deira as in some of their commercial stations in the East,
once flourishing, now sunk into min and wretchedness. I
recollect distinctly, when we were at Macao, to have observed
one 'bf the inhabitants asking charity at the English factory,
dressed in his bag-wig and sword. Indeed the miserable
people of that settlement are half supported from the money
that is either spent, or given in charity, by the English and
other European houses which are established there for the
conveniency of their commerce with China.
I t would seem that the clergy of Madeira are not very rigid
in exacting from others the duties of religion, nor in setting an
example of pious conduct in their own persons. On the contrary,
the loose manners, the intemperate mode of life and the
free conversation of many of the monks are a disgrace to the
sacred office which they hold ; yet these men assume to themselves
the character of guardians of public morals, and, under
this cover, sometimes make use of the most extraordinary and
unwarrantable liberties. We observed, with astonishment, at
the Governor’s table, the impertinent, indecent, and debauched
conduct of a drunken fat friar; and were equally
surprized at the little pains that were taken to check his
caYeer. These men carry about with them evident marks of
good living; and if the general appearance of the inhabitants
indicates few symptoms of plenty or comfort, that of the
clergy at least is such as even Caesar might not have objected
to, they being
* Men that are fat;
“ SJeek-headed men, and such as sleep o’ nights.”
The penurious and solitary life of the Portugueze forms a
striking contrast with the splendid and convivial manner in
which the houses of the English merchants are constantly kept
open for the accommodation of strangers who may call a t the
island. If the English at home .be, represented by foreigners .
as a cold, formal, and distant people, they have at least a
very different character abroad. Their hospitality at Madeira
is unbounded ; and the state of society, the delightful climate,
and the variety with which the island abounds, are such that
he, who could not spend here a few months with pleasure and
satisfaction, must be possessed of a very fastidious taste. The
Portugueze Governor, however, was a social, well-bred, and
respectable man. He entered into all the parties of the
English, during our stay on the island. He gave, also, a
most sumptuous entertainment at the government-house:
and, as few nations, beside our own, exhibit on their tables-
whole animals, as pigs grinning with oranges in their mouths,
hares squatting as if about to leap down the throats of the
hungry guests, and pheasants with their feathers ready to fly
after them, the Portugueze Governor, in compliment to the
English taste, had employed English cooks for the occasion ;
a mark of consideration which I very much doubt if any of
the British merchants would have condescended to pay to the
Portugueze Governor; as a due respect for the customs and
prejudices of other nations is certainly not to be found in the
catalogue of an Englishman’s good qualities.
The Governor of this settlement, which is the case in few
belonging to Portugal, has a sufficient allowance to enable
him to support the dignity of his station, and his powers are