A Defcription of the Island of Madeira, with an Account of the Manners and Customs of its Inhabitants.

(Continued from Page 510.)

HE women, when they walk the

Tftreets, have moftly a veil,

which only thews about one third of the face; but I have feen many ei. ther quite without, or loofely hanging over the fhoulders: the lower clafs of women have no ftays, and are very flatternly, and loofely clad: all wear their gowns and petticoats trailing on the ground, and the more they trail, the greater the diftinétion: the fame of the cloaks of the rich, and of the gowns of all the ecclefiaftics, and Audents (which two claffes are always in black) and they actually fweep the street. The women (young efpecially) even the mof ordinary, have their hair, which is generally very long, black, and fine, tied behind, well curled, and a little powdered, like flage dancers. The houses of the better fort of people have the garrets open on all fides, like a gal lery, the roof fupported by ftone pillars; and there the women fit to look out, to fee and be seen, wearing no veil, nor quitting the windows on ever fo much looking at them,or kiff ing your hands, or making love in dumb fhew.

With all this filth, &c. that I have defcribed to you, they might be the happiest people on earth; moft of the rich having a villa (or, in Portuguese, a quinta) about two or three meafured miles from hence; those they might retire to, enjoying in perfection all rural delights; for there is neither American, nor European tree, or plant, or fruit, that does not, or may not grow here: it would be endle's to mention all, fome take as follows; oranges, lemons, citrons, fweet chefnuts, peach, apricot, nectarine, figs, palm-tree, cyprefs, ap. ples, pears, melons, grapes, bananas, guavas, pine apples, mulberies, walnuts, plantain, water melons, and water lemons; every produce of an English kitchen garden, and others peculiar to this climate; all their flow

A aa a

ers, as lark-fpurs, ballams, naftur. times as large as ours, and ftronger tiums, jeffamine, the flower three perfumed, &c. &c. grow fpontaneoufly in the hedges, and yet they take lefs care of them (vines excepted) than we do of quickfet hedges, fcarce fowing, or feiting them, or if they do, after that never pruning, or training them up, or beflowing any culture or attendance on them. Yet with all these natural advantages,they have the moft miferable contrived mince pye gardens you can imagine, their whole attention being to difpofe little streams of water (of which an infinite number defcend from the higheft mountains) into fmall baíons, and cifterns, to fquirt out of a parcel of wretchedly carved fione figures.

Again, as every inch of ground here is either part of a hill, they, inftead of confulting the natural form of the ground, and adapting their improvements to it, go up ten filone fteps, then walk fifteen yards quite on a flat, to go up as many more, and in like manner all over their gardens: fo that what with the walls to fupport thefe forced levels, and what with thofe that form ciferns to retain water, either for real ufe, or the fupply of fome fountain, there is more mortar, and fione, in the garden, than earth, or trees; and, with thefe difadvantages, you would yet be charmed to fee, between thefe walls, each (pot crouded with most of the trees I have mentioned; and round, and through all the vacant fpaces, grapes or jeffamine fpontaneoufly climbing among the branches, chequering and totally clofing the roof of their own forming and where the eye breaks through thefe fragrant arbours, it catches either the fea, town, and fhipping, or fome part of this mountainous country, beautiful from its fingular form, and much more fo from the variety of its trees: yet, negligent of these lovely fcenes, they beflow more money in rudely carving all forts of figures on the fione work of the walls, than would make the spot a true earthly Paradife.

As wine is the chief commodity, and all the preferved citron, oranges, and lemons, ufed in Europe, comes from

from hence and Portugal; thefe plants are equally cultivated in the felds, as in the gardens; which are therefore much alike in their appearance, with this difference in favour of the latter, that they are not disfigured with the addition of walls. At a little diftance there are Tome corn fields, but of them lew and (mall,juft enough to make a variety, and cover the parts they find will not produce rich wine. The lower fort of people, who are too poor to be able to diftort their grounds, by attempting to make a garden of it, have each from two to ten acres of land; his whole fortune confifting in his grapes for wine, and the above named fruits, with which he fupplies the town, and fhip, at a very low rate indeed; they live in fuch amity, that I walked two hours through them all, from one to another between them a very fmall running fream is the only boundary, unlefs next the roads, and each has a berceau of grapes, jeffamine, or of the water lemon, up to his door, round his cottage, and to the_capital parts of his little demeine. Their cottages are thatched, cleaner much than the houfes of their betters; and they, felling their wines to the merchants in town, and keeping only preferved citrons, plumbs, dried pears, quince, marmalade, and fuch things, and liv. ing in the midst of their gardens, eajɔy a profusion of tweets, to which the rich, who refide in the town, are utter frangers.

After walking round them, as I told you, I was much pleafed with the remarkable neatuels of one we were then in, where many of the bottoms of the berceau walks were pitched with pebbles, as we do our grottos, and fome in forms, fome with Latin fentences, compofed in differ ent coloured Rones. As myili, and two other Engl fhmen, one of the factory here (who understood a little of the language) were reading them, the dame of the place, in appearance a farmer's wife, came, and very courteously desired we would walk in, and fit down, and he would have any fruit gathered for us; which we accordingly did; and foon a fat priest, her fon, came in with great good-humour, and brought us wine, marma

lade, and all the forts of fruit thes ripe (but it is yet rather too early for the beft) and as our friend the interpreter informed us, and as we plainly faw, was very hearty in defiring us to partake of them; but the prieft feemed to be very particular in his civilities, and talked to me a great deal (much more than cur interpreter's knowledge reached) which I not comprehending, was obliged to attempt a converfation in Latio, and by endeavouring to model my pronounciation to what the Dutch do, and defiring him at first to speak flow,, we became very tolerable company; and I received very frong invitati ons to use that garden, houfe, fruit, &c. as my own while 1 Raid, and affuring me it would be a pleasure to him if I did fo; and indeed the coolnefs and neatnefs of it will induce me to pay it another evening's walk.

They have the advantage bere of its never being very hot, as in, the W.ft Indies; nor fcarce any winter, and that very mild; but on the tops of their highest mountains they have fnow, which lies fometimes a good while: they alfo excel moft parts of Europe, in having neither frogs, Toads, ferpents, adders, beetles, &c. nor have they any of those unplea fant crawling things, which are lo great an allay to moft warm climates, lizards excepted, which are very fmall, and only in the old walls, built without mortar about the fields, and not more frequent than toads in England: (piders they have, as we have, in unfequented places; but I have, with the utmost attention, fearched the orange, citron, and lemon trees (being willing, from my own experience, to confirm or refute the received opinion of that infe's parti ality to, and conftant reficence among their leaves and flowers) and I have not yet found one among them; though I have been two evenings and one morning about the gardens, &c.

I omitted in place telling you, that on Sunday evening,immediately after our landing, there was a wedding in a chapel not far from where I lodged. From the bride's door to the chapel the freet was quite covered with myrtle, pinks, rofes, orange-bloffoms and all forts of flowers, for her, and

the

the company to walk on as I was informed of it time enough, I mixed with the attending crowd, and accompanied the couple to the chapel; on entering which,the bride and throng, whereof I made one, received showers of flowers thrown from the neighbouring windows, and leads of the chapel. The ceremony being over in ten minutes, of which, except k:ffing the cross, I knew nothing, the returned through fresh thowers of flowers home. Yefterday in the evening I went about a mile and a half out of town, to one of the best villas here; the owner died after having begun to improve it better than any other I have yet feen, as he had carefully endeavoured to conceal the walls, by planting jeffamine against them, of which there are two forts, each as large again as ours, and much sweeter; and one called here the Arabian jeffamine, whofe green leaves are as broad as common ivy, and very thick.

To mention houfes to you would be abfurd, as here are none that are better, and very few indeed fo good, as common English farm houses. This gentleman's garden was fituated partly up the grand ridge of hills, between two leffer and very rocky ones, which opened, to make the fpot his flood os, quite down the fea hore, a fleep hanging valley; his view was the fea, over the kind of beautiful country I have already defcribed, and the town of Fonchall, and craggy mountains furrounding behind. He had two uncommon fine trees, one called iron wood, larger and taller than moft oaks; it is fo like a laurel in its leaf, as not to be diftinguished from it; and when bruifed (mells like a nutmeg the other a fweet chefnut, in a fquare kind of paterre, from under which you had the very beft of the view; its thade was in. appearance as thick as a clipped yew could be, very round, and fo covered with its bloffoms as to look quite white from the town; I meafored the body of the tree; it was twenty four feet four inches and a half round, and the ground it covered alfo measured ninety fix feet and a half acroís: the tree at its branching off was much

larger, but I could not reach to mea. fure it there. Clofe by the tree was a plain fhed, like a common green houfe, defigned as a banquetting room; and its fituation was certainly to be envied.

There was plenty of myrtle, fome orange trees, and arbours of grapes and jeffamines, and a Weft-India plant called a water-lemon, running like a vine, with as large a leaf as an orange leaf, is an ever-green, and bears the paffion flower. At the back. of one of thefe arbours, where you alfo faw the view, was one of those channels, or cataracts, down which the water of the mountains fall to gain the fea as there are Springs without end there, these channels are frequent, and in winter, or on the faow in the mountains fuddenly diffolving, they are terrible water-falls; their beds or channels being fo torn, as to be only ledges of rocks, or loose fingle flones of an enormous fize, and the water falling fo perpendicularly down, forms thofe cataracts you fo much defire to fee; at prefent there is a fream of water about as big as a man's thigh, which, although too inconfiderable to be a beauty to the eye, funk as it was in its hollow bed, was very agreeable in its found. This fmall quantity was owing to the Aream being diverted into the grounds and gardens of the owner of the place, and into thofe of his neighbours. The fprings, as I before told you, are numerous, and very large; thefe are under proper officers directions, who turn them at ftated hours, and for a limited time, into every man's grounds; the owner afterwards, by little furrows, diftributing them to the parts of his garden as he pleafes: by this means no spot is without watering.

This inland is amazingly populous, containing, according to the calculation of the inhabitants, one hundred and twenty thousand fouls ; this occafions, in general, the diftribution of the lands to be in very fmall parcels; and as the lower clafs live chiefly on bread, banana fruit, chefnuts, apples, yaums, gourds, and pompkins, and fome fish; each perfon has fomething of every kind in his own grounds; by which means the dif

tributing

tributing and chequering of the plants all over the face of the country, s by accident beautiful beyond what the moft comprenenfive tafte, or extenfive purfe, could contrive and execute. The yaum,and another fpecies of it called an edder, are fond of wet, and run on the ground like gourds, bearing very thick large broad leaves, like the water lily: the natives, therefore, if they have ever fo fmall a fpot, inclining to be wet and rufhy, plant thefe there, and on the edge of the furrows that convey the water; and by this means cover, and keep concealed, what elfe would be difgufting.

Their little hovels in which they live, and prefs the wine, have grapes, melons, gourds, &c. running all over them, lo as not to be feen: and on the fouth fide two or three orange trees, bay trees, lemons, or fuch like. If they plant pease, or kidney beans, joftead of training them up, as we do, on dry flicks, they plant with them Indian wheat, and another fort like millet, round which the pulfe twines, ferving to fupport, and affords at the fame time grain for their mules, of which each has perhaps two or more; thefe, and their little cows, one or two a piece in number, are all led in to the middle of the garden, tied to a fake, and fed with the prunings of the vines chiefly, fo that you would at a diftance wonder what could induce people to let cattle break into the gardens.

Their vines run all on a frame, about two feet or rather more from

the ground, made of flakes drove down, and wild fugar canes in cross bars at top; which covers therefore the ground, that in general is extremely rocky, and the foil fhallow; The larger fones, and rocks rifing through, and above the vines, the froit trees, two or three together in terfperfed, and little tufts of fugar cates left to mend the frames of the wines, are by no means an inconfiderable addition. Among, and over the very rocky, and quite easterly places, where they cannot plant any thing, gourds or melons run, although fown at a confiderable diftance, and in other parts, in the clefts of the rocks, grows wild fhrubby myrtle, and Indian prickle pear,

with a red bloffom, as you have feea in green houses. The orange, lemon, and citron trees, are commonly of the fize of apple trees, but many filt much larger, and grow with an eafe in their branching, that we, who are accustomed to fee them only in tubs, are not acquainted with. Myrtle I have feen as high as very tall lilacs, but that is above the ufual ftandard; they alfo clip it into pillars, and make flower border edgings of it, as is done with box.

They have two or three forts of bay trees, all larger leaved, taller much, and of a brighter green than our forts. The fig trees are uncommonly large, I faw one as tall as any horse-chefnut whatever, branching about five feet from the ground into three capital limbs, each of which were as large as a man's body, and thole branching out again in others: although this is the largeft limbed one I have yet feen, its height is not faperior to many others; the chefout trees, near here especially, are not fo tall, or large (the one excepted I before-named) as fome I have feen in England; but are rounder, and more beautiful, like oaks that were cropped very young. I have feen very little, or indeed no timber: no oaks, limes, nor elms, but of the latter I am informed there are fome this is partly owing to real want, and partly to their fhade proving prejudicial to the vines. So that within four,or even fix miles from hence, I have not feen (exclufive of the iron, or, as it is allo called, teel tree) any but fruit trees (among which I rank the walnut and chefnut) and odoriferous fhrubs, as the bays, &c. Moft of what we call flowering fhrubs I have feen a few of, and a greater plenty would be, if they bad not fuch (mail gardens, and filled them with things that were more beautiful, and at the fame time bore fome useful fruit. It is excelsively agreeable to fee a vine, or jefíamine, or even gourd, find its own way up an orange tree, and entwining among all its branches, droop down again almon to the ground, like the mont luxuriant honey fuckle (or rather vervain) and mixing its fruit, or flowers, with thofe of the tree.

(To be continued.)

On Making Mortar. [Continued, and Concluded, from Page 432.]

Na former Number Mortar fuitable for laying ftone and brick was confidered. In this number I thalt give fome account of the mortar made ufe of for covering the outfide of houfes (commonly known by the name of rough caf) and adduce fome. facts that may be of utility if carefully attended to.

Some houfes have been covered with two coats of mortar, and others with one, according as the workmen, for various reasons and caules, were difpofed to recommend. Under fome circumftances two coats have been better than one; under other one better than two. To be fome what particular, I shall give the preference to two coats if done in the following manner, viz. fuppofe the houfe to be covered with well feafoned boards feather edged and well nailed, the laths which should be always made of white pine and well feafoned, to be then nailed on in two coats croffing each other. All hammering and jarring being now over (for the rough is the laft work except the painting) the firft coat of mortar is then to be laid on heavily with a trowel, and so worked in as to have all the vacancy between the latning and boarding filled up. And in order to be certain of th s effential circumftance, it is neceffary to go over the plaiftering with a fat which is a piece of inch board, from fourteen inches long and fix broad, with a handle toit, well known to the mafons, with this tool prefs the mortar well in, and make the furface fair and plain. This floating leaves the mortar like a honey comb. When it becomes fo hardened as you can but juft leave the print of your fingers in the mortar, then is the proper time to run on your fecond coat, about the thickness of a milled dollar: it will now cement with the firft coat, and be much better than if the whole thicknels had been put on in one coat only. But, if the first coat fhould be too hard, fo as to require frequent wetting with a brush before you can get the fecond coat on, it is very probable

that you will fee it fcale off, from time to time: more efpecially if it does not immediately unite, the froft getting between the two coats, will forever prevent it's union. Mortar for this kind of work made in the following manner has flood well for near forty years; and, it is probable, will ftand forty more,if the wood to which it is connected is kept in proper repair. The lime and fand muft be prepared as mentioned in a former number; then add to it a quantity of ox blood, lay one pailful to a bed, and the water to mix the lime and fand to be taken from the cifterns of the fugar refiners or leather dreffers pitts. This water being impregnated with the lime thrown into the cifterns or pitts for flaking, is much better for the purpofe. The blood fhould be worked into the mortar as foon as poffible after taken from the creature, and before it is fuffered to cool for it's almoft impoffible to incorporate it after it has coagulated. I have known pieces of this coagulated blood ke li er as large as marbles come out of the mortar after the work has been fuifhed, owing to the blood having been put into the mortar i too cool a ftate.

This mortar fhould be frequently beat over before it is ufed. If the boards and faths are not well feasoned when the mortar is put on, the mortar will crack when they shrink and become feafoned: fo alfo will it be if the boards and laths are put on too foon after a heavy rain or florm, by which means they become (welled as though not feafoned. Therefore, when mortar is put on to the outfide of houfes, the boards and laths thould be perfe@ly dry. The fame mortar that has fplit fo as to let in the rain, when the boards and laths have not heen well feafoned, or when they have been put on too foon after a heavy form of rain, has kept on exceedingly firm, without the leaft appearance of opening when the time of putting on has been attended to, and the boards and laths have been well feafoned. This mortar, while it is green, may be jointed and drawn so as to imitate ftone work.

A confiderable faving may be made in plaiftering mortar by attending to the fellowing method ---Fine loomy

fand