177*.
A ugust. world about half a century ago. Their ladies are delicate,
and have agreeable features ; but the charafteriftic
jealoufy of the men fiill locks them up, and deprives them
of a happinefs which the country women, amidft all their
diftreffes, enjoy. Many of the better people, are a fort of
petite nobkjfe, which we would call gentry, whofe genealogical
pride makes them unfociable and ignorant, and caufes 3
ridiculous affectation of gravity. The landed property is
in the hands of a few ancient families, who live at Funchal,,
and in the various towns on the ifland.
Madeira confifts of one large mountain, whofe branches'
rife every where from the fea towards the centre of the
file, converging to the fummit, in the midft of which, I
was told, is a depreffion or excavation, called the Val by
the inhabitants, always covered with a frefh and delicate
herbage. The ftones on the idle, which we examined;
feemed to have been in the fire, were full of holes, and of
a blackifh colour ; in fhort, the greater part of them were
lava. A few of them were of the kind which the Derby-
ihire miners call dunftone. The foil of the whole ifland
is a tarras mixed with fome particles of clay, lime,,
and fand, and has much the fame appearance as fome
earths we fince found on the ifle of Afcenfion. From this
circumftance, and from the excavation of the fummit o f
the mountain, I am induced to fuppofe, that in fome remote
period, a volcano has produced the lava; and' theochreous
ochreous particles, and that the Val was formerly its aS st.
crater. At firft fight of Madeira I was of a different opinion
; but the black Loo-rock, the cliff on which St. John’s
eaftle ftands, the nature of the foil and ftones, and the
fituation of the Val, convinced me, that the whole had
formerly undergone a violent change by fire.
Many brooks and fmall rivulets defcend from the fum-
mits in deep chafms or glens, which feparate the various
parts of the ifle. We could not however perceive any
plains mentioned by others*, through which the waters
would probably have taken their courfe,. if any fuch had
exifted. The beds of the brooks are in fome places covered
with ftones of all fizes, carried down from the higher parts
by the violence of winter rains or floods of melted
fnow. The water is conduced by wears and channels
into the vineyards,, where each proprietor has the ufe of
it for a certain time ; fome being allowed- to keep a coni-
ftant fupply of it, fome to ufe it, thrice, others twice, and
others only once a week. As the heat of the climate
renders this fupply of water to the vineyards abfolutely
neceffary, it is not without great expence that a new vineyard
can be planted; for the maintenance of which, the-
owners muft purchafe water at. a high price, from thofe.
* See an Account of' the Voyages undertaken by the order o f his prefent:
Majefty, and fucceffiyely performed by. the Captains Byron,, W a llis , Carteret;,
andXook.——Compiled, by Dr. Hawkefworth,. Vo l. II, p, 7,
who)