Humboldt calls 'ash-cones. ' There was also a strew of porphyriticlava-chips covered with a red (ochreous?) crust. Presently we reached aradiating rib of lately ejected lava, possibly the ridge of a dyke, brown below and gradually whitening with sulphuric acid as it rosetowards the crater-walls. The resting took longer than the walking upthe steep talus; and at 7. 45: after a total of nine hours and amorning's work of two hours and a half, which occupied two indescending, we stood upon the corona or lip of 'Teyde. '

The height of the Tenerife Pike, once held the loftiest in the world, is12, 198 feet, in round numbers 12, 200. Thus it stands nearly at thealtitude of Mont Blanc (15, 784 feet) above the Chamounix valley, afigure of 12, 284 feet. The slope from the base is 1 in 4. 6. The directdistance from Orotava on the map measures 10. 5 miles; along the road 18, according to the guides. The terminal chimney and outlet for vapourswhich would erupt elsewhere, rises 520 feet from its pedestal, thecentral Rambleta, and its ascent generally occupies an hour. One visitorhas reduced this _montagne pelée_ to 60-70 feet, and compares itwith the dome of a glass-house. From below it resembles nothing so muchas a cone of dirty brown _cassonade_, and travellers are justifiedin calling it a sugarloaf. I can hardly rest satisfied with Von Buch'sdescription. 'Teyde is a pointed tower surrounded by a ditch and acircular chain of bastions. '

The word Teyde is supposed to be a corruption of Echeyde, meaning Hades:hence the title Isla Infierno, found in a map of A. D. 1367. The Guanchesalso called it Ayadyrma, and here placed their pandemonium, underGuayota, the head-fiend. The country-folk still term the crater-ring 'lacaldera de los diablos en que se cuecen todas las provisiones delInfierno' (the Devil's caldron, wherein are cooked all the rations ofthe infernals). Seen by moonlight, or on a star-lit night, the scenerywould be weird and ghostly enough to suggest such fancies, which remindus of Etna and Lipari. 

I had been prepared by descriptions for a huge chasm-like crater orcraters like those on Theon Ochéma, Camerones Peak. I found aspoon-shaped hollow, with a gradual slope to the centre, 100 × 150 feetdeep, the greater length of the oval running north-east, where the sideis higher, to south-west, where there is also a tilt of the cup. Thefloor was a surface of burning marl and whitish earthy dough-like paste, the effect of sulphurous acid vapours upon the argile of the lava. Thisstratum was in places more than 80 feet thick; and fumes rose fetid withsulphuric acid, and sulphates of soda, alumina, and ammonia from thedead white, purple red, vivid green, and brilliant yellow surface of thesolfatara. Hence the puffs of vapour seen from below against thesparkling blue sky, and disappearing like huge birds upon the wings ofthe wind: hence, too, the tradition of the mast and the lateen sail. Adig with the Guanche _magada_ or _lanza_, the island alpen-stock, either outside or inside the crater, will turn up, under themoist white clay, lovely trimetric crystals of sulphur, with thepalest straw tint, deepening to orange, and beautifully disposed inacicular shapes. The acid eats paper, and the colours fade before theyleave the cone. 

[Footnote: Dr. Wilde (1837) analysed the sulphur as follows: Silica, 81·13; water, 8·87; and a trace of lime. Others have obtained from themineral, when condensed upon a cold surface, minute crystals ofalum. Mr. Addison found in the 'splendid crystals of octahedral sulphur'a glistening white substance of crystalline structure, yet somewhat likeopal. When analysed it proved to contain 91 per cent. Silex and the restwater. ]

When sitting down it is advisable to choose a block upon which dew-dropspearl. A few minutes of rest upon a certain block of marl, whose genialwarmth is most grateful, squatting in the sharp cold air, neatly removesall cloth in contact with the surface. More than one excursionist hasshown himself in that Humphrey Clinker condition which excited the wrathof Count Tabitha. It is evident that Teyde is by no means exhausted, andpossibly it may return to the state of persistent eruption described bythe eye-witness Ca da Mosto, who landed on the Canaries in A. D. 1505. 

Not at all impressed with the grandeur of the Inferno, we walked roundthe narrow rim of the crater-cirque, and were shown a small breach inthe wall of porphyritic lava facing west. Mrs. Murray's authoritiesdescribe the _Caldera_ as being 'without any opening:' if this bethe case the gap has lately formed. The cold had driven away the livelylittle colony of bees, birds, and butterflies which have been seendisporting themselves about the bright white cauldron. There was not abreath of the threatened wind. Manoel pointed out Mount Bermeja as thesource of the lateral lava-stream whose 'infernal avalanche, ' on May 5, 1706, [Footnote: Preceding Ca da Mosto's day another eruption (1492) wasnoted by Columbus, shortly before his discovery of the Antilles. Garachico was the only port in Tenerife, with a breakwater ofrocky isle and water so deep that the yardarms of men-of-war couldalmost touch the vineyards. Its quays were bordered by largeprovision-stores, it had five convents, and its slopes were dotted withvillas. After an earthquake during the night a lava-stream from severalcones destroyed the village Del Tanque at 3:30 A. M. , and at 9P. M. Another flood entered Garachico at seven points, drove off the sea, ruined the mole, and filled the port. It was followed by a cascade offire at 8 A. M. On the 13th of the same month, and the lava remainedincandescent for forty days. ] overwhelmed 'Grarachico, pueblo rico, '

[Footnote: Alluding to the curse of the Franciscan Friar, who devotedthe town to destruction in these words:--

 'Garachico, pueblo rico, Gastadero de dinero, Mal risco te caiga encima!']

and spared Guimar, which it enclosed between two fiery streams. Despitethe white and woolly mists, the panorama of elevations, craters andcastellated eminences, separated by deep gashes and by _currals_like those of Madeira, but verdure-bare, was stupendous. I havepreserved, however, little beyond names and heights. We did not sufferfrom _puna_, or mountain sickness, which Bishop Sprat, ofRochester, mentions in 1650, and which Mr. Darwin--alas that we mustwrite the late!--cured by botanising. I believe that it mostly resultsfrom disordered liver, and, not unfrequently, in young Alpinists, fromindigestion. 

The descent of the Teyde _Piton_, in Vesuvian fashion, occupied tenminutes. Our guides now whistled to their comrades below, who hadremained in charge of the animals. Old authors tell us that the Guanchewhistle could be heard for two leagues, and an English travellerdeclares that after an experiment close to his ear he did not quiterecover its use for a fortnight. The return home was wholly withoutinterest, except the prospects of cloud-land, grander than those ofFolkestone, which seemed to open another world beneath our feet. Nearthe Santa Clara village all turned out to prospect two faces which musthave suggested only raw beef-steaks. It was Sunday, and

(Garachico, wealthy town; wasteful of thy wealth, may an ill rock fallupon thy head!)

both sexes were in their 'braws. ' The men wore clean blanket-mantles, the women coloured corsets laced in front, gowns of black serge orcotton, dark blue shawls hardly reaching to their waist, and the usualwhite kerchief, the Arab _kufiyah_, under the broad-brimmed strawor felt hat, whose crown was decorated with the broadest and gayestribbons. But even this unpicturesque coiffure, almost worthy of SierraLeone, failed to conceal the nobility of face and figure, thewell-turned limbs, the fine hands and feet, and the _meneo_, orswimming walk, of this Guanchinesque race, which everywhere forceditself upon the sight. The proverb says--

 De Tenerife los hombres; Las mugeres de Canária. 

It is curious to compare the realistic accounts of the nineteenthcentury with those of the _vulcanio_ two centuries ago. Ogilby(1670) tells us that the Moors called it El-Bard (Cold), and we the'Pike of Teneriff, thought not to have its equal in the world forheight, because it spires with its top so high into the clouds that inclear weather it may be seen sixty _Dutch_ miles off at sea. ' Hisillustration of the 'Piek-Bergh op het Eilant Teneriffe' shows an almostperpendicular tower of natural masonry rising from a low sow-back whoseend is the 'Punt Tenago' (Anaga Point). The 'considerable merchants andpersons of credit, ' whose ascent furnished material for the RoyalSociety, set out from Orotava. 'In the ascent of one mile some of ourCompany grew very faint and sick, disorder'd by Fluxes, Vomitings, andAguish Distempers; our Horses' Hair standing upright like Bristles. 'Higher up 'their Strong waters had lost their Virtue, and were almostinsipid, while their Wine was more spirituous and brisk than before. ' Inthose days also iron and copper, silver and gold, were found in thecalcined rocks of the Katakaumenon. It is strange to note how much morewas seen by ancient travellers than by us moderns. 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE SPANISH ACCOUNT OF THE REPULSE OF NELSON FROM SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE. 

[Footnote: From the _Relacion circumstanciada de la Defensa que hizola Plaza de Santa Cruz_, by M. Monteverde. Published in Madrid, 1798. ]

The following pages afford a circumstantial and, I believe, a fairlytrue account of an incident much glossed over by our navalhistorians. The subject is peculiarly interesting. At Santa Cruz, as atFontenoy, the Irish, whom harsh measures at home drove for protection tomore friendly lands, took ample share in the fighting which defeatedEngland's greatest sailor. Again, the short-sighted policy which sent tothe Crimea 20, 000 British soldiers to play second instrument in concertwith 40, 000 Frenchmen, thus lowering us in the eyes of Europe, madeNelson oppose his 960 hands to more than eight times their number. Theday may come when the attack shall be repeated. Now that steam hasrendered fleets independent of south-west winds, it is to be hoped theassailant will prefer day to night, so that his divisions cancommunicate; that he will not land in the 'raging surf' of the ebb-tide, and that he will attack the almost defenceless south instead of thewell-fortified north of the city. 

Already the heroic Island had inflicted partial or total defeat uponthree English admirals. [Footnote: Grand Canary also did her duty bybeating off, in October 1795, Drake's strong squadron. ] In April 1657the Roundhead 'general at sea, ' Admiral Sir Robert Blake, ofBridgewater, attempted to cut out the Spanish galleons freighted withMexican gold and with the silver of Peru. Of these the principal werethe _Santo-Cristo_, the _Jesus-Maria_, the _Santo Sacramento_, _La Concepcion_, the _San Juan_, the _Virgen de la Solitud_, and the _Nuestra Señora del Buen Socorro_. This 'silver fleet'was moored under the guns of the 'chief castle, ' San Cristobal, the mean work at the root of the mole. The English werepreparing to board, when the Captain-General, D. Diego de Egues, whomour histories call 'Diagues, ' ordered the fleet to be fired, after allthe treasure had been housed in the fort. A steady fight lasted threehours, during which the wife of the brave Governor, D. Estevan de laGuerra, distinguished herself. 'I shall not be useless here, ' sheexclaimed when invited to leave the batteries; and this 'maid ofTenerife' continued to animate the garrison till the end. As was thecase with his great successor, Roundhead Blake's failure proved to himfar better than a success. For his _francesada_, or _coup detête_, Nelson expected to lose his commission, instead of which somepopular freak flung to him honour and honours. So Protector Cromwellsent a valuable diamond ring to his 'general at sea, ' in token of esteemon his part and that of his Parliament. Our histories, relying on thefact that a few weak batteries were silenced, claim for the Admiral apositive victory, despite his losses--fifty killed and 500 wounded. 

[Footnote: The late Mr. Hepworth Dixon (_Life of Blake_, p. 346)describes the open roadstead of Santa Cruz as a 'harbour shaped like ahorse-shoe, and defended at the north side of the entrance by a regularcastle. ' In p. 350 we also read of the bay and its entrance. Anyhydrographic chart would have set him right. ]

In 1706, during the Spanish war of succession, Admiral Jennings sailedinto Santa Cruz bay--the old Bay of Anaga or Anago--and lay off SanCristobal

[Footnote: This work still remains. It is a parallelogram with fourbastions in star-shape, fronting the sea, and an embrasured wall facingthe town. It began as a chapel, set up by De Lugo to N. S. De laConsolacion, and a tower was added in 1493. It was destroyed by theGuanches and rebuilt by Charles Quint: the present building assumed itsshape in 1579. The main square, inland of San Cristobal, shows by amarble cross where the conqueror planted with one hand a large affair ofwood--hence Santa Cruz. The original is, or was till lately, in theCivil Hospital. ]

with twelve ships of the line. The Plaza was commanded, in the absenceof the Captain-General, by the Corregidor, D. Antonio de Ayala, whoassembled all the nobles in the castle's lower rooms and swore them toloyalty. The English attempted to disembark, and were beaten back;whereupon, as under Nelson, they sent a parliamentary and summoned theisland to surrender to the Archduke Charles of Austria. The envoyinformed the Governor, who is described by Dampier as sitting in a low, dark, uncarpeted room, adorned only with muskets and pikes, that PhilipV. Had lost Gibraltar, that Cadiz and Minorca had nearly fallen, andthat the American galleons in the port of Vigo had been burnt orcaptured by the English, whose army, entering Castile, had overrunAragon, Catalonia, and Valencia. The braves reply was, 'If Philip, ourking, had lost his all in the Peninsula, these islands would stillremain faithful to him. ' And the castle guns did such damage that theJennings squadron sailed away on the same evening. 

The third expedition, detached by Admmiral Sir John Jervis, afterwardsEarl St. Vincent, to 'cut out a richly freighted Manilla ship, ' alsoresulted in a tremendous failure. Captain Brenton, to gratify nationalcomplacency, grossly exaggerates in his 'Naval History' the difficultyof the enterprise. 'Of all places which ever came under our inspectionnone, we conceive, is more invulnerable to attack or more easilydefended than Teneriffe. ' He forgets to mention its principal guard, thevalour of the inhabitants. And now to my translation. 

'At dawn on July 2, [Footnote: James (_Naval History_, vol. Ii. P. 56) more correctly says July 20. So the _Despatches, &c. , of Lord Nelson_, Sir H. Nicholas, vol. Ii. P. 429. The thanksgivingfor the victory took place on July 27, the fête of SS. Iago andCristobal. ] 1797, the squadron [Footnote: The squadron was composed asfollows:--1. _Theseus_ (74), Captain Ralph Willett Miller, carriedthe Rear-Admiral's flag; 2. _Culloden_ (74), Commodore and CaptainThos. Troubridge; 3. _Zealous_ (74), Captain Sam. Hood;4. _Leander_ (50), Captain Thos. Boulden Thomson, which joined onthe day before the attack. There were three frigates:--1. _Seahorse_(38), Captain Thos. Francis Fremantle; 2. _Emerald_ (36), CaptainJohn Waller; and 3. _Terpsichore_ (32), Captain Richard Bowen; alsothe _Fox_ (cutter), Lieut. Commander John Gibson, and a mortar-boator a bomb-ketch, probably a ship's launch with a shell-gun. ] ofRear-Admiral Horatio Nelson, K. B. , composed of nine ships, andcarrying a total of 393 guns, appeared off Santa Cruz, the portof Tenerife, Canarian archipelago. The enemy at once manned andput off his boats. One division of sixteen occupied our front; theother twenty-three took the direction of the Bufadero valley, a wildgap two or three miles to the north of the harbour. 

'An alarm signal was immediately made in the town, when the enemyreturned to his ships, and made his troops prepare to disembark. At tenA. M. The three frigates, towed by their boats, cast anchor out ofcannon-shot, near the Bufadero; whilst the other vessels plied towindward, [Footnote: At the time the weather was calm in the town, but aviolent levante, or east wind, prevented vessels from approaching thebay, where the lee shore is very dangerous. ] and disembarked about 1, 200men on the beach of Valle Seco, between the town and the valley. Thisparty occupied the nearest hill before it could be attacked; itsmovements showed an intention to seize the steep rocky scarp commandingthe Paso Alto--the furthest to the north of the town. [Footnote:Nelson's rough sketch, vol. Ii. P. 434, shows that it had 26 guns. SanCristobal de Paso Alto commands the large ravine called by the Guanches'Tahoide' or 'Tejode, ' which is now defended by San Miguel. This is asmall rockwork carrying six guns in two tiers, the upper _enbarbette_ and the lower casemated. ] Thus the enemy would have beenenabled to land fresh troops during the night; and, after gaining theheights and roads leading to the town, to attack us in flank as well asin front. 

'Light troops were detached to annoy the invader, and they soon occupiedthe passes with praiseworthy celerity and boldness. One party was led bythe Capitaine de Frégate Citizen Ponné [Footnote: James calls him ZavierPommier. He commanded the French brig _Mutine_ (14), of 349 tons, with a crew of 135. As he landed at Santa Cruz with 22 of his men on May28, 1797, the frigates _Lively_, Captain Benjamin Hallowell, andthe _Minerva_, Captain George Cockburn, descried the hostilecraft. Lieutenant Hardy, of the _Minerva_, supported by sixofficers and their respective boats' crews, boarded her as she lay atanchor. Despite the fire of the garrison and of a large ship in theroads, he carried her, after an hour's work, safe out of gunshot. Only15 men were wounded, including Lieutenant Hardy. This officer was atonce put in command of the _Mutine_, which he had so gallantlywon. ] and by the Lieutenant de Vaisseau Citizen Faust. Both officers, who had been exchanged and restored at the same port, showed muchpresence of mind on this occasion, and on July 25 they applied to beposted at a dangerous point of attack--the beach to the south of thetown, near Puerto Caballas, beyond where the Lazaretto now lies. Whenthe enemy purposed assaulting a more central post, they came up at themoment of the affair, ending in our victory. 

'A second party was composed of the Infantry Battalion of the Canaries, [Footnote: This battalion afterwards distinguished itself highly in thePeninsular war. ] under Sub-Lieutenant Don Juan Sanchez. A third, composed of 70 recruits from the Banderas [Footnote: _Bandera_ is aflag, a depôt, also a levy made by officers of Government. ] of Havanaand Cuba, was led by Second Lieutenant Don Pedro Castillo; a fourthnumbered seventeen artillerymen and two officers, Lieutenant Don JosefFeo and Sub-Lieutenant Don Francisco Dugi. A fifth, and the last, was oftwenty-five free chasseurs belonging to the town, and commanded byCaptains Don Felipe Viña and Don Luis Roman. 

'Our Commandant-General, H. E. Señor Don Juan Antonio Gutierrez, [Footnote: Not Gutteri, as James has it, nor 'Gutienez, ' as Mrs. Murrayprefers. ] was residing in the principal castle of San Cristobal. Hisstaff consisted of the commandants of the Royal Corps of Artillery andEngineers, Don Marcelo Estranio and Don Luis Margueli; of the Auditor ofWar (an old office, the legal military adviser and judge), Don VicentePatiño; of Lieutenant-Colonel Don Juan Creagh (locally pronouncedCré-ah); of the Secretary of Inspection Captain Don Juan Creagh; of theSecretary to Government and Captain of Militia Don Guillermo de losReyes; of the Captain of Infantry Don Josef Victor Dominguez; ofLieutenants Don Vicente Siera and Don Josef Calzadilla, Town-Adjutant--the latter three acting as aides-de-camp to hisExcellency--and of the first officers of the Tobacco and Postal Bureaux, Don Juan Fernandez Uriarte and Don Gaspar de Fuentes. 

'The five parties before alluded to, numbering a total of 191, were, athis own request, placed under Lieutenant-Colonel the Marquess de laFuente de las Palmas, commanding the division of chasseurs. The first tomount the hill nearest the enemy, he saw the increased force of theattacker, who had placed a 4-pounder in position; whereupon he sent forreinforcements and some pieces of cannon. Our Commandant-General, onreceipt of the message, ordered up four guns (3- and 4-pounders) withfifty men under a captain of the Infantry Battalion of theCanaries. Universal admiration was excited by the agility andintrepidity with which twenty militiamen of the Laguna Regiment, underthe chief of that corps, Florencio Gonsalez, scaled the cliffs, carryingon their shoulders, besides their own arms and ammunition, the four gunsand their appurtenances. 

'Meanwhile our troops replied bravely to the enemy's deliberate fire ofmusketry and field-pieces. As he sallied out to a spring in the ValleSeco, two of his men were killed by the French party and the levies ofHavana and Cuba, whilst a third died of suffocation whilst scaling theheights. At the same time Lieutenant-Colonel Don Juan Creagh, commandingthe Infantry Battalion, accompanied by a volunteer, Don Vicente Siera, Lieutenant of the local corps (_fixo_) of Cuba, led thirty of hismen and fifty Rozadores [Footnote: The insular name of an irregularcorps, now done away with. Literally taken, the word means sicklemen. ]belonging to the city of La Laguna. They proceeded across country inorder to reconnoitre the enemy's rear. Before nightfall they succeededin occupying high ground in the same valley opposite the heights held bythe English, and in manning the defiles through which the latter mustpass on their way to the town. 

'As soon as the enemy saw these troops, he formed in five companies nearhis field-gun. Lieutenant-Colonel Creagh was joined by some 500 men ofthe Laguna militia, and their lieutenant, Don Nicholas Quintin Garcia, followed by the peasantry of the adjoining districts, under the Alcaldeor Mayor of Taganana. These and all the other troops were liberallysupplied with provisions by the _Ayuntamiento_ (municipality) ofthe Island. 

'On the next morning (July 23) our scouts being sent down to the valley, found that the enemy had disappeared during the night. Notwithstandingwhich, the Marquess de las Palmas ordered a deliberate fire to be keptup in case of surprise. Our General, when informed of the event, recalled the troops. The Marquess, who unfortunately received a fallwhich kept him _hors de combat_ for many days, [Footnote: I findpencilled in the original volume, 'Que caida tam oportuna!' (What alucky fall!)] obeyed with his command at 5 P. M. , leaving behind himthirty men under Don Felix Uriundo, second lieutenant of the Battalionof Canaries. Don Juan Creagh did the same with his men. But as theFrench commandant reported that some of the enemy were still lurkingabout the place, our General-in-Chief directed Captain Don SantiagoMadan, second adjutant of the same corps, to reconnoitre once more theValle Seco with 120 Rozadores. This duty was well performed, despite theroughness of the paths and the excessive heat of the sun. 

'The enemy's squadron now seemed inclined to desist from its attempt. At6 A. M. Of July 23 Rear-Admiral Nelson's flagship, which, with the otherships of the line, had kept in the offing, drew near, and signalled thefrigates to sheer off from the point and to rejoin the rest of thesquadron. These, however, at 3 P. M. , allowed themselves to drop down thecoast towards the dangerous southern reaches between Barranco Hondo, beyond the Quarantine-house and the village of Candelaria, distant aday's march from Santa Cruz. To prevent their landing men, Captain DonAntonio Eduardo, and the special engineer, Don Manuel Madera, reconnoitred the shore about Puerto Caballas, to see if artillery couldbe brought there. Meanwhile Sub-Lieutenant Don Cristobal Trinidad, ofthe Guimar Regiment, watched, with fifty of his men, the coast near SanIsidro, [Footnote: Here the landing is easiest. ] which is not far fromBarranco Hondo. The squadron, however, retired to such a distance thatit could hardly be discerned from the town, as it bore S. E. 1/4 E. :notwithstanding which, all preparations were made to give the enemy awarm reception. 

'At daylight on July 24 the squadron again appeared, crowding on allsail to gain the weather-side. The look-out at Anaga Point, north of theisland, signalled three ships from that direction, and two to the south, where we could distinguish only one of fifteen guns, which was presentlyjoined by the rest. At 6 P. M. The enemy anchored with his whole force onthe same ground which the frigates chose on the 22nd, and feinted toattack Paso Alto Fort. Our General and chiefs were not deceived. Foreseeing that we should be assaulted in front, and to theright or south, [Footnote: The town of Santa Cruz runs due north andsouth in a right line; the bay affords no shelter to shipping, and thebeach is rocky. ] they made their dispositions accordingly, without, however, neglecting to protect the left. 

'At 6 P. M. A frigate and the bomb-ketch approached Paso Alto, and thelatter opened fire upon the fort and the heights behind it. Thesepositions were occupied by 56 men of the Battalion of the Canaries, 40Rozadores, under Second Lieutenant Don Felix Uriundo, and 16artillerymen, commanded by Sub-Lieutenant of Militia Artillery Don JosefCambreleng. [Footnote: A Flemish name, I believe: the family is still inthe island. ] Of 43 shells, however, only one fell in the fort, burstingin a place where straw for soldiers' beds had been stored, and this, like the others, did no damage. [Footnote: A fragment of this shell ispreserved in the Fort Chapel for the edification of strangers. ] PasoAlto, commanded by the Captain of the Royal Corps of Artillery, DonVicente Rosique, replied firmly. At the same time Don Juan del Castillo, sub-lieutenant of militia, with 16 men, reconnoitred, by H. E. TheGovernor's orders, the Valle Seco. The operation was boldly performed, despite the darkness of night and other dangers; and our soldiersreturned with a prisoner, an Irish sailor of the _Fox_ cutter, whohad swum off from his ship. 

'The enemy now prepared his force for the attack. One thousand fivehundred men, [Footnote: James numbers 200 seamen and marines from eachof the three line-of-battle ships, and 100 from each of the threefrigates, besides officers, servants, and a small detachment of RoyalArtillery. This made a total of 1, 000 to 1, 060 men, commanded byCaptain, afterwards Admiral, Sir Thomas Troubridge, Bart. Nelson(_Despatches_, vol. Ii. P. 43) says 600 to 700 men in the squadronboats, 180 on board the _Fox_, and about 70 or 80 in a capturedboat; total, at most, 960. ] as we were afterwards informed, well armedwith guns, pistols, pikes, swords, saws, and hatchets, and led by theirbest officers, among whom was the Rear-Admiral, embarked in theirboats. At 2. 15 A. M. (July 25) they put off in the deepest silence. Thefrigate of the Philippine Islands Company, anchored outside the shippingin the bay, discovered them when close alongside. Almost at the samemoment the Paso Alto Fort, under Lieutenant-Colonel Don Pedro deHigueras, and the Captain of Artillery Don Vicente Rosique, gave thesignal to the (saluting) battery of San Antonio [Footnote: This oldwork, _à fleur d'eau_, still remains; and near it are the ruins ofthe Bateria de los Melones, on land bought by the Davidson family. ] inthe town, held by the Captain of Militia Artillery Don PatricioMadan. They alarmed the citizens by their fire, and the enemy attackedwith rare intrepidity. 

'The defence was gallantly kept up by the battery of San Miguel, underSub-Lieutenant of Artillery Don Josef Marrero; by the Castle of SanPedro, [Footnote: The San Pedro battery dated from 1797. It defended thesouthern town with six embrasures and three guns _en barbette_. Formany years huge mortars and old guns lay outside this work. ] under theCaptain of Artillery Don Francisco Tolosa; by the Provisional Battery delos Melones, [Footnote: Now destroyed. It was, I have said, near the newcasemates north of the town. ] under the Sergeant of Militia JuanEvangelista; by the Mole-battery, under Lieutenant of the Royal Corps ofArtillery Don Joaquim Ruiz and Sub-Lieutenant of Militia Don FranciscoDugi; by the Castle of San Cristobal, under the Captain of the RoyalRegiment of Artillery and Brigade-Major Don Antonio Eduardo, whocommanded the central and right batteries, and Lieutenant of MilitiaArtillery Don Francisco Grandi, to whom were entrusted the defences onour left; by the battery of La Concepcion, [Footnote: Where the CustomHouse now is, in the middle of the town. ] under Captain of the RoyalRegiment of Artillery Don Clemente Falcon; and by that of San Telmo, [Footnote: Near the dirty little square south of the Custom House. Theword is thus written throughout the Canary Islands; in Italy, Sant'Elmo. ] under the Captain of Militia Artillery Don Sebastian Yanez. 

'The rest of our line did not fire, because the enemy's boats had notpassed the Barranco, or stony watercourse, which divides the southernfrom the northern town. In the Castle of San Juan, [Footnote: It is the southernmost work, afterwards used as apowder-magazine. To the south of the town are also the Bateria de laRosa, near the coal-sheds, and the Santa Isabel work. The latter had 22fine brass guns, each of 13 centimètres, made at Seville, once a famousmanufactory. ]

however, Captain Don Diego Fernandez Calderia trained four guns to bearupon the beach, which was protected by the Laguna militia regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Juan de Castro. 

'So hot and well-directed was our fire, that almost all the boats weredriven back, and the _Fox_ cutter, with her commander and 382 ofthe landing party--others said 450--also carrying a reserve store ofarms and ammunition, was sunk. [Footnote: Nelson, _loc. Cit. _, says180 men were in the _Fox_, and of these 97 were lost. So CaptainBrenton, _Naval History_, says 97. In vol. Ii. P. 84, speaking ofTrafalgar, he informs us that the French ship _Indomptable_ (84), M. Hubart, was wrecked off Rota, where her crew, said to be 1, 500 men, _all perished_. Add, 'except M. Maffiote, of Tenerife, and about143 others. '] Rear-Admiral Nelson lost his right arm before he couldtouch ground, and was compelled to return to his flag-ship, with theother officers of his boat all badly wounded. [Footnote: The grape-shotwas fired from the Castle of San Pedro; others opine from San Cristobal;and the Canarese say that a splinter of stone did the work. According tomost authorities, Nelson was half-way up the mole. James declares thatNelson's elbow was struck by a shot as he was drawing his sword andstepping out of his boat. In Nelson's _Despatches, loc. Cit. _, weread that the 'mole was instantly stormed and carried, although defendedby 400 or 500 men, and the guns--six 24-pounders--were spiked; but sucha heavy fire of musketry and grape-shot was kept up from the citadel andhouses at the head of the mole that we could not advance, and nearly allwere killed. '] The brave Captain Bowen was killed on the first step ofthe Mole, a volley of grape tearing away his stomach. [Footnote: Thisofficer is said to have caused the expedition, by describing it toAdmiral Jervis and the British Government as an easy exploit. He hadpreviously cut out of this bay a Philippine Island frigate, _ElPrincipe Fernando_; and he had with him, as guide, a Chineseprisoner, taken in that vessel. The guide was also killed. CaptainBowen's family made some exertions to recover certain small articleswhich he carried about him--watch, pistols, &c. --and failed. One pistolwas lost, and for the other its possessor modestly demanded 14_l_. ]Nineteen other Englishmen were struck down by a discharge of grape. Thegun which fired it had, on that same night, been placed by the governorof the Castle of San Cristobal, Don Josef Monteverde, [Footnote: Thereis a note in my volume, 'Father of the adopted son, Miguelito Morales. ']at a new embrasure which he caused to be opened in the flank of thebastion. [Footnote: This part of the castle has now been altered, andmounted with brass 80-pounders. ] Thus it commanded the landing-place, where before there was dead ground. The enemy afterwards confessed thatthe injury thus done was the first cause of his misfortunes. 

'Notwithstanding the Rear-Admiral's wound and the enemy's loss in menand chief officers, a single boat, carrying Captain and CommodoreTroubridge, covered by the smoke and the darkness, landed at the Caleta[Footnote: 'Caleta' means literally a _cul de sac_. At Santa Cruzit is applied to a rocky tract near the Custom-house Battery: in thosedays it was the place where goods were disembarked. ] beach. At the sametime the main body of the English, who had escaped the grape of theCastle of San Cristobal and the batteries La Concepcion and San Telmo, disembarked a little further south, at the Barranquillo del Aceyte, [Footnote: This ditch is now built over and converted into a drain. Itruns a little above the present omnibus stables. ] at the Butcheries, andat the Barranco Santo. [Footnote: Also called de la Cassona--'of theDog-fish'--that animal being often caught in a _charco_, or pool, in the broad watercourse. So those baptised in the parish church arepopularly said to have been 'dipped in the waters of the Dog-fishPool. '] The levies of Havana and Cuba, posted in the Butcheries underSecond Lieutenant Don Pedro de Castilla, being unable to repulse theenemy's superior force, retreated upon the Battalion of Infantry of theCanaries, consisting of 260 men and officers, including themilitia. This corps, supported by two field-guns, [Footnote: In theoriginal 'canones violentos, ' _i. E. _ 4-pounders, 6-pounders, or8-pounders. ] ably and energetically worked by the pilots, Nicolas Francoand Josef Garcia, did such damage that the English were in turncompelled to fall back upon the beaches of the Barranco and theButcheries. 

'These were the only places where the enemy was able to gain a footingin the town. He marched in two columns, one, with drums beating, by thelittle square of the parish church (La Concepcion) to the convent ofSanto Domingo, [Footnote: Afterwards pulled down to make room for atheatre and a market-place. ] and the other to the Plaza [Footnote: Plazahere means the square behind the castle. In other places it applies tothe fortified part of the town. ] of the San Cristobal castle. His planof attack was to occupy the latter post, but he was driven back from theportcullis after losing one officer by the hot fire of themilitia-Captain Don Esteban Benitez de Lugo. Thus driven back to theCaleta, the invaders marched along the street called "de las Tiendas. "[Footnote: It is now the 'Cruz Verde. ' In those days it was theprincipal street; the Galle del Castello (holding at present that rank)then showed only scattered houses. ] They then drew up at the head of thesquare, maintaining a silence which was not broken by nine gunsdischarged at them by the Captain of Laguna Chasseurs Don Fernando delHoyo, nor by the aspect of the two field-pieces ranged in front of themby the Mayor, who was present at all the most important points in thecentre of the line. The cause was discovered in an order afterwardsfound in the pocket of Lieut. Robinson, R. M. It ran to thiseffect:--[Footnote: This and other official documents are translatedinto English from the Spanish. According to our naval despatches andhistories the senior marine officer who commanded the whole detachmentwas Captain Thomas Oldfleld, R. M. The 'Relacion circumstanciada'declares that the original is in the hands of Don Bernardo Cologan yFablon, another Irish-Spanish gentleman who united valour andpatriotism. He was seen traversing, sabre in hand, the most dangerousplaces, encouraging the men and attending to the wounded so zealouslythat he parted even with his shirt for bandaging their hurts. ]

'July 24, night. 

'SIR, --You will repair with the party under your commandto H. M. S. _Zealous_, where you will receive finalinstructions. Care must be taken to keep silence in theranks, and the only countersign which you and your menare to use is that of "The _Leander_. "

'I am, Sir, &c. &c. , '(Signed) T. THOMPSON. 

'Lieutenant Robinson, R. M. 

'Standing at the head of the square, the enemy could observe that notfar from them was a provision-store, guarded by Don Juan Casalon and DonAntonio Power, [Footnote: The original has it 'Pouver, ' a misprint. TheIrish-Spanish family of Power is well known in the Canaries. ] the two"deputies of Abastos. " [Footnote: Now called _regidores_--officerswho are charged with distributing rations. ] The English seized it, wounding Dons Patricio Power and Casalon, who, after receiving two blowswith an axe, escaped. They then obliged, under parole, the deputy Powerand Don Luis Fonspertius to conduct into the Castle a sergeant sent toparly. Our Commandant-General, when summoned to surrender the townwithin two minutes, under pain of its being burned, returned an answerworthy of his honour and gallantry. "Such a proposal, " he remarked, "requires no reply, " and in proof thereof he ordered the party to bedetained. [Footnote: According to James, who follows Troubridge'sreport, the sergeant was shot in the streets and no answer wasreceived. ]

'Meanwhile our militiamen harassed the first column of the enemy, compelling it, by street-fighting, to form up in the little squares ofSanto Domingo and of the parish church. Our Commandant-General wasstartled when he found that this position cut off direct communicationbetween San Cristobal and the Battalion of the Canaries, whose fire, like that of the militiamen on the right, suddenly ceased. But he wasassured that the battalion was unbroken, and all the central postsexcept the Mole were supported, by the report of Lieutenant Don VicenteSiera: this officer had just attacked with 30 men of that battalion theenemy's boats as they lay grounded at the mouth of the Barranco Santo, dislodging the defenders, who had taken shelter behind them, and makingfive prisoners. The English were stopped at the narrow way near the baseof the pier by the hot fire of the troops under Captain and Adjutant ofChasseurs Don Luis Roman, the nine militiamen under Don Francisco Jorva, the sergeant of the guard Domingo Mendez, and a recruit of the Havanalevy; these made forty-four prisoners, including six officers, whilsttwelve were wounded. Our Commandant-General was presently put out of alldoubt by Don Josef Monteverde. This governor of San Cristobal, wheninformed that 2, 000 Englishmen had entered the town, intending probablyto attack the Castle with the scaling-ladders brought from their boats, resolved himself to inspect the whole esplanade, and accordinglyreconnoitred the front and flank of the Citadel. 

'All our advantages were well-nigh lost by a report which spread throughthe garrison when our firing ceased. A cry arose that our chief waskilled, and that as the English who had taken the town were marchingupon La Laguna, they must be intercepted at the _cuesta_, or hill, behind Santa Cruz. It is easy to conceive what a panic such rumourswould cause among badly armed and half-drilled militia. The report arosethus:--Our Commandant-General seeing the defenders of the battery at thefoot of the Mole retreating, and hearing them cry, "Que nos cortan!" (Weare cut off!), sallied out with Don Juan Creagh and other officers, thePort Captain, the Town Adjutant, and the chief collector of thetobacco-tax. After ordering the corps of Chasseurs, 89 men and 9officers, to fire, our chief returned, leaning upon the arm of Don JuanCreagh, and some inconsiderate person thought that he waswounded. Fortunately this indiscretion went no further than the ChasseurBattalion of the Canaries and the militiamen on our right. 

'When this battalion was not wanted in its former position it wasordered to the square behind the Citadel. The movement was effectedabout daybreak by Don Manuel Salcedo, Lieutenant of the King. [Footnote: An old title (now changed) given to the military governor ofSanta Cruz and the second highest authority in the archipelago. MarshalO'Donnell was Teniente del Rey at Tenerife, and he was born in a housefacing the cross in the main square of Santa Cruz. ] That officer hadnever left his corps, patrolling with it along the beaches where theenemy disembarked, and he had sent to the barracks twenty-six prisoners, besides three whom he captured at San Cristobal. When the battalion wasformed up and no enemy appeared, the Adjutant-Major enquired about themin a loud voice. Meanwhile the Laguna militia, who in two divisions, each of 120 men, under Lieut. -Col. Don Juan Baptista de Castro, had beenposted from San Telmo to the Grariton, [Footnote: Meaning a large_garita_, or sentry-box. It is a place near the windmills to thesouth of the town. ] were also ordered to the main square. In twoseparate parties they marched, one in direct line, the other by upperstreets, to cut off the enemy's retreat and place him between twofires. As the latter, however, entered the little square of SantoDomingo, their commander, Lieut. -Col. De Castro, hearing a confusion oftongues, mistook for Spaniards and Frenchmen the English who wereholding it. Thereupon the enemy fired a volley, which killed him and amilitiaman and wounded many, whilst several were taken prisoners. 

'The attackers presently manned the windows of Santo Domingo, and keptup a hot fire against our militiamen. They then determined to send anofficer of marines to our Commandant-General, once more demanding thesurrender of the town under the threat of burning it. At the order ofLieut. -Col. Don Juan Guinther the parliamentary was conducted to theCitadel by Captain Don Santiago Madan. Our chief replied only that thecity had still powder, ball, and fighting men. 

'Thereupon the affair recommenced. One battalion came up with twofield-guns to support its friends, and several militiamen diedhonourably, exposing themselves to the fire of an entrenched enemy. Ourposition was further reinforced by the militia-pickets that had beenskirmishing in the streets, and by the greater part of those who, deceived by a false report, had retired to the slopes of La Laguna. 

'Already it was morning, when a squadron of five armed boats was seenmaking for our right. Our brave artillerymen had not the patience to letthem approach, but at once directed at them a hot fire, especially fromthe Mole battery, under Don Francisco Grandi. That officer, accompaniedby the second constable, Manuel Troncos, had just passed from theCitadel [Footnote: La Ciudadela, to the north of the mole, is not built, as we read in Colburn (_U. S. Magazine_, January 1864), on anartificial wall. It has a moat, casemates, loopholes, and twelve_bouches à feu_ for plunging fire. The lines will connect with LaLaguna and complete the defences of the capital. ] to the battery inquestion, and had removed the spikes driven into the guns by CitoyenFrançois Martiney when he saw them abandoned. [Footnote: The Englishdiary shows that the Spaniards had spiked the guns. ] The principalCastle and the Mole batteries, supported by that of La Concepcion, rained a shower of grape at a long range with such precision that threeboats were sunk and the two others fell back upon the squadron. At thesame time the Port Captain and Flag Officer of the frigate ordered hismen to knock out the bottoms of eighteen boats which the enemy after hisattack had left on the beach. 

'The English posted in the convent, seeing the destruction of theirreinforcements, lost heart and persuaded the prior, Fray Carlos de Lugo, and the master, Fray Juan de Iriarte, to bear another message to ourchief. The officer commanding the enemy's troops declared himself readyto respect the lives and property of those about him provided that theRoyal Treasury and that of the Philippine Company were surrendered, otherwise that he could not answer for the consequences. 

'This deputation received the same laconic reply as those precedingit. Seeing the firmness of our Commandant-General and the crowds ofpeasantry gathering from all parts, the enemy's courage was damped, andhis second in command, Captain Samuel Hood, came out to parley. Thisofficer, perceiving that the Militiamen who had joined the Chasseurswere preparing to attack, signalled with a white flag a cessation ofhostilities, and our men were restrained by the orders of Don Fernandodel Hoyo. Both parties advanced to the middle of the bridge, where theywere met by Lieutenant-Colonel Don Juan Guinther, commanding theBattalion of the Canaries, who could speak many languages, and by theAdjutant-Major, Don Juan Battaler. These officers also withheld theirmen, who were opening fire as they turned the corner of the street inwhich, a little before, Don Rafael Fernandez, a sub-lieutenant of thesame corps, had fallen, shot through the body, whilst heading an attackupon the enemy. 

'With a white flag and drums beating, the English officer, accompaniedby those who had already parleyed with our Commandant-General, marchedto the citadel. At the bridge of the street "de las Tiendas" he was metby the Lieutenant of the King, by the Sergeant-Major of the town, byLieutenant-Colonel Creagh, by Captain Madan, carrying the flag of truce, and by the Town Adjutant, who conducted him with eyes bandaged to thepresence of our chief. Captain Hood did not hesitate again to demandsurrender, which was curtly refused. This decision, and the chances ofdestruction in case of hostilities continuing, made him alter histone. At length both chiefs came to terms. The instrument was written byCaptain Hood, and was at once ratified by Captain Thomas Troubridge, commanding H. B. M. 's troops. The following is a copy of the _'Termsagreed upon with the Governor of the Canary Islands. _

[Footnote: The original is in the _Nelson Papers_. It is written byCaptain Hood, and signed by him, Captain Troubridge, and the SpanishGovernor. ]

'Santa Cruz: July 25, 1797. 

'That the troops, &c. , belonging to his BritannickMajesty shall embark with their arms of every kind, andtake their boats off, if saved, and be provided with suchothers as may be wanting; in consideration of which it isengaged on their part that the ships of the British squadron, now before it, shall in no way molest the town in anymanner, or any of the islands in the Canaries, and prisonersshall be given up on both sides. 

'Given under my hand and word of honour. 

'SAML. HOOD. 

'_Ratified by_

'T. TROUBRIDGE, Commander of the British Troops;'JN. ANTONIO GUTIERREZ, Com'te. -Gen. De las Islas de Canaria. 

'This done, Captain Samuel Hood was escorted back to his men by thosewho had conducted him to the Citadel. 

'At this moment a new incident occurred at sea. The squadron, convincedof the failure of its attempt, began to get under way: already H. B. M. 'sship _Theseus_, carrying the Rear-Admiral's flag, and one of thefrigates had been swept by the current to opposite the valley of SanAndres. [Footnote: A gorge lying to the north of the town, like the'Valle Seco' and the Bufadero. ] From its martello-tower the Lieutenantof Artillery Don Josef Feo fired upon them with such accuracy thatalmost every shot told, the _Theseus_ losing a yardarm and a cable, She replied with sundry broadsides, whilst the bomb-ketch, which had gotinto position, discharged some ten shells, and yet was so maltreated, one man being killed and another wounded, that she was either crippledor hoisted on board by the enemy. 

'When the terms of truce were settled, the English troops marched incolumn out of the convent; and, reaching the bridge of the Barranquillodel Aceyte, fired their pieces in the air. Then with shouldered arms anddrums beating they made for the Mole, passing in front of our troops andof the French auxiliaries, who had formed an oblong square in the greatplaza behind the Citadel, from whose terrace our chief watched them. 

'When Captain Hood suddenly sighted his implacable enemies the French, he gave way to an outbreak of rage and violent exclamations, and he evenmade a proposal which might have renewed hostilities had he failed togive prompt satisfaction. He presently confessed to having gone too farand renewed his protestations to keep the conditions of peace. 

'Boats and two brigantines (island craft) were got ready to receive theBritish troops at the Mole. Meanwhile our Commandant-General ordered allof them to be supplied with copious refreshments of bread and wine, agenerous act which astonished them not less than the kindness shown totheir wounded by the officials of the hospital. They hardly knew how toexpress their sense of a treatment so different from what they hadexpected. During their cruise from Cadiz their officers, hoping to makethem fight the better, told them that the Canarians were a ferociousrace who never gave quarter to the conquered. 

'Our chief invited the British officers to dine with him that day. Theyexcused themselves on the plea that they must look after their men, uponwhom the wine had taken a strong effect, and deferred it till themorrow. They also offered to be the bearers of the tidings announcingour success and to carry to Spain all letters entrusted to theircare. Our chief did not hesitate to commit to their charge, underparole, his official despatches to the Crown; and all the correspondencewas couched in terms so ingenuous that even the enemy could not butadmire so much moderation. 

'During the course of the day the English re-embarked, bearing with aguard of honour the corpses of Captain Bowen and of another officer ofrank. [Footnote: This is fabulous. Captain Richard Bowen, 'than whom amore enterprising, able, and gallant officer does not grace H. M. 's navalservice, ' was the only loss of any consequence. All the rest werelieutenants. ] They (who?) had stripped off his laced coat when heexpired in a cell of the Santo Domingo convent, [Footnote: In Spanishtwo saints claim the title 'Santo, ' viz. Domingo and Thomas: all therest are 'San. '] disfigured his face, and dressed him as a sailor. Thewounded, twenty-two in number, did not leave the hospital till next day:among them was Lieutenant Robinson in the agonies of death. 

'Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson hearing the politeness, the generosity, and the magnanimity with which our Commandant-General followed up hissuccess, and feeling his own noble heart warm with grateful sentiments, dictated to him an official letter, which he signed for the first timewith his left hand. [Footnote: The original of this peculiarlyinteresting document, written on official paper, was kept in a tin boxunder lock at the Captain-General's office, Santa Cruz, and in 1864 itwas transferred to the archives of Madrid. The writing is that of asecretary, who put by mistake 1796 for 1797. A copy of it, published inHarrison's _Life of Nelson_ (vol. I. P. 215), was thencetransferred to Nicolas's _Despatches and Letters_. It is _bonâfide_ the first appearance of Nelson's signature with his left hand, despite the number of 'first signatures' owned by the curious ofEngland. ]

'_To His Excellency Don Antonio Gutierrez, Commandant-Generalof the Canary Islands. _

'His Majesty's ship _Theseus_, opposite Santa Cruz de Teneriffe:July 26, 1796. 

'Sir, --I cannot take my departure from this Islandwithout returning your Excellency my sincerest thanks foryour attention towards me, by your humanity in favour ofour wounded men in your power or under your care, andfor your generosity towards all our people who weredisembarked, which I shall not fail to represent to mySovereign; hoping also, at a proper time, to assure yourExcellency in person how truly I am, Sir, your mostobedient humble Servant, '(Signed) HORATIO NELSON. 

'P. S. I trust your Excellency will do me the honourto accept of a cask of English beer and a cheese. 

'To Señor Don Antonio Gutierrez, Commandant-General, Canary Islands. 

'Having received with due appreciation this honourable letter, ourchief replied as follows:--

'Muy Señor mio de mi mayor attencion! [Footnote: Thiscourteous Castilian phrase would lose too much bytranslation. ]--I have received with the greatest pleasureyour estimable communication, the proof of your generosityand kindly feeling. My belief is that the man who followsonly the dictates of humanity can claim no laurels, and tothis may be reduced all that has been done for the woundedand for those who disembarked: I must consider them mybrethren the moment hostilities terminate. 

'If, sir, in the state to which the ever uncertain fortunesof war have reduced you, either I or anything which thisisland produces could afford assistance or relief, it wouldafford me a real pleasure. I hope that you will accept twodemijohns of wine which is, I believe, not the worst of ourproduce. 

'It would be most satisfactory to me if I could personallydiscuss, when circumstances permit, a subject upon whichyou, sir, display such high and worthy gifts. In themeantime I pray that God may preserve your life for many andhappy years. 

'I am, Sir, 'Your most obedient and attentive Servant, '(Signed) Don ANTONIO GUTIERREZ. 

'Santa Cruz de Tenerife: July 26, 1797. 

'P. S. I have received and duly appreciated the beer andthe cheese with which you have been pleased to favour me. 

'PP. S. I recommend to your care, sir, the petitionof the French, which Commodore Troubridge will havereported to you in my name. 

'To Admiral Don Horatio Nelson. 

'Such was the end of an event which will ever be memorable in the annalsof the Canarian Islands. When we know that on our side hardly 500 menarmed with firelocks entered into action, and that the 97 cannon used onthis occasion, and requiring 532 artillery-men, were served by only 320gunners, of whom but 43 were veterans and the rest militia; [Footnote:According to James, who follows the report of Captain Troubridge(vol. Ii. P. 427), there were 8, 000 Spaniards and 100 Frenchmen underarms. Unfortunate Clio!] when we remember that we took from the enemy afield-gun, a flag, [Footnote: This was the ensign of the _Fox_cutter, sunk at the place where the African steamships now anchor. ] twodrums, a number of guns, pikes, swords, pistols, hand-ladders, ammunition, &c. &c. , with a loss on our part of only 23 killed[Footnote: Two officers--viz. Don Juan Bautista de Castro, beforealluded to; Don Rafael Fernandez, also mentioned--and 21 noncommissionedofficers, 5 soldiers of the Canarian battalion, 2 chasseurs, 4militiamen, 1 militia artilleryman, 4 French auxiliaries, and 5civilians. ] and 28 wounded, [Footnote: Namely, 3 officers--Don Simon deLara, severely wounded at the narrow part of the Mole, Don DionisioNavarro, sub-lieutenant of the Provincial Regiment of La Laguna, and DonJosef Dugi, cadet of the Canarian battalion--25 noncommissionedofficers, 5 men of the same battalion, 1 chasseur, 1 sergeant, 11militiamen, 1 soldier of the Havana depôt, 1 ditto of Cuban ditto, 1militia artilleryman, and 5 French auxiliaries. This, however, does notinclude those suffering from contusions, amongst whom was Don JuanRosel, sub-lieutenant of the Provincial Regiment of Orotava. ] whereasthe enemy lost 22 officers and 576 men [Footnote: Nelson(_Despatches_, vol. Ii. P. 424) says 28 seamen, 16 marines killed(total 44); 90 seamen, 15 marines wounded; 97 seamen and marinesdrowned; 5 seamen and marines missing. Total killed, 141; wounded, 105;and grand total, 246 _hors de combat_. The total of 251 casualtiesnearly equals that of the great victory at Cape St. Vincent. ]--when, Isay, we take into consideration all these circumstances, we cannot butconsider our defence wonderful and our triumph most glorious. 

'We must not forget the gallant part taken in this affair by the twodivisions of the Rozadores irregulars, who were provided with sickles, knives, and other weapons by the armoury of La Laguna. One division offorty peasants was placed under the Marquess del Prado and the Viscountde Buenpaso, who both, though not military men, hastened to the townwhen the attack was no longer doubtful. The other body of thirty-fivemen was committed to Don Simon de Lara, already mentioned amongst thewounded. In the heat of the affair and the darkness of night the firstdivision was somewhat scattered as it entered the streets leading to theBarranco Santo (watercourse), where the Canarian battalion was attackingthe English as they landed. The Marquess, after escaping the enemy, whofor half an hour surrounded without recognising him, and expectinginstant death, attempted to cross the small square of Santo Domingo tothe Plaza of the Citadel. He was prevented from so doing by the voicesof the attacking party posted in the little place. He therefore retiredto the upper part of the town, and took post on the Convent-flank. TheViscount marched his men to the square of the Citadel, where they weredetained by Lieutenant Jorva to reinforce the post and to withdraw afield-gun that had been dangerously placed in the street of San Josef. 

'Equally well deserving of their country's gratitude were sundry others, especially Diego Correa, first chief of the Provincial Regiment ofGuimar, who, forgetting his illness, sprang from his bed at thetrumpet's sound, boldly met the foe with sword and pistol, and tookeleven prisoners to the Citadel. Don Josef de Guesala, not satisfiedwith doing the mounted duties required of him, followed the enemy withnot less courage than Diego Correa, at the head of certain militiamenwho had lost their way in the streets. 

'Good service was also done by the Alcalde and the deputies [Footnote:The local aldermen. ] of the district. In charge of the four parties, composed of tradesmen and burghers, they patrolled the streets andguarded against danger from fire. They also issued to all those on dutyrations of bread and wine punctually and abundantly from the night ofthe 22nd till that of the 25th of July. 

'No circumstantial account of our remarkable success would be completewithout recording, in the highest and the most grateful terms, the zealwith which the very noble the Municipality (_ayuntamiento_) ofTenerife took part in winning our laurels. Since July 22, when the firstalarm-signal was made at Santa Cruz, Don Josef de Castilla, the ChiefMagistrate (_Corregidor_), with the nobility and men at arms(_armas-tomar_) assembled in force on the main square of La Laguna(_Plaza del Adelantado_). The Mayor (_Alcalde Mayor_), DonVicente Ortiz de Rivera, presided over the court (_cabildo_), atwhich were present all those members (_ regidores _) who were notpersonally serving against the enemy. These were the town deputies, DonLopo de la Guerra, Don Josef Saviñon, Don Antonio Riquel, Don CayetanoPereza, Don Francisco Fernandez Bello, Don Miguel de Laisequilla, andDon Juan Fernandez Calderin, with the Deputy Syndic-General, Don FilipeCarillo. Their meetings were also attended by other gentlemen andunder-officers (_ curiales _), who were told off to theirrespective duties according to the order laid down for defending theIsland. After making a careful survey of the bread and provisions in themarket, also of the wheat and flour in the bakeries and of the reservestores, they promptly supplied the country-people who crowded into thecity. Wind being at this season wanting for the mills, we were greatlyassisted by a cargo of 3, 000 barrels of flour taken before Madeira froman Anglo-American prize by the Buonaparte, a French privateer, whobrought her to our port. This supply sufficed for the militia stationedon the heights of Taganana, in the Valle Seco, near the streams of thePunta del Hidalgo, Texina, Baxamar, the Valley of San Andrés, and lastlythe line of Santa Cruz, Guadamogete, and Candelaria, whose posts covermore than twenty-four miles of coast between the north-west and thesouth of the island. 

'Equally well rationed were the peasants who passed by La Laguna _enroute_ to Santa Cruz and other parts; they consumed about 16, 000lbs. Of bread, 300 lbs. Of biscuit, seven and a half pipes of wine;rice, meat, cheese, and other comestibles. Meanwhile, at the applicationof the Municipality to the venerable Vicar Ecclesiastic, and to theparish priests and superiors of the community (_prelados_), prayerswere offered up in the churches, and certain of the clergy collectedfrom the neighbouring houses lint and bandages for the wounded. Thesoldiers in the Paso Alto and Valle Seco received 100 pairs of slippers, for which our Commandant-General had indented. Many peasants who hadapplied for and obtained guns, knives, and other weapons from the Lagunaarmoury were sent off to defend the northern part of the island. On themain road descending to Santa Cruz the Chief Magistrate planted aprovisional battery with two field-pieces belonging to the Court ofAldermen. When thus engaged an unfortunate fall from his horse compelledhim to retire. 

'That patriotic body the Municipality of Santa Cruz sat permanently inthe Mansion House, engaged in the most important matters from the dawnof July 22 to noon on the 25th; nor was its firmness shaken even by thesinister reports to which others lent ear. When on the morning of thelatter day our chief communicated to them the glowing success of ourarms and the disastrous repulse of the enemy, they hastened to appointJuly 27 for a solemn Te Deum. It is the day on which the island ofTenerife was conquered exactly three centuries before, and thus itbecame the annual festival of San Cristobal, its patron. 

'The secular religious and the regular monastic communities performedthis function with pomp and singular apparatus in the parish church ofOur Lady of the Conception. The Town-court carried the banner which hadwaved in the days of the Conquest, escorted by a company of the Canarianbattalion and its band. These stood during the office at the churchdoor, and saluted with three volleys the elevation of the host. MasterFray Antonio Raymond, of the Order of St. Augustine, preached upon thegrateful theme to a sympathising congregation. The court, retiring withequal ceremony, gave a brilliant banquet to the officers of thebattalion, to the chiefs of the provincial regiments of La Laguna andGuimar, and to all their illustrious compatriots who had taken part inthe contest. Volleys and band performances saluted the three loyal andpatriotic toasts--"the King, " "the Commandant-General, " and "theDefenders of the Country. " The town, in sign of jubilee, was illuminatedfor several successive nights. 

'A Te Deum was also sung in the parish church of Los Remedios at LaLaguna, with sermon and high mass performed at the expense of Don JosefBartolomé de Mesa, Treasurer-General of the Royal Exchequer. Ourharbour settlement obtained from the King the title of "very noble, loyal, and invict town, [Footnote: _Villa_, town, not city. ] portand fort of Santa Cruz de Santiago. " [Footnote: Holy Cross ofSt. James. ] Recognising the evident protection of St. James, patronsaint of Spain, on whose festival the enemy had been defeated, amagnificent procession was consecrated to him on July 30. His image wasborne through the streets by the four captains of the several corps, whilst six other officers, followed by a picket of garrison troops and acrowd of townspeople, carried the colours taken from the English. 

'On the next day were celebrated the obsequies of those who had fallenhonourably in defence of their beloved country. The ceremony took placein the parish church of Santa Cruz, and was repeated in the cathedral ofGrand Canary and in the churches and convents of the other islands. TheEcclesiastical Court of Tenerife ordered the Chapter of Music to sing asolemn Te Deum, at which the municipal body attended. On the next day amass of thanksgiving was said, with exposition of the Holy Sacramentthroughout the day, and a sermon was preached by the canon superior, DonJosef Icaza Cabrexas. Lastly, a very solemn funeral function, withmagnificent display, did due honour to their memory who for theircountry's good had laid down their lives. ' Mrs. Elizabeth Murray, wifeof H. B. M. 's Consul for Tenerife and author of an amusing book, [Footnote: _Sixteen Years of an Artist's Life in Morocco_, &c. Hurst and Blackett, 1859. I quote from vol. I. Chap. Iv. ] addscertain local details concerning Nelson's ill-fated attack. It is boldlystated that during the rash affair the Commandant-General and his staffremained safely inside the Castle of San Cristobal, and that when theEnglish forces captured the monastery the Spanish authorities resolvedto surrender. This step was opposed by a sergeant, Manoel Cuera, who, 'with more familiarity than is usual when soldiers are separated so farby their respective ranks, placed his hand upon the shoulder of hiscommanding officer and said, "No, your Excellency, you shall not give upthe Plaza; we are not yet reduced to such a strait as that. "' Whereuponthe General, 'assuming his usual courage, followed his sergeant'sadvice, and continued the engagement till it was brought to atermination equally honourable to Englishmen and Spaniards. '

Mrs. Murray also declares that Captain Troubridge, when invested in themonastery by superior numbers, placed before his men a line ofprisoners, and that these being persons of influence, the assailantsfired high; moreover that Colonel M(onteverde?), the commander of theisland troops, was an Italian who spoke bad Spanish, and kept shoutingto his men, 'Condanate vois a matar a la Santisima Trinitate!' Theofficer sent to parley (Captain Hood) was, we are told, accompanied tothe citadel by a gentleman named Murphy, whom the English had takenprisoner. A panic (before mentioned) came from three militia officers, who, mounting a single animal, rode off to La Laguna, assuring the_cabildo_ and the townspeople that Santa Cruz had fallen. One ofthis 'valiant triumvirate' had succeeded to a large property oncondition of never disgracing his name, and after the flight he had thegrace to offer it to a younger brother who had distinguished himself inSouth America. The junior told him not to be a fool, and the propertywas left to the proprietor's children, 'his grandson being in possessionof it at the present day. '

The chapter ends with the fate of one O'Rooney, a merchant's clerk whocast his lot with the Spaniards, and whom General Gutierrez sent with anorder to the commandant of Paso Alto Fort. Being in liquor, he took theMarina, or shortest road; and, when questioned by the enemy, at oncetold his errand. 'In those days and in such circumstances, ' writes thelively lady, 'soldiers were very speedy in their decisions, and themarine who had challenged O'Rooney at once bayonetted him, while hiscomrade rifled his pockets and appropriated his clothes. '

Remains only to state that the colours of the unfortunate cutter_Fox_ and her boats are still in the chapel of Sant' Iago, on theleft side of the Santa Cruz parish church, La Concepcion. Plantedagainst the wall flanking the cross, in long coffin-like cases withglass fronts, they have been the object of marked attention on the partof sundry British middies. And the baser sort of town-folk never fail toshow by their freedom, or rather impudence of face and deportment, thatthey have not forgotten the old story, and that they still glory inhaving repulsed the best sailor in Europe. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

TO GRAND CANARY--LAS PALMAS, THE CAPITAL. 

At noon (January 10) the British and African s. S. _Senegal_ weighedfor Grand Canary, which stood in unusually distinct relief to the east, and which, this time, was not moated by a tumbling sea. Usually it is;moreover, it lies hidden by a bank of French-grey clouds, here and theresun-gilt and wind-bleached. We saw the 'Pike' bury itself under the bluehorizon, at first cloaked in its wintry ermines and then capped withfleecy white nimbus, which confused itself with the snows. 

I had now a good opportunity of observing my fellow-passengers bounddown south. They consisted of the usual four classes--naval, military, colonial officials, and commercials. The latter I noted narrowly as thequondam good Shepherd of the so-called 'Palm-oil Lambs. ' All were youngfellows without a sign of the old trader, and well-mannered enough. Whenreturning homewards, however, their society was by no means so pleasant;it was noisy, and 'larky, ' besides being addicted to the dullestpractical jokes, such as peppering beds. On board _Senegal_ eachsat at meat with his glass of Adam's ale by his plate-side, lookingprim, and grave, and precise as persons at a christening who are not inthe habit of frequenting christenings. Captain Keene took the earliestopportunity of assuring me that since my time--indeed, since the lastten years--the Bights and the Bightsmen had greatly changed; thatspirit-drinking was utterly unknown, and that ten-o'clock-go-to-bed lifewas the general rule. But this unnatural state of things did not lastlong. Wine, beer, and even Martell (three stars) presently reappeared;and I noted that the evening-chorus had preserved all its peculiar_verve_. The fact is that West Africa has been subjected to thehateful espionage, that prying into private affairs, which dates inWestern India from the days of a certain nameless governor. Everyattempt at jollification was reported to the houses at home, and oftenan evil rumour against a man went to Liverpool and returned to 'theCoast' before it was known to himself and his friends in the sameriver. May all such dismal attempts to make Jack and Jill dull boys andgirls fail as utterly!

Early in the afternoon we steamed past Galdar and La Guia, rivalvillages famed for cheeses on the north-western coast of lumpy GrandCanary, sheets of habitation gleaming white at the feet of theirrespective brown _montañetas_. The former was celebrated in localstory; its Guanche _guanarteme_, or great chief, as opposed to thesubordinate _mencey_, being one of the two potentates in 'Tameran, 'the self-styled 'Island of Braves. ' This, too, was the site of theTahoro, or Tagoror, temple and senate-house of the ancients. Theprincipal interest of these wild people is the mysterious foreknowledgeof their fate that seems to have come to them by a manner of intuition, of uninspired prophecy. [Footnote: So in Candelaria of Tenerife theVirgin appeared in effigy to the shepherds of Chimisay in 1392, acentury before the Norman Conquest, and dwelt fifty-four years amongstthe Gentiles of Chinguaro. At least so say DD. Juan Nuñez de la Peña(_Conquista i Antiguidades de la Gran Canaria_, &c. , Madrid, 1676);Antonio Viana (_Antiguidades de las Islas Afortunadas_, &c. , Seville, 1604) in his heroic poem, and Fray Alonzo de Espinosa(_Historia de la Aparicion y Milagres de la Imagem de N. S. DeCandelaria_). The learned and unprejudiced Canon Viera y Clavijo(_Noticias de la Historia geral de las Islas de Canaria_, 3 vols. )bravely doubts whether reason and sane criticism had flourished togetherin those times. ]

In the clear winter-air we could distinctly trace the bold contour ofthe upper heights tipped by the central haystack, El Nublo, a gianttrachytic monolith. We passed Confital Bay, whose 'comfits' are galettesof stone, and gave a wide berth to the Isleta and its Sphinx'shead. This rocky peninsula, projecting sharply from the north-easternchord of the circle, is outlined by a dangerous reef, and drops suddenlyinto 130 fathoms. Supported on the north by great columns of basalt, itis the terminus of a secondary chain, trending north-east--south-west, and meeting the _Cumbre_, or highest ground, whose strike isnorth-west--south-east. Like the knuckle-bone of the Tenerife ham it isa contorted mass of red and black lavas and scoriae, with sharp slidesand stone-floods still distinctly traceable. Of its five eruptive conesthe highest, which supports the Atalaya Vieja, or old look-out, now thesignal-station, rises to 1, 200 feet. A fine lighthouse, with detachedquarters for the men, crowns another crater-top to the north. The grimblock wants water at this season, when the thinnest coat of greenclothes its black-red forms. La Isleta appears to have been aburial-ground of the indigenes, who, instead of stowing away theirmummies in caves, built detached sepulchres and raised tumuli of scoriaeover their embalmed dead. As at Peruvian Arica, many remains have beenexposed by modern earthquakes and landslips. 

Rounding the Islet, and accompanied by curious canoes like paper-boats, and by fishing-craft which bounded over the waves like dolphins, we spunby the Puerto de la Luz, a line of flat-topped whitewashed houses, theonly remarkable feature being the large and unused Lazaretto. A fewbarques still lie off the landing-place, where I have been compelledmore than once to take refuge. In my day it was proposed to cut aship-canal through the low neck of barren sand, which bears nothing buta 'chapparal' of tamarisk. During the last twenty years, however, theisthmus has been connected with the mainland by a fine causeway, pavedwith concrete, and by an excellent highroad. The sand of the neck, thrown by the winds high up the cliffs which back the city, evidentlydates from the days when La Isleta was an island. It contrasts sharplywith the grey basaltic shingle that faces the capital and forms theship-building yard. 

We coasted along the yellow lowland, with its tormented background oftall cones, bluffs, and _falaises_; and we anchored, at 4 P. M. , inthe roadstead of Las Palmas, north of the spot where ours. S. _Senegal_ whilom broke her back. The capital, fronting east, like Santa Cruz, lies at the foot of a high sea-wall, whose straight andsloping lines betray their submarine origin: in places it is cavernedfor quarries and for the homes of the troglodyte artisans; and up itsflanks straggle whitewashed boxes towards the local necropolis. Thedryness of the atmosphere destroys aerial perspective; and the viewlooks flat as a scene-painting. The terraced roofs suggest to Britishersthat the top-floor has been blown off. Las Palmas is divided into twohalves, northern and southern, by a grim black wady, like the Madeiran_ribeiras_, [Footnote: According to the usual law of the neo-Latinlanguages, 'ribeiro' (masc. ) is a small cleft, 'ribeira' (fem. ) is alarge ravine. ] the 'Giniguada, ' or Barranco de la Ciudad, the normalgrisly gashes in the background curtain. The eye-striking buildings arethe whitewashed Castillo del Rey, a flat fort of antique structurecrowning the western heights and connected by a broken wall with theCasa Mata, or platform half-way down: it is backed by a larger andstronger work, the Castillo de Sant' Ana. The next notability is the newtheatre, large enough for any European capital. Lastly, an immense andgloomy pile, the Cathedral rises conspicuously from the white sheet ofcity, all cubes and windows. Clad in a suit of sombrest brown patchedwith plaster, with its domelet and its two towers of basalt very farapart. This fane is unhappily fronted westward, the high altar facingJerusalem. And thus it turns its back upon the world of voyagers. 

In former days, when winds and waves were high, we landed on the sandsnear the dark grey Castillo de la Luz, in the Port of Light. Thence wehad to walk, ride, or drive--when a carriage was to be hired--over thefour kilomètres which separated us from the city. We passed the Castlesof San Fernando and La Catalina to the villas and the gardens plantedwith thin trees that outlie the north; and we entered the capital by aneat bridge thrown over the Barranco de la Mata, where a wall from theupper castle once kept out the doughty aborigines. Thence we fell intothe northern quarter, La Triana, and found shabby rooms and shockingfare either at the British Hotel (Mrs. Bishop) or the Hôtel Monson--bothno more. Now we land conveniently, thanks to Dons Santiago Verdugo andJuan Leon y Castilhos, at a spur of the new pier with the red light, tothe north of the city, and find ourselves at once in the streets. Formany years this comfortable mole excited the strongest opposition: itwas wasting money, and the stones, carelessly thrown in, would at oncebe carried off by the sea and increase the drenching breakers whichoutlie the beach. Time has, as usual, settled the dispute. It is nowbeing prolonged eastwards; but again they say that the work is sweptaway as soon as done; that the water is too deep, and even that sinkinga ship loaded with stones would not resist the strong arm of Eurus, whoburies everything in surf. The mole is provided with the normal_Sanidad_, or health office, with solid magazines, and with acivilised tramway used to transport the huge cubes of concrete. At thetongue-root is a neat little garden, wanting only shade: twodragon-trees here attract the eye. Thence we pass at once into the mainline, La Triana, which bisects the commercial town. This reminiscence ofthe Seville suburb begins rather like a road than a street, but it endswith the inevitable cobble-stones. The _trottoirs_, we remark, areof flags disposed lengthways; in the rival Island they liecrosswise. The thoroughfares are scrupulously named, after Spanishfashion; in Fernando Po they labelled even the bush-roads. Thesubstantial houses with green balconies are white, bound in brownedgings of trachyte, basalt, and lava: here and there a single story ofrude construction stands like a dwarf by the side of its giantneighbour. 

The huge and still unfinished cathedral is well worth a visit. It iscalled after Santa Ana, a personage in this island. When Grand Canaryhad been attacked successively and to scant purpose by De Béthencourt(1402), by Diego de Herrera (1464), and by Diego de Silva, the CatholicQueen and King sent, on January 24, 1474, Don Juan Rejon to finish thework. This _Conquistador_, a morose and violent man, was marchingupon the west of the island, where his reception would have been of thewarmest, when he was met at the site of the present Ermita de SanAntonio by an old fisherman, who advised him of his danger. He tookwarning, fortified his camp, which occupied the site of the presentcity, beat off the enemy, and defeated, at the battle of Giniguada, aleague of chiefs headed by the valiant and obstinate Doramas. Thefisherman having suddenly disappeared, incontinently became a miraculousapparition of the Virgin's mother. Rejon founded the cathedral in herhonour; but he was not destined to rest in it. He was recalled toSpain. He attacked Grand Canary three times, and as often failed; atlast he left it, and after all his campaigns he was killed and buried atGomera. Nor, despite Saint Anne, did the stout islanders yield to Pedrode Vera (1480-83) till they had fought an eighty years' fight forindependence. 

The cathedral, which Mr. P. Barker Webb compares with the Church ofSt. Sulpice, is built of poor schiste and bad sandstone-rubble, revettedwith good lava and basalt. The latter material here takes in age a finemellow creamy coat, as in the 'giant cities' of the Hauran, the absurdtitle of Mr. Porter. The order is Ionic below, Corinthian above, and thepile sadly wants a dome instead of a pepper-caster domelet. One of thetowers was finished only forty-five years ago, and a Scotch merchantadded, much to his disgust, a weather-cock. In the interior green, blue, and yellow glass tempers the austerity of the whitewashed walls and thegloom of the grey basaltic columns, bindings, and ceiling-ribbings. Concerning the ceiling, which prettily imitates an archworkof trees, they tell the following tale. The Bishop and Chapter, having resolved in 1500 to repair the work of Don Diego Montaude, entrusted the work to Don Diego Nicholas Eduardo, of Laguna, anHispano-Hibernian--according to the English. This young architect builtwith so light a hand that the masons struck work till he encouraged themby sitting beneath his own creation. The same, they say, was done atBelem, Lisbon. The interior is Gothic, unlike all others in the islands;and the piers, lofty and elegant, imitate palm-fronds, a delicateflattery to 'Las Palmas' and a good specimen of local invention. Thereare a nave and two aisles: four noble transversal columns sustaining thechoir-vault adorn the walls. The pulpit and high altar are admirable asthe choir; the only eyesores are the diminutive organ and the elevenside-chapels with their caricatures of high art. The large andheavily-railed choir in mid-nave, so common in the mother country, breaks the unity of the place and dwarfs its grand proportions. Afterthe manner of Spanish churches, which love to concentrate dazzlingcolour at the upper end, the high altar is hung with crimson velvetcurtains; and its massive silver lamps (one Italian, presented byCardinal Ximenes), salvers, altar-facings, and other fixings are said tohave cost over 24, 000 francs. The lectern is supposed to have beenpreserved from the older cathedral. 

There are other curiosities in this building. The sacristy, supported byside-walls on the arch principle, and ceilinged with stone instead ofwood, is shown as a minor miracle. The vestry contains giganticwardrobes, full of ladies' delights--marvellous vestments, weighted withmassive braidings of gold and silver, most delicate handwork in everyimaginable colour and form. There are magnificent donations ofcrucifixes and candlesticks, cups, goblets, and other vessels requiredby the church services--all the result of private piety. In the Chapelof St. Catherine, built at his own expense, lies buried Cairasco, thebard whom Cervantes recognised as his master in style. His epitaph, dating A. D. 1610, reads--

 Lyricen et vates, toto celebratus in orbe, Hic jacet inclusus, nomine ad astra volans. 

A statue to him was erected opposite the old 'Cairasco Theatre' in1876. Under the grand altar, with other dignitaries of the cathedral, are the remains of the learned and amiable historian of the isles, CanonJosé de Viera y Clavigo, born at Lanzarote, poet, 'elegant translator'of Buffon, lexicographer, and honest man. 

Directly facing the cathedral-façade is the square, headed by the_Ayuntamiento_, an Ionic building which would make a first-ratehotel. Satirical Britishers declare that it was copied from one of Dayand Martin's labels. The old townhall was burnt in 1842, and of itsvaluable documents nothing was saved. On the right of the plaza is anhumble building, the episcopal palace, founded in 1578 by BishopCristobal de la Vega. It was rebuilt by his successor, Cristobal de laCamara, who forbade the pretty housekeeper, prohibited his priests fromentering nunneries, and prescribed public confessionals--a measure stillmuch to be desired. But he must have been a man of extreme views, for heactually proscribed gossip. This was some thirty years after Admiral vander Does and his Dutchmen fired upon the city and were beaten off with aloss of 2, 000 men. 

South of the cathedral, and in Colegio Street (so called from theAugustine college, [Footnote: There is still a college of that namewhere meteorological observations are regularly made. ] now convertedinto a tribunal), we find a small old house with heavily barredwindows--the ex-Inquisition. This also has been desecrated intoutility. The Holy Office began in 1504, and became a free tribunal in1567. Its palace was here founded in 1659 by Don José Balderan, andrestored in 1787 by Don Diego Nicholas Eduardo, whose fine frontingstaircase has been much admired. The Holy Tribunal broke up in 1820, when, the Constitution proving too strong for St. Dominic, thecollege-students mounted the belfry; and, amid the stupefaction of theshuddering multitude, joyously tolled its death-knell. All the materialwas sold, even the large leather chairs with gilt nails used forecclesiastical sitting. 'God defend us from its resurrection, ' muttersthe civil old huissier, as he leads us to the dungeons below through themean court with its poor verandah propped on wooden posts. Part of itfacing the magistrates' chapel was turned into a prison for pettymalefactors; and the two upper _salas_ were converted into aprovisional _Audiencia_, or supreme court, large halls hung withthe portraits of the old governors. The new _Audiencia_ at thebottom of Colegio Street, built by M. Botta at an expense of 20, 000dollars, has a fine court with covered cloisters above and an opengallery below, supported by thin pillars of basalt. 

Resuming our walk down La Triana southwards, we note the grand newtheatre, not unlike that of Dresden: it wants only opening and acompany. Then we cross the Giniguada wady by a bridge with a woodenfloor, iron railings, and stone piers, and enter the _Viñeta_, orofficial, as opposed to the commercial, town. On the south side is thefish-market, new, pretty, and gingerbread. It adjoins the generalmarket, a fine, solid old building like that of Santa Cruz, containingbakers' and butchers' stalls, and all things wanted by thehousekeeper. A little beyond it the Triana ends in an archway leading toa square court, under whose shaded sides mules and asses aretethered. We turn to the right and gain Balcones Street, where standsthe comfortable hotel of Don Ramon Lopez. Most soothing to the eye isthe cool green-grown _patio_ after the prospect of the hot andbarren highlands which back the Palm-City. 

Walking up the right flank of the Giniguada Ribeira, we cross the oldstone bridge with three arches and marble statues of the fourseasons. It places us in the Plazuela, the irregular space which leadsto the Mayor de Triana, the square of the old theatre. The western sideis occupied by a huge yellow building, the old Church and Convent of SanFrancisco, now turned into barracks. In parts it is battlemented; andits belfry, a wall of basalt pierced with a lancet-arch to hang bells, hints at earthquakes. An inscription upon the old theatre, the usualneat building of white and grey-brown basalt, informs us that it wasbuilt in 1852, _ad honorem_ of two deputies. But Santa Cruz, themodern capital, has provided herself with a larger and a better house;_ergo_ Las Palmas, the old capital, must fain do the same. Themetropolis of Grand Canary, moreover, claims to count more noses thanthat of Tenerife. To the west of the older theatre, in the same block, is the casino, club, and ball-room, with two French billiard-tables andsmoking-rooms. The old hotel attached to the theatre has now ceased toexist. 

On the opposite side of the square lies the little Alameda promenade, the grounds once belonging to St. Francis. The raised walk, shaded by apretty arch-way of palm-trees, is planted with myrtles, dahlias, andbignonias. It has all the requisites of its kind--band-stand, green-posted oil-lamps, and scrolled seats of brown basalt. Round thissquare rise the best houses, mostly new; as in the Peninsula, however, as well as in both archipelagos, all have shops below. We are beginningto imitate this excellent practice of utilising the unwholesomeground-floor in the big new hotels of London. Two large houses are, orwere, painted to mimic brick, things as hideous as anything furthernorth. 

In this part of the Triana lived the colony of English merchants, onceso numerous that they had their own club and gymnasium. All had takenthe local colouring, and were more Spanish than the Spaniards. Acelebrated case of barratry was going on in 1863, the date of my firstvisit, when Lloyds sent out a detective and my friend Capt. Heathcote, I. N. , to conduct the legal proceedings. I innocently asked why theBritish vice-consul was not sufficient, and was assured that no residentcould interfere, _alias_ dared do his duty, under pain of socialostracism and a host of enmities. In those days a man who gained hislawsuit went about weaponed and escorted, as in modern Ireland, by atroop of armed servants. Landlord-potting also was by no means unknown;and the murder of the Marquess de las Palmas caused memorable sensation. 

Indescribable was the want of hospitality which characterised theHispano-Englishmen of Las Palmas. I have called twice upon afellow-countryman without his dreaming of asking me upstairs. Suchshyness may be understood in foreigners, who often entertain wild ideasconcerning what an Englishman expects. But these people were wealthy;nor were they wholly expatriated. Finally, it was with the utmostdifficulty that I obtained from one of them a pound of home-grownarrowroot for the sick child of a friend. 

On the other hand, I have ever met with the greatest civility from theSpanish Canarians. I am especially indebted to Don J. B. Carlo, thepacket-agent, who gave me copies of 'El Museo Canario, Revista de laSociedad del mismo nombre' (Las Palmas)--the transactions published bythe Museum of Las Palmas. Two mummies of Canarian origin have latelybeen added to the collection, and the library has becomerespectable. The steamers are now so hurried that I had no time toinspect it, nor to call upon Don Gregorio Chil y Naranjo, President ofthe Anthropological Society. This savant, whose name has become wellknown in Paris, is printing at Las Palmas his 'Estudios Historicos, '&c. , the outcome of a life's labour. Don Agustin Millares is alsopublishing 'La Historia de las Islas Canarias, ' in three volumes, eachof 400 to 450 pages. 

I made three short excursions in Grand Canary to Telde, to the Caldera, and to Doramas, which showed me the formation of the island. My notestaken at the time must now be quoted. _En route_ for the former, wedrove past the large city-hospital: here in old times was another strongwall, defending the southern part, and corresponding with the northernor Barranco line. The road running to the south-south-west waspeculiarly good; the tunnel through the hill-spur suggested classicaland romantic Posilippo. It was well parapeted near the sea, and it hadheavy cuttings in the white _tosca_, a rock somewhat resembling the_calcaire grossier_ of the Paris basin. This light pumice-likestone, occasionally forming a conglomerate or pudding, and slightlyeffervescing with acids, is fertile where soft, and where hard quitesterile. Hereabouts lay Gando, one of the earliest forts built by the_Conquistadores_. We then bent inland, or westward, crossed barrenstony ground, red and black, and entered the pretty and fertile valleywith its scatter of houses known as La Vega de Ginamar. 

I obtained a guide, and struck up the proper right of a modern lava-bedwhich does not reach the sea. The path wound around rough hills, hereand there scattered with fig-trees and vines, with lupines, euphorbias, and other wild growths. From the summit of the southern front we sightedthe Cima de Ginamar, popularly called El Pozo (the Well). It is avolcanic blowing-hole of oval shape, about fifty feet in long diameter, and the elliptical mouth discharged to the north the lava-bed beforeseen. Apparently it is connected with the Bandana Peak, furtherwest. Here the aborigines martyred sundry friars before the_Conquistadores_ 'divided land and water' amongst them. The guidedeclared that the hole must reach the sea, which lies at least 1, 200feet below; that the sound of water is often to be heard in it, and thatmen, let down to recover the corpses of cattle, had been frightened awayby strange sights and sounds. He threw in stones, explaining that theymust be large, otherwise they lodge upon the ledges. I heard them dash, dash, dash from side to side, at various intervals of different depths, till the pom-om-m subsided into silence. The crevasses showed no sign ofthe rock-pigeon (_Columba livia_), a bird once abounding. Nothingcould be weirder than the effect of the scene in clear moonlight: thecontrast of snowy beams and sable ground perfectly suited the uncannylook and the weird legends of the site. 

Beyond the Cima we made the gay little town of Telde, which lodges some4, 000 souls, entering it by a wide _fiumara_, over which a bridgewas then building. The streets were mere lines of scattered houses, andthe prominent buildings were the white dome of San Pedro and San Juanwith its two steeples of the normal grey basalt. Near the latter lay thelittle Alameda, beggar-haunted as usual. On the north side of theBarranco rose a caverned rock inhabited by the poor. We shall see thistroglodytic feature better developed elsewhere. 

To visit the Caldera de Bandana, three miles from the city, we hired acarriage with the normal row of three lean rats, which managed, however, to canter or gallop the greater part of the way. The boy-driver, Agustin, was a fair specimen of his race, obstinate as a Berber or amule. As it was Sunday he wanted to halt at every _venta_ (pub), _curioseando_--that is, admiring the opposite sex. Some of theyounger girls are undoubtedly pretty, yet they show unmistakable signsof Guanche blood. The toilette is not becoming: here the shawl takes theplace of the mantilla, and the head-covering, as in Tenerife, is cappedby the hideous billycock. To all my remonstrances Don Agustin curtlyreplied with the usual island formula, 'Am I a slave?' This class has asurly, grumbling way, utterly wanting the dignity of the lower-orderSpaniard and the Moor; and it is to be managed only by threatening towithhold the _propinas_ (tip). But the jarvey, like the bath-man, the barber, and generally the body-servant and the menial classes whichwait upon man's person, are not always models of civility. 

We again passed the hospital and ascended the new zigzag to the right ofthe Giniguada. The torrent-bed, now bright green with arum and pepper, grows vegetables, maize, and cactus. Its banks bear large plantations ofthe dates from which Las Palmas borrows her pretty Eastern names. Inmost places they are mere brabs, and, like the olive, they fail tofruit. The larger growths are barbarously docked, as in Catholiccountries generally; and the fronds are reduced to mere brooms andrats'-tails. The people are not fond of palms; the shade and the roots, they say, injure their crops, and the tree is barely worth one dollarper annum. 

At the top of the Cuesta de San Roque, which reminded me of its namesakenear Gibraltar, I found a barren ridge growing only euphorbia. TheBarranco Seco, on the top, showed in the sole a conspicuously big housewhich has no other view but the sides of a barren trough. This was the'folly' of an eccentric nobleman, who preferred the absence to thecompany of his friends. 

Half an hour's cold, bleak drive placed us at the Tafira village. Herethe land yields four crops a year, two of maize and two ofpotatoes. Formerly worth $100 per acre, the annual value had been raisedby cochineal to $500. All, however, depends upon water, which isenormously dear. The yelping curs have mostly bushy tails, like thosewhich support the arms of the Canary Islands. The grey and green finchesrepresent our 'domestic warbler' (_Fringilla canaria_), whichreached England about 1500, when a ship with a few birds on board hadbeen wrecked off Elba. 

[Footnote: The canary bird builds, on tall bushes rather than trees, anest of moss, roots, feathers and rubbish, where it lays from four tosix pale-blue eggs. It moults in August and September; pairs inFebruary, and sometimes hatches six times in a season. The nativesdeclare that the wild birds rarely survive the second year of captivity;yet they do not seem to suffer from it, as they begin to sing at oncewhen caged. Mr. Addison describes the note as 'between that of theskylark and the nightingale, ' and was surprised to find that each flockhas a different song--an observation confirmed by the people and notedby Humboldt (p. 87). ]

The country folk were habited in shirts, drawers derived from the Moors, and tasseled caps of blue stuff, big enough for carpet-bags. The vinestill covered every possible slope of black soil, and the aloes, crownedwith flowers, seemed to lord it over the tamarisks, the hemlocks, andthe nightshades. 

Upon this _monte_, or wooded height, most of the gentry havecountry-houses, the climate being 12 degrees (Fahr. ) cooler than by thesea. La Brigida commands a fine view of the Isleta, with its black sandand white foam, leek-green waters upon the reefs, and deep offing ofsteely blue. 

Leaving the carriage at the forking road, I mounted, after a baddescent, a rough hill, and saw to the left the Pico de Bandana, a fineregular cone 1, 850 feet high. A group of a few houses, El Pueblo de laCaldera, leads to the famous Cauldron, which Sir Charles Lyell visitedby mistake for that of Palma. Travellers compare it with the lakes ofNemi and Albano: I found it tame after the cup of Fernando Po with itsbeautiful lining of hanging woods. It has only the merit ofregularity. The unbroken upper rim measures about half a mile indiameter, and the lower funnel 3, 000 feet in circumference. The sides of_piedra pomez_ (pumice) are lined and ribbed with rows ofscoriaceous rock as regular as amphitheatre-seats, full 1, 000 feet deep, and slope easily into a flat sole, which some are said to have reachedon horseback. A copious fountain, springing from the once fiery inside, is collected below for the use of the farm-house, El Fondo de laCaldera. The fields have the effect of a little Alpine tarn of brightgreen. Here wild pigeons are sometimes caught at night, and rabbits andpartridges are or were not extinct. I ascended Bandana Peak to thenorth-north-east, the _piton_ of this long extinct volcano, andenjoyed the prospect of the luxuriant vegetation, the turquoise sea, andthe golden sands about Maspalomas, the southernmost extremity of GrandCanary. 

Returning to the road-fork, I mounted a hill on the right hand andsighted the Atalaya, another local lion. Here a perpendicular face ofcalcareous rock fronts a deep valley, backed by a rounded hill, with theblue chine of El Cumbre in the distance: this is the highest of theridge, measuring 8, 500 feet. The wall is pierced, like the torrent-sideof Mar Saba (Jerusalem), with caves that shelter a troglodyte populationnumbering some 2, 000 souls. True to their Berber origin, they seekrefuge in the best of savage lodgings from heat, cold, and wind. Thesite rises some 2, 000 feet above sea-level, and the strong wester twiststhe trees. Grand Canary preserves more of these settlements thanTenerife; they are found in many parts of the island, and even close tothe capital. Madeira, on the other hand, affects them but little. Wemust not forget that they still exist at St. Come, within two hours'rail of Paris, where my learned and lamented friend Dr. Broca had acountry-house. 

Descending a rough, steep slope, I entered the upper tier of thesettlement, where the boxes were built up with whitewashed fronts. Thecaves are mostly divided by matting into 'buts' and 'bens. ' Heaps ofpots, antiquated in shape and somewhat like the Etruscan, showed thetrade of the place, and hillocks of potatoes the staff of life. Theside-walls were hollowed for shelves, and a few prints of the Virgin andother sacred subjects formed the decoration. Settles and rude tablescompleted the list of movables; and many had the huge bed affected bythe Canarian cottager, which must be ascended with a run and a jump. Thepredatory birds, gypsies and others, flocked down from their nests, clamouring for _cuartitos_ and taking no refusal. 

It occupies a week to ride round the island, whose circumferencemeasures about 120 miles. I contented myself with a last excursion toDoramas, which then supplied meat, cheese, and grain to Tenerife. Myguide was old Antonio Martinez, who assured me that he was the 'mostclassical man' in the island; and with two decent hill-ponies we struckto the north-west. There is little to describe in the tour. The CuestaBlanca showed us the regular cones of Arúcas. Beyond Tenoya town Iinspected a crateriform ravine, and Monte Cardones boasted a honeycombof caves like the Atalaya. The fine rich _vega_ of Arúcas, a longwhite settlement before whose doors rose drying heaps of maize and blackcochineal, was a pleasant, smiling scene. All the country settlementsare built pretty much upon the same plan: each has its Campo Santo withwhite walls and high grey gate, through which the coffin is escorted byGaucho-like riders, who dismount to enter. Doramas proved to be a fine_monte_, with tree-stumps, especially chestnuts, somewhatsurprising in a region of ferns and furze. Near the little village ofFriga I tasted an _agua agria_, a natural sodawater, which thepeople hold to be of sovereign value for beast as well as man. Itincreases digestion and makes happy mothers, like the fountain ofVillaflor on the Tenerifan 'Pike '-slope. I found it resembling an_eau gazeuse_ left in the open all night. We then pushed on toTeror, famous for turkeys, traversed the high and forested northernplateau, visited Galdar and Guia of the cheeses, and rode back byBañaderos Bay and the Cuesta da Silva, renowned in olden island story. 

These three days gave me a fair general view of Grand Canary. TheCumbre, or central plateau, whose apex is Los Pexos (6, 400 feet), wellwooded with pines and Alpines, collects moisture in abundance. From thisplateau _barrancos_, or ravine-valleys, said to number 103, radiatequaquaversally. Their bottoms, becoming more and more level as they nearthe sea, are enriched by gushing founts, and are unrivalled forfertility, while the high and stony intervening ridges are barren asArabia Deserta. Even sun and rain cannot fertilise the dividing walls ofthe rich and riant _vegas_. Here, as at Madeira, and showing even abetter likeness, the _tierra caliente_ is Egypt, the _mediania_(middle-heights) are Italy, and the upper _mesetas_, the cloud-compellingtable-lands, are the bleak north of Europe plus a quasi-tropical sun. 

CHAPTER IX

THE COCHINEAL--THE 'GALLO'--CANARY 'SACK'--ADIEU TO THE CANARIES. 

I must not leave the Jezirát el-Bard (of Gold), or Jezirát el-Khálidát(Happy Islands), without some notice of their peculiar institutions, thecochineal, the _gallo_, and Canary 'sack. '

The nopal or tunal plant (_Opuntia Tuna_ or _Cactuscochinellifera_) is indigenous on these islands as well as on themainland of Africa. But the native growth is woody and lean-leaved; andits cooling fruit, which we clumsily term a 'prickly pear' or 'fig, ' iseverywhere a favourite in hot climates. There are now sundry claimantsto the honour of having here fathered the modern industry. Some say thatin 1823 a retired intendant introduced from Mexico the true_terciopelo_, or velvet-leaf, together with the Mexican cochineal, the _coccus cacti_ hemipter, [Footnote: The male insect is wingedfor flight. The female never stirs from the spot where she begins tofeed: she lays her eggs, which are innumerable and microscopic, and sheleaves them in the membrane or hardened envelope which she hassecreted. ] so called from the old Greek _KÓKKOS_, a berry, or theneo-Greek _KOKKIVOS_, red, scarlet. It is certain that Don Santiagode la Cruz brought both plant and 'bug' from Guatemala or Honduras in1835; and that an Englishman, who has advanced a right even in writing, labours under a not uncommon hallucination. 

But the early half of the present century was the palmy day of thevine. The people resisted the cactus-innovation as the English labourerdid the introduction of machinery, and tore up the plants. Enough, however, remained in the south of Tenerife for the hour ofneed. Travellers in search of the picturesque still lament that the uglystranger has ousted the trellised vine and the wild, free myrtles. Butpublic opinion changed when fortunes were made by selling theinsect. Greedy as the agriculturist in general, the people would refusethe value of a full crop of potatoes or maize if they suspected that theofferer intended to grow cochineal. No dye was prepared on the islands, and the peasants looked upon it as a manner of mystery. 

The best _tuneras_ (cochineal-plantations) lay in Grand Canary, where they could be most watered. Wherever maize thrives, producing agood dark leaf and grain in plenty, there cochineal also succeeds. Thesoil is technically called _mina de tosca_, a whitish, pumice-likestone, often forming a gravel conglomerate under a rocky stratum:hardening by exposure, it is good for building. Immense labour isrequired to prepare such ground for the cactus. The earth must be takenfrom below the surface-rock, as at Malta; spread in terraced beds, andcleared of loose stones, which are built up in walls or in_molleras_, cubes or pyramids. Such ground sold for $150 per acre;$600 were paid for mètre-deep soil unencumbered by stone. Where thechalk predominates, it must be mixed with the volcanic sand locallycalled _zahorra_. In all cases the nopals are set at distances ofhalf a yard, in trenches at least three feet deep. The 'streets, ' orintervals, must measure nearly two yards, so that water may flow freelyand sunshine may not be arrested. Good ground, if irrigated in winterand kept clear of weeds by the _haçada_ (hoe), produces a cactuscapable of being 'seeded' after the second year; if poor, a third isrequired. The plant lasts, with manure to defend it from exhaustion, afull decade. [Footnote: The compost was formerly natural, dry or liquidas in Switzerland; but for some years the costly guano and chemicalshave been introduced. Formerly also potatoes were set between the stems;and well-watered lands gave an annual grain-crop as well as a greencrop. ]

I now translate the memoir sent in MS. To me by my kind friendDundas. It is the work of Don Abel de Aguilar, Consul Impérial deRussie, a considerable producer of the 'bug. '

The _semillado_, or cochineal-sowing, is divided into three_cosechas_ (crops), according to the several localities in theislands. 

The _abuelas_ (grandmothers) are those planted inOctober-November. Their seed gives a new growth set in February-March, and called _madres_ (mothers). Thirdly, those planted in June-July, gathered in September-October, and serving to begin with the_abuelas_, are called _la cosecha_ (the crop). The first andsecond may be planted on the seaboard; the last is confined to themidlands and uplands, on account of the heat and the hot winds, especially the souther and the south-south-easter, which asphyxiate theinsect. 

And now of the _abuelas_, as cultivated in the maritime regionsof Santa Cruz, Tenerife. 

Every cochineal-plantation must have a house with windows facing thesouth, and freely admitting the light--an indispensable condition. The_cuarto del semillado_ (breeding-room) should be heated by stovesto a regular temperature of 30°-32° (R. ). At this season the proportionof seed is calculated at 30 boxes of 40 lbs. Each, or a total of 1, 200lbs. Per _fanega_, the latter being equivalent to a half-hectare. The cochineal is placed in large wooden trays lined withcloth, and containing about 15 lbs. Of the recently gathered seed. Whenfilled without crowding, the trays are covered with squares ofcotton-cloth (raw muslin), measuring 12-16 inches. Usually the_fanega_ requires 20-30 quintals (128 lbs. , or a cwt. ), eachcosting $15 to $17. The newly born insects (_hijuelos_) adhere tothe cochineal-rags, and these are carried to the _tunera_, incovered baskets. 

The operation is repeated with fresh rags till the parturition iscompleted. The last born, after 12-15 days, are the weakest. They areknown by their dark colour, the earlier seed being grey-white, likecigar-ashes. The cochineal which has produced all its insects is knownin the markets as 'zacatillas. ' It commanded higher prices, because thewatery parts had disappeared and only the colouring matter remained. Nowits value is that of the white or _cosecha_. 

The cochineal-rags are then carried by women and girls to the_tunera_, and are attached to the cactus-leaves by passing thecloths round them and by pinning them on with the thorns. Thisoperation, requires great care, judgment, and experience. The goodresults of the crop depend upon the judicious distribution of the'bugs;' and error is easy when making allowance for their loss by wind, rain, or change of temperature. The insects walk over the whole leaf, and choose their places sheltered as much as possible, although stillcovered by the rags. After 8-10 days they insert the proboscis into thecactus, and never stir till gathered. At the end of three and a half tofour months they become 'grains of cochineal, ' not unlike wheat, butsmaller, rounder, and thicker. The sign of maturity is the appearance ofnew insects upon the leaf. The rags are taken off, as they were put on, by women and girls, and the cochineal is swept into baskets with brushesof palm-frond. As the _abuelas_ grow in winter there is great lossof life. For each pound sown the cultivator gets only two to two and ahalf, innumerable insects being lost either in the house or out ofdoors. 

The crop thus gathered produces the _madres_ (mothers): the latterare sown in February-March, and are gathered in May-June. The onlydifference of treatment is that the rags are removed when the weather issafe and the free draught benefits the insects. The produce isgreater--three and a half to four pounds for one. 

The _cosecha_ of the _madres_ produces most abundantly, onaccount of the settled weather. The cochineal breeds better in thehouse, where there is more light and a higher temperature. The result isthat 8 to 10 lbs. Become 100. It is cheaper too: as a lesser proportionof rag is wanted for the field, and it is kept on only till the insectadheres. Thus a small quantity goes a long way. At this season there isno need of the _cuarto_, and bags of pierced paper or of_rengue_ (loose gauze), measuring 10 inches long by 2 broad, arepreferred. A spoonful of grain, about 4 ounces, is put into each bag andis hung to the leaves: the young ones crawl through the holes or meshestill the plant is sufficiently populated. In hot weather they may bechanged eight times a day with great economy of labour. This is the mostfavourable form; the insects go straight to the leaves, and it is easyto estimate the proportions. 

So far Don Abel. He concludes with saying that cochineal, which in otherdays made the fortune of his native islands, will soon be completelyabandoned. Let us hope not. 

The _cosecha_-insects, shell-like in form, grey-coloured, of lightweight, but all colouring matter, are either sold for breeding_abuelas_ or are placed upon trays and killed in stoves by a heatof 150°-160° (Fahr. ). The drying process is managed by reducing thetemperature to 140°. The time varies from twenty-four to forty-eighthours: when hurried it injures the crop. Ninety full-grown insects weighsome forty-eight grains, and there is a great reduction by drying; some27, 000 yield one pound of the prepared cochineal. The shiny blackcochineal, which looks like small beetles, is produced by sun-drying, and by shaking the insect in a linen bag or in a small 'merry-go-round, 'so as to remove the white powder. [Footnote: Mr. H. Vizetelly (p. 210)says that black metallic sand is used to give it brilliancy. ] The form, however, must be preserved. It sells 6_d_. Per lb. Higher than the_cochinilla de plata_, or silver cochineal. Lastly, the dried cropis packed in bags, covered with mats, and is then ready for exportation. 

The traffic began about 1835 with an export of only 1, 275 lbs. ; andbetween 1850 and 1860 the lb. Was worth at least ten francs. AdmiralRobinson [Footnote: _Sea-drift_, a volume published by subscription. Pitman, London, 1852. ] in 1852 makes the export one million oflbs. At one dollar each, or a total of 250, 000_l_. During therage of the oïdium the cultivation was profitable and raisedthe Canaries high in the scale of material prosperity. In 1862the islands exported 10, 000 quintals, or hundred-weights, thetotal value being still one million of dollars. In 1877-78the produce was contained in 20, 000 to 25, 000 bags, eachaveraging 175 lbs. , at a value of half a crown per lb. : it was thenstated that, owing to the increased expense of irrigation and of guanoor chemical manures, nothing under two shillings would repay thecultivator. In 1878-79 the total export amounted to 5, 045, 007 lbs. In1879-80 this figure had fallen off to 4, 036, 871 lbs. , a decrease of5, 482 bags, or 1, 008, 136 lbs. ; moreover the prices, which had beenforced up by speculation, declined from 2_s_. 6_d_. -3_s_. 4_d_. To 1_s_. 8_d_. And 1_s_. 10_d_. [Footnote: These figures are takenfrom the able Consular Report of Mr. Consul Dundas, printed in Partviii. , 1881. ] When I last visited Las Palmas (April 1880), cochineal, under the influence of _magenta_ and _mineral_ dyes, was selling at1_s_. 4_d_. Instead of one to two dollars. 

It is to be feared that the palmy days of cochineal are over, and thatits chief office, besides staining liqueurs and tooth-powders, will beto keep down the price of the chemicals. With regret I see this handsomeand harmless colour being gradually superseded by the economicalanilines, whose poisonous properties have not yet been fully recognisedby the public. The change is a pregnant commentary upon the good andhomely old English saying, 'Cheap and nasty. '

The fall of cochineal throughout the Canaries brought many successorsinto the field, but none can boast of great success. Silk, woven andspun, was tried; unfortunately, the worms were fed on _tartago_ (a_ricinus_), instead of the plentiful red and white mulberries. Theharvest was abundant, but not admired by manufacturers. In fact, themoderns have failed where their predecessors treated the stuff so wellthat Levantines imported silks to resell them in Italy. FormerlyTenerife contained a manufactory whose lasting and brilliant produce washighly appreciated in Spain as in Havana. At Palma crimson waist-sashesused to sell for an ounce of gold. 

Tobacco-growing was patronised by Government in 1878, probably with theview of mixing it in their monopoly-manufactories with the growths ofCuba and Manilla. But on this favour being withdrawn the next year'sharvest fell to one-fourth (354, 640 lbs. To 36, 978). The best sites werein Hierro (Ferro) and Adejo, in the south of Tenerife. The chiefobstacles to success are imperfect cultivation, the expense of skilledlabour, and deficiency of water to irrigate the deep black soil. BothVirginia and Havana leaves were grown, and good brands sold from eightto sixteen dollars per 100 lbs. The customers in order of quantity areGermany, England, France, South America, and the West Coast of Africa, where the cigars are now common. One brand (Republicanos) is so goodthat I should not wish to smoke better. At home they sell for twelvedollars per 1, 000; a price which rises, I am told, in England to oneshilling each. They are to be procured through Messieurs Davidson, ofSanta Cruz. 

The Canarians now talk of sugar-growing; but the cane will inevitablyfare worse for want of water than either silk or tobacco. 

Next to cochineal in the Canary Islands, especially in Tenerife, ranksthe _gallo_, or fighting-cock. Cockfighting' amongst ourselves isredolent of foul tobacco, bad beer, and ruffianism in low places. Thisis not the case in Spain and her colonies, where the classical sport ofGreece and Rome still holds its ground. I have pleasant reminiscences ofthe good _Padre_ in the Argentine Republic who after mass repairedregularly to the pit, wearing his huge canoe-like hat and carrying underhis arm a well-bred bird instead of a breviary. Here too I was told thatthe famous Derby breed of the twelfth Earl had extended in past timesthroughout the length and breadth of the land; and the next visit toKnowsley convinced me that the legend was based on fact. As regardscruelty, all popular sports, fox-hunting and pigeon-shooting, arecruel. Grallus, however, has gained since the days of Cock-Mondays andCock-Fridays, when he was staked down to be killed by 'cock-sticks' orwas whipped to his death by blindfolded carters. He leads the life of afriar; he is tended carefully as any babe; he is permitted to indulgehis pugnacity, which it would be harsh to restrain, and at worst he diesfighting like a gentleman. A Tenerifan would shudder at the horror ofour fashionable sport, where ruffians gouge or blind the pigeon with apin, squeeze it to torture, wrench out its tail, and thrust the upperthrough the lower mandible. 

The bird in Tenerife surpasses those of the other Canary Islands, andmore than once has carried off the prizes at Seville. A moderatelywell-bred specimen may be bought for two dollars, but first-rate cocksbelonging to private fanciers have no price. 

Many proprietors, as at Hyderabad, in the Dakhan, will not part witheven the eggs. The shape of the Canarian bird is rather that of apheasant than a 'rooster. ' The coat varies; it is black and red withyellow shanks, black and yellow, white and gold, and a grey, hen-likecolour, our 'duck-wing, ' locally called _gallinho_. Here, as inmany other places, the 'white feather' is no sign of bad blood. Thetoilet is peculiar. Comb and wattles are 'dubbed' (clean shaven), andthe circumvental region is depilated or clipped with scissors, leavingonly the long tail-feathers springing from a naked surface. The skin isdaily rubbed, after negro fashion, with lemon-juice, inducing a fieryred hue: this is done for cleanliness, and is supposed also to hardenthe cuticle. Altogether the appearance is coquet, sportsmanlike, anddecidedly appropriate. 

The game-chicks are sent to the country, like town-born babes in Franceor the sons of Arabian cities to the Bedawin's black tents. The cockerelbegins fighting in his second, and is not a 'stale bird' till his fifthor sixth, year. In early spring aspirants to the honours of the arenaare brought to the towns for education and for training, which lastssome six weeks. I was invited to visit a walk belonging to a wealthyproprietor at Orotava, who obligingly answered all my questions. Somefifty birds occupied the largest room of a deserted barrack, whichproclaimed its later use at the distance of half a mile. The gladiatorswere disposed in four long, parallel rows of cages, open cane-work, measuring three feet square. Each had a short wooden trestle placedoutside during the day and serving by night as a perch. They were fedand watered at 2 P. M. The fattening maize was first given, and thenwheat, with an occasional cram of bread-crumb and water by way ofphysic. The _masálá_ and multifarious spices of the Hindostanitrainer are here ignored. 

The birds are not allowed, as in India, to become so fierce that theyattack men: this is supposed to render them too hot and headstrong incombat. Every third day there is a _Pecha_, or spurring-match, which proves the likeliest lot. The pit for exercise is a matted circleabout 6 feet in diameter. A well-hodded bird is placed in it, and theassistant holds up a second, waving it to and fro and provoking No. 1 totake his exercise by springing to the attack. The Indian style ofgalloping the cock by showing a hen at either end of the walk is lookedupon with disfavour, because the sight of the sex is supposed to causedisease during high condition. The elaborate Eastern shampooing forhours has apparently never been heard of. After ten minutes' hardrunning and springing the bird is sponged with Jamaica rum and water, toprevent chafing; the lotion is applied to the head and hind quarters, tothe tender and dangerous parts under the wings, and especially to theleg-joints. The lower mandible is then held firmly between the leftthumb and forefinger, and a few drops are poured into the beak. Everyalternate day the cage is placed on loose ground in sun and wind; andonce a week there is a longer sparring-bout with thick leather hods, orspur-pads. 

Cock-fighting takes place once a year, when the birds are in fittestfeather; it begins on Easter Sunday and ends with the followingWednesday. 

 The bird that warned Peter of his fall

has then, if victorious, a pleasant, easy twelve months of life beforehim. He has won many a gold ounce for his owner: I have heard of a manpouching 400_l_. In a contest between Orotava and La Laguna, whichhas a well-merited celebrity for these exhibitions. The Canarians ignoreall such refinements as rounds or Welsh mains; the birds are fairlymatched in pairs. _Navajas_, or spurs, either of silver or steel, are unused, if not unknown. The natural weapon is sharpened to aneedle-like point, and then blood and condition win. The cock-pit, somewhat larger than the training-pit, is in the Casa de la Galera;there is a ring for betters, and the spectators are ranged on upperseats. 

Lastly of the wine Canary, now unknown to the English market, where ithad a local habitation and a name as early as madeira and sherry, allclaiming 'Shakespearean recognition. ' The Elizabethans constantly alludeto cups of cool Canary, and Mr. Vizetelly quotes Howell's 'FamiliarLetters, ' wherein he applies to this far-famed sack the dictum 'Goodwine sendeth a man to heaven. ' But I cannot agree with the learnedoenologist, or with the 'tradition of Tenerife, ' when told that 'theoriginal canary was a sweet and not a dry wine, as those who derive"sack" from the French word "sec" would have us believe. ' 'Sherris sack'(_jerez seco_) was a harsh, dry wine, which was sugared as wesweeten tea. Hence Poins addresses Falstaff as 'Sir John Sack andSugar;' and the latter remarks, 'If sack and sugar be a fault, God helpthe wicked!' And the island probably had two growths--the saccharine_Malvasia_, [Footnote: As we find in Leake (p. 197 _Researches inGreece_) and Henderson (_History of Wines_) 'Malvasia' is anItalian corruption of 'Monemvasia' ([Greek: _monae embasia_]--asingle entrance), the neo-Greek name for the Minoa promontory or islandconnected by a bridge with the Laconian Coast. Hence the FrenchMalvoisie and our Malmsey. Prof. Azevedo (_loc. Cit. _) opines thatthe date of the wine's introduction disproves the legend of that'maudlin Clarence in his Malmsey butt. '] whose black grape was almost araisin, and a harsh produce like that of the modern _Gual_, withgreat volume and alcoholic strength, but requiring time to make itpalatable. 

The Canaries mostly grew white wines; that is, the liquors werefermented without skins and stalks. Thus they did not contain all theconstituents of the fruit, and they were inferior in remedial andrestorative virtues to red wines. Indeed, a modern authority tells usthat none but the latter deserve the name, and that white wines arerather grape-ciders than real wines. 

The best Tenerife brands were produced on the northern slopes fromSauzal and La Victoria to Garachico and Ycod de los Vinos. The latter, famed for its malmsey, has lost its vines and kept its name. Thecultivation extended some 1, 500 feet above the sea, and the plant wastreated after the fashion of Madeira and Carniola (S. Austria). The_latadas_, or trellises, varied in height, some being so low thatthe peasant had to creep under them. All, however, had the same defect:the fruit got the shade and the leaves the sun, unless trimmed away bythe cultivator, who was unwilling to remove these lungs in too greatquantities. The French style, the pruned plant supported by a stake, wasused only for the old and worn-out, and none dreamt of the galvanisedwires along which Mr. Leacock, of Funchal, trains his vines. In GrandCanary I have seen the grape-plant thrown over swathes of black stone, like those which, bare of fruit, stretch for miles across the fertilewastes of the Syrian Haurán. By heat and evaporation the grapes becomeraisins; and, as in Dalmatia, one pipe required as much fruit assufficed for three or four of ordinary. 

The favourite of the Canaries is, or was, the _vidonia_, a juicyberry, mostly white, seldom black: the same is the case with themuscadels. The _Malvasia_ is rarely cultivated, as it sufferedinordinately from the vine-disease. The valuable _Verdelho_, preferred at Madeira, is, or was, a favourite; and there are, or were, half a dozen others. The _vendange_ usually began in the lowlandsabout the end of August, and in the uplands a fortnight or three weekslater. The grape was carried in large baskets by men, women, andchildren, to the _lagar_, or wooden press, and was there troddendown, as in Madeira, Austria, and Italy. The Canarians, like otherneo-Latins an unmechanical race, care little for economising labour. Thevinification resembled that of the Isle of Wood, with one importantexception--the stove. This artificial heating to hasten maturity seemsto have been soon abandoned. 

Mr. Vizetelly is of opinion that the pure juice was apt to grow harsh, or become ropy, with age. They remedied the former defect by adding alittle _gloria_, a thin, sweet wine kept in store from thepreceding _vendange_; this was done in April or in May, when thevintage was received at headquarters. Ropiness was cured by repeatedrackings and by brandying, eight gallons per pipe being the normalratio. That distinguished connoisseur found in an old malmsey of 1859all the aroma and lusciousness of a good liqueur; the 'Londonparticular' of 1865 tasted remarkably soft, with a superior nose; an1871-72, made for the Russian market, had an oily richness with aconsiderable aroma; an 1872 was mellow and aromatic, and an 1875 had agood vinous flavour. 

'Canary' possessed its own especial charác-ter, as Jonathan says. If itdeveloped none of the highest qualities of its successful rivals, itbecame, after eight to twelve years' keeping, a tolerable wine, whichmany in England have drunk, paying for good madeira. The shorter periodsufficed to mature it, and it was usually shipped when three to fouryears old. It kept to advantage in wood for a quarter of a century, andin bottle it improved faster. My belief is that the properest use ofTenerife was to 'lengthen out' the finer growths. I found Canary bearingthe same relation to madeira as marsala bears to sherry: the bestspecimens almost equalled the second- or third-rate madeiras. Moreover, these wines are even more heady and spirituous than those of thenorthern island; and there will be greater difficulty in converting themto the category _vino de pasto_, a light dinner-wine. 

Before 1810 Tenerife exported her wines not from Santa Cruz, but fromOrotava, the centre of commerce. Here, since the days of Charles II. , there was an English Factory with thirty to forty British subjects, Protestants, under the protection of the Captain-General; and theircemetery lay at the west end of El Puerto, whose palmy days were in1812-15. The trade was then transferred to the modern capital, wherethere are, and have been for years, only two English wine-shippingfirms, Messieurs Hamilton and Messieurs Davidson. The seniors of bothfamilies have all passed away; but their sons and grandsons stillinhabit the picturesque old houses on the 'Marina. ' In 1812-15 theannual export of wine was 8, 000 to 11, 000 pipes. The Peace of 1815 was asevere blow to the trade. Between 1830 and 1840, however, the vintage ofthe seven chief islands averaged upwards of 46, 000; of these Tenerifesupplied between 4, 000 and 5, 000, equivalent to the total produce sincethe days of the oïdium. In 1852 Admiral Robinson reduced the number ofpipes to 20, 000, worth 200, 000_l_. In 1860-65 I saw the grape in apiteous plight: the huge bunches were composed of dwarfed and wiltedberries, furred and cobwebbed with the foul mycelium. The produce fellto 100-150 pipes, and at present only some 200 to 300 are exported. ThePeninsula and the West African coast take the bulk; England and Germanyranking next, and lastly Spain, which used the import largely inmaking-up wines. The islanders now mostly drink the harsh, coarseCatalonians; they still, however, make for home consumption a cheapwhite wine, which improves with age. It is regretable that fears of theoïdium and the phylloxera prevent the revival of the industry, for whichthe Islands are admirably fitted. Potatoes and other produce have alsosuffered; but that is no obstacle to their being replanted. 

I left Santa Cruz and Las Palmas, after two short visits, with theconviction that both are on the highway of progress, and much edified bytheir contrast with Funchal. The difference is that of a free port and aclosed port. In the former there is commercial, industrial, and literaryactivity: Las Palmas can support two museums. In the latter there isneither this, that, nor the other. Madeira also suffers from repressedemigration. The Canaries wisely allow their sons to make gold ouncesabroad for spending at home. 

Spain also, a few years ago so backward in the race, is fast regainingher place amongst the nations. She is now reaping the benefit of hertruly liberal (not Liberal) policy. Such were the abolition of the_morgado_ (primogeniture) in 1834, the closing of the 1, 800convents in 1836-37, and the _disamortizacion_, or suppression ofChurch property and granting liberty of belief, in 1855. Finally, thevigour infused by a short--which will lead to a longer--trial ofdemocracy and of republican institutions have given her a new life. Sheis no longer the Gallio of the Western world. 

CHAPTER X. 

THE RUINED RIVER-PORT AND THE TATTERED FLAG. 

On the night of January 10 we steamed out of Las Palmas to cover thelong line of 940 miles between Grand Canary and Bathurst. TheA. S. S. Generously abandons the monopoly of the Gambia to its rival, the B. And A. , receiving in exchange the poor profits of the Isles deLos. Consequently the old Company's ships, when homeward-bound, rundirectly from Sierra Leone to Grand Canary, a week's work of 1, 430knots. 

Hardly had we lost sight of the brown and barren island and Las Palmasin her magpie suit, than we ran out of the Brisa Parda, or greynorth-east Trade, into calm and cool Harmatan [Footnote: The word is ofdisputed origin. _Ahalabata_, or _ahalalata_, on the Gold Coastis a foreign term denoting the dry norther or north-easter that blowsfrom January to March or April (Zimmerman). Christalier makes_haramata_, 'Spanish _harmatan_, an Arabic word. '] weather. Webegrudged the voyage this lovely season, which should have been kept forthe journey. After the damp warmth of Madeira the still and windless airfelt dry, but not too dry; cold, but not too cold; decidedly fresh inearly morning, and never warm except at 3 P. M. The sun was pale andshorn, as in England, seldom showing a fiery face before 10 A. M. Orafter 5 P. M. The sea at night appeared slightly milky, like the whitewaters so often seen off the western coast of India. Every travellerdescribes the Harmatan, and most travellers transcribe the errorstouching the infusoria and their coats which Ehrenberg found at sea inthe impalpable powder near the Cape Verde islands. The dry cold blast ispurely local, not cosmical. There is a fine reddish-yellow sand in thelower air-strata; we see it, we feel it, and we know that it comes fromthe desert-tracts of northern Africa. The air rises _en masse_ fromthe Great Sahara; the vacuum is speedily filled by the heavier andcooler indraught from the north or south, and the higher strata form theupper current flowing from the Equator to the Poles. But 'siliceousdust' will not wholly account for the veiling of the sun and theopaqueness of the higher atmosphere. This arises simply from the want ofhumidity; the air is denser, and there is no vapour to refract andreflect the light-rays. Hence the haze which even in England appears tooverhang the landscape when there is unusually droughty weather; andhence, conversely, as all know, the view is clearest before and afterheavy showers, when the atmosphere is saturated or supersaturated. 

On my return in early April we caught the northeast Trades shortly afterturning Cape Palmas, and kept them till close upon Grand Canary. Theywere a complete contrast with the Harmatan, the firmament lookingexceptionally high, and the sun shining hot, while a crisp, steady galemade the 'herds of Proteus' gambol and disport themselves over the longridges thrown up by the cool plain of bright cerulean. The horizon, whenclear, had a pinkish hue, and near coast and islands puffy folds ofdazzling white, nearly 5, 000 feet high, were based upon dark-greystreaks of cloudland simulating continents and archipelagoes. Within thetropics the heavens appear lower, and we never sight blue or purplewater save after a tornado. The normal colour is a dirty, brassyyellow-brown, here and there transparent, but ever unsightly in theextreme. It must depend upon some unexplained atmospheric conditions;and the water-aspect is often at its ugliest when the skies areclearest. I have often seen the same tints when approaching Liverpool. 

Through the Harmatan-haze we failed to sight Cape Juby, oppositeFuerteventura; and at Santa Cruz I missed Mr. Mackenzie, the energeticflooder of the Sahará. He has, they say, given up this impossibility andopened a _comptoir_: its presence is very unpleasant to the Frenchmonopolists, who seem to 'monopole' more every year. South of Juby comeshistoric Cape Bojador, the 'Gorbellied, ' and Cabo Blanco, which is tonorthern what Cabo Negro is to southern Africa. The sole remarkableevents in its life are, firstly, its being named by Ptolemy GranariaExtrema, whence the Canarii peoples south-west of the Moroccan Atlas andour corrupted 'Canaries;' and, secondly, its rediscovery by one GonçalezBaldeza in 1440. 

On the afternoon of Saturday (January 14) we sighted in the offing thetwo paps of Ovedec, or Cabo Verde, the Hesperou Keras, the Hesperium orArsenarium Promontorium of Pliny, the _trouvaille_ of DinizFernandez in 1446. The name is _sub judice_. Some would derive itfrom the grassy green slope clad with baobabs (_Adansoniadigitata_), megatherium-like monsters, topping the precipitoussea-wall which falls upon patches of yellow sand. Others would borrow itfrom the _Sargasso (baccifera), Golfão_, or Gulf-weed, which herebecomes a notable feature. Cape Verde, the Prasum Promontorium of WestAfrica, is the 'Trafalgar, ' the westernmost projection, of the DarkContinent 'fiery yet gloomy;' measuring 17° 3' from the meridian ofGreenwich. The coast is exceedingly dangerous; consequently shipwrecksare rare. The owners, as their national wont is, have done their best tomake it safe. Two lighthouses to the north of the true Cape mark anddefine a long shoal with a heavy break, the Almadies rocks, a ledgemostly sunk, but here and there rising above the foam in wicked-looking_diabolitos_ (devilings), or black fangs, of which the largest isdie-shaped. A third pharos, also brilliantly whitewashed, crowns theCape, and by its side is a lower sea-facing building, the sanatorium;finally, there is a light at the mole-end of Dakar. 

Steaming past the Madeleine rocks, here and there capped with green andwhitened by sea-fowl, we sight, through an opening in the curtain ofcoast, the red citadel and the subject town of Goree, the Gibraltar ofwestern Africa, and the harbour of St. Louis, capital of Senegambia. Theisland is now the only port, the headquarters having suffered from thesand-bar at the mouth of the Senegal. Here our quondam rivals have madethe splendid harbour of Dakar, whose jetties accommodate 180, 000 tons ofshipping at the same time. This powerful and warlike colony, distantonly twelve hours' steaming from Bathurst, has her fleet of steamers forriver navigation; her Tirailleurs du Sénégal, and her large force offighting native troops. Fortified stations defend the course of theriver, even above the falls, from the hostile and treacherous Moors. Thesubject and protected territories exceed Algeria in extent, and theposition will link the French possessions in the Mediterranean with therich mineral lands proposed for conquest in the south. 

We English hug to ourselves the idea that the French are bad colonists:if so, France, like China and India, is improving at a pace whichpromises trouble. Algeria, Senegambia, and Siam should considerablymodify the old judgment. Our neighbours have, and honestly own to, twogrand faults--an excessive bureaucracy and a military, or rather amartinet, discipline, which interferes with civil life and which governstoo much. On the other side England rules too little. She is at presentbetween the two proverbial stools. She has lost the norm of honour, Aristocracy; and she has lost it for ever. But she has not yet acquiredthe full strength of democracy. This is part secret of thatdisorganisation which is causing such wonder upon the continent ofEurope. Moreover, Colonial England has caught the disease ofnon-interference and the infection of economy, the spawn of Liberalism;while her savings, made by starving her establishments, are of thecategory popularly described as penny-wise and pound-foolish. France hasadopted the contrary policy. She spends her money freely in making portsand roads and in opening communication through adjacent countries. Shelately sent a cruiser to Madeira, proposing to connect Dakar bytelegraph with the Cape Verde islands. She is assiduous in formingfriendly, or rather peaceable, relations with the people. She begins onthe right principle by officering her colonies with her best men, navaland military. In England anyone is good enough for West Africa. Sheimpresses the natives, before beginning to treat, by an overwhelmingdisplay of force; and, if necessary, by hard knocks. She educates thechildren of the chiefs, and compels all her lieges, under a penalty, tolearn, and if possible to speak, French. So far from practisingnon-interference, she allows no one to fight but herself. Thisimperious, warlike, imperial attitude is what Africa wants. It reversesour Quaker-like 'fad' for peace. We allow native wars to rage _adlibitum_ even at Porto Loko, almost within cannon-shot of SierraLeone. On the Gambia River the natives have sneeringly declared thatthey will submit to the French, who are men, but not to us, who are------. Later still, the chiefs of Futa-Jalon went, not to London, butto Paris. 

In 1854 France commenced a new and systematic course of colonialpolicy. She first beat the Pulos (Fulahs), once so bold, and then sheorganised and gave flags to them. She checked, with a strong hand, theattacks of the Moors upon the gum-gatherers of the Sahará. And now, after drawing away from us the Gambia trade, she has begun a railwayintended to connect the Senegal with the Niger and completely tooutflank us. This line will annex the native regions behind oursettlements, and make Bathurst and Sierra Leone insignificantdependencies upon the continent of Gallic rule. The total distance is atleast 820 miles, and the whole will be guarded by a line of forts. Itbegins with a section of 260 kilometres, which will transport valuablegoods now injured by ass and camel-carriage. The natives, wearied withincessant petty wars, are ready to welcome the new comers. The westernSúdán, or Niger-basin, has a population estimated at forty millions, ready, if a market be opened, to flock to it with agricultural andindustrial products, including iron, copper, and gold. Meanwhile theJoliba (Black Water), with the Benuwe and other tributaries, offers aready-made waterway for thousands of miles. Sierra Leone lies only 400miles, less than half, from the Niger; but what would the ColonialOffice say if a similar military line were proposed? Nor can we consoleourselves by the feeble excuse that Senegal has a climate superior tothat of our 'pest-houses. ' On the contrary, she suffers severely fromyellow fever, which has never yet visited the British Gold Coast. Hermortality is excessive, but she simply replaces her slain. She has noneof that mawkish, hysterical humanitarianism which of late years hasbecome a salient feature in our campaigning. During the Ashanti affairthe main object seems to have been, not the destruction of the enemy, but to save as many privates as possible from ague and fever, sunstrokeand dysentery. 

Ninety miles beyond Cape Verde placed us in the Gambia waters, off thelands of the Guinea region. I will not again attempt a history of thedisputed word which Barbot derives from Ginahoa, the first negro regionvisited by the Portuguese; others from Ghana, the modern Kano; from theJenneh or Jinne of Mungo Park; from Jenna, a coast-town once of note, governed by an officer under the 'King' of Gambia-land, and, in fine, from the Italian Genoa. 

The s. S. _Senegal_ spent the night of the 14th on the soft andslippery mud, awaiting the dawn. What can the Hydrographic Department ofthe Admiralty be doing? What is the use of the three cruisers that stillrepresent the old 'Coffin Squadron'? This coast has not had a surveysince 1830, yet it changes more or less every year, and half a centurymakes every map and plan obsolete. But perhaps it would be wrong to riskseamen's lives by exposure in open boats to 'insolation, ' showers, andsurf. 

From sunrise the sea had changed its Harmatan-grey for a dull, muddy, dirty green; and the leadsman, who is now too civilised to 'sing out' inthe good old style, calmly announced that the channel wasshallowing. 'Gambia, ' or 'Gambi, ' the Gamboa and Gambic of Barbot(Chapter VII. ), is said to mean clear water, here a perfect misnomer; itis miry as the Mersey. The 'molten gold of the Gambia River' is only thefine phrase of some poetic traveller. Low land loomed on both sides, with rooty and tufted mangroves, apparently based upon the waves, showing that we approached an estuary, which soon narrowed from thirtymiles to seven and to two. Three buoys, the outermost red, then the'fairway' with chequers and cage, and lastly white without cage, all ata considerable distance off the land, marked the river-bar, andpresently a black pilot came on board from his cutter. We made someeasting running along shore, and gave a wide berth to the Horseshoe Bankand St. Mary's shoal portwards, to African Knoll and Middle Groundstarboardwards, and to a crowd of other pleasant patches, where thewater was dancing a breakdown in the liveliest way. 

As we drew in shore the now burning sun shone with a sickly African heatthrough the scirocco-clouds and the thick yellow swamp-reek. 'It will beworse when we land, ' said the normal Job's comforter. Six knots tostarboard, (west), on high and healthy Cape St. Mary, rose a whitewashedbuilding from a dwarf red cliff. To port on the river's proper rightbank (east) lay Fort Bullen, an outpost upon a land-tongue, dead-greenas paint, embosomed in tall bentangs, or bombax-trees (_PullomCeiba_). This 'silk-cotton-tree' differs greatly in shape from itscongener in Eastern Africa. The bole bears sharp, broad-based thorns;the wings or flying buttresses are larger; several trunks rarelyanastomose; the branches seldom stand out horizontally, nor are theleaves disposed in distinct festoons. It is, however, a noble growth, useful for shade and supplying a soft wood for canoes and stuffing forpillows. Fort Bullen, about one hour's row from Bathurst, formerlylodged a garrison of seventeen men under the 'Commandant and Governor ofthe Queen's Possessions in the Barra Country. ' Now the unwholesome sitehas been abandoned. 

The island and station of St. Mary, Bathurst, of old a graveyard, nowstart up to starboard. The site was chosen apparently for its superiordevelopment of mud and mangrove, miasma and malaria. It is an islandwithin an island. St. Mary the Greater is the northernmost of that massof riverine holms and continental islands which, formed by the Cachéoand other great drains, extends south to the Rio Grande. Measuring sometwenty miles from north to south, by six from east to west, it isembraced by the two arms of the Gambia delta, and is marked in old mapsas the Combo, Forni, and Felúp country. St. Mary the Less, upon whichstands the settlement facing east, is bounded eastward by the main mouthand westward by Oyster Creek, a lagoon-like branch: it is a meresand-patch of twenty-one square miles, clothed by potent heats andflooding rains with a vivid and violent vegetation. Water is foundeverywhere three feet below the surface, but it is bad andbrackish. There is hardly any versant or shed; in places the land sinksbelow the water-level; and, despite the excellent brick sewers, theshowers prefer to sop and sod the soil. And, lest the island should bebodily carried away by man, there is a penalty for removing even apailful of sand from the beach. 

Bathurst was unknown in the days of Mungo Park, when traders ran upstream to Jilifri, nearly opposite Fort James, and to Pisania, the endof river-navigation. St. Mary's Island, together with British Combo, Albreda, and the land called the 'Ceded, ' or 'English Mile, ' were boughtfrom the Mandenga chief of the Combo province. First christenedSt. Leopold, and then Bathurst, after the minister of that name, theactual town owes its existence to an order issued by Sir CharlesMacarthy. That ill-starred Governor of Sierra Leone (1814-24) is stillremembered in Ashanti and on the Gold Coast: he is immortalised by apestiferous island in the Upper Gambia well described by WinwoodReade. The settlement, designed for the use of liberated Africans, wasbuilt in 1816 by Lieutenant-Colonel Brereton and by Captain AlexanderGrant. In 1821 it was made, like the Gold Coast, a dependency of SierraLeone, whose jurisdiction, after the African Company was abolished in1820, [Footnote: The first African Company was established by Queen Elizabeth, and in 1688 was allowed to trade with Guinea. The Royal African Company, or Guinea Company of Royal Adventurers of England trading to Africa, wasincorporated under Charles II. On January 20, 1663. A third was patentedon September 27, 1672. The 'African Company' (1722-24) was not allowedto interfere with 'interlopers. ' On May 7, 1820, it was abolished, afterbankruptcy, and its possessions passed over to the Crown. ]

extended from N. Lat. 20° to S. Lat. 20°. I found it an independentgovernment, one of four, in 1860 to 1865. In 1866 it again passed underthe rule of Sierra Leone; in 1874 this ill-advised measure waswithdrawn, and the Gambia was placed under an Administrator and aLegislative Council, the former subject to the Governor-in-Chief ofSierra Leone. A score of years ago it was garrisoned by some 300 men ofthe West African Corps. Now it is reduced to 100 armed policemen: theGambia militia, composed of the Combo and Macarthy's Island forces, isnever called out. The population of the twenty-one square miles is givenby Whittaker for 1881 as 14, 150, including 105 whites. The Wesleyanshere, as everywhere, preponderating on the Coast, number 1, 405 souls;the Catholics 500, and the Episcopalians 200. 

Another half-hour placed before us Bathurst in full view. The firstsalient point is the graveyard, where the station began and where thestationed end. Wags declare that the first question is, 'Have you seenour burial-ground?' A few tomb-stones, mostly without inscriptions, arescattered so near the shore that corpses and coffins have been washedaway by the waves. If New Orleans be a normal 'wet grave, ' thiseverywhere save near the sea is dry with a witness, the depth andlooseness of the sand making the excavation a crumbling hole. Fourgovernors, a list greatly to be prolonged, 'lie here interred. ' Butmatters of climate are becoming too serious for over-attention to suchplaces or subjects. 

The first aspect of this pest-house from afar is not unpleasant. A longline of scattered houses leads to the mass of the settlement, faced byits Marine Parade, and the tall trees give it a home-look; some havecompared the site with 'parts of the park at Cheltenham. ' At a nearerview the town of some 5, 000 head suggests the idea of a small Europeanwatering-place. The execrable position has none of those undulationswhich make heaps of men's homes picturesque; everything is low, flat, and straight-lined as a yard of pump-water. The houses might be those ofByculla, Bombay; in fact, they date from the same epoch. They areexcellent of their kind, large uncompact piles of masonry, glistening-white or dull-yellow, with blistered paint, and slates, tiles, or shingles, which last curl up in the sun like feathers. Anearer glance shows the house-walls stained and gangrened with rot andmildew, the river-floods often shaking hands with the rains in theground-floors. The European ends in beehive native huts, rising from theswamp and sand; and these gradually fine off and end up-stream, becomingsmall by degrees and hideously less. 

Bathurst has one compensating feature, the uncommon merit of anesplanade; the noble line of silk-cotton trees separating houses fromriver is apparently the only flourishing item. We remark that while someof these giants are clad in their old leaves others are bright greenwith new foliage, while others are bare and broomy as English woods inmidwinter. They are backed by a truly portentous vegetation of red andwhite mangroves, palms, plantains, and baobabs, rank guinea-grassfilling up every gap with stalks and blades ten feet tall. 

Nor was the scene in the river-harbour at all more lively. The old_Albert_, of Nigerian fame, has returned to mother Earth; but westill note H. M. S. _Dover_, a venerable caricature, with funnel longand thin, which steams up stream when not impotent--her chroniccondition. There are two large Frenchmen loading ground-nuts, but ne'eran Englishman. The foreshore is defaced by seven miserable wharves, shaky mangrove-piles, black with age and white with oystershells, driveninto the sand and loosely planked over. There is an eighth, thegunpowder pier, on the north face of the island; and we know by itsdilapidation that it is Government property. These stages are intendednot for landing--oh, no!--but only for loading ships; stairs arewanting, and passengers must be carried ashore 'pick-a-back. ' Thelabourers are mainly, if not wholly, 'Golah' women of British Combo, whose mates live upon the proceeds of their labours. To-day beingSunday, the juvenile piscators of Bathurst muster strong upon the piers, and no policeman bids them move on. 

When the mail-bags were ready, we received a visit from the blackhealth-officer, and we reflected severely on the exceeding 'cheek' ofinspecting, as a rule, new comers from old England at this yellow Homeof Pestilence. But in the healthy time of the year we rarely see thelistless, emaciated whites with skins stained by unoxygenised carbon, ofwhom travellers tell. Despite the sun, all the Bathurstians save theGovernment officials--now few, too few--flocked on board. Mail-days arehere, as in other places down-coast, high days and holidays. But timesare changed, and the ruined river-port can no longer afford the oldtraditional hospitality. 

Cameron and I landed under Brown's Wharf, the southernmost pier oppositethe red roof and the congeries of buildings belonging to the lateproprietor. We then walked up the High Street, or esplanade, which isopen to the river except where the shore is cumbered with boats, hides, lumber, and beach-negroes. This is a kind of open-air market where menand women sit in the shade, spinning, weaving, and selling fruits andvegetables with one incessant flux of tongue. Here, too, amongst theheaps, and intimately mixed with the naked infantry, stray small goats, pretty and deer-shaped, and gaunt pigs, sharp-snouted and long-legged asthe worst Irisher. 

Several thoroughfares, upper and lower, run parallel with the river; allare connected, like a chess-board, by cross-lanes at right angles, andtheir grass-grown centres are lined by open drains of masonry, nowbone-dry. The pavement is composed of stone and dust, which during therains becomes mud; the _trottoirs_ are in some places of brick, inothers of asphalte, in others of cracked slabs. Mostly, however, we walkon sand and gravel, which fills our boots with something harder thanunboiled peas. The multiplicity of useless walls, the tree-clumps, andthe green sward faintly suggested memories of a semi-desertedsingle-company station in Western India; and the decayed, tumble-downlook of all around was a deadly-lively illustration of the HebrewIchabod. 

I passed, with a sense of profound sadness, the old Commissariatquarters, now degraded to a custom-house. The roomy, substantial edificeof stone and lime, with large, open verandahs, here called piazzas, lofty apartments, galleries, terraced roofs, and, in fact, everything anAfrican house should have, still stood there; but all shut up, as if theantique _domus_ were in mourning for the past. What Homeric feeds, what _noctes coenoeque deorum_, we have had there in joyous pasttimes! But now that most hospitable of West-Coasters, Commissary Blanc, has been laid in the sandy cemetery; and where, oh! where are the restof the jovial crew, Martin and Sherwood? I found only one relic of thebygone--and a well-favoured relic he is--Mr. W. N. Corrie, with whom toexchange condolences and to wail over the ruins. 

Passing the post-office and the French, Spanish, Portuguese, andAmerican consulates, poor copies of the dear old Commissariat, we haltedoutside at Mr. Goddard's, and obtained from Mr. R. E. Cole a copy of hislecture, 'The River Gambia, ' read at York, September 1881. It gave mepleasure to find in it, 'The man that is wanted throughout the WestCoast of Africa is not the negro, but the Chinaman; and should he everturn his steps in its direction he will find an extensive andremunerating field for the exercise of his industry and intelligence. '

We then turned our attention from the town to the townspeople. They havenot improved in demeanour during the last twenty years. Even then the'liberateds' and 'recaptives, ' chiefly Akus and Ibos, had begun the'high jinks, ' which we shall find at their highest in Sierra Leone. Theyhad organised 'Companies, ' the worst of trade-unions, elected headmen, indulged in strikes, and more than once had come into serious collisionwith the military. The Mandengas, whom Mungo Park calls Mandingoes andcharacterises as a 'wild, sociable, and obliging people, ' soon waxedturbulent and unruly. This is to be expected; a race of warriors must begoverned by the sword. They would prefer for themselves military law toall the blessings of a constitution or a plébiscite. But philanthropywills otherwise, and in these days the English authorities do not keepup that state whose show secures the respect of barbarians. Where theGovernor walks about escortless, like a private individual, he mustexpect to be 'treated as such. '

There is no difficulty in distinguishing at first sight Moslem fromKafir. Besides the gypsy-like Pulo, the 'brown race, ' our older Fúlahsand Fellalahs, whose tongue is said to be a congener of the Nubian; andthe wild, half-naked pagan Jolu, the principal tribes, are two, theMandengas and the Wólofs. The former, whom Europeans divide into theMarabút, who does not drink, and the Soninki, who does, inhabit atriangle, its base being the line from the south of the Senegal to theGambia River, and its apex the Niger; it has even extended to nearTin-Bukhtu (the Well of Bukhtu), our Timbuctoo. In old Mohammedan workstheir territory is called Wángara. This race of warmen and horsemensurprisingly resembles the Somal, who hold the same parallels oflatitude in Eastern Africa, as to small heads, semi-Caucasian features, Asiatic above the nose-tip and African below; tall lithe figures, highshoulders, and long limbs, especially the forearm. 

There is the usual Negro-land variety in the picturesque toilette; notwo men are habited alike. A Phrygian bonnet, Glengarry or Liberty-capof dark, indigo-dyed cotton, and sometimes a Kan-top or ear-calotte ofIndia and Hausa-land, surmount their clean-shaven heads. For this theysubstitute, when travelling, 'country umbrellas, ' thatches of plaitedpalm-leaves in umbrella-shape; further down coast we shall find theregular sun-hat of Madeira, with an addition of loose straw-ends whichwould commend itself to Ophelia. The decent body-garb is a _kamís_, a nightgown of long-cloth, and wide, short drawers; the whole is coveredwith a sleeveless _abá_, or burnous, and sometimes with ahalf-sleeved caftan--here termed 'tobe'--garnished with a hugebreast-pocket. It is generally indigo-stained, with marblings orbroad-narrow stripes of lighter tint than the groundwork. An essentialarticle, hung round the neck or slung to the body, is the grigri, _ta'awíz_, or talisman, a Koranic verse or a magic diagram enclosedin a leathern roll or in a flat square. Of these prophylactics, whichanswer to European medals and similar fetish, a 'serious person' willwear dozens; and they are held to be such 'strong medicine' that evenpagans will barter or pay for them. Blacksmiths, weavers, and spinnerswork out of doors. Contrary to the general Moslem rule, these Mandengashonour workers in iron and leather, and the king's blacksmith andcobbler are royal councillors. 

Some of the motley crowd sit reading what the incurious stranger tellsyou is 'the Alcoran;' they are perusing extracts and prayers written inthe square, semi-Cufic Maghrabi character, which would take a learnedMeccan a week to decipher. Others, polluted by a license which callsitself liberty, squat gambling shamelessly with pegs stuck in theground. Now and then fighting-looking fellows ride past us, with theArabic ring-bit and the heavy Mandenga demi-pique. The nags are poniessome ten hands high, ragged and angular, but hardy and sure-footed. Asmost of the equines in this part of Africa, they are, when well fed, intensely vicious and quarrelsome. Like the Syrians, they have onlythree paces, the walk, the lazy loping canter, and the brisk hardgallop; the trot is a provisional passage from slow to fast. Yet withall their shortcomings I should prefer them to the stunted bastard barb, locally called an Arab and priced between 20_l_. And 40_l_. The latter generally dies early from chills and checkedperspiration, which bring on 'loin-disease, ' paralysis of thehind-quarters, or from a fatal swelling of the stomach, the result ofbad forage. Most of the men carried knives, daggers, and crooked swordsin curious leather scabbards. This practice should never be permitted inAfrica. Natives entering a station should be compelled to leave theirweapons with the policeman at the nearest guard-house. 

The Wólofs, a name formerly written Joloff, also dwell in Senegambia, between the Senegal and the Gambia, and their habitat is divided intosundry petty kingdoms. As early as 1446 they were known to thePortuguese, and one Bemoy, of princely house, soon afterwards visitedLisbon, was baptised, and did homage to D. João II. More like theAbyssinians than their Mandenga neighbours, they are remarkable for goodlooks, pendent ringlets, and tasteful dress and decorations. 'Black butcomely, ' with long, oval faces, finely formed features, straight nosesand glossy jetty skins, in character they are brave and dignified, andthey are distinctly negroids, not negroes. This small maritime tribe, who make excellent sailors, is interesting and civilisable; many havebeen Christianised, especially by the Roman Catholic missioners. Theonly native tongue spoken by European residents at Bathurst is theWólof. As M. Dard remarks in his 'Grammaire Wolof, ' the [Footnote: Hewas Instituteur de l'École Wolof-Française du Sénégal, and published in1826. It is still said that no one will speak Wolof like him, the resultof the new _régíme_ of compulsory French instruction. I printed 226of his proverbs in _Wit and Wisdom from West Africa_ (London, Tinsleys, 1865). It is curious to compare them with those of the pagannegroes further south. ]

language is widely spread: Mungo Park often uses expressions which hedeems Mandenga, but which belong to the 'Jews of West Africa, ' as theWólofs are sometimes called, their extensive commercial dealings betweenthe coast and the western Sudan being the only point of likeness. Forinstance, in the tale of 'poor Nealee' the cry 'Kang-tegi!' ('Cut herthroat!') is the Wólof 'Kung-akateke!' ('Let her head be cut off!'), and'Nealee affeeleeata!' ('Nealee is lost!') appears equally corrupted byauthor or printer from 'Nealu afeyleata!' ('Nealee breathes no more!')

Pursuing our peregrinations, we reach No. 1 Fort, at the northern angleof the town, north-eastern corner of the islet St. Mary the Less. Thisold round battery is surmounted by three 32-pounders, _enbarbette_, with iron carriages and traversing platforms, but withoutracers: a single 7-inch shell would smash the whole affair. Thence webent westward and passed the once neat 'Albert Market' with its metalroof, built in 1854-56 by Governor Luke O'Connor and Isaac Bage. We didnot enter; the place swarms with both sexes in blue: African indigoyields a charming purple, but one soon learns to prefer whiteclothing. Nor need I describe the stuff exposed for sale: there will bea greater variety at Sierra Leone. 

Passing the market we come upon the engineer's yard, which a hand-billsternly forbids us to enter. It contains a chapel, where theRev. Mr. Nicol officiates: this loose box is more hideous than anythingI have yet seen, a perfect study of architectural deformity. Thecracked bell and the nasal chant, at times rising to a howl as ofanguish, were completely in character. As the service ended issued astream of worshippers, mostly women, attired in costumes which will benoticed further on; most of them led negrolings suggesting the dancingdog. Meanwhile the police, armed only with side-arms, sword-bayonets, and looking more like Sierra Leone convicts reformed and uniformed, followed a band composed of drums, cymbals, and a haughty blacksergeant, a mulatto noncommissioned, bringing up the rear. They wentround and round the barrack square, a vast space occupied chiefly bygrass and drains; in the back-ground is the large jaundiced buildingupon whose clock-tower floated, or rather depended, the flag ofSt. George. The white building by its side is the Colonial Hospital: ithas also seen 'better days. '

We resolved to call upon Mr. Administrator V. S. Goulsbury, M. D. AndC. M. G. He had lately been subjected to an attack, of course anonymous, in the 'African Times;' an attack the more ungentlemanly and cowardlybecause it reflected upon his private not public life; and consequentlyhe could neither notice it nor answer it, nor bring an action forlibel. This scandalous print, which has revived the old 'Satirist' inits most infamous phase, habitually inserts any tissue of falsehoodssuggested to proceed from a 'native, ' an 'African, ' a 'negro, ' andcarefully writes down to the lowest level of its readers. It attractsattention by the cant of charity, and shows its devotion to 'the Bible, and nothing but the Bible, ' by proving that the earth, having 'fourcorners, ' is flat, and that the sun, which once 'stood still, ' must moveround its parasite. The manner of this pestilence is right worthy of itsmatter, and the style would be scouted in a decent housekeeper'sroom. All well-meaning men, of either colony, declare that it has donemore harm in West Africa than the grossest abuse yet written. Its tacticis to set black against white, to pander for the public love of scandal, and systematically to abuse all the employés of Government. And the soleobject of this vile politic, loudly proclaimed to be philanthropic andnegrophile, has been low lucre--in fact, an attempt to butter its breadwith 'black brother. '

We inspected the second or western fort, a similar battery of six32-pounders, with two 10-inch mortars, fit only to pound 'fúfú, ' orbanana-paste; add a single brass field-piece, useful as a morning andevening gun for this highly military station. Then we came to GovernmentHouse, apparently deserted, flying a frayed and tattered white and blueflag, which might have been used on board H. M. S. _Dover_, but whichought to have been supplanted on shore by a Union Jack. After waiting aquarter of an hour, we managed, with the assistance of a sentinel, whosefeet were in slippers and whose artillery carbine was top-heavy with afixed sword-bayonet, to arouse a negro servant, by whom we sent in ourcards to H. E. The Administrator. An old traveller on the Gold Coast, andlately returned from a long expedition into the interior, [Footnote:_Gambia: Expedition to the Upper Gambia_. London: Eyre andSpottiswoode, 1882. ] he had much to tell us. His knowledge ofAshanti-land, however, induced him to place the Kong Mountains in thatmeridian too far north; he held the distance from the seaboard to be atleast 500 miles. But he quite agreed with us about the necessity ofimporting Chinese coolies. Here no free man works. The people say, 'Whena slave gets his liberty he will drink rainwater'--rather than draw itfrom a well. The chief cargo of the S. S. _Senegal_ was Chineserice, when almost every acre of the lower Gambia would produce a cerealsuperior in flavour and bolder in grain. Hands, however, are wanting;and all the women are employed in loading and unloading ships. 

The Residency is a fine large building in an advanced stage ofdecomposition; the glorious vegetation around it--cotton-trees, caoutchouc-figs, and magnificent oleanders--making the pile look grimmerand grislier. And here we realised, to the fullest extent, howthoroughly ruined is the hapless settlement. The annual income is about24, 500_l_. , the expenditure is 20, 000_l_. In round numbers, and the economies are said to reach 25, 000_l_. This sum isforwarded to the colonial chest, instead of being expended in localimprovements; and, practically, when some petty war-storm breaks it iswasted like water. The local officials are not to be blamed for thismiserable system, this niggardly colonial policy of the moderneconomical school, which contrasts so poorly with the lavish republicanexpenditure in French Senegambia. They have, to their honour be it said, often protested against the taxes raised from struggling merchants and astarveling population, poor as Hindûs, being expended upon an 'imperialpolicy. ' But economy is the order of the day at home, and anAdministrator inclined to parsimony gladly seizes the opportunity ofpleasing his 'office. ' The result is truly melancholy. I complained in1862 that the 'civil establishment' at Bathurst cost 7, 075_l_. Inow complain that it has been reduced to 2, 600_l_. [Footnote:Administrator = 1, 300_l_;. ; Chief Magistrate = 600_l_. ;Collector and Treasurer = 700_l_. Thus there is no ColonialSecretary, and, curious to say, no Colonial Chaplain. I formerlyrecommended the establishment to be reduced by at least one-half, andthat half to be far better paid (_Wanderings in West Africa_, i. 182). ] The whole establishment is starved; decay appears in everyoffice, public and private; and ruin is writ large upon the wholestation. An Englishman who loves his country must blush when he walksthrough Bathurst. Even John Bull would be justified in wishing that hehad been born a Frenchman in West Africa. 

We returned to the s. S. _Senegal_ anything but edified; and thereanother displeasure awaited us. Our gallant captain must have known thathe could not load and depart that day. Yet, diplomatically mysterious, he would not say so. Consequently we missed a visit to Cape St. Mary, the breezy cliff of which I retain the most agreeable memory. Thescenery had appeared to me positively beautiful after the foul swamps ofSt. Mary's Island;--stubbles of Guinea-corn, loved by quails; a velvetyexpanse of green grass sloping inland, with here and there a goodlypalmyra grander than the columns of Ba'albek; palms necklaced withwine-calabashes, and a grove of baobab and other forest trees cabledwith the most picturesque llianas, where birds of gorgeous plume sit andsing. We could easily have hired hammocks or horses, or, these failing, have walked the distance, six or seven miles. True, Oyster Creek, theshallow western outlet of the Gambia, has still a ferry: a bridge waslately built, but it fell before it was finished. It would, however, have been pleasurable to pass a night away from the fever-haunts ofBathurst. 

During one of my many visits to Bathurst I resolved to inspect old FortJames: one thirsts for a bit of antiquity in these African lands, sobare of all but modern ruins. Like Bance Island, further south, it isthe parent of the modern settlement; and so far it has the 'charm oforigin. ' My companion was Captain Philippi, then well known at Lagos:the last time we met was unexpectedly at Solingen. A boat with fourKrumen was easily found; but our friends warned us that the_ascensus_ would be easy and the _descensus_ the reverse; thelatter has sometimes taken a day and a night. 

The Gambia River here opens its mouth directly to the north; and, aftera great elbow, assumes its normal east-west course. We ran before anine-knot breeze, and shortly before noon, after two hours' southing, wewere off the half-way house, reef-girt Dog Island, and Dog Point, in theBarra country. The dull green stream sparkled in the sun, and the fringeof mangroves appeared deciduous: some trees were bare, as if dead;others were clothed with bright foliage. Presently we passed BritishAlbreda, where our territory now ends. This small place has made a fussin its day. It was founded by the French in 1700 as a dependency ofGoree, and it carried on a slave-trade highly detrimental to Englishinterests. In 1783 the owners had abandoned all right to its occupation, and in 1858 they ceded it to their English rivals. The landing is bad, especially when the miry ebb-tide is out. The old village of the Frenchcompany was reduced when we visited it to a few huts and two whitewashedand red-roofed houses, occupied by a Frenchwoman in native dress and byan English subject, Mr. Hughes. The latter did the honours of the placeand showed us the only 'punkah' at that time known to the West Africancoast. 

From Dog Island we bent to the east and passed the Jilifri or Grilofrevillage, in the Badibu country, a place well known during the days ofPark. Then bending south-east, after a total of four hours, coveringseventeen to eighteen knots, we landed upon James Island, the site ofFort James. The scrap of ground has a history. First the Portuguese herebuilt a factory: Captain Jobson found this fact to his cost when (1621)he sailed up in search of gold to Satico, then the last point ofnavigation. A few words in the native dialects--'alcalde, ' forinstance--preserve the memory of the earliest owners. It passedalternately into the hands of the Dutch, French, and English, whoexchanged some shrewd blows upon the matter of possession. In 1695 itwas destroyed by M. De Gennes, and was rebuilt by the Royal AfricanCompany, which had monopolised the traffic. It fell again in 1702 toCapitaine de la Roque, and cost the conqueror his life. In 1709 it wasattacked for the third time by M. Parent, commanding four privateeringfrigates. About 1730 we have from Mr. Superintendent Francis Moore anotice of it amongst the Company's establishments on the GambiaRiver. The island is described as being situated in mid-stream, herethree to four miles broad, thirty miles from the mouth: the extent was200 yards long by fifty broad. The factory had a governor and adeputy-governor, two officers, eight factors, thirteen writers, twoinferior attendants, and thirty-two negro servants. The force consistedof a company of soldiers, besides armed sloops and shallops. Compare thesame with our starved establishment at the Ruined River-port! In otherparts of the Gambia valley eight subordinate comptoirs, includingJilifri or Gilofre, traded for hides and bees'-wax, ivory, slaves, andgold. When Mungo Park travelled (1795-97) the opening of the Europeantrade had reduced its exports to a gross value of 20, 000_l_. , inthree ships voyaging annually. After the African Company was abolished(1820) it passed over to the Crown, and the station was transferred toits graveyard, Sainte-Marie de Bathurst. Barbot [Footnote:Lib. I. Chap. Vii. , _A Description of the Coasts of North and SouthGuinea, &c. , in 1700_. Printed in Churchill's Collection. Also hisSupplement, _ibid. _ pp. 426-26. ] tells us that Fort James wasfounded (1664), under the names of the Duke of York and the RoyalAfrican Company, by Commodore Holmes when expeditioning against theHollanders in North and South Guinea. It was the head-centre of tradeand its principal defence. But, he says, the occupants were obliged tofetch fresh water from either bank. Had the cistern and thepowder-magazine been bomb-proof, and drink as well as meat stored_quant. Suff. _, the fort would have been 'in a manner impregnable, if well defended by a suitable garrison. ' The latter in his dayconsisted of sixty to seventy whites, besides 'Gromettoes, ' free blacksepoys. 

This quasi-venerable site is a little holm a hundred yards in diameter, somewhat larger than the many which line the river's western bank. Wefound its stony shingle glazed with a light-green sediment, whichforbade bathing and which suggested fever. The material is conglomerate, fine and coarse, in an iron-reddened matrix; hence old writers call it a'sort of gravelly rock, a little above water. ' Salsolaceæ tapestry theshore, and fig-trees and young calabashes spring from the stone: theground is strewn with white shells, tiles, bricks and iridescentbottles--the invariable concomitants and memorials of civilisation. Themasonry, lime and ashlar, is excellent, but time and the portentousgrowth of the tropics have cracked and fissured the walls. Masses ofmasonry are fallen, and others are assuming the needle-shape. The greatquadrangle had lozenge-shaped bastions at each end, then lined with goodbrick-work: the outliers, which run round the river-holm, were threehorseshoe redoubts 'with batteries along the palisades from one toanother. ' Four old iron guns remained out of a total of sixty to seventypieces. The features were those of the ancient slave-barracoon--dwelling-houses, tanks and cisterns, magazines, stores, and powder-room, all broken by the treasure-hunter. 

The return to Bathurst was a bitter draught. We had wind and wateragainst us, and the thick mist prevented our taking bearings. Hungry, thirsty, weary, cross, and cramped, we reached the steamer at 5 A. M. , and slept spitefully as long as we could. 

The last displeasure of my latest visit to Bathurst was the crowd ofnative passengers, daddy, mammy, and piccaninny, embarking for SierraLeone, and the host of friends that came to bid them good-bye. They didnot fail to abscond with M. Colonna's pet terrier and with the steward'spotatoes: no surveillance can keep this long-fingered lot from pickingand stealing. It is a political as well as a social mistake to takenegro first-class passengers. A ruling race cannot be too particular insuch matters, and the white man's position on the Coast would beimproved were the black man kept in his proper place. A kind offirst-class second-class might be invented for them. Nothing lesspleasant than their society. The stewards have neglected to serve soupto some negro, who at every meal has edged himself higher up the table, and whose conversation consists of whispering into the ear of a blackneighbour, with an occasional guffaw like that of the 'laughingjackass. '

'I say, daddee, I want _my_ soop. All de passenger he drink 'imsoop; _me_ no drink _my_ soop. What he mean dis palaver?'

The sentence ends in a scream; the steward smiles, and thefirst-class resumes--

'Ah, you larf. And what for you larf? I no larf, I no drinkee soop!'

Here the dialogue ends, and men confess by their looks that travellingsometimes _does_ throw us into the strangest society. 

Even in Sierra Leone, where the negro claims to be civilised, a duskybelle, after dropping her napkin at a Government House dinner, has beenheard to say to her neighbour, 'Please, Mr. Officer-man, pick up mytowel. ' The other day a dark dame who missed her parasol thus addressedH. E. : 'Grovernah! me come ere wid _my_ umbrellah. Where he be, _my_ umbrellah Give me _my_ umbrelláh: no go widout _my_umbrelláh. '

For our black and brown passengers, fore and aft, there is a graduatedand descending scale of terminology: 1. European, that is, brought up inEngland; 2. Civilised man; 3. African; 4. Man of colour, the 'culleredpussun' of the United States; 5. Negro; 6. Darkey; and 7. Nigger, whichhere means slave. All are altogether out of their _assiettes_. Athome they will eat perforce cankey, fufu, kiki, and bad fish, washingthem down with _mimbo_, bamboo-wine, and _pitto_, hopless beer, the _pombe_ of the East Coast. Here they abuse the best of roastmeat, openly sigh for 'palaver-sauce' and 'palm-oil chop, ' and findfault with the claret and champagne. _Chez eux_ they wearbreech-cloths and nature's stockings--_eoco tutto_. Here both menand women must dress like Europeans, and a portentous spectacle itis. The horror reaches its height at Sierra Leone, where the pulpit aswell as the press should deprecate human beings making such caricaturesof themselves, In West Africa we see three styles of dress. The first, or semi-nude, isthat of the Kru-races, a scanty _pagne_, or waist-wrapper, the darkskin appearing perfectly decent. The second is the ample flowing robe, at once becoming and picturesque, with the _shalwar_, or widedrawers, of the Moslems from Morocco to the Equator. The third is thehideous Frank attire affected by Sierra Leone converts and 'whiteblackmen, ' as their fellow-darkies call them. 

Many of the costumes that made the decks of the s. S. _Senegal_hideous are _de fantaisie_, as if the wearers had stripped pegs inEast London with the view of appearing at a fancy-ball. The generaleffect was that of 'perambulating rainbows _en petit_ surmounted bysable thunder-clouds. ' One youth, whose complexion unmistakably wore theshadowed livery of the burnished sun, crowned his wool with a scarletsmoking-cap, round which he had wound a white gauze veil. The light ofday was not intense, but his skin was doubtless of most delicatetexture. Another paraded the deck in a flowing cotton-velvetdressing-gown with huge sleeves, and in _bottines_ of sky-bluecloth. Even an Aku Moslem, who read his Koran, printed in Leipzig, andwho should have known better, had mimicked Europeans in this mostunbecoming fashion. 

Men of substance sported superfine Saxony with the broadest ofsilk-velvet collars; but the fit suggested second-hand finery. Otherelongated cocoa-nuts bore jauntily a black felt of 'pork-pie' order, leek-green billycocks, and anything gaudy, but not neat, in the'tile'-line. Their bright azure ribbons and rainbow neckties and scarvesvied in splendour with the loudest of thunder-and-lightning waistcoatsfrom the land of Moses and Sons. Pants were worn tight, to show thegrand thickness of knee, the delicate leanness of calf, the manlypurchase of heel, and the waving line of beauty which here distinguishesshin-bones. There were monstrous studs upon a glorious expanse of'biled' shirt; a small investment of cheap, tawdry rings set off thechimpanzee-like fingers; and, often enough, gloves invested the hands, whose horny, reticulated skin reminded me of the black fowl, or thescaly feet of African cranes pacing at ease over the burning sands. Eachdandy had his _badine_ upon whose nice conduct he prided himself;the toothpick was as omnipresent as the crutch, nor was the'quizzing-glass' quite absent. Lower extremities, of the same categoryas the hands, but slightly superior in point of proportional size, werecrammed into patent-leather boots, the latter looking as if they hadbeen stuffed with some inanimate substance--say the halves of a calf'shead. Why cannot these men adopt some modification of the Chinesecostume, felt hat and white shoes, drawers, and upper raimenthalf-shirt, half-doublet? It has more common sense than any other in theworld. 

It is hardly fair to deride a man's ugliness, but the ugly is fair gamewhen self-obtruded into notice by personal vanity and conceit. Moreover, this form of negro folly is not to be destroyed by gentle raillery; itwants hard words, even as certain tumours require the knife. Such apingof Europeans extends from the physical to the moral man, and in generalonly the bad habits, gambling, drinking, and debauching, are aped. 

The worst and not the least hideous were the mulattos, of whom thenegroes say they are silver and copper, not gold. It is strange, passingstrange, that English blood, both in Africa and in India, mixes so badlyfor body and mind (brain) with the native. It is not so with theneo-Latin nations of Southern Europe and the Portuguese of theBrazil. For instance, compare the pretty little coloured girls ofPondicherry and Mahé with their sister half-castes the Chichis of Bengaland Bombay. 

As for the section conventionally called 'fair, ' and unpolitely termedby Cato the 'chattering, finery-loving, ungovernable sex, ' I despair todepict it. When returning north in the A. S. S. _Winnebah_, wecarried on board a dark novice of the Lyons sisterhood. She lookedperfectly ladylike in her long black dress and the white wimple whichbound her hair under the sable mantilla. But the feminines on board the_Senegal_ bound for Sierra Leone outrage all our sense of fitnessby their frightful semi-European gowns of striped cottons and chintzes;by their harlequin shawls and scarves thrown over jackets which showmore than neck and bare arms to the light of day, and by the head-gearwhich looks like devils seen in dreams after a heavy supper of underdonepork. Africa lurks in the basis: the harsh and wiry hair is gatheredinto lumps, which to the new comer suggest only bears' ears, and intochignons resembling curled up hedge-hogs. Around it is twisted akerchief of arsenic-green, of sanguineous-crimson, or of sulphur-yellow;and this would be unobjectionable if it covered the whole head, likethe turban of the Mina negress in Brazilian Bahia. But it must be cappedwith a hat or bonnet of straw, velvet, satin, or other stuff, shabby inthe extreme, and profusely adorned with old and tattered ribbons andfeathers, with beads and bugles, with flowers and fruits. The _toutensemble _would scare any crow, however bold. 

I am aware that the sex generally is somewhat persistent in its ideas ofpersonal decoration, and that there is truth in the African proverb, 'Ifyour head is not torn off you will wear a head-dress, ' correspondingwith our common saying, 'Better out of the world than out of thefashion. ' But this nuisance, I repeat, should be abated with a stronghand by the preacher as well as by the pressman. The women and thechildren are well enough as Nature made them: they make themselves merecaricatures, figures o' fun, guys, frights. If this fact were broughthome to them by those whose opinions they value, they might learn alittle common sense and good taste. And yet--wait a moment--may they notsometimes say the same of us? But our monstrosities are original, theirsare borrowed. 

The 'mammies' at once grouped themselves upon the main-hatch, as nearthe quarter-deck and officers' cabins as possible. I can hardlyunderstand how Englishmen take a pleasure in 'chaffing' these grotesquebeings, who usually reply with some gross, outrageous insolence. At thebest they utter impertinences which, issuing from a big and barbarousmouth in a peculiar _patois_, pass for pleasantry amongst those whoare not over-nice about the quality of that article. The tone of voiceis peculiar; it is pitched in the usual savage key, modified by thetwang of the chapel and by the cantilene of the Yankee--originallyPuritan Lancashire. Hence a 'new chum' may hear the women talking forseveral days before he finds out that they are talking English. And theyspeak two different dialects. The first, used with strangers, is'blackman's English, 'intelligible enough despite the liberties it takeswith pronunciation, grammar, and syntax. The second is a kind of 'pidginEnglish, ' spoken amongst themselves, like Bolognese or Venetians whenthey have some reason for not talking Italian. One of the Gospels wasprinted in it; I need hardly say with what effect. The first verse runs, 'Lo vo famili va Jesus Christus, pikien. (piccaninny) va David, dissi dapikien va Abraham. ' [Footnote: _Da Njoe Testament_, &c. Translatedinto the negro-English language by the missionaries of the UnitasFratrum, &c. Printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society. London:W. McDowall, Pemberton Row, 1829. ]

This 'pidgin English' runs down West Africa, except the Gold Coast andabout Accra, where the natives have learnt something better. Theprincipal affirmation is 'Enh, ' pronounced nanny-goat fashion, and theyalways answer 'Yes' to a negative question: _e. G. _ Q. 'Didn't yougo then?' A. 'Yes' (_sub-audi_, I did not), thus meaning 'No. ''Na, ' apparently an interrogative in origin, is used pleonastically onall occasions: 'You na go na steamer?' 'Enty' means indeed; 'too much, 'very; 'one time, ' once; and the sign of the vocative, as in the SouthernStates of the Union, follows the, word:' Daddy, oh!' 'Mammy, oh!''Puss, ' or 'tittle, ' is a girl, perhaps a pretty girl; 'babboh, ' aboy. 'Hear' is to obey or understand; 'look, ' to see; 'catch, ' to have;'lib, ' to live, to be, to be found, or to enjoy good health: it isapplied equally to inanimates. 'Done lib' means die; 'sabby'(Portuguese) is to know; 'chop, ' to eat; 'cut the cry, ' to end a wake;'jam head, ' or 'go for jam head, ' to take counsel; 'palaver (Port. )set, ' to end a dispute; to 'cut yamgah' is to withhold payment, and to'make nyanga' is to junket. 'Yam' is food; 'tummach' (Port. ) is themetaphorical heart; 'cockerapeak' is early dawn, when the cock speaks;all writing, as well as printing, is a 'book;' a quarrel is a 'bob;' andall presents are a 'dash, ' 'dassy' in Barbot, and 'dashs' in Ogilby. Allbulls are cows, and when you would specify sex you say 'man-cow' or'woman-cow. ' [Footnote: For amusing specimens of amatory epistles thereader will consult Mrs. Melville and the _Ten Years' Wanderings amongthe Ethiopians_ (p. 19), by my old colleague, Mr. Consul Hutchinson. ]

These peculiarities, especially the grammatical, are not merecorruptions: they literally translate the African dialects now utterlyforgotten by the people. And they are more interesting than would atfirst appear. Pure English, as a language, is too difficult in allpoints to spread far and wide. 'Pidgin English' is not. Already theChinese have produced a regular _lingua franca_, and the Japanesehave reduced it to a system of grammar. If we want only a medium ofconversation, a tongue can be reduced to its simplest expression andwithal remain intelligible. Thus 'me' may serve for I, me, my. Verbswant no modal change to be understood. 'Done go' and 'done eat'perfectly express went and ate. Something of the kind is still wanted, and must be supplied if we would see our language become that of thecommercial world in the East as it is fast becoming in the West. 

We left Bathurst more than ever convinced that the sooner we got rid ofthe wretched station, miscalled a colony, the better. It still supplieshides from the tipper country, ivory, bees'-wax, and a little gold. Theprecious metal is found, they say, in the red clay hills near Macarthy'sIsland; but the quality is not pure, nor is the quantity sufficient topay labour. The Mandengas, locally called 'gold strangers, ' manage thetraffic with the interior, probably the still mysterious range calledthe 'Kong Mountains. ' They are armed with knives, sabres, and muskets;and for viaticum they carry rude rings of pure gold, which, I am told, are considered more valuable than the dust. 

But the staple export from Bathurst--in fact, nine-tenths of thetotal--consists of the arachide, pistache, pea-nut, or ground-nut(_Arachis hypogœa_). It is the beat quality known to West Africa;and, beginning some half a century ago, large quantities are shipped forMarseilles, to assist in making salad-oil. Why this 'olive-oil' has notbeen largely manufactured in England I cannot say. Thus the French havemonopolised the traffic of the Gambia; they have five houses, and thethree English, Messrs. Brown, Goddard, and Topp, export their purchasesin French bottoms to French ports. 

Moreover, the treaty of 1845, binding the 'high contracting Powers' torefrain from territorial aggrandisement (much like forbidding a growingboy to grow), expired in 1855. Since that time, whilst we have refrainedeven from abating the nuisance of native wars, our very livelyneighbours have annexed the Casamansa River, with the fine coffee-landsextending from the Nunez southwards to the Ponga River, and have made adoughty attempt to absorb Matacong, lying a few miles north of SierraLeone. 

Whilst English Gambia is monopolised by the French, French Gaboon is, orrather was, in English hands. For a score of years men of sense haveasked, 'Why not exchange the two?' When nations so decidedly rivalisticmeet, assuredly it is better to separate _à l'aimable_. Moreover, so long as our economical and free-trade 'fads' endure, it is highlyadvisable to avoid the neighbourhood of France and invidious comparisonsbetween its policy and our non-policy, or rather impolicy. 

According to the best authorities, the whole of the West African coastnorth of Sierra Leone might be ceded with advantage to the French oncondition of our occupying the Gaboon and the regions, coast andislands, south of it, except where the land belongs to the Portugueseand the Spaniards. Some years ago an energetic effort was made to effectthe exchange, but it was frustrated by missionary and sentimentalconsiderations. Those who opposed the idea shuddered at the thought ofmaking over to a Romanist Power (?) the poor converts of Protestantism;the peoples who had been peaceful and happy so long under the protectingaegis of Great Britain; the races whom we were bound, by an unwrittencontract, not only to defend, but to civilise, to advance in the pathsof progress. The colonists feared to part with the old effetepossession, lest the French should oppose, as they have done in Senegal, all foreign industry--in fact, 'seal up' the Gambia. A highlyrespectable merchant, the late Mr. Brown, contributed not a little, byhis persuasive pen, to defeat the proposed measure. And now it is to befeared that we have heard the last of this matter; our rivals have foundout the high value of their once despised equatorial colony. If ever theexchange comes again to be discussed, I hope that we shall secure bytreaty or purchase an exclusively British occupation of Grand Bassam andthe Assini valley, mere prolongations of our Protectorate on the GoldCoast. A future page will show the reason why our imperial policyrequires the measure. At present both stations are occupied by Frenchhouses or companies, who will claim indemnification, and who can injustice demand it. 

We steamed out of the Ruined River-port, and left 'this old sandbank inAfrica they call St. Mary's Isle, ' at 11 A. M. On January 16, with a lastglance at the Commissariat-buildings. Accompanied by a mosquito-fleet ofcanoes, each carrying two sails, we stood over the bar, sighting theheavy breakers which defend the island's northern face, and passed CapeSt. Mary, gradually dimming in the distance. After Bald Cape, some sixtymiles south, we ran along the long low shore, distinguished only by themouths and islands of the Casamansa and the Cachéo rivers. Our coursethen led us by the huge and hideous archipelago off the delta of Jebaand the Bolola, the latter being the 'Rio Grande' of Camoens, whichPortuguese editors will print with small initials, and which translatorsmistranslate accordingly. [Footnote: _The Lusiads_, v. 12. I havenoticed this error in _Camoens: his Life and his Lusiads_(vol. I. P. 896. London: Quaritch, 1881). It was probably called Grandebecause it was generally believed to be the southern outlet of theNiger. ] These islands are the Bijougas, or Bissagos, the older'Biziguiches, ' inhabited by the most ferocious negroes on the coast, whomassacred the Portuguese and who murder all castaways. They are said toshoot one another as Malays 'run amok, ' and some of their tribal customsare peculiar to themselves. 

Here, about 350 miles north of Sierra Leone, was established theunfortunate Bulama colony. Its first and last governor, the redoubtableCaptain Philip Beaver, R. N. , has left the queerest description of theplace and its people. [Footnote: _African Memoranda_. Baldwin, London, 1805. ] Within eighteen months only six remained of 269 souls, includingwomen and children. In 1792 the island was abandoned, despite its wealthof ground-nuts. After long 'palavering' it was again occupied byMr. Budge, manager of Waterloo Station, Sierra Leone; but he was not afixture there. It is now, I believe, once more deserted. 

Early next morning we were off the Isles de Los, properly Dos Idolos (ofthe Idols). On my return northwards I had an opportunity of a nearerview. The triad of parallel rock-lumps, sixty miles north of SierraLeone, is called Tama, or Footabar, to the west; Ruma, or Crawford, acentral and smaller block of some elevation; and Factory Island, thelargest, five or six miles long by one broad, and nearest theshore. Their aspect is not unpleasant: the features are those of theSierra Leone peninsula, black rocks, reefs, and outliers, underlyingridges of red soil; and the land is feathered to the summit with palms, rising from stubbly grass, here and there patched black by thebush-fire. A number of small villages, with thatched huts like beehives, are scattered along the shore. The census of 1880 gives the totalfigures at 1, 300 to 1, 400, and of these 800 inhabit FactoryIsland. Mr. J. M. Metzger, the civil and intelligent sub-collector andcustom-house officer, a Sierra Leone man, reduced the number to 600, half of them occupying the easternmost of the three. He had never heardof the golden treasures said to have been buried here by Roberts thepirate, the Captain (Will. ) Kidd of these regions. 

In our older and more energetic colonial days we had a garrison on theIsles de Los. They found the climate inferior to the Banana group, offCape Shilling. Factory Island still deserves its name. Here M. Verminck, of Marseille, the successor of King Heddle, has a factory on the easternside, an establishment managed by an agent and six clerks, with largewhite dwellings, store-houses, surf-boats, and a hulk to receive hispalm-oil. The latter produces the finest prize-cockroaches I have yetseen. 

My lack of strength did not allow me to inspect the volcanic craterssaid to exist in these strips, or to visit any of the 'devil-houses. 'Mr. G. Neville, agent of the steamers at Lagos, gave me an account ofhis trip. Landing near the French factory, he walked across the islandin fifteen minutes, followed the western coast-line, turned to thesouth-west, descended a hollow, and found the place of sacrifice. Largeboulders, that looked as if shaken down by an earthquake, stood near oneanother. There were neither idols nor signs of paganism, except that thefloor, which resembled the dripstone of Tenerife, was smoothed by thefeet of the old worshippers. When steaming round the south-western pointwe saw--at least so it was said--the famous 'devil-house' which gave theislands their Portuguese name. 

Factory is divided by a narrow strait from Tumbo Island, and the latterfaces the lands occupied by the Susus. These equestrian tribes, inhabiting a grassy plain, were originally Mandengas, who migrated southto the Mellikuri, Furikaria, and Sumbuyah countries, and whointermarried with the aboriginal Bulloms, Tonko-Limbas, and Baggas. Allare Moslems, and their superior organisation enabled them to prevailagainst the pagan Timnis, who in 1858-59 applied to the Government ofSierra Leone for help, and received it. Of late years the chances of warhave changed, and the heathenry are said to have gained the upperhand. The Susus are an industrious tribe, and they trade with our colonyin gum, ground-nuts, and _benni_, or sesamum-seed. 

It is uncommonly pleasant to leave these hotbeds and once more tobreathe the cool, keen breath of the Trades, laden with the health ofthe broad Atlantic. 

CHAPTER XI. 

SIERRA LEONE: THE CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. 

After a pleasant run, _not_ in a 'sultry and tedious Pacific, 'covering 490 miles from Bathurst, we sighted a heavy cloud banking upthe southern horizon. As we approached it resolved itself into its threecomponent parts, the airy, the earthy, and the watery; and it turned outto be our destination. The old frowze of warm, water-laden nimbus wasthere; everything looked damp and dank, lacking sweetness andsightliness; the air wanted clearing, the ground cleaning, and the seawashing. Such on January 17, 1882, was the first appearance of theredoubtable Sierra Leone. It was a contrast to the description by thelearned and painstaking Winterbottom. [Footnote: _An Account of theNative Africans im the Neighbourhood of Sierra Leone, etc. _ London, Hatchard, 1803. ] 'On a nearer approach the face of the country assumes amore beautiful aspect. The rugged appearance of these mountains issoftened by the lively verdure with which they are constantly crowned(?); their majestic forms (?), irregularly advancing and receding, occasion huge masses of light and shade to be projected from theirsides, which add a degree of picturesque grandeur to the scene. '

And first of the name. Pedro de Cintra (1480), following Soeiro da Costa(1462-63), is said to have applied 'Sierra Leone' to the mountain-blockin exchange for the 'Romarong' of its Timni owners. He did nothing ofthe kind: our English term is a mere confusion of two neo-Latin tongues, 'Sierra' being Spanish and 'Leone' Italian. The Portuguese called itSerra da Leôa (of the Lioness), not 'Lion Hill. ' [Footnote: So the lateKeith Johnston, _Africa_, who assigns to the apex a height of 2, 500feet. ] Hence Milton is hardly worse than his neighbours when he writes--

 Notus and Afer, black with thund'rous clouds From Serraliona;

and the old French 'Serrelionne' was the most correct translation. Thereason is disputed; some invoke the presence of the Queen of the Cats, others the leonine rumbling of the re-echoed thunder. The lattersuggested the Montes Claros of the Portuguese. Cà da Mosto in 1505 tellsus that the explorers 'gave the name of Sierra Leone to the mountain onaccount of the roaring of thunder heard from the top, which is alwaysburied in clouds. ' But the traveller, entering the roadstead, may see inthe outline of Leicester Cone a fashion of maneless lion or lionesscouchant with averted head, the dexter paw protruding in the shape of aground-bulge and the contour of the back and crupper tapering offnorth-eastwards. At any rate, it is as fair a resemblance as the Frenchlion of Bastia and the British lion of 'Gib. ' Meanwhile those marvellousbeings the 'mammies' call 'the city' 'Sillyown, ' and the pretty, naughtymulatto lady married to the Missing Link termed it 'Sa Leone. ' I shalltherefore cleave to the latter, despite 'Mammy Gumbo's' box inscribed'Sa leone. '

Presently the lighthouse, four to five miles distant from the anchorage, was seen nestling at the base of old Cabo Ledo, the 'Glad Head, ' theTimni 'Miyinga, ' now Cape 'Sa Leone. ' Round this western point the seaand the discharge of two rivers run like a mill-race. According toBarbot (ii. 1) 'the natives call Cabo Ledo (not Liedo) or Tagrin (CapeSa Leone) 'Hesperi Cornu, ' the adjoining peoples (who are lamp-black)Leucsethiopes, and the mountain up the country Eyssadius Mons. ' All themerest conjecture! Mr. Secretary Griffith, of whom more presently, herefinds the terminus of the Periplus of Hanno, the Carthaginian, in thesixth century B. C. , and the far-famed gorilla-land. [Footnote: This Iemphatically deny. Hanno describes an eruption, not a bush-fire, and SaLeone never had a volcano within historic times. There is no range fitto be called Theôn Ochema (Vehicle of the Gods), which Ptolemy places onthe site of Camarones Peak, and there is no Notou Keras, or Horn of theSouth. Lastly, there is no island that could support the gorilla: wemust go further south for one, to Camarones and Corisoo in the Bight ofBenin. ]

Formerly the red-tipped lantern-tower had attached to it a bungalow, where invalids resorted for fresh air; it has now fallen to pieces, andtwo iron seats have taken its place. Over this western end of thepeninsula's northern face the play of the sea-breeze is strong andregular; and the wester and north-wester blow, as at Freetown, fiftydays out of sixty. The run-in from this point is picturesque in clearweather, and it must have been beautiful before the luxuriant forest wasfelled for fuel, and the land was burnt for plantations which were neverplanted. A few noble trees linger beside and behind the lighthouse, filling one with regret for the wanton destruction of theirkind. Lighthouse Hillock, which commands the approach to the port, andwhich would sweep the waters as far as the Sá Leone River, will beprovided with powerful batteries before the next maritime war. And wemust not forget that Sá Leone is our only harbour of refuge, where afleet can water and refit, between the Gambia and the Cape of Good Hope. 

The northern face of the Sá Leone peninsula is fretted with littlecreeks and inlets, bights and lagoons, which were charming in a state ofnature. Pirate's Bay, the second after the lighthouse, is a fairy sceneunder a fine sky; with its truly African tricolor, its blue watersreflecting air, its dwarf cliffs of laterite bespread with vividleek-green, and its arc of golden yellow sand, upon which the featherytops of the cocoa-palms look like pins planted in the ground. To thetravelled man the view suggests many a nook in the Pacific islands. Thebathing is here excellent: natural breakwaters of black rock exclude theshark. The place derives its gruesome name from olden days, when thesmooth waters and the abundant fish and fruit tempted the fieryfilibusters to a relache. It was given in 1726 by Mr. Smith, surveyor tothe Royal African Company, after Roberts the pirate, who buried 'hisloot' in the Isles de Los, had burned an English ship. There is also atradition that Drake chose it for anchoring. 

Beyond Pirate's Bay, and separated by a bushy and wooded point, liesAberdeen Creek, a long reach extending far into the interior, andmaking, after heavy rains, this portion of the country

 Both land and island twice a day. 

The whole site of Sa Leone is quasi-insular. Bunce or Bunch River to thenorth, and Calamart or Calmont, usually called Campbell's Creek, fromthe south, are said to meet at times behind the mountain-mass; and atall seasons a portage of a mile enables canoes to paddle round thehill-curtain behind Freetown. This conversion of peninsula into islet isby no means rare in the alluvial formations further south. 

Aberdeen Creek abounds in sunken rocks, which do not, however, prevent aferry-boat crossing it. Governor Rowe began a causeway to connect itwith the next village, and about a third of the length has already beendone by convict labour. Aberdeen village is a spread of low thatchedhuts, lining half-cleared roads by courtesy called streets. Murray Townand Congo Town bring us to King Tom's Point. Here is the old WesleyanCollege, a large whitewashed bungalow with shingled roof, upper_jalousies, _ and lower arches; the band of verdure in front beingdefended from the waves by a dwarf sea-wall and a few trees stilllingering around it. The position is excellent: the committee, however, sold it because the distance was too great for the boys to walk, andbought a fitter place near Battery Point. Thus it became one of the manyGovernment stores. A deep indentation now shows Upper Town or Kru Town, heaps of little thatched hovels divided by remnants of bush. It is, despite its brook, one of the impurest sites in the colony: nothing canteach a Kruman cleanliness; a Slav village is neatness itself comparedwith his. This foul colony settled early in Sá Leone, and in 1816 anordinance was passed enabling it to buy its bit of land. The presentchief is 'King' Tom Peter, who is also a first-class police-constableunder the Colonial Grovernment; and his subjects hold themselves farsuperior to their brethren in the old home down coast. 'We men work forcash-money; you men work for waist-cloth. ' Again 'pig-iron and tenpennynails!'

Beyond this point, at a bend of the bight, we anchor a few hundred feetfrom the shore, and we command a front view of roadstead and 'city. 'St. George's Bay, the older 'Baie de France, ' would be impossible butfor the Middle Ground, the Scarcies Bank, and other huge shoals of sandpinned down by rocks which defend the roadstead from the heavy send ofthe sea. It is supplied with a tide-rip by the Tagrin, Mitomba, Rokel, or Rokelle, the Sá Leone River, which Barbot makes the ancients term Nia(N_ia_), and which the Timni tribe call Robung Dakell, or Stream ofScales. Hence some identify it with Pliny's 'flumen Bambotum crocodiliset hippopotamis refertum. ' Its northern bank is the low Bullom shore, along flat line of mud and mangrove, on which all the fevers, Tertiana, Quartana, and Co. , hold their court. The sea-facing dot is Leopard, anciently Leopold, Island, where it is said a leopard was once seen: itis, however, a headland connected by a sandspit with the leeward-mostpoint of the coast. The Bullom country takes a name after its tribe. Ascore of years ago I was told they were wild as wild can be: now thechief, Alimami (El-Imám) Sanúsi, hospitably receives white faces at hiscapital, Callamondia. Moreover, a weekly post passes through Natunu toKaikonki _via_ Yongro, Proboh, and Bolloh. 

Inland (east) of the Bulloms, or lowlanders, dwell the Timnis, who droveto seaward the quondam lords of the land. Kissy, Sherbro, and Casamansaare all named from their 'Reguli. ' They retain a few traditional words, such as 'potu, ' meaning a European: similarly in Central Africa the Kingof Portugal is entitled Mueneputo. Butter is also 'Mantinka, ' theLusitanian _Mantêiga_, and a candle is _Kandirr_. Although 'thereligion of Islam seems likely to diffuse itself peaceably over thewhole district in which the colony (Sá Leone) is situated, carrying withit those advantages which seem ever to have attended its victory overnegro superstition, ' [Footnote: _Report of Directors of Sierra LeoneCompany to the House of Commons_, quoted by Winterbottom and theRev. Mr. Macbriar. ] the tribe has remained pagan. 

Buttressing the southern shore of the Rokel's _débouchure_ is a dwarfGhaut, a broken line of sea-subtending highlands, stretchingsouth-south-east some eighteen miles from Cape Sá Leone to CapeShilling. Inland of these heights the ground is low. The breadth of thepeninsula is about twelve miles, which would give it an area of 300square miles, larger than the Isle of Wight. There are, besides it, theKwiah (Quiah) country, British Sherbro, an important annexation dated1862; the Isles de Los, the Bananas, and a strip of land on the Bullomshore, --additions which more than treble the old extent. 

The peninsula is distinctly volcanic, and subject to earthquakes: theseismic movement of 1858 extended to the Gold Coast, and was a precursorof the ruins of 1862. [Footnote: For the older earthquakes seeWinterbottom, i, 34-5. ] Its appearance, however, is rather that of asandstone region, the effect of the laterite or volcanic mud which, inlong past ages, has been poured over the plutonic ejections; and thesoftly rounded contours, with here and there a lumpy cone, a tongue ofland, and a gentle depression, show the long-continued action of waterand weather. This high background, which arrests the noxious vapours ofthe lowlands and of the Bullom shore, and which forbids a thoroughdraught, is the fons malorum, the grand cause of the fevers and malariafor which the land has an eternal ill fame. The 'Sultan' of the Ghautsis Regent Mountain, or Sugarloaf Peak, a kind of lumpy 'parrot's beak'which rises nearly 3, 000 feet above sea-level: one rarely sees even itsbase. The trip to the summit occupies two days; and here wild coffee issaid to flourish, as it does at Kwiah and other parts of thelowland. The 'Wazir' is Wilberforce, which supports sundry hamlets setin dense bush; and Leicester Cone, the lioness-hill, ranks third. Thefew reclaimed patches, set in natural shrubbery, are widely scattered:the pure, unsophisticated African is ever ashamed of putting hand to hoeor plough; and, where the virgin soil would grow almost everything, wecannot see a farm and nothing is rarer than a field. Firing the bushalso has been unwisely allowed: hence the destruction of much valuabletimber and produce; for instance, tallow-trees and saponaceousnut-trees, especially the _Pentadesma butyracea_, and the nobleforest which once clothed the land from Sá Leone to the Niger. 

Looking towards the Rokel River, we see the Fourah Bay and College, alarge and handsome building, now terribly out of repair. Thisestablishment, the 'Farran's House' of old maps, is well known toreaders of propagandist works; it opened on February 18, 1828, with sixpupils, one of whom was the 'boy Ajai, ' now Bishop Crowther of the Nigerterritory. The Church Missionary Society has spent upon it a smalltreasury of money; at present it ranks as a manner of university, havingbeen affiliated in May 1876 to that of Durham. Sealed papers are sentout from England, but perhaps the local examiners are easy distributorsof B. A. S and so forth to the golden youth of Sá Leone. It is free toall, irrespective of religious denomination, a liberal concession whichdoes it high honour. The academical twelve-month has three terms; andthere are three scholarships, each worth 40_l. _ per annum, open forcompetition every year. Not bad for a maximum of sixteen students, whosetotal is steadily diminishing. College evening-classes are held for thebenefit of those who must work by day; and charges are exceedinglymoderate, the admission fee being 10_s. _ 6_d. _ The Societyproposes, they say, to give it up. It may be wanted half a centuryhence. [Footnote: An annual report is published. Those curious on thesubject will consult it. ]

West of Fourah College, and separated, _longo intervallo, _ by anapparently unbroken bush, is Bishop's Court, where the Right Reverendlives as long as he can or will. Nearer the 'city' lies the deep littlebight called Susan or Sawpit Bay. It is also known as Destruction Bay--agloomy name--where ships caught carrying 'bales, ' or 'dry goods, ' or'blackbirds, ' were broken up. Twenty years ago traces of their ruinswere still seen. Susan is now provided with a large factory: here'factories' do _not_ manufacture. A host of boats and dug-outs, aswarm of natives like black ants, a long wooden jetty, and some verytall houses denote the place where Messrs. Randall and Fisher store andsell their Kola-nuts. This astringent, the Gora of old writers(_Sterculia acuminata_), acts in Africa like the Brazilian Guaraná, the Kát (_Catha edulis_) of southern Arabia, the Betel-nut ofHindostan, and the opium of China, against which certain bigots, withall the presumption of utter ignorance, have been, and still are, wagingan absurd war. Sá Leone exported 3, 445_l_. Worth of Kola-nuts in1860; in 1870 10, 400_l_. ; and, in 1880, 24, 422_l_. The demandtherefore increases and will increase. [Footnote: Mr. Griffith says, 'The Mohammedans of Africa have a singular belief that if they die witha portion of this nut in their stomach their everlasting happiness issecured. ' This must be some fanciful Christian tale. Amongst them, however, the red Kola, when sent to the stranger, denotes war, the whiteKola peace. ]

In Susan Bay there is a good coal-shed with a small supply for the useof the colonial steamer. A store of compressed coal is on the town-frontand heaps used to lie about King Tom's Point. A hulk was proposed andrefused. It is now intended to increase the quantity, for the benefit offuture companies, especially the 'Castle Line, ' which talks of sendingtheir steamers to Sá Leone. I hope they will so do; more competition ismuch wanted. But the coal-depôt may prove dangerous. The mineral in thetropics produces by its exhalations fatal fevers, especially thatexaggerated form of bilious-remittent popularly known as 'Yellow Jack. 'It is certain that in places like West Indian St. Thomas theneighbourhood of the coal-sheds is more unhealthy, without apparentreason, than the sites removed from it. 

And now we reach Freetown proper, which may be called Cathedral-Town orJail-Town. At a distance the 'Liverpool' or 'London of West Africa, ' asthe lieges wildly entitle it, is not unpicturesque; but the style ofbeauty is that of a baronial castle on the Rhine with an unpensionedproprietor, ruinous and tumbledown. After Las Palmas and Santa Cruz itlooks like a dingy belle who has seen better and younger days; and who, moreover, has forgotten her paint. She has suffered severely from theabolition of the export slave-trade, in whose palmy times she suppliedmany a squadron, and she will not be comforted for the loss. 

The colours of the houses are various; plain white is rare, and theprevailing tints are the light-brick of the fresh laterite and the darkrusty ochre of the old. But all are the same in one point, the mildewed, cankered, gangrened aspect, contrasting so unfavourably with thewhitewashed port-towns of the Arabs. The upper stories of wood-workbased on masonry, the fronting piazzas or galleries, the hugeplank-balconies, and the general use of shingle roofs--in fact, thequantity of tinder-timber, reminding one of olden Cairo, are real risks:some of the best houses have been destroyed by fire; and, as inValparaiso and the flue-warmed castles of England, it is only a questionof time when the inmates will be houseless. Thanks to the form ofground, the townlet is well laid out, with a gradual rake towards thebay. But there is no marine parade, and the remarkably unevenhabitations crowd towards the water-front, like those of Eastern ports, thinning off and losing style inland. The best are placed to catch the'Doctor, ' or sea-breeze: here, as at Zanzibar, the temperature out ofthe wind becomes unendurable. 

Freetown lies upon a gentle declivity, a slope of laterite and diluviumwashed down from the higher levels. The ground is good for drainage, butthe soft and friable soil readily absorbs the deluging torrents of rain, and as readily returns them to the air in the shape of noxiousvapours. The shape is triangular. The apex is 'Tower Hill, ' so namedfrom a ruined martello, supposed to have been built by the Dutch, andtill lately used for stores. The barracks, which lodge one of the WestIndia regiments, are six large blocks crowning the hill-crest and girtwith a low and loopholed wall. In winter, or rather in the Decembersummer, the slopes are clad in fine golden stubbles, the only spectacleof the kind which this part of the coast affords. Though not more thanfour hundred feet or so above sea-level, the barracks are free fromyellow fever; and in the years when the harbour-town has been almostdepopulated the only fatal cases were those brought up frombelow. Moreover, the disease did not spread. The officers' quarters, with cool and lofty rooms, twenty feet high, are surrounded by shady andairy piazzas or verandahs, where the wind, when there is any, must findits way. For many years they had _jalousies_ and half-windowsinstead of glass, which forced the inmates to sit in outer darknessduring tornadoes and the Rains. The garrison, like the town, owes aneternal debt of gratitude to Governor J. Pope Henessy. Seeing the mainwant of Sá Leone, he canalised in 1872, with the good aid ofMr. Engineer Jenkins, a fine fountain rising below 'Heddle's Farm, 'enabling the barracks to have a swimming-bath and the townsfolk to layon, through smaller pipes, a fair supply of filtered water. For thisalone he amply deserves a statue; but colonies, like republics, arerarely grateful. 

The sea-front of the triangle, whose lowest houses are sprinkled by thewave-spray, is bounded on the east by Battery Point. It is a grassy flatwith a few fine trees, and benches ever black with the nativelounger. Here the regimental band plays on Wednesdays; an occasionalcircus pitches its tents, and 'beauty and fashion' flock to see and beseen. The many are on foot; the few use Bath-chairs or _machilas_, --_fautenils_ hung to a pole. The only carriage in the placebelongs to the Governor, and he lost no time in losing one ofhis horses. Riding is apparently unknown. 

The Battery is the old Fort Falconbridge. A worm-eaten gun or two, farmore dangerous to those in rear than to those in front, rises _enbarbette. _ The affair would fall in half an hour before the mildestof gunboats. Yet by fortifying three points at an expense of some 6, 000£to 8, 000£ Sá Leone might be decently defended. The first is LighthousePoint, along which ships entering and leaving perforce must run; thesecond would be King Tom's Point, flanking the harbour-front; and thethird would be Johnson's Battery, where salutes are now fired, a worklying above Government House upon a spur of Barrack Hill. Needless tosay all three would want the heaviest guns. 

Running the eye west of the Battery, a few wooden houses or sheds, someof them overhanging the dwarf cliff, the black rocks, and the red-yellowsands, lead to Taylor's warehouses, a huge pile of laterite stillunfinished. Here the traditional 'man and boy' may sometimes be seenworking in the cooler and more comfortable hours. Beyond it, on a levelwith the water, stands the new camber, where we shall land. Then comesthe huge block built by Mr. Charles Heddle, of Hoy, who by grace of alarge fortune, honourably made at Freetown, has become proprietor of anoble château and broad lands in France. It has now been converted intothe Crown commissariat-store. The sea-frontage has a clear fall ofeighty feet, whereas, from the street behind the wooden upper story, itappears below the average height. Very mean are the custom-house andadjoining coal-shed. Governor 'Dangan's Wharf, ' a contemptible jetty, and its puny lighthouse have at length made way for a quay, along whichships, despite sunken rocks, were expected to lie; but the sea soonbroke down the perpendicular wall, and now it is being rebuilt with a'batter. ' A hollow square behind it shows the workmen blasting thematerial, a fine-grained grey granite, which seems here, as at Axim, tobe the floor-rock of the land. No wonder that the new harbour-works havecost already 70, 000_l_. , of which 50, 637_l_. Are still owed, and that the preposterous wharfage-duty is 10_s_. Per ton. To avoidthis and the harbour-dues, ships anchor, whenever they safely can, inthe offing, where the shoals are Nature's breakwaters. West of thequarry-hollow, in my day a little grassy square, are the oldCommissariat-quarters, now a bonded warehouse. This building is also along low cottage viewed from inland, and a tall, grim structure seenfrom the sea. On a higher level stands St. George's, once a church, butyears ago promoted to a cathedral-dignity, making Freetown proud asBarchester Towers. We shall presently pass it and its caricature, thepert little Wesleyan church to its east. The extreme west of thetriangle-base is occupied by the gaol. No longer a 'barn-like structurefaced by a black wall, ' it is a lengthy scatter of detached buildings, large enough to accommodate half the population, and distinguished byits colour, a light ashen grey. Behind this projecting site lies KingJimmy's Bridge, a causeway through whose central arch a stream ofsparkling water winds its way seawards. 

Below King Jimmy's Bridge is the only antiquity which Sá Leoneknows. Here, according to some, Sir Francis Drake, the discoverer ofCalifornia and her gold, the gallant knight of whom the Virgin Queensaid that 'his actions did him more honour than his title, ' left hisname upon the buttress of primitive rock. Others have (correctly?)attributed the inscription to Sir John Hawkins, the old naval worthywhose name still blossoms in the dust at Sá Leone as the 'first slaver. 'The waters and the tramp of negro feet have obliterated the epigraph, which was, they say, legible forty years ago. The rock is covered withgriffonages; and here some well-cut square letters easily read--

 M. A. RVITER. VICE-AMIRALL- VAN-HOLLANT. 

Near this 'written rock' is King James's Well, a pure stream which informer times supplied the shipping. 

The scene in the harbour is by no means lively, although the three orfour dismantled merchant-craft, dreary as the settlement, have nowdisappeared. A little white-painted colonial steamer, a dwarfpaddle-wheeler, the _Prince of Wales, _ lies moping and solitary offfoul Krutown Bay. At times a single gunboat puts in an appearance. Theremay be a French steamer with a blue anchor on a white flag bound forSherbro, or the Isles de Los; and a queer Noah's Ark kind of craft, belonging to Mr. Broadhurst, a partner in Randall and Fisher's, runs tothe river Scarcies and others. These are the grandees of the waters. Themiddle class is composed of Porto Loko [Footnote: Porto Loko--notLocco--derives its name from a locust-tree, whose fruit is an ingredientin 'palaver sauce;' and Winterbottom (I. 4), who calls it Logo, derivesthe word from the land of that name. ] boats, which affect the streamsand estuaries. Originally canoes, they were improved to thefelucca-type of the Portuguese, and the hulls reminded Cameron andmyself of the Zanzibarian 'Mtepe. ' A strong standing-awning of woodoccupies the sternward third; the masts number two or three, with ashort jib, and there are six oars on each side, worked by men on foot, who alternately push and pull--a thoroughly novel process in rowing. The Sá Leone boats which carry passengers on shore are carefully named, but apparently never washed: they want the sunshades of the Bathurstcraft. The commonalty of the sea is the host of dug-outs, in which thesable fisherman, indolently thrown back, props his feet upon thegunwales and attaches a line to each big toe. These men land little morethan enough for their own subsistence, and the market-supply isinfinitesimal compared with what industry and proper appliances mightproduce. 

The background of the 'city' is a green curtain of grass andfruit-trees, amongst which predominate the breadfruit, an earlyintroduction; the prim dark mango, somewhat like an orange multiplied bytwo, or three, and palms, ever present in equinoctial lowlands. On theheights above the settlement there is room for cool country-seats, whereEuropean exiles might live comparatively safe from fever and the moredeadly dysentery. A white lodge peeping from a densely woodedmountain-flank, originally Carnes's Farm and now Heddle's Farm, wascalled Mount Oriel (Oriole?) by Mrs. Melville, the wife of a pensionedjudge of the Mixed Customs Court, who lived here seven years. Her sketchof a sojourn upon the Lioness Range is not tempting: young gentlemen whointend leading brides to the deadly peninsula should hide the book fromtheir fair intendeds. I cannot, however, but admire the 'word-painting'of the scenery and the fidelity of those descriptions concerning which Ihave a right to form an opinion. The book [Footnote: A Residence inSierra Leone. By a Lady. London: Murray, 1849. ] was edited by the lateMrs. Caroline Norton. 

Though not more than 550 feet above sea-level, the climate of Heddle'sFarm is said to be wholly different from that of the lower town. Theproperty was bought by Government for a song, and now it occasionallylodges a sick governor or a convalescent officer. During my last visitthe Sa Leonites spoke of building a sanatorium at Wilberforce village, alias Signal Hill, where a flag announces the approach of vessels. Thetenement rose to nearly the first story, when it stopped short for wantof funds. Now they talk of a white regiment being stationed at the'White Man's Grave, ' and propose barracks high up the hills beyond sightof the town-frontage. The site was pointed out to me where theartillery-range now is, and beyond where a dwarf thatch shows themusketry-ground of the West India regiment. We shall sight from afar, when steaming out southwards, the three white dots which representquarters on Leicester Cone; now they are hidden in frowsyfog-clouds. But all these heights have one and the samedisadvantage. You live in a Scotch mist, you breathe as much water asair, and you exchange fever and dysentery for rheumatism, and lumbago, and all that dire cohort. 

Presently the health-officer with his blue flag gave us pratique, andthe fort-adjutant with his red flag carried off our only soldier. Thelatter, with a hospitality rare, it is to be hoped, in Britishregiments, would hardly recognise his quondam shipmates. We were dulyinterviewed, in most civilised style, by a youth who does this work forMr. George A. Freeman, manager of the 'West African Reporter. ' Then thes. S. _Senegal_ was attacked and captured by a host of sablevisitors, some coming to greet their friends, other to do a littlebusiness in the washing and the shoreboat lines. 

The washerwoman lost no time in showing up, although her charges havebeen greatly reduced. She formerly demanded nearly treble as much as inLondon; now, however, she makes only sixteen to twenty shillings amonth, not bad pay in a place where living costs threepence, andcomfortable living sixpence, a day. These nymphs of the wash-tub arepainfully familiar and plain. The dress is a bright cotton foulard boundon like the anatomy of a turban and garnished, as were our grandmothers'nightcaps, with huge front bows. Gaudy shawls cover white cottonjackets; and skirts of bright, showy longcloth suggest the parrot or thecockatoo. The ornaments are large gold earrings and necklaces of beadsor coral. I could not but remark the difference of tone. There was noneof the extreme 'bumptiousness' and pugnacious impudence of twenty yearsago; indeed, the beach-boys, nowhere a promising class, were rathercivil than otherwise. Not a single allusion to the contrast of 'whiteniggahs and black gen'lemen. ' Nor did the unruly, disorderly Africancharacter ever show itself, as formerly it often did, by fisticuffing, hair-pulling, and cursing, with a mixture of English and Dark-Continentideas and phraseology, whose _tout ensemble_ was really portentous. 

The popular voice ascribes this immense change for the better to theenergetic action of Governor S. Rowe (1876); and if so his statuedeserves to stand beside that of Pope Henessy. We could not fairlycomplain of the inordinate noise, which would have been the death ofa sick traveller. Niger cannot speak without bawling. The charge forlanding was only threepence; _en revanche_ the poor fellowsstole every little thing they could, including my best meerschaum. 

Cameron and I went ashore to hire Krumen for the Gold Coast, and hereinwe notably failed. We disembarked at the camber, a huge pile of masonry, whose weight upon an insecure foundation has already split the sea-wallin more than one place. The interior also is silting up so fast that itwill constantly require dredging to admit boats. In fact, the colonymust deeply repent not having patronised Mr. Jenkins's project of aT-headed pier, on one side of which landing would have been practicablein all weathers. 

The sun, despite the mist, seemed to burn our backs, and the glare fromthe red clay soil roasted our eyes as we toiled up the ramp, bad asthose of 'Gib. , ' which leads to Water Street, the lower line subtendingthe shore. Here we could inspect St. George's Cathedral, built, theysay, at a cost of 10, 000_l. _ to 15, 000_l. _, which would bereduced to 5, 000_l. _ in England--contracts in such 'colonies' costmore than stone and slate. The general aspect is that of its Bombaybrother, and the order is called, I believe, neo-Gothic, the last insultto ecclesiastical architecture. A single rusty tower, withtoy-battlements, pins down along ridge-back, evidently borrowed from abarn; the light yellow-wash is mildewed and weather-stained, and thewindows show unseemly holes. Surely Bishop Cheetham could have affordeda few panes of glass when exchanging his diocese for a rectory inEngland. Let me here note that the Catholic bishop at Goa and elsewhereis expected to die at his post, and that there is an over-worldly lookin this Protestant form of the 'nolo episcopari. ' East of the cathedral, and uncompromisingly 'Oriented' to the north, stands the unfinishedshell of a Wesleyan chapel, suggesting that caricature which hasintruded itself into the shadow of York Minster. Some 5, 000_l. _were spent upon this article by the locals; but the home committeewisely determined that it should not be finished, and now they proposeto pull it down for building-material. 

We then entered the fruit and vegetable market, a neat and well-pavedbazar, surmounted by a flying roof and pierced for glass windows. Thedead arches in the long walls are externally stone and internallybrick. The building was full of fat middle-aged negresses, sitting atsquat before their 'blyes, ' or round baskets, which contained a varietyand confusion of heterogeneous articles. The following is a list almostas disorderly as the collection itself. 

There were pins and needles, yarn and thread, that have taken the placeof the wilder thorn and fibre; all kinds of small hardware;looking-glasses in lacquered frames; beads of sorts, cowries and reelsof cotton; pots of odorous pomatum and shea-butter nuts; feathers of theplantain-bird and country snuff-boxes of a chestnut-like fruit (astrychnine?) from which the powder is inhaled, _more majorum_, through a quill; physic-nuts (_tiglium_, or croton), a favouritebut painful native remedy; horns of the goat and antelope, possiblyintended for fetish 'medicine;' blue-stone, colcothar and otherdrugs. Amongst the edibles appeared huge achatinae, which make anexcellent soup, equal to that of the French snail; ground-nuts; verypoor rice of four varieties, large and small, red and dark; cheapginger, of which the streets are at times redolent, and which makes goodhome-brewed 'pop;' the Kolá-nut, here worth a halfpenny and at Bathursta penny each; the bitter Kolá, a very different article from theesculent; skewered _rôts_ of ground-hog, a rodent that can climb, destroy vegetables, and bite hard if necessary; dried bats and rats, which the African as well as the Chinese loves, and fish _cuits ausoleil_, preferred when 'high, ' to use the mildest adjective. Fromthe walls hung dry goods, red woollen nightcaps and comforters, leopards' and monkeys' skins, and the pelt of an animal which might havebeen a gazelle. 

Upon the long counters or tables were displayed the fruits andvegetables. The former were the custard-apple or sweet-sop (_Annonasquamosa_), the sour-sop (_A. Muricata_), the Madeiran_chirimoya_, (_A. Cherimolia_), citrons, sweet and sour limes, and oranges, sweet and bitter, grown in the mountains; bananas(_M. Paradisiaca_), the staff of life on the Gold Coast, andplantains (_M. Sapientum_), the horse-plantains of India;[Footnote: The West Indian plantain is apparently unknown or unused]pine-apples more than half wild; mangoes terribly turpentiney unless thetrunk be gashed to let out the gum; 'monkey-plums' or 'apples' and'governor's plums. ' The common guavas are rank and harsh, but the'strawberry guava, ' as it is locally called, has a delicate, subacidflavour not easily equalled. The _aguacáte_, or alligator-pear(_Persea gratissima_), which was _not_ 'introduced by theBasel missionaries from the West Indies, ' is inferior to theMexican. Connoisseurs compare its nutty flavour with that of thefilbert, and eat it with pepper, salt, and the sauce of Worcester, whosefortune was made by the nice conduct of garlic. The papaw [Footnote: Theleaves are rubbed on meat to make it tender, and a drop of milk from theyoung fruit acts as a vermifuge. ] should be cooked as a vegetable andstuffed with forced meat; the flesh of the granadilla, which resemblesit, is neglected, while the seeds and their surroundings are flavouredwith sherry and sugar. There is an abundance of the _EriobotryaJaponica, _ in Madeira called the loquat and elsewhere the Japanesemedlar: it grows wild in the Brazil, where the people distil fromit. [Footnote: I cannot yet decide whether its birthplace is Japan orSouth America, whose plants have now invaded Western India and greatlyaltered the vegetation. ]

The chief vegetables were the watercress, grown in private gardens;onions, large and mild as the Spanish; _calavances_, or beans;_okras_ or _gumbos_, the _bhendi_ of India (_Hibiscusesculentus_), the best thickening for soup; _bengwas_, oregg-plants; yams (_Dioscorea bulbifera_) of sorts; bitter Cassada(_Jatropha manihot_) and the sweet variety (_Jatrophajanipha_); garlic; kokos (_Colocasia esculenta_); potatoes, which the steamers are beginning to bring from England, not fromMadeira; tomatoes like musket-balls, but very sweet and wholesome; andthe _batata_, (_Convolvulus patatus_, or sweet potato), whichwhilom made 'kissing comfits. ' The edibles consisted of' fufu'(plantain-paste); of 'cankey, ' a sour pudding of maize-flour; ofginger-cake; of cassava-balls finely levigated, and of sweetened'agadi, ' native bread in lumps, wrapped up in plantain-leaves. Toddy wasthe usual drink offered for sale. 

The butchers' yard, near the market, is no longer a 'ragged anduncleanly strip of ground. ' The long-horned cattle, small, mostlyhumpless, and resembling the brindled and dun Alderney cow, are drivenin from the Pulo (Fulah) country. I have described the beef as tastingnot unlike what one imagines a knacker's establishment to produce, andsince that time I have found but scant improvement. It is sold onalternate days with mutton, the former costing 6_d_. , the latter9_d_. A pound. Veal, so bad in England and so good in SouthernEurope, is unknown. The long, lean, hairy black-and-white sheep do notsupply an excellent article. Goats and kids are plentiful, and the fleshwould be good if it had any taste. Hogs abound, as in Ireland; but noone eats pork, for the best of reasons. The poultry-list comprisessmall tough fowls (l0_d_. To 2_s_. ), partridges, ducks (2_s_. 6_d_. ), geese, especially the spur-winged from Sherbro, and the Muscovy or Manilla duck--a hard-fleshed, insipid bird, whose oldhome was South American Paraguay--turkeys (10_s_. To 15_s_. ), and the _arripiada_, or frizzly chicken, whose feathers stand onend. Milk is scarce and dear. Englishmen raw in the tropics object tomilch-goats and often put up with milch-pigs, which are said to be herekept for the purpose. I need not tell all the old tale, 'Goat he go die;pig he go for bush, ' &c. Butter (1_s_. 8_d_. In 2-lb. Tins) isoily and rancid, with the general look of cartgrease, in this tropicaltemperature. It is curious that the Danish and Irish dairies cannotsupply the West African public with a more toothsome article. 

Near the meat-market is the double row of houses with shops upon theground-floor, not unlike a Banyan's street in outer Bombay, but smaller, dirtier, meaner far. Here the stranger can buy dry goods and a fewcuriosities of Mandenga manufacture--grigris (teraphim or charms), bows, spears, and saddles and bridles like those of the Somal, both perfectlyuseless to white men. The leather, however, is excellent as theMoroccan, and the work dates from the days when the Saracens pushedsouthwards from the Mediterranean to the Niger-valley. Wild animals areat times offered for sale, but Darkey has heard exaggerated accounts ofprices paid in England for grey parrots, palm-birds, monkeys, bush-antelopes, mongooses, ground-pigs, and other 'small deer' broughtfrom the rivulets behind Freetown. Sundry snakes were offered for sale, the Mandenga, 4 to 5 feet long, with black marks upon a yellow ground, and the spitting serpent, between 5 and 6 feet long, with a long head, also dark above and silvery grey below. I doubted the fact of itsejecting saliva till assured by the Rev. John Milum that twomissionaries at Lagos, Messieurs J. B. Wood and David, had sufferedseverely from inflamed eyes after the contemptuous ophine_crachat_. All along the coast is a cerastes (horned snake), whosearmature is upon the snout and whose short fat form suggests thepuff-adder. The worst is a venomous-looking cobra, or hooded viper, withflat, cordate head, broad like all the more ferocious species. It is theonly thanatophid whose bite I will not undertake to cure. We carried onthe A. S. S. _Winnebah_, for the benefit of Mr. Cross, of Liverpool, a big black ape, which the Sá Leonites called a 'black chimpanzee. 'Though badly wounded she had cost 27_l_. , and died after a few daysof the cage. The young chimpanzees were valued at 6_1_. 

I looked in vain for the old inn, the only thing in the place, a dirtyhovel, kept, in 1862, by a Liberian negro, inscribed 'Lunch-house' on asign-board flanked by the Union Jack and the U. S. 'oysters andgridiron. ' Nothing has succeeded to this 'American hotel, ' and visitorsmust depend upon the hospitality of acquaintances. A Frenchman latelyopened a _Gasthaus_, and lost no time in becoming bankrupt. Thereis, however, a manner of boarding-house kept by a Mrs. King. 

Turning south from Water Street, we passed the Wilberforce, or ratherthe 'Willyfoss, ' memorial, a colossal scandal noticed by every visitorat Sá Leone, a 'folly' which has cost 3, 000_l_. Its condition isexactly what it was two decads ago--a chapel-like shell of dingy, mouldylaterite with six lancet-windows and metal pillars. Its case is acomplicated concern. The ecclesiastical authorities wanted it for theirpurposes, and so did the secular civilians, and so did the military. Atlast the Sá Leonites, hopeless of obtaining a Government grant, have seton foot a subscription which reached 500_l_. --some say 700_l_. There are, therefore, certain fitful signs of activity, andbricks and fire-bricks now cumber the ground; but it is all a 'flashin the pan. ' The present purpose is to make it a library, in place ofthe fine old collection which went to the dogs. It is also to serve as alecture-room. But who is there in the 'African Liverpool' that canlecture? What is he to lecture about? Who will stand or sit out beinglectured?

Immediately beyond this grim and grisly reminiscence are the neatdwelling-house and the store of the Honourable Mr. Sybille Boyle, sonamed from a ship and from her captain, R. N. , who served in thepreventive squadron about 1824. He is an unofficial member of Counciland a marked exception to the rule of the 'Liberateds. ' Everybody has agood word to say of him. The establishment is the regular colonial, where you can buy anything between a needle and a sheet-anchor. Bottledale is not wanting, and thus steamer-passengers learn to congregate inthe back parlour. 

We then walked to the top of Gloucester Street, expecting to see theDuke of Edinburgh's memorial. I left it an arch of sticks and timberspanning this main cross-line, which leads to Government House. Thetemporary was to be supplanted by a permanent marble _arc detriomphe_, commemorating the auspicious occasion when the blackcolony first looked upon a live white Royal Highness. At once700_l_. Was subscribed, and only 800_l_. Was wanting; but allthose interested in the matter died, and the 350_l_. Which remainedin the chest was, I believe, transferred to the 'Willyfoss. ' The augustday is still kept as a public holiday, for the people are, after theirfashion, loyal-mouthed in the extreme. But the memorial is cleanforgotten, and men stare if you ask about it. Half-way up the street isthe post-office, whose white chief is not a whit more civil than thenegro head in 1862. 

Upon this highly interesting spot we stood awhile to note thepeculiarities of the place and its position. The soil is a loose clay, deep-red or brown, impregnated with iron and, where unclothed withhumus, cold and infertile, as the spontaneous aloe shows. The subsoil islaterite, also highly ferruginous. Soft and working well with the axewhile it retains the quarry-water, it soon hardens by exposure; and, thus weathered, it forms the best and ugliest of the local buildingmaterials. Embedded in the earth's surface are blocks and bouldersapparently erratic, dislodged or washed down from the upper heights, where similar masses are seen. Many are scattered, as if by an eruption;others lie in slab or dome shape upon the shore. The shape is usuallyspheroidal, and the material hypersthene (a hard and close-grainedbluish granite) or diorite, greenstone-trap blackened by sun andrain. In the few cuttings of the higher levels I afterwards remarkedthat detached 'hardheads' are puddinged into the friable laterite; but Inowhere found the granitic floor-rock protruding above ground. Theboulders are treated by ditching and surrounding with a hot fire forforty-eight hours; cold water, not vinegar, is then poured upon them, and causes the heated material suddenly to contract and fracture, whenit can easily be removed. Magnetic iron also occurs, and specimens havebeen sent to England; but veins have not yet been discovered. 

Our walk had furnished us with a tolerable idea of 'the city's' plan, without referring to the printed affair. Fronting north with westing, itis divided into squares, blocks, and insulae, after the fashion of achessboard. This is one of the oldest as well as the newest mode ofdistributions. The temples of the classical gods, being centrallysituated, required for general view broad, straight approaches. FromWashington to Buenos Ayres the modern cities of the New World havereverted to this ancient system without other reason but a love ofregularity and simplicity. Here the longer streets flank the sea and theshorter run at right angles up the inner slopes. Both are bright redlines worn in the vegetation between the houses. The ribbons of greenare the American or Bahama grass; fine, silky, and creeping along theground, it is used to stuff mattresses, and it forms a good substitutefor turf. When first imported it was neglected, cut away, and nearlykilled out; now it is encouraged, because its velvety plots relieve theglaring red surface, it keeps off the 'bush, ' and it clears the surfaceof all other vegetation. Looking upon the city below, we were surprisedto see the dilapidation of the tenements. Some have tumbled down; otherswere tumbling down; many of those standing were lumber or board shantiescalled 'quarter-frames' and 'ground-floors;' sundry large piles rosegrisly and fire-charred, and the few good houses looked quitemodern. But what can be expected in a place where Europeans never expectto outstay the second year, and where Africans, who never yet workedwithout compulsion, cannot legally be compelled to work?

We then walked up to Government House, the Fort Thornton of old charts, whose roof, seen from the sea, barely tops the dense curtain of tree andshrubbery that girds and hangs around it. Passing under a cool and shadyavenue of mangoes and figs, and the archway, guarded by a porter's lodgeand a detachment of the three hundred local police, we came in sight ofthe large, rambling residence, built piecemeal, like many an Englishcountry-house. There is little to recommend it save the fine view of thesea and the surrounding shrubbery-ground. I can well understand how, with the immense variety of flower and fruit suddenly presented to hiseyes, the gentleman fresh from England required six months to recoverthe free and full use of all his senses and faculties. 

A policeman--no longer a Zouave of the West Indian corps--took in ourcards, and we introduced ourselves to Captain A. E. Havelock, 'Governor-in-Chief of Sierra Leone and the Gambia. ' He is No. 47 sinceCaptain Day, R. N. , first ruled in A. D. 1803. I had much to say to himabout sundry of his predecessors. Captain Havelock, who dates only from1881, has the reputation of being slightly 'black. ' The Neri and theBianchi factions here represent the Buffs and Blues of a land furthernorth. He is yet in the heyday of popularity, when, in the consecratedphrase, the ruler 'gains golden opinions. ' But colonial judgments arefickle, and mostly in extremes. After this smiling season the weatherlowers, the storm breaks, and all is elemental rage, when from being amanner of demigod the unhappy ruler gradually becomes one of the'meanest and basest of men. ' _Absit omen!_

We returned at sunset to Government House and spent a pleasantevening. The 'smokes' had vanished, and with them the frowse andhomeliness of morning. The sun, with rays of lilac red, set over apanorama of townlet, land, and sea, to which distance added many acharm. Mingling afar with the misty horizon, the nearer waters threwout, by their golden and silvery sheen, the headlands, capes, andtongues stretching in long perspective below, while the Sugarloaf, father of mountains, rose in solitary grandeur high above his subjecthills. On the nearer slope of Signal Hill we saw the first of thedestructive bush-burnings. They are like prairie-fires in these lands, and sometimes they gird Freetown with a wall of flame. Complexion is allin all to Sá Leone, and she showed for a few moments a truly beautifulprospect. 

The Governor has had the courage to bring out Mrs. Havelock, and she hashad the courage to stand firm against a rainy season. The climate issimply the worst on the West Coast, despite the active measures ofsanitation lately taken, the Department of Public Health, the ordinancesof the Colonial Government in 1879, and the excellent water with whichthe station is now provided. On a clear sunny day the charnel-house, Irepeat, is lovely, _mais c'est la mort_; it is the terrible beautyof death. Mrs. Melville says, with full truth, 'I felt amidst all theglory of tropic sunlight and everlasting verdure a sort of ineffabledread connected with the climate. ' Even when leaving the 'pestilentshore' she was 'haunted by the shadowy presence. ' This is womanly, but alittle reflection must suggest it to man. 

Even half a century ago opinions differed concerning the climate of thecolony. Dr. Madden could obtain only contradictory accounts. [Footnote:See _Wanderings in West Africa_, for details, vol. I. P. 275. ]There is a tradition of a Chief Justice applying to the Colonial Officefor information touching his pension, the clerks could not answer him, and he presently found that none of his predecessors had lived to claimit. Mr. Judge Rankin was of opinion that its ill-fame was maintained by'policy on the one hand and by ignorance of truth on the other. ' ButMr. Judge died a few days after. So with Dr. Macpherson, of the AfricanColonial Corps. It appears ill-omened to praise the place; and, afterrepeated visits to it, I no longer wonder that the 'Medical Gazette' ofApril 14, 1838, affirmed, 'No statistical writer has yet tried to givethe minutest fraction representing the chance of a surgeon's return fromSierra Leone. '

On the other hand, Mrs. Falconbridge, whose husband was sent out fromEngland on colonial business in 1791, and who wrote the first 'lady'sbook' upon the Coast, pointed out at the beginning that sickness was duequite as much to want of care as to the climate. In 1830 Mr. JohnCormack, merchant and resident since 1800, stated to a Committee of theHouse of Commons that out of twenty-six Europeans in his service sevenhad died, seven had remained in Africa, and of twelve who returned toEngland all save two or three were in good health. We meet with amedical opinion as early as 1836 that 'not one-fourth of the deathsresults merely from climate. ' Cases of old residents are quoted--forinstance, Governor Kenneth Macaulay, a younger brother of ZacharyMacaulay, who resisted it for twenty years; Mr. Reffall for fifteenyears, and sundry other exceptions. 

In this section of the nineteenth century it is the custom to admit thatthe climate is bad and dangerous; but that it has often been made thescape-goat of European recklessness and that much of the sickness anddeath might be avoided. The improvement is attributed to the use ofquinine, unknown to the early settlers, and much is expected fromsanatoria and from planting the blue gum (_Eucalyptus globulus_), which failed, owing to the carelessness and ignorance of the planters. Apractical appreciation of the improvement is shown by the Star LifeAssurance Society, which has reduced to five per cent. Its former veryheavy rates. Lastly, the bad health of foreigners is accounted for bythe fact that they leave their own country for a climate to which theyare not accustomed, where the social life and the habits of the peopleare so different from their own, and yet that they continue doing allthings as in England. 

But how stand the facts at the white man's Red Grave? Mrs. Havelock andthe wife of the officer commanding the garrison are the only Europeansin the colony, whereas a score of years ago I remember half adozen. Even the warmest apologisers for the climate will not exposetheir wives to it, preferring to leave them at home or inMadeira. During last March there were five deaths of white men--that is, more than a third--out of a total of 163. What would the worst ofEnglish colonies say to a mortality of 350 per thousand per annum? Ofcourse we are told that it is exceptional, and the case of the insurancesocieties is quoted. But they forget to tell us the reason. A mailsteamer now calls at Freetown once a week, and the invalid is sent homeby the first opportunity. Similarly a silly East Indian statisticianproved, from the rare occurrence of fatal cases, Aden to be one of thehealthiest stations under 'the Company. ' He ignored the fact that even ascratch justified the surgeons in shipping a man off on sick leave. 

I quite agree with the view of Mr. Frederick Evans: [Footnotes: _TheColonies and India_, Dec. 24, 1881. ] 'Let anyone anxious to test thenature of the climate go to Kew Gardens and sit for a week or two in oneof the tropical houses there; he may be assured that he will by no meansfeel in robust health when he leaves. ' The simile is perfect. Europeansliving in Africa like Europeans as regards clothing and diet are, Ibelieve, quite right. We tried grass-cloth, instead of broadcloth, inWestern India, when general rheumatism was the result. In the matter ofmeat and drink the Englishman cannot do better than adhere to his oldmode of life as much as possible, with a few small modifications. Lethim return to the meal-times of Queen Elizabeth's day--

 Sunrise breakfast, sun high dinner, Sundown sup, makes a saint of a sinner--

and especially shun the 9 A. M. Breakfast, which leads to a heavy tiffinat 1 P. M. , the hottest and most trying section of the day. With respectto diet, if he drinks a bottle of claret in England let him reducehimself in Africa to a pint 'cut' with, water; if he eats a pound ofmeat he should be contented with eight ounces and an extra quantity offruit and vegetables. In medicine let him halve his cathartics anddouble his dose of tonics. 

From its topographical as well as its geographical position the climateof Freetown is oppressively hot, damp, and muggy. The annual mean is79. 5° Fahr. ; the usual temperature of the dwellings is from 78° to 86°Fahr. Its year is divided into two seasons, the Dries and the Rains. Thewet season begins in May and ends with November; for the last five yearsthe average downfall has been 155 inches, five times greater than inrainy England. These five months are times of extreme discomfort. Thedamp heat, despite charcoal fires in the houses and offices, mildewseverything--clothes, weapons, books, man himself. It seems to exhaustall the positive electricity of the nervous system, and it makes thepatient feel utterly miserable. It also fills the air with noxiousvapours during the short bursts of sunshine perpendicularly rained down, and breeds a hateful brood of what the Portuguese call immundicies--afoul 'insect-youth. ' Only the oldest residents prefer the wet to the drymonths. The Rains end in the sickliest season of the year, when the sun, now getting the upper hand, sucks the miasmatic vapours from the soiland distributes them to mankind in the shape of ague and fever, dysentery, and a host of diseases. The Dries last from November toApril, often beginning with tornadoes and ending with the Harmatan, smokes or scirocco. The climate is then not unlike Bombay, except thatit lacks the mild East Indian attempt at a winter, and that barometricpressure hardly varies. 

During my last visit to Sá Leone I secured a boat, and, accompanied byDr. Lovegrove, of the A. S. S. _Armenian_, set out to inspect thelower bed of the Rokel and the islands which it waters. Passing alongFourah Bay, we remarked in the high background a fine brook, cold, clear, and pure, affording a delicious bath; it is almost dry in theDries, and swells to a fiumara during the Rains. Its extent was then adiminutive rivulet tumbling some hundreds of feet down a shelving bedinto Granville Bay, the break beyond Fourah. On the way we passedseveral Timni boats, carrying a proportionately immense amount of'muslin. ' Of old the lords of the land, they still come down the riverwith rice and cocoa-nuts from the Kwiah (Quiah) country, from PortoLoko, from Waterloo, and other places up stream. They not unfrequentlyconsole themselves for their losses by a little hard fighting; witnesstheir defence of the Modúka stockade in 1861, when four officers andtwenty-three of our men were wounded. [Footnote: _Wanderings in WestAfrica_, vol. I pp. 246-47. ] Some of the boats are heavy row-bargeswith a framework of sticks for a stern-awning; an old Mandenga, withcottony beard, sits at each helm. They row _simplices munditiis_. At Sá Leone men are punished for not wearing overalls, andthus the 'city' becomes a rag-fair. The Timni men are dark negroidswith the slightest infusion of Semitic blood; some had coated theireyebrows and part of their faces with chalk for ophthalmia. Theyappeared to be merry fellows enough; and they are certainly the only menin the colony who ever pretend to work. A Government official harshlysays of them, 'I would willingly ascribe to the nearest of ourneighbours and their representatives in Freetown, of whom there aremany, some virtues if they possessed any; but, unfortunately, taken as apeople, they have been truly described by able and observant writers asdishonest and depraved. ' Mr. Secretary evidently forgets the'civilising' and infectious example of Sá Leone, _versus_ theculture of El-Islam. 

Arrived at Bishopscourt, we disembarked and visited the place. Here inold days 'satisfaction' was given and taken; and a satirical medicodeclared that forty years of _rencontres_ had not produced a singlecasualty. He was more witty than wise; I heard of one gentleman who hadbeen 'paraded' and 'winged. ' Old Granville Town, which named the bay, has completely disappeared; the ruins of the last house are gone fromthe broad grassy shelf upon which the first colonists built their homes. 

From Granville Bay the traveller may return by the 'Kissy Road. ' Once itwas the pet promenade, the Corso, the show-walk of Freetown; now it hasbecome a Tottenham Court Road, to which Water, Oxford, and WestmorelandStreets are preferred. The vegetation becomes splendid, running up tothe feet of the hills, which swell suddenly from the shelf-plain. Theapproach to Sá Leone is heralded by a row of shops even smaller andmeaner than those near the market-place. There are whole streets ofthese rabbit-hutches, whose contents 'mammy, ' when day is done, carrieshome in a 'bly'-basket upon her head, possibly leaving 'titty' to mountguard upon the remnant. The stock in trade may represent a capital of4_l_. , and the profits 1_s_. A day. Yet 'daddy' styles himselfmerchant, gets credit, and spends his evenings conversing and smokingcigars--as a gentleman should--with his commercial friends. 

Passing the easternmost end of the peninsula, and sailing along theBullom ('lowland') shores, we verified Dr. Blyden's assertion that this'home of fevers' shows no outward and visible sign of exceedingunhealthiness. The soil is sandy, the bush is comparatively thin, andthe tall trees give it the aspect of a high and dry land. We then turnednorth-east and skirted Tasso Island, a strip of river-holm girt with awall of mangroves. It had an old English fort, founded in 1695; thefactors traded with the Pulo (Fulah) country for slaves, ivory, andgold. It was abandoned after being taken by Van Ruyter, when he restoredto the Dutch West Indian Company the conquests of Commodore Holmes. Therich soil in 1800 supported a fine cotton plantation, and hereMr. Heddle kept a 'factory. ' The villagers turned out to gaze, nothabited like the Wolofs of Albreda, but clad in shady hats and seedypantaloons. 

After clearing Tasso we advanced merrily, and at the end of two hours'and a half actual sailing and pulling we landed upon Bance, which somecall Bence's Island. A ruined jetty with two rusty guns, buried likeposts, projected from the sand-strip; and a battery, where nine cannonstill linger, defended the approach. There is a similar beach to thenorth-east, with admirable bathing in the tepid, brackish waves and afine view of the long leonine Sierra. The outlying rocks, capped withguano, look like moored boats and awnings. The sea-breeze was delicious;the lapping, dazzling stream made sweet music, and the huge cotton-treeswith laminar buttresses gave most grateful shade. 

The island resembles Gambian James multiplied by four or five. Behindthe battery are the ruins of a huge building, like the palaces of oldGoa, vast rooms, magazines, barracoons, underground vaults, and allmanner of contrivances for the good comfort and entertainment of theslaver and the slave. A fine promenade of laterite, which everywhereabout Sá Leone builds the best of roads, and a strip of jungle rich inthe _Guilandina Bonduc_, whose medicinal properties are well knownto the people, leads to the long-deserted graveyard. We pass an old wellwith water thirty-five feet deep, and enter the _enceinte_, thatcontains four tombs; the marble tablets, which would soon disappear inIndia for the benefit of curry-stuffs, here remain intact. One long homewas tenanted by 'Thomas Knight, Esquire, born in the county of Surrey, who acted eighteen years as agent for the proprietors of this island, and who died on August 27 of 1785, ' beloved, of course, byeverybody. Second came the 'honourable sea-Captain Hiort, born in 1746, married in 1771 to the virtuous lady Catherine Schive, and died in 1783, leaving two good-natured daughters, which his soul is in the hands ofGod. ' The third was Mr. John Tittle, who departed life in 1776; and thelast was Captain Josiah Dory, a 'man of upright character, ' whomigrated to the many in 1765. 

Barbot (ii. 1) describes Bance's Island as defended by a small fort on asteep rock of difficult access, ascended only by a sort of stairs cut inthe stone, and acting as the store-house of the Royal AfricanCompany. The low walls of lime and ashlar had a round 'flanker' withfive guns, a curtain with embrasures for four large cannon, and aplatform just before it for six guns, all well mounted. The only goodbuildings were the slave-booths. Winterbottom, who places it overeighteen miles above St. George's Bay (_Baie de France_) and northof Tasso Island, thus describes Bance: 'This is a small barren islandconsiderably elevated, with a dry, gravelly soil; but being placed as itwere in the midst of an archipelago of low marshy islands, the breeze, from whatever quarter it blows, is impregnated with moisture and marsheffluvia, which render it sickly. The air also is very much heated, andthe thermometer generally stands 4° or 5° higher on this island than itdoes at Freetown. '

We regained the steamer shortly after dark, delighted with our picnicand resolved always to take the same advantage of all halts. In thosedays the interior was most interesting. The rivers Scarcies, Nunez, andPonga were unknown; the equestrian Susu tribe had never been visited;and, the Timbo country, the great centre whence arise the Niger, theRokel, and the Senegal, awaited exploration. 

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.